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"C
than It will bo to sccuro, from a republican con
gress, a law that will protect tho peoplo from
'Corporation Imposition.
in hits fbrht aualiiflt rebates and discrimina
tions, Mr. lloosovolt must go through tho tedious
process of obtaining tho consent not only of tho
liouso but of a sonato that Is manifestly out of
sympathy on this particular Bubject. Wo hopo ho
will win, but whether ho win or lose, wo hopo
ho will malco tho vigorous fight which his friends
say ho will malco, and overy good citizen will
bid him Godspeed in his laudable undertaking.
But when it comes to tho enforcement of tho
ono law which tho trust magnates fear, Mr, Roose
volt need not ask tho consent of congress, ho need
not depend upon tho whims of senators. All ho
seeds to do Is to instruct tho attorney general
to sot tho machinery of tho department of justico
In motion and to causo tho arrest of cvoryono
Who has violated tho provisions of the Sherman
anti-trust law.
Evory movo tho president has made in be
half of tho people has won him now favor among
Ihoso who havo suffored for so many years be
cause of tho oxactlons of greedy men.. If, in ad
dition to asking congress to enact a law that will
put a stop to robates and discriminations, tho
prosldont will bring to terms tho trust magnates,
thoso mon who "conspire in restraint of trade,"
or, in othor words, prey upon tho necessities of
tho peoplo, Mr. Roosevelt will have secured-an
onviablo placo In history and ho will havo won
the gratitude of tho countless thousands who have
for so many years been wondorfully patient in
tho presence of outrageous wrongs.
JJJ
Stand By The President
',., . iiaMmw" uioxmi.i;uu iiiuiUillU U1UL WIllHUYCr
$' may bo President Roosevelt's Individual opinion
? with rnsnnnf in invTf vn-vtalnn 1m li.m ,nnn
Bltlon to force upon his party his tariff viows.
An Associated Press dlsnatch. umlnr rinto nf wncii
'& ineton. .Tun. 10 u ritanntnii wiiinv. annrna f i,,,
,,j-f - w , . i...vv,i, U1IHU BUiilO IU X1U.VU
muuii iiuiuuwau-du uioro ib not me least pros
pect of differences so radical arlslnc hntwann th
fr. tlfPHirlntlf flTlfl rnniilillnnn 1nnlnin J. ..-.
t.. w.. .. .vp.iunv.un iwutio in uuuKiuHa over
; , tho tariff question as to cause a split in tho party."
iV HMiIh Anannlnlnrl P,.nr, ,ilnnnti, .i.i.
, - .uww.Mivu xiwaa uioijulv;u uus;
uu uuuuiur question, nowovor that of leg
islation, relating to tho interstate freight
rates of railroads his mind is quite made up.
Ho will fight for that legislation and fight
hard. Ho hopes to secure from congress somo
doflnito action regarding that legislation at
tho present bossIoii, but if ho does not ho will
bring the subject again before congress at tho
proposed extraordinary session and will urgo
with all his power tho crystallization into law
of tho recommendations ho already has made
to congress on that question. The freight
rato question ho does not regard as ono of
expediency. Ho holds that it is a subject In
which a groat moral principle is involved and
one very near to nil t.lm nnrmin nf n, ,,.,'i.
V Ho regards it, in fact, as the paramount Issue
f at this time.
. n seems to do generally understood that Mr.
uuuauvua is in earnest on tho railroad freicht
rato question and in this good work ho should
have tho hearty support of democrats, as well as
all othor good cii.zens.
Freight rato discrimination has beon resnon-
!2?n nmai!y bUSess disa3ts. In another col
umn of this issue Tho Commoner reproduces from
the Now York World dispatches from various E
. ""?" ""iu uuiguc rato discrimination has
I resulted in serious pecuniary loss.
r, A "U1 iuuuurs are invited to carofniiv
I read these extracts from tho World. ThThead
lines give a fair idea of the showing made
For instance: mae.
Pennsylvania road kills three firms."
rv; ,.2r".u "t UB "I'ms ruined In Atlanfn
?- rrain nr ruin in i t.. ,,. .
miYi "" lL Ul Emporia. Kansaq "
Baltimore's export trado shriveling ' '
Lincoln industries slowly strangled"
Firm loses $50,000 to f 75,000 a year "
"Ruin of Southern Steamnhin nI' ..
&1 Georgia's crockery biiBinera .wT "'
c
r7iir ' Biuwers nampered"
j; "Millions of dollars lost to MoEs trado
Anyone who carefully consldm ? i ,
'. made by tho Wnrirv L8aQ s the showinsr
vinced not only thht 15 2 ?St be con"
k: moved in a strenuous'
fi-'i-
It '
u
fcv.J.
The Commoner.
t
lines, but that he is entitled to tho support of tho
people.
JJJ
Jackson Day Celebrations
Jackson day was celebrated at a number of
places throughout the country and -wherever tho
democrats assembled they were hopeful and de
termined. It is evident that tho rank and file
of tho party, instead of being discouraged, are eager
to begin the campaign of 1908. As January eighth
Jackson Day came on Sunday, somo of tho ban
quets were held just before and some just after
the eighth. Mr. Bryan was thus able to attend
two Jackson Day banquets, one at Memphis, Tenn.,
on tho sixth and the other at LaFayette, Ind., on
tho tenth. At both places the celebration was in
charge of a local Jackson club. At Memphis, be
sides discussing the outlook, ho answered tho
charge, made by ono of the corporation papers,
that tho recent defeat was due to northern resent
ment against southern leadership, and he also
dealt with tho proposed reduction of southern
representation. These questions have recently been
discussed, in The Commoner.
'At LaFayette he took for his subject, "A Jack
son Party," an abstract of his remarks at this
place will be found below:
"Thomas Jefferson was both the founder of
tho democratic party and the greatest exponent
of democratic principles. No one understood bet
ter than he the human heart and the influences
that act upon it, and no one ever sympathized
more fully with tho common people. No one ever
studied the science of government more profound
ly or left so complete a chart for the guidance
of those who may from time to time be in charge
of the ship of state. Ho was the foremost con
structive statesman of tho Christian era, and his
fame increases with the years. But while ono
great law-giver may supply a code of principles
which will suffice for centuries, each generation
mu3tfurnish some conspicuous example of cour
ageous application of those principles, and An
drew Jackson, in whose, memory wo meet tonight,
stands forth not only as the representative of hi3
generation, but as the second great democrat, be
cause he fearlessly enforced the political creed
of Jefferson.
"What the democratic party most needs today
is to be animated by the Spirit of Andrew Jack
son as it approaches .pending problems. It suffered
overwhelming defeat last November, and the
prime cause of that defeat is to be found in the
fact that it lacked this spirit. It can not hope
either to win or to deserve success until it be
comes in reality a Jack3on party, and, like Old
Hickory, is ready to take the people's side of every
question witnout stopping to count the cost or
to measure the prospects of immediate success.
"When General Jackson was informed that
the British had landed just below New Orleans
he replied, "By the internal, they shall not sleep
on American soil," and although he was awaiting
reinforcements he harassed the enemy so con
stantly for the next tw weeks that in the final
struggle he won an easy victory over an exhausted
foe. When the presi .ent of.the United States bank,
Nicholas Biddle, attempted to threaten him with
tho statement that he, as the head of the bank, had
the power to defeat him or to re-elect him, he an
swered, "If you have that power, you have a .
sight more power than any man ought to have In
this country," and he proceeded to strip the head
of tho bank of that power.
"I know of no other plan of campaign today
wh ch is so consistent with our principles or
which offer so much of L pe for the party and
the people as the plan followed by Jackson. Tak
ing our stand upon the principle, 'Equal rights to
al and special privileges to none,' we shoufd de
clare that wherever and whenever that princiDle
lf? W ?ha11 resIst the attack immeSly
S?hni??UnU08lyf Until that Pciple applied
without question .3 every department of the W
ernmont, national, state and city. g V"
"No one is wise enough to foresee what issue
the next campaign may present, or to estimafo
voters, as that sentiment is ascortS ?? Q
.VOLUME 5, NUMBER 1
individually and collectively, to oppose by every
means, within their power all efforts to corrupt
the party in its party meetings, or the people at
tho polls.
"Wo can on such occasions as thi3 exchange
views and thus inform ourselves as to the ques
tions which are under consideration. As a private
in the ranks, with neither the power nor the desire,
to substitute my opinion for the opinion of any
other person, I shall take advantage of this op
portunity to call attention to certain questions
which in my judgment demand consideration.
"Tho party's position on imperialism has been
stated in two national platforms, and I do not
see how the party can recede Irom that position.
Colonialism is antagonistic to the principles of a
republic, and we can not stand before the world
as the representative of the doctrine that gov
ernmentS' derive their just powers from the con
sent of the governed, and at tho same time declare
for the permanent holding of distant islands under
a government resting purely upon force.
"The party's position upon the trust question
is the only correct one. That a private monopoly is
indefensible and intolerable ought to be accepted
as an axiomatic truth, and a sincere belief in that
truth will lead our party to favor legislation both
civil and criminal, which will effectively protect
the public from the evils of private monopoly.
"The party's position in favor of tariff reform
can not be abandoned without conceding the right
of the government to tax those who consume the
products of protected industries in order to enrich
the owners of thoso industries. It is suggested
that wo are to have a tariff commission to investi
gate and report upon tariff revision, but a3 that
commission will necessarily report in favor of a
protective tariff or a revenue tariff', the question
must at last be fought out in congress, and the
commission will simply delay action, without ma
terially affecting the result. The tariff can not
well be considered without considering the income
tax, for no general reduction of tariff can be made
without either a large decrease in the expenses
of .the government or the establishment of an in
come tax.
"The. party's position upon the labor question
is the only one consistent with the party's purpose.
No matter whether the laboring man appreciates
what the party doe3 for him or fails to appre
ciate, the party must insist upon the protection of
the rights of the wage earner.- There is no fixed
laboring class in this country, and ought to be
none. The children of those who work with their
hands today may be the leaders in business and
in the professions a generation hence, and the off
spring of those who now labor with their heads
may engage in manual labor. The government can
not be made or administered in the interest of a
class. It must protect each citizen in the enjoy
ment of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
and guarantee to each citizen a just share of the
joint product of that which he helps to bring into
existence.
"And what of finance? The gold democrats
blamed the silver plank for the defeats of 1896 and
1900. I hope that no one will attempt to make
silver the scapegoat again. The platform adopted
last July was wholly silent upon" the money ques
tion, Judge Parker declared himself .unqualifiedly
for gold, and nearly every silver democrat prom
inently identified with recent campaigns sup
ported the ticket In order to secure the other re
forms for which Judge Parker stood, and yet the
party polled a million and a quarter less votes
than it did in either of the two preceding cam
paigns. While the Increased production of gold
ha3 increased the volume of money, and brought
in part the relief that bimetallism would
have brought to a larger degree, yet somo phase
of themoney question is always before the coun
try, and the irrepressible conflict between the
money power and the masses can never be safely
Ignored. Even now, there is a measure before
congress, the object of which is to convert about
six hundred million silver dollars into promises
to pay gold, and this is but a step in the plan
to retire the silver dollars and leave gold the
only standard money. When the plan is. com
plete, legislation will have destroyed all the bene
fits which we have derived from the increased pro
duction of gold. Aside from the metallic part of
the. money question we have to meet the issue
between government paper and lank paper, and
the party can no more take the banker's side of
this question than it can take the manufacturer's
s de of the tariff question or the trust magnate's
B,det?,e questIon of Pvate monopoly.
riiiW ?om5?ra 6f the democratic party 'are
deal with state and municipal questions, andHhe
- . .- .-"Vv.
X.'. i' ,;jjifW,
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28