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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1904)
v irmt I xBh m baleful Influence on the Cleveland administration, is prominent In tho Parker contingent In Con noticut, and you will And in your own state and throughout tho country that his most enthusias tic champfona aro tho mon who openly opposed our ticket in 1890. The trust magnates, tho great bankers and the railroad attornoys would not bo so unanimous in his support if they did not have secrot assurances In regard to his position. Those who, like you and I, boliovo that the best inter ests of the country require President Roosevelt's dofeat at the coming election must consider two questions first, can a democratic victory bo se cured by an ambiguous platform and a tongue tied candidate? and second, would a victory under such conditions bring us tho change desired? To answer the first question wo have only to ro mombor tho party's experionco in 3894. Tho men who seek to regain control of tho party were then in absolute control. Mr. . Cleveland was president, his cabinet was "pure gold," and the mombors of the national committee were in full sympathy with his administration, and yet our party was defeated in the congressional contest by ,1,080,000 votos. Whether measured by the pop ular voto, by the number of states carried or by tho number of congressmen elected, the defeat of '94 was moro disastrous than the defeat in '9G or in 1900. If this defeat occurred before tho open desortlon of Mr. Cleveland and his political sym pathizers, what would bo the result if tho party should now go into a campaign on a meaningless platform and under tho leadership of one justly suspected of representing Mr. Cleveland's politi cal views? You rememoer that Mr. Cleveland's administration lost us some of tho southern statos, and croatod a very activo opposition to the democratic party in nearly all the others and this, too, notwithstanding tho overshadowing in fluence exerted by fho race question. Even from tho standpoint of expediency it would, it seems to me, bo criminal folly to throw away the chances of success by putting the party in a doubtful posi tions on public questions or under doubtful lead ership. Tho moro anxious wo are to defeat tho republicans tho moro careful wo ought to be to put tho party in a position, where it would deserve success, for it would bo a reflection upon tho patriotism and Intelligence of tho country to assume that thoro is any bettor way to insure success than to deserve it. But oven If It were possible to suppose that victory could bo won by marshalling tho six mil lions of voters under tho three hundred thousand desertors (as you estimate them) what would tho victory amount to? Tho mon who deserted tho party aro really moro antagonistic to democratic principles than tho average republican. Many re publicans oppose tho democratic party simply be cause of their allegiance to tho republican party, but those who left tho democratic party in 9G showed that thoi'r hostility to democracy was strong enough to make thom disregard political ties and political associations. Mr. Cleveland did the democratic party more harm than any repub lican president has been able to do it. He fas tened upon the party responsibility for his be trayal of both the party and tho people. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that in both campaigns (1896 and 1900) his administration, al though our party attempted to repudiate it, did more to defeat our party than the activo opposi tion of himself and of such subordinates as he could coerce. The trouble with President Roosevelt's ad ministration is that it is on tho sldo of plutocracy as against democracy, on tho side of organized wealth as against the masses, and if by any pos sibility wo should elect another democratic presi dent controlled by tho influences that controlled Mr. Cleveland, what assurance have we that he would attempt to undo what recent republican presidents havo done? Tho reorganizes aro as clearly and as completely controlled by tho mo nopolists as aro tho republican leaders, and with one of their representatives in tho White house wo could confidently expect the appointment of supremo court judges who, like the three gold democrats now on tho supremo bonch, would de cide against the power of congress to protect the public from industrial monopolies. These judges could block remedial legislation for years to come. Instead of a plan of evasion and surrender, , which would add disgrace to defeat in case of de feat, and would disappoint the people even if it won, tho party should, I think, make an honest and democratic fight against all tho republican policies. I can not believo that the democratic party will throw away the, great opportunity it The Commoner. now has to make a successful attack on tho strongholds of republicanism not by trying to win back by fatal concessions corporation-controlled democrats, but by appealing to the con science of tho country and to tho patriotism of tho people. We can neither draw honest men to the party nor arouse enthusiasm among our own people by showing a greater desiro ror ' winning" than for principles. If wo tefuso to declare a definite purpose before tho election no one will expect us to do so after the election. If our policies are really wise, tho moro clearly they are stated tho better, for truth like good seed will yield abundantly. Most earnestly believing that the corporation element now seeking to regain control of tho democratic party would lead tho party not only to "defeat but to disastrous defeat, and believing that a democratic administration controlled by these influences would disappoint the democrats of tho country and delay tho triumph of real democracy, I am doing all in my power to maintain the integrity of the democratic party, and prevent a surrender to the corporations. I can not claim to love my party better than you iqve it, nor can I ask you to substitute my judgment for your own, but during the last twelve years I have become intimately acquainted with the purposes, the plans, and tho methods of those who are now leading tho reorganization movement, and believing them to be a serious menace to the party's welfare as well as to the country's good, I must continue to oppose them In season and out of season. It would be a source of great encouragement to me if in this struggle I felt that I had the activo co operation of all who, like yourself, have been loyal to the party in recent campaigns. But if I can not have it I shall console myself with the belief that events will vindicate my course and prove to those who have trusted me that in this contest I am only doing my duty as 1 have tried to do it in preceding contests. In conclusion allow me to assure you 6f my high esteem and to express the nope that you may live to rejoice in the triumph of a real demo cracy .and to see the country in the full enjoyment of its blessings. As you gave your letter to wie press, 1 am sure that you will not object, to the publication of this. Very truly yours, W. J. BRYAN. ' ' JJJ . Will Shew Explain? Secretary Shaw has talked enough to earn the distinction of being the mouthpiece of the Roose velt administration but he now has ample reason to do some talking in his own behalf. He has become the central figure in an official scandal which, until it is cleared up, will monopolize his vocal powers. A Des Moines dispatch relates that there is 'information on file in the governor's office" there showing that Secretary Shaw, when governor, paroled a desperate criminal at the request of political leaders and for political pur posesand the evidence further shows that the parole was granted in spite or the remonstrance of the trial judge and prosecuting attorney. Dave Mercer, a republican congressman, was a candi date for re-election in the Omaha district and wanted the aid of the gang to which the prisoner belonged. Mr. Hubbard, tho political boss who found Governor Shaw and engineered his nomina tion, wrote a letter to the governor and called attention to the service which Mercer had ren dered to "us" in passing "the bill for the set tlement of the Sioux City and Pacific indebted ness." Hubbard adds: "I suppose there is no doubt that he (the prisoner) is guilty of the crime charged but Dave sayB he has been pun ished .pretty well now and that it will be worth 300 or 400 votes to him from relatives of Sher eliff if he can be paroled." AND HE WAS PA ROLED. Secretary Shaw has been quick to warn the people against tariff reform and against anv interference with the plans of tho money chanc ers; he has even given the country an occasional defense of the trusts. The country would now appreciate a dissertation upon the political uso of executive clemency. With an Indiana governor shielding a republican indicted for murder and a Iowa governor paroling a convicted thief to aid a republican congressman it would seem t at the republican party would soon cease t? boas of its reverence for law and order Tf inrnfo Shaw exhibits a disinclination o throw i upon the subject the prosWen? mSht t ht of his addresses on civic rightist w tl Tl VOLUME 4, NUMBER 17. discussion of tho ethics of the Hubbnrri w The "guana old party"- must be nearw thI l of its usefulness if criminal must be nL?1 to reward a republican congressman fo? 8Un? porting a railroad measure.' And if 4L Shaw thus abused his former executive authm!? is he not likely to abuse his present 2 to reward the Wall street magnates who expected to finance the republican campaign? w 1 Labor's Splendid Example. The press dispatches tell of the action of th Chicago Carriage Makers' -Union in punishine I member who resorted' to violence in dealing with a non-union mari. John Bergqtflst was the offend ing member and his offense was an assault unnn Harry T. Stevens a fellow 'workman who refused to join the union. Mr. Bergquist was fined twentv dollars by his association and then his union turned him over to fhe police court and fellow members furnished the evidence to convict him The Inter Ocean says that the action was taken in pursuance of the policy adopted by the union The carriage makers are to be congratulated; they have done more to make friends for organized labor than they could have done In any other way. A large majority ofN the people sympathize with the laboring man and are anxious to see him improve his conditions. The acts of law lessness charged to strikers though generally unjustly soare the things relied upon by capital ists to alienate public sympathy. A single use of force is reiterated over and over again by the capitalistic press, and the criminal acts of irre sponsible thugs and desperadoes are charged up to labor organizations. While it is impossible for the unions to entirely avoid misrepresenta tion the summary punishment by the unions themselves of members who attempt to take tho law into their own hands is the most effective means they can employ to prove their respect for law and order. And why not be the first to pun ish? The union man does his fellows a grievous wrong and retards the legitimate work of his organization when he brings upon his order the odium which attaches to a law breaker. If all the organizations of labor will follow the example of the Chicago carriage makers' union the plain people will soon be massed in solid phalanx be hind the laboring men and the capitalists who as managers of the great corporations are now defy ing the law will have a monopoly of the defense of lawlessness. Labor's cause fe just and an ap peal to the inate and universal sense of justice will finally, win violence is the only thing that can check it. Gage's Defense of Wealth. Hon. Lyman J. Gage, formerly secretary of the treasury but now enjoying a rich banking berth which he earned by turning the treasury department over to Wall street, has recently made a defense of the accumulation of wealth. The occasion was a session of the Bible class of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. He said: "The men who havo accomplished great things are the most poorly paid, no matter how rich they may fce." Quoting a clergyman as saying that no man can acquire a million dollars in a lifetime without robbing some one, he said: "If the man who can make two blades of grass grow where one grew before takes to himself one-fourth of the Increased product and lets three-fourths go to society, society gets a very good bargain." This is an unfortunate illus tration because it does not state the situation which he is trying to defend: There is no criti cism of those who really produce some thing. Society would, not complain if the producer of an additional blade of grass kept it all. What so ciety complains of and justly, too is that men who do not produce anything men who add nothing to the world's wealth saddle the masses and ride them with whip and spur. A great man)' of Mr. Gage's financial associates have grown rich by means of schemes of exploitation which do not differ in morals from the methods of the high wayman. Take, for instance, a trust that obtains a monopoly of a market. Its first act is usually to raise the price of the product, tho second to re duce the price of the raw material and the third to impose harsher conditions upon employes. The managers of the trust do not increase the number of grass blades; they do not increase production. On the contrary' they put into operation plans that must lead ultimately to an inferior product and decreased consumption. If ainan learns that a rt