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The Commoner.
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
Organlzo, emphasize and decline to apologize
for doing right.
Gonoral Mills has "arrived," hut ho, too, had
to bo vigorously shoved.
Tho administration stokers are experiencing
groat difficulty in keeping up steam in the Roose
velt boom's boilers.
Tho statute of limitations and tho technicality
should bo unanimously indorsed by the republi
can national convention.
Tho presldont has given his old hat to a
friend, doubtless because its accoustlc properties
wore becoming out of dato.
Wo may yet bo forced to listen to a senator
dofonding his crookedness en tho ground that he
"was not much of a senator, anyhow."
Sonator Hanna's denial machinery is work
ing rapidly, but thoro are a lot of indications that
somo one has dumped sand into the journals.
Senator Smoot's emphatic demand for a full
and complete investigation gives foundation for a
belief that he has a technicality In reserve.
The attorney goneral's fund of $500,000 looks
almost as big as ovor, but it looks very small
by the side of tho big defense funds the trusts
K keop on hand.
1 i
Those who deny tho theory of future punish-
mont should come forward and toll us what is to
become of the miscreants who have organized a
corner in antl-toxln.
- Four thousand people wore killed in railway
accidonts in tho United States last year. And
tho doath roll will grow as long as human life is
choapor than safoty appliances.
Tho anti-toxin trust is about tho meanest ex
hibition of greed yot made, but under present con
ditions and purposes it is quite likely to be out
classed boforo tho trees leave.
Tho railroads of tho country seem to And it
profitable to work upon tho principle that it is
choaper to settle with the estate than to adopt
safety appliancos like tho block system.
Attorney General Knox has spent one-twen-
tioth of that appropriation and as yet not enough
violators of the anti-trust law have been pushed
into tho prisoner's dock to overcrowd it.
Fining a man ?2,000 for stealing ?2,029 and
sending a boy to tho penitentiary for stealing
$9.30 worth of postage stamps is not tho kind of
justice that is calculated to increase respect for
tho courts. Wl
mt 1 h0i 8a,mo newaPaners that announced the po-
Uticat death of Tom Johnson also declared that
his fight for 3-cent street car fares wok not gen
'ulno. The 3-cont faro has been accomplished be
cause of Tom Johnson's fight, and the opposition
SEtSFStir prepared t0 W
The Commoner
' Mr. Rockefeller, ar., has been re-elected presi
dent of tho board of trustees of his Cleveland Bap
tist church. Others not less guilty have claimed
a vindication on less substantial grounds.
Governor Mickey of Nebraska says the re
public is doomed if "grafting" is not stopped. The
govornor should see to it that he does all he can
to shorten tho open season for trafficking in post
offices. Congress appropriated $500,000 with which to
prosecute the violators of the anti-trust law. The
amount is large enough; the trouble is with the
disposition of tho attorney general into whose
hands it was entrusted.
in
The New York "World says Cleveland can
carry Illinois. The World should now give us
definite information on tho point whether Cleve
land would again undertake to play into the
hands of the bond brokers.
If you doubt that tho Kansas City platform will
be reaffirmed watch tho state conventions. Some
of the men who are very much opposed to re
affirmation now will be very glad to go as dele
gates on a stralghtout reaffirmation platform.
Colombia seems to have a mistaken idea con
cerning the real definition of arbitration. Arbi
tration, as Colombia should know, is submitting
to the decision of others when wo want something,
and are not quite in shape to take it without
ceremony or apology.
Is the democratic party going to appeal to
tho conscience of the American people? If so, read
over the list of candidates proposed by the cor
poration democrats and inquire which one could
make an appeal to conscience without exciting a
loud and prolonged laugh?
S'enator Piatt's declaration that the demo
cratic party is becoming sane is rather in the
line of evidence that Senator Piatt is acquiring
the ability to rocognlze right and justice when he
sees it It is to bo hoped that the three will be
introduced at some early date.
1 " ""' ' ' '
It is believed that congressional Investigation
of the boll weavil will enable certain trust pro
tectors to stave off investigation or adverse ac
tion for a few months longer. The eminent
statesmen who are taking good care of the trusts
are not overlooking any opportunities theso days.
At a banquet the other night Senator Hanna
said, in tho course of his remarks: "We hold the
age," but one of the papers reported him as say
ing: "Wo hold the ace." Whether it was a
typographical error or. was purposely changed
to correspond with his "stand pat" policy is not
yet known.
VOLUME NUMBER 2.
' In his recent message to congress, Mr
Roosevelt said: ".In no other place and at no other
ri. m tlme has the 0XPeriment of a
- Why Not government of the people and
"By tho lor the people been tried on so
People.' Tast a scale as here in our own
country." The Philadelphia
Public Ledger, a republican paper, is curious to
know why the words "by the people" were not
used in this sentence. Tho Ledger says: "The
idea of government 'by the people appears to
have been edited out of our politics."
The New York World recently outlined a .
platform for the democratic party, and now it
complains because a republican
They paper quoted the platform and
Look said: "The average reader will
Alike. much puzzled, to know what
particular , plank in tho above
could not be Inserted with grace in the republi
can platform." The World then proceeds to
construe the generalities of its platform to suit
itself and this illustrates perfectly the position
of the reorganizers. They want a platform so
ambiguous that a republican could run on it and
so full of uncertainties that a corporation demo
crat elected on such a platform could do anything
the corporations demanded. It is simply a con
fidence game.
Secretary Shaw made a talk before the Wash
" ington Y. M, C. A. a short time ago, and in the
course of his remarks said that
More "boys are the most valuable
Valuable things on artb." Secretary
Than Boys. Shaw, however much ho may
believe that assertion, does not
seem to live up to it. If memory is not at fault
Secretary Shaw has on divers' and sundry occa
sions hurried to the rescue of a policy ,that de
mands the lives of hundreds of brave boys mere
ly that a few men may have a chance to engage
in the business of money making. Within the
last six years more than 5,000 American boys1
have beeiv sacrificed on the altar of imperialism.
But perhaps Secretary Shaw differentiates between
boys.
President Roosevelt's real friends are amazed
at the result of the recent republican state cen
yjt w j tral committee meeting in Ne-
Many Words, braska. All surface Indications
But Deeds were to the effect that Mr.
Won. s Roosevelt had a firm hold on
the Nebraska delegation. His
friends insisted on an early convention in order
that the state might -get early into the Roosevelt
wagon. But while his supporters were noisy, his
opponents were shreWd, and the result is an un
usually late convention. The Nebroska delegates
to the republican national convention will be se
lected just four days within the time limit set
by the national committee It is admitted that a
late convention is not calculated to be of benefit
to the Roosevelt boom.
The republican papers in their innocent and
disinterested way seem quite as much alarmed at
the reaffirmation of the Kansas City platform as
the so-called democratic papers that bolted in 1S36.
Is it affectionate solicitude for the democratic
party or are they afraid that the republican
party is going to be handicapped by the support
of these papers?
Tho democracy of 1904 is the democracy that
stood hy the platforms of 1896 and 1900, and tho
men who maintained the principles enunciated in
those platforms 'will be entrusted with the work
of framing the platform of 1904. The work- of
.framing democratic platforms will not soon be
given again into the hands of men whoso democ
racy is so close an imitation of republicanism that
an expert investigation is required to detect tho
difference.
EVery American will rejoice to learn that the
gallant old ship Constitution is to be preserved
The Constitution has a foremost
1 ,j Fiaco in American history, and
Ironsides the preservation of the famous
Lives. warship will lceep before the
Patriotism. $
hcinsSiotV' has ecTeTthaat
tne institution be retained at the Boston nnw
yard and repaired from time to time so as to Z
fnT'f ,ndeflnltely- The towI will be trans
formed into a naval museum. Secretary K
be preserved in the navy. namo may
Bro-ins
a.nd
Politics.
A Cincinnati reader of The Commoner directs
attention to the fact that under the heading of
jMutuiciai roints," page 14 in
the Cincinnati Enquirer of No
vember 1, appears the following
item: "Before the Boer war,
Smith AVw.n T.,r. l..-I-
about $100,000,000 of gold per annum. When- this
was cut off it meant just that much contraction
of the money supply of the world, and therefore
a consequent increase n the value of the money
and a decrease in the value of commodities and
securities." This Cincinnati reaJer suggests:
ims from a paper that is known to be opposed
to everything which it calls 'Bryanistic' looks as
though some one with more brains than politics
has charge of that paper's financial columns."
Cheerfulness is a good thing under any and
all circumstances-if it is at all possible to be
InK cheerful. The loyal democrat
in mo j8 aiways an 0ptimist and there-
Minority fore cheerful. This was well
B-ut Happy, illustrated a few days ago when
mnn .. . a committee of 100 Michigan
men called on the president to invite him to at
hE JJ, celebration of the flitieth anniversary of
wfl indat,?2 ,of ihe Republican party. Blank
dlSnnAn Mcfcjgair democrat, camG wItu the
delegation. "Hello, Frank!" said General Alger,
,.?! i?i u lonesome here with these hundred
lepublicans and yon the only democrat?" "O,
no, replied Hosford, "that's about the propor
wIn MIcniSan'" The democratic optimist gets
Plenty of satisfaction in doing right, and when
success comes he can enjoy It to "the utmost
m