The Commoner.
WILLIAn J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
Vol. 3. No. 45.
Lincoln, Nebraska, November 37, 1003.
:s
Whole No. 149.
John W. Bookwaltcr.
No student of political affairs can question
the democracy of Hon. John W. Bookwalter of
Ohio. The Commoner has on separate occasions
given sketches of men well -worthy of being men-
" tioncd in connection with the democratic nomina
tion for president, and this week it gives a sketch
of Mr. Bookwalter," prepared by a friend and ad
mirer: "It follows that a man who is a careful, pru
dent, honorable and aggressive business man
makes a good public official. If he is self-made,
then ho is of necessity broad-minded, for no man
can pass through the various stages, leading from
poverty to riches, without having his mental vi-
' sion broadened, hi3 sympathies quickened and his
intellect enlarged.'
, "Hon. John W. Bookwalter, of Ohio, ought to
. make an ideal candidate for the democratic nomi
nation for the presidency; for ho is self-made and
is one of the foremost business men of the" coun
try. He is In touch witji the east and extensive
interests bind him closely to- the west. He farms
in the trans-Missouri region on a large scale and
manufactures in the east. He hasbusiness inter-
I tt teste extending-frqm Delaware, where ho has a
steel casting plant, aown tnrougn umo, wnere
'he makes water wheels and has large real estate
interest's, '.on5-out to the foot hills of the Rocky
'mountains, which mark the bounds of his Ne
braska farms, with real estate interests in iili
iiois, Indiana, Kansas and Nebraska.
"Reared on an unpromising farm in a sparse
ly settled region on the banks of the Wabash in
' Indiana, it was not until he was nearly 25 years
'of age that Mr. Bookwalter stepped out into the
'broad world. Like Lincoln, his early opportuni
ties were very meagre and he earned his bread
by the sweat of his brow, beginning early and
working late to make the stump-covered soil of
the clearing yield a bare living. At an early age
ho developed an unquenchable thirst for knowl
edge that later cropped out in the fact that he is
an authority on political economy, science, me
chanical engineering, sociology and the classics.
Under the most adverse circumstances he was in
defatigable as a student at home and when he
did leave his birthplace he was well equipped,
not only with knowledge, but with pluck, a fine
sense of honor and old-fashioned integrity to be
gin his battle 'out in the world.'
"Although his efforts have been crowned with
the most abundant success, none of it was ever
gained by dishonorable means or through specula
tion which he has eschewed with a determination
that has exemplified .the strong will of the r"an.
In all of his years as one of the leading manufac
turers of the country, not one complaint has come
against him from the ranks of labor. The men
in his shops are his closest friends. They are
"well paid, fairly and generously treated and are
satisfied.
."There is another reason why-John W, Book
waiter is well fitted for the presidential nomina
tion. No man in America hastraveled more ex
tensively abroad than he. He. has ept in close
touch with the nations and the governments of
the earth. If elected to the office of chief execu
tive of the nagon be would bring to that office
the ripe scholarship of a man of 63 who has been
a close observer and deep student all of his llfo,
the witio and valuable experience of a business
man whoso success has inspired many a younger
man to renewed efforts to win in tho race of lire,
and tho fairness and tho justico of tho leader who
has risen from tho ranks of tho massos.
, "Doe3 tho democratic party owe Mr. Book
waiter anything? You who are firm in demand-
ing recognition for the democrats who havo been
unyielding in their party fealty, answer this ques
tion. Who does not know what it is to bo a
democrat in a stato at is overwhelmingly re
publican, whore there is little or no opportunity
for democratic victory and where democrats are
democrats because they are democ-ats.. Who can
point to a year that John W. Bookwalter has not
come forward with his purse, his pen and his
voice and fought for tho triumph of the principles
that he believes right?
"A pioneer tariff reformer, he has also been "
a leader in fighting for bimetallism. One of the
most masterly works published on bimetallism Is
"If Not Silver, What?" Issued by Mr. Bookwalter
in 1896. Mr. Bookwalter'a success as a business
1 man is too pronounced for any one to charge him
with beingoviBionary about these great economic
questions; He would make a strong candidate-be-
'jc&iigthe is a good man-rone, of wisdom,. prudence
.and'ifereat executive ability. V
JJJ "" - -
Mr. Bryan in Europe.
On November 1 1 Mr. Bryan sailed on
the White Star Line " Majestic" from New
York, arriving at Liverpool on November
17. During his tour abroad he will visit
England, Germany, France, and possibly
Italy, devoting himself to a study of the
social and economic questions of the coun
tries visited. The results of this study
will be given to readers of The Commoner
in a series of articles in this paper,
jjj
A Changing Policy.
It will bo remembered that when-Mjss Huldah
Todd, postmistress at Greenwood, Del., was re
moved, it was announced by the administration
that she was removed because she wa3 "personal
ly distasteful" to Senator Allee, who represents
the Addicks faction of the republican party in
' Delaware. With but few exceptions, the patrons
,of that postofflce protested against Miss Todd's
.removal, but the administration would not relent
its representatives insisting that the removal of
this postmistress was necessary becausa one sena
tor had stated that she was "personally distaste
ful" to him.
On November 19, Mr. Hooscvelt reappointed
Joshua B. Wilson, a negro, to the office of post
master at Florence, S. C. The white residents of
that town unanimously 'protested against the re
appointment The two South Carolina senators
likewise protested; but Wilson was reappointed.
It seems that the administration's policy is
subject to alteration. In Delaware the protest
of one senator representing tho Addicks republi
cans Is sufficient while the protest of two senators
in South Carolina is of no avail.
A Slump in Stocks.
SInco the election of 1900 thcro has been a
slump in tho market.value of stocks amounting to
more than 750,000,000. If the democrats had
been successful in tho last presidential election
the republican papers would havo charged this
tremendous slump in stocks to tho democratic ad
ministration. How will they oxplaln it now?
When it Is referred to at all It is described as a
matter of small Importance, and often defended
as a really deslrablo thing. Wo are told that it
was a "natural liquidation," an elimination of
"speculative values," a "sottling down to a solid
basis."
Tho readers of Tho Commoner aro noked to
remember that this slump In stocks Indicates ono
of two things. If tho slump means that tho water
Is being squeezed but of tho stocks, that fictitious
values are being destroyed, and that tho Industries
aro simply settling down to an honest basis, how
will republicans defend an administration that
permits tho inflation of values and thd watering
of stocks?
It cannot bo denied that many have suffered
7-2 slump. .Thoso innocpnt, purchasers, of
;whom we hear so much wlion remedial legislation
fe suggested, have been suffering. It Is said that
tho Bteoi trust has 98$00 stockholders,. and all of
these havo suffered by the fall in prices. Why
should they be exposed to this loss? Many of the
holders of this stock aro employes who took tho
stock more to encourage the idea of co-operation
in industry than to make a profit out of it. They
wanted to show their appreciation of what they
regarded as a generous offer on tho part of the
company. Was It n6t a little cruel to thus reward
their confidence? When will "confidence" bo re
stored among these people? What about the widow
who put her scanty savings in preferred or .com
mon steel? We always hear of the widow when
we discuss the money question or attempt to curb
corporate rapacity, why Is she kept In the back
ground now? The Kansas City platform proposed
a, remedy that, if adopted, would have made it
Impossible for an interstate commerce corpora
tion to have watered its stock. This tremendous
loss would have beenprevented if that remedy
had been adopted before tho steel trust was or
ganized. What remedy havo tho republican lead
ers for the situation which now confronts them?
What Is the president doing, what is tho republican '
congress doing to 'protect tho public from' watered ',
stock?.
If to escape Oils dilqmraa the republicans In
sist that the shrinkage in stocks does not Indi
cate a squeezing out of water, but a loss in actual
and honest values, what will they say about an
administration that results In such a blow to in
dustry? Can the country be said to be prosperous ,
If honest stocks have suffered a shrinkage of near
ly tvo billions of dollars in three years? Is the
industrial condition a satisfactory ono?
The fact is that tho republican leaders havs
permitted the government to be run In the in
terest of organized wealth. They have permitted
the exploitation of the public. They have not
only permitted, but -jncouraged, the Issuing' of
stock and bonds that represent, not existing val-
au im