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The Commoner.
WILLIAM J., BRYAN, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
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Vol. 5. No. 15
Lincoln, Nebraska, April 28, 1905
Whole Number 223
CONTENTS
Judge Paeker on "Fads" ,
Hiding Behind Individualism
Op Course it will Fall
Constitution Rests on Declaration
Maj.oeity Rules
Push the Work
Trouble in the Philippines
Rhode Island's Dehasement
Comment on Current Topics
The Primary Pledge
News oe the -Week
HIDING-BEHIND INDIVIDUALISM
The corporation democrats have commenced
their crusade against what they term radicalism
and, as was expected, they hide behind "individu
alism." They are very much afraid that thrift
Will be discouraged and that individual Independ
ence will be lost in public ownership. In so far
as this' argument is advanced by those whose .
sympathies are with the corporations it is un
necessary to answer it, because those who want1
to act with the corporations will act with them,
no matter how often or how completely their
arguments are answered;, but for the benefit of
those whose sympathies are right it may be well
to draw a distinction. The democratic party be
lieves in encouraging and protecting the indi-,
yidual but today the individual is being run out
of business by the private monopoly. It is in
the interest of the individual that the democratic
party is trying to restore competition where com
petition is possible and it is in the interest of
the individual that the democratic party favors
public ownership where competition is impossible.
Those who use individualism as a cloak for their
arguments in favor of monopoly only mock and
"deceive the individual.
Private ownership of municipal franchises has
been weighed in the balance and found wanting,
ft has produced extortion and corruption. Public
ownership of the public utilities of a city is the
only remedy and the growth in sentiment in favor
of it is tremenduous. Before long only those who
are pecuniarily interested in taking advantage
of the public will favor the sale of municipal
franchises.
JJJ
APPRECIATED
v
ULl-in, iii "" - "
TRYING TO PUT HIM TO SLEEP
Judge Parker Talks on "Fads'
A republican, commenting on The Commoner,
Bays that he would rather read, it than all other
papers- combined . because he feels that he is-get-ting
the truth of the matter. Such an endorse
ment is appreciated. There ought to be no differ
ence about the facts however much people may
differ about the conclusions to be drawn from
them.
JJJ
AN IMPORTANT DECISION
The Supreme Court of the United. States, by
a vote of five to four, decided the New York ten
hour day law unconstitutional, It is an exceed
ingly important-decision and, will-be discussed in
these- columns, when . the full, text ..of the. decision:
and dissenting- opinions, is obtainable.
Judge Alton B. Parker, in his Jefferson day
banquet speech, delivered at New York on April
13, took occasion to cast some reflections upon
the intelligence of the rank and file of the party.
He referred to free silver as a "fad," which means
if it means anything, that in his opinion, those
who favored it were lacking in what Mr. Cleve
land describes as "sanity." He says:
If we are to deat effectively with these
various issues, whether in opposition or In
power, it will be necessary to have a real
party with real followers, attached J.o real ,
and recognized principles. It is not enough
that it shall have a collection of fads many
of them useless and some of them dangerous
and opposed to the historic position of our
organization. We have already had too many
of these because it is safe to assert of a
policy that if it is radical it is not democratic;
if it is democratic it is not radical.
It is necessary for us to remember that
we have principles and traditions of our own
and that every departure from them has
landed us in defeat. Nor can we take any
body else's policies, ready made, however
strong may be the outward clamor. -They
must square with our own principles. What
may seem to be popular demands are some
times not popular but mere momentary crazes
which sweep over the community only to sink
faster than they rose. For many years, in
t certain parts of the .country, the politicians
In both partle kept their earg 80 closely to
the ground that they heard the rumble of a
greenback movement but it always brought
defeat whenever this sound was given a
voice.
We found the same thing true on a larger
scale and with greater and more permanent
loss, when wo took up the silver question.
And yet, of all single questions thus far In
our history presented as party issues thki
was the most seductive. It had some war
rant in history and made appeal to many
forces In our politics It had also the great
advantage of being championed by an honest
and patriotic man, who was and is perhaps
the most persuasive political orator known to
our history. And yet it swept our party out
of power in every northern democratic state,
and they have remained in the republican
column ever since, while the two border
states which then turned against us for the
first time have been retained by small and in
conclusive majorities.
He admits that the silver Issue was "seduc
tive""and that it had "some warrant In history,"
but he describes it as a "fad." A recollection of
the disastrous results that followed the sending
of his gold telegram ought to have led him to
keep silent on this particular question. Even a
convention pledged to him (and pledged when he
refused to let anyone know where he stood on
the money question) refused to endorse the gold
standard, although urged to do so by those who
had charge of his forces. When, after his nomi
nation, he repudiated the platform and injected
hia opinion on the money question, a question.
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