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The Commoner
VOLUME. 6, NUMBER 5
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PRIMARY PLEDGES COME FROM ALL SECTIONS
Primary pledges arc now coming in largo
numbers from overy section . of the country.
As this copy of The Commoner may be read
by some one not familiar with tho details of the
primary pledge plan, it is necessary to say that
according to the terms of this plan every demo
crat is asked to pledge himself to attend all of
tho primaries of his party to be held between
now and the next democratic national convention,
unless unavoidably prevented, and to secure a
clear, honest and straightforward declaration of
tho party's position on every question upon which
the voters of tho party desire to speak. Those
desiring to be enrolled can either write to The
Commoner approving the object of the organiza
tion and asking to have their names entered on
the roll, or they can fill out and mail the blank
pledge, which is printed on this page.
Extracts from letters received at The Com
moner office follow:
W. A. Gray, Darksville, Mo. Find enclosed
my primary pledge, properly signed. I am a
young democrat, only twenty-two years old. I
think your primary pledge work is the right
thing and should meet with success.
H. Reemsnyder, Hays City, Kans. Enclosed
you will find thirty-eight names of good democrats
who have pledged themselves and are willing to
advance the cause of true democracy.
F. A. Ainsworth, Sartinsville, Miss. I enclose
primary pledge signed by seventeen democrats.
Mrs. M. C. Rudder, South Bend, Wash. I
have gathered you a few (ten) names and I shall
try to get more as I can and send them in.
John Phillips, Desloge, Mo. Find herewith
primary pledge' signed by twenty-seven voters.
John Scofield, Shiloh, 0. As I have given
The Commoner away to others with the hope that
I might obtain their subscriptions to the paper,
and thus help the good cause a little.M have no
primary pledge to sign, but as I approve of it,
you may, if you please, add my name to the roll.
Please send ten subscription .cards.
"W. H. Hagans, Grant City, Mo. I enclose a
primary pledge with eleven signatures.
C. M. Henry, Rittenhouso, Pa. Enclosed find
the primary pledge, signed. I think it is a step
in the right direction. One year ago under the
influence of the Cleveland-Belmont reformers1
Pennsylvania was lost by 500,000 votes. Recent
ly Berry, a radical democrat, was elected state
treasurer by 75,000 , plurality, which shows the
trend of public opinion. People are awakening
from the comatose sleep of indifference, by the
exposures of corruption and violations of the law
committed by trusted officials. Any party hold
ing sway for a generation will become corrupted
because unscrupulous men desiring to secure
favors for themselves will gravitate to the party
in power and will aid in becuring its victories.
J. W. Si pie, Cass, W. Va. I enclose a pri
mary pledge with thirty-five signatures.
T. E. Quind, Parkersburg, W? Va. I enclose
a pledge with fourteen signatures.
Mrs. J. C. Plymell, Pueblo, Colo. It was said
that when women were granted the right of
suffrage in Colorado, the result would tend toward
purity of ballot. Recent disclosures have shown
that no such depth of corruption exists anywhere
as in national politics, therefore I beg to submit
, my primary pledge.
R. Parks, Sharon, Ohio Enclosed find pri
mary pledge with fifteen signatures.
G. W. Watt,01ney, 111. Please find enclosed
seven names. I sent you some before when I
sent my own pledge. These I picked up as they
came in the store.
Thomas Stackhouse, Glasco, Kans. I enclose
a primary pledge signed by seventeen good demo
crats. Joseph Shaw, Pembina, N. D. I would like
if you would send me a few sample copies of tho
last Commoner (December 15.) I think that it
is an extra good one, and if every subscriber had
an extra copy of it to give to some of those
blind eyes, it would help to open them and in
crease the circulation wonderfully.
Frank TCaple, Crestline, Ohio Please find
primary pledge which I heartily indorse. Every
voter who believes in clean government should
sign the pledge.
G. D. Kelly, Columbia, Mo. Enclosed you will
find a primary pledge signed by a student friend
of mine. I intend to get more and I am sure
it is no trouble to do so. And delight in doing
such work for the great principles Mr. Bryan
stands for. They are democratic principles of
Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoln. Tho results of
such principles ends in tho equalization of liberty
to each individual human being. How simple
these principles are to those who are looking for
tho future welfare of each human being. The
quantitive theory and not the quality of money,
the republicans have proved in the last few years
that It's the quantity of money that produces
prices, just what Mr. Bryan and the true demo
crats have claimed all the time. What will be
the results in the time of war or a crisis of the
speculative elements? Will our silver, paper
money and bank notes be as good and on par
with gold? Will the gold holders be benefited
and the silver holders losers? For the former
rises and the three latter falls as I see it. For
every one would want that price of money they
hold exchanged for that recognized standard
piece of money (they have not got) (called gold)
that the government stands back of so long as
the government exists. Why not have all the
silver and gold that comes to the mints coined
free (as gold is coined free) and have one as
good as the other and no better at all times
and let congress make greenback paper when
ever gold and silver supply does not keep pace
with the times or the quantity of money runs
short from those two .metals. Make silver, gold
and paper equal as a standard and one no better
than the other by law in time of crisis. Would
under such conditions in time of crisis etc. or
peace a holder of one money or the other be of
more advantage than the others? I don't think
it would. I believe in free trade, no high tariff,
free the Filipinos, government ownership of rail
roads, express and telegraph systems, for the
government can run such as well as it does the
postal system etc. Something is to be done to
check the monopolizing systems. I am going
to work for the primary pledges where every
body has a right to talkand express his senti
ment, so we will never have, I hope, another St.
Louis convention to fool the people. I may be
wrong, hut I am willing to learn, for I am a
student at the University of Missouri.
J. Francis Locbard, Versailles, Ind.: Enclosed
you will please find the primary pledge signed
by me. I have been intending to attend to this
for some time but haye been so very busy that
I have failed to do so. I would like to do some
work here for the good of the cause if I only had
the time. There are a great many admirers of
Col. Bryan in our county and they all feel that
he is engaged in a good work. Best wishes for
The Commoner and its workers, and I hope to
see the principles they stand for put into practice
in our government.
B. T. Evans, Lufkin, Tex. Enclosed please
find primary pledge signed by thirty-five demo
crats. We heartily endorse your plan of getting
back to the people. I think the primary pledge
will do the work and I know the people of Texas
need something to get them out to the primaries.
We have one thousand voters in this voting pre
cinct. When we held our township primary that
elected delegates to the St. Louis national con
vention, we had fifteen voters present and I
stood alone advocating the Kansas City
platform. It is unnecessary to say the re-organizers
had a "walk-over" and I suppose that was
about the way the people turned out all over the
state.- That thing will not occur again right soon
in this county. I do not intend to "let up" until
every democrat in this county has signed tho
pledge or refused to sign it. I have enlisted for
three years and expect to carry a primary pledge
in myt pocket at all times and give all demo
crats I meet an opportunity to sign it. How many
Commoner readers will make the same pledge7
Let us hear from you, gentlemen, through The
Commoner when you send in -your pledge. I am
sixty years old and have more time than money
and if I can see five hundred voters out at our
next primary instead of. fifteen I will feel amply
repaid for my time. Some of your correspondents
say they have no trouble getting signers to the
pledge that it is only a few hours work, that is
not my experience. The people 1 meet are not
readers of The Commoner and this primary
pledge is all new to them. I have to explain the
object of the pledge to them and sometimes
spend an hour with one man. Success to The
Commoner and all those who are pushing the
primary pledge.
John W. Havens, Ellenburgh, N. Y.I am
nearly eighty-four -years of age, and while tho
spirit is willing the body is weak. I am grateful
that my mental and physical powers are in as
good condition as they are, but I cannot attend
the primaries. If I were in a city I should try
to do so, but here it requires several miles travel
over not the best of roads, hence I have not
signed the pledge. I have noticed in The Com
moner the replies sent from signers, and noticed
that New , York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
New England did not make much of a show. I
do not think enough can be pledged to make a
serious impression in the result in the state.
The political Ephraim's "are joined to their idols."
If the goldbug democrats would leave the party
and go over to the republican body and breeches
we could recruit from the honest republicans. But
they won't go, they can aid the enemy more ef
fectually by masquerading as democrats and fool
ing some honest democrats. The so-called demo
cratic press in this state nearly all wear collars
but do not have the owners name on the collars.
Now if wo are to succeed in "turning the rascals
out," their opponents must unite, and how can
this be accomplished when Tom Watson keeps
up the fight against Mr. Bryan. He must see
that this does not bring democrats to his party,
and its only object must be to keep his followers
in fighting trim and prevent any union. I have
never missed voting at but one general election
since I reached the voting age. Voted for six
teen nominees for president, that is sixteen times,
three times for one candidate and twice for an
other and but five were elected and onj of tho
five was kept from the presidential chair by
fraud. Since the defeat of 1904 I have wished
that when Parker's telegram reached St. Louis,
Mr. Bryan had repudiated the whole shooting
match. True regularity used to ha worth some
thing, but when men claiming to be democrats
give '$50,000 ( of other people's money) to defeat
a regular nominee, regularity is not worth much.
I will do the best I can, hut for the future I don't
see that I can do more than to vote.
THE PRJMAR.Y PLEDGE
y
I-promise to attend all the primaries-of -my party to be held' between mow and
the next Democratic National Convention, unless unavoidably prevented, and to use
my influence to secure a clear, honest and straightforward -declaration of the rparty'i
position on every question upon which the voters of the party desire to speak. "
Street.
Signed.
Postoffice
State.
County.
Voting precinct or ward.
63r Fill out Blanks and mail to Commoner Orflde, Lincoln, Nebraska.
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