The Commoner.
WILLIATl J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. ......
11 -
fVol. 4. N. 6.
Lincoln, Nebraska, February 26, 1904,
Whole No. 162
v REORGANIZATION MEANS CLEVELANDISM v v
h The democrats of the country are under obli-
ttions to Mr. Cleveland's friends for the frank
rowal of, their purpose to make Mr. Cleveland the
V
)minee in case the reorganizes obtain control.
ie Montgomery Advertiser publishes an inter-
Lew given by the president of the Memphis Com-
Lercial-Appeal company to the Brooklyn Eagle.
mese three papers, all prominent among the re-
rganizers, join in lauding Mr. Cleveland as "the
san" to be nominated. The president of the
emphis paper, after declaring that he spoke for
limself rather than for his paper, is reported as
lying: , "Mr. Cleveland should be nominated."
fMr. Cleveland has no elements of weakness as a
(candidate." "I do not believe Mr. Cleveland would
refuse to run. He would probably refuse to run
his -candidacy was a mere proposition of poli
tics, but it is a national emergency which calls for
lis services. The democratic party should go
ihead and nominate him without asking his con
sent, and in notifying him should say: 'We have
lominated you because the country requires your
services and because the democratic' party desires
to restore the country to the basis of safety and
(solidity which you gave it as president " Here is
the opinion of the president of the Memphis paper.
t is drawn out by the Eagle, whose editor claims
to be the political Columbus, who discovered Mr.
Heveland's new availability, and it is reproduced
the Advertiser, whose editor was postmaster
Under Cleveland, gratitude torf which finds daily
editorial expression. The bolting newspapers are
full of such interviews and it is plam to any one.
Pwho cares to see that it is neither harmony nor
fsuccess that the reorgahizers desire, but a return
Lto Clevelandism.
But that is not all. The Memp'his man gives
IX j.1 J. t- r.-i. i-t. -vii.
lyawuy anotmsr oecrei,,- uuintuy, unit iuo uujtsuuou.
tfto the reaffirmation of the Kansas City nlatform
I is not opposition to silver alone, but opposition to
the party's position on imperialism and the trust
question as well. -He says:
"The south is, unalterably opposed to the
reaffirmation of the Kansas City platform.
The south knows that the democratic party .
cannot be successful so long as it goes before
the country on those Issues. There is no issue
. of expansion. TlTat issue is dead. To argue
against expansion is to argue against the com
mercial development of the south."
So imperialism (ho calls it by tho more
euphonious riame of expansion) is also dead! The
paramount issue of 1900 is, in his opinion, no
longer a debatable question. All the party said
about human rights and self-government must
be repudiated if the party would be "successful."
No republican paper has advocated commercial
ism more boldly than this man who is described
by the interviewer as "one of the staunch southern
old-school democrats." It would seem, then, that
a carpet-bag government is not bad in itself, but
that it depends on who appoints the carpet
bagger; A system which was objectionable when
enforced by the north against the south is, ac
cording to this "staunch, old-school democrat," all
right if enforced by the United States against the
Filipinos in the interest of the commercial devel-
opment of the south. This certainly does not rep
resent the sentiment of . the south, but it is re
produced to show how complete is the surrender
demanded and upon how low a plane the next
campaign is to be fought if the reorganizers have
their way In the convention.
On the trust question, also, the Commercial
Appeal's president opposes the last national plat
form. He says:
"Mr. Bryan is not a factor at all. Ho is
not a democrat. He has never been a demo
crat. He would exterminate the trusts by
destroying the business of the country, He,
would prevent a business house, incorporated
In our state, from carrying on business in
other states, if he found a bug in tho house
ho would tear down tho house. I am not a
0 defender of the trust systom in any of its il
legal or oppressive aspects, but I am a busi
ness man, and I do not consider Mr. Bryan's
prescription for business either sound or
democratic."
He refers to that plank of tho platform which
denounced a private monopoly as Indefensible and
intolerable and proposed as a remedy, not that a
corporation should not bo allowed to engago in In
terstate commerce, but that before doing so it
should show that it has no water in its stock and
that it is not trying to monopolize any branch of
business. That Is a remedy that means some
thing -a remedy that would bo effective, and, of
course, it Is opposed by those who favor the
trusts. They want to get rid of the Kansas City
platform and then write an ambiguous one which
would permit a campaign of deception. He speaks
as though It were Mr. Bryan only who favored
tho anti-trust plank which ho first misrepresents
and then condemns, but it is a platform remedy
which received the support of moro than six mil
lion voters. He does not like Mr. Bryan because
tho latter still stands by tho platform and still
opposes the trusts.
As an evidence that the reorganizers will give
no quarter it is asserted by the Eagle's correspon
dent that while tho delegates may differ as to tho
most available reorganlzer to nominate no man
favorable to tho Kansas City platform will attend
the next convention as a delegate.
This Is an example of the "harmony" which
is so much talked about and suggests what may
be expected when a "reorganized" administration
begins to deal with those who were faithful to
the ticket. The old Clevelandism was bad enough,
but it would be an hundredfold worse if to tho.
sordidness that characterized it before there is
added the spirit of vengeance which animates
it now.
SURRENDER DEMANDED
Some of tho reorganizers profess to believe
that the silver question is the only obstacle in the
way of harmony. As evidence that complete sur
render is demanded it is only necessary to cite the
recent experience in Ohio. Thfr democrats of that
state made a fair test of this matter last fall.
Mr. Clarke, the man named for the United States
senate against Mr. Hanna, was a bolter in 1896
and made speeches for the Palmer and Buckner
ticket. On other questions he was with the party
and had shown his sympathy with the people by
supporting tho reforms for which Johnson was
contending. Believing that his sympathies were
right, the democrats, at the request of Mr. John
son, nominatedjiim and the silver men as a rule
supported him, but in spite of the fact that the
republican papers took pains to advertise that he
had not changed his opinion on the silver ques
tion, he was defeated by an overwhelming ma
jority. His. advocacy of the gold standard did
not save him, nor did it conciliate the reorganiz
ers. They make a great deal of noise about 16 to
1, but they are not content with a surrender on
that finint. Thev insist that the platform, candi
dates and the party organization shall represent
organized wealth on all points .and that tho demo
cratic party shall bo a miniature edition of the
republican party. Nothing less than this will
restore the kind of "harmony" they want -
jfiJJ
Instruct.
A casual reading of the corporation dailies is
enough to convince any one that there Is a con
certed plan'on foot among the reorganizers to pre
vent Instructions. "Select good, conservative
men," they say, "and leave them free to act ac
cording to their judgment In every district
they "are working for a delegate who will follow
the dictation of Wall street and if they can suc
ceed in sending these mc-'u uninstructed, Wall
street will writ the platform, name the candi
dates and control the organization. If the voters
aro heard at all they must be heard in the pri
maries and in the county conventions. A motion
to instruct for the reaffirmation of the Kansas City
platform will draw the line between those who
want to make an honest fight and those who want
to surrender the party into the hands. of the
financiers.
JJJ
It appears that greed has not been so thor
oughly shackled that it cannot reach dp.wtinto.Ita
pocket and dig up for the g. o. p. campaign: fund.
mkmmammmmmmmmmammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmtmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
WALL STREET IS IN LINE
Those who imagined that Mr. Roosevelt could
be depended upon to hold out against Wall
street and that he would meet with the antagonism
of the Wall street magnates, have had their day.
of awakening.
Recently It was announced that James Slill
man, president of the National City bank at New
York, had dined with tho president at the Whit
house. Then we were told that A. J. Cassatt,
the Pennsylvania railroad magnate, had announced
his loyalty to Mr. Roosevelt. Then the dispatches
informed us that Mr. Blythe, attorney for the
James J. Hill railroad interests, had assured the
president that his railroads were for Roosevelt
The story is well told by Walter Wellman,
Washington correspondent for the Chicago Record-Herald.
Mr. Wellman. is understood to stand
very close to Mr. Roosevelt, and he seems to
know what he is talking about. Over the Well
man dispatch the Chicago Record -Herald prints .
this head line, "Wall Street In Line."
Mr. Wellman says that it is asserted confi
dently by friends of Mr. Roosevelt that during .
; the coming.'slxr weeks, therewill be; a great change .
' of-sentiment-in. Wall street as to the desirability j
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