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The Commoner,
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
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VoI. 6. N6i13
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Lincoln, Nebraska, April 13, 1906
Wftble Number 273
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? CONTENTS
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u Mfc. Bbtan's Iiixxn. .
WlIAT TCCKIXS MjCAWT
. : r - OeGANIZATIOX
r5 .: TlLLBCAN AT THE OtD STAND-
.: The Long .Amendment
, , . The Chicago Election
..-. State Insurance
1 Kneeling Among the Lilies
r. Washington City Letter
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''""' COMMENT ON CuiiBENT TOPICS
;:- Home Department
Whether Common or Not
News of the Week
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"BATTLING FOR THE PEOPLE"
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat,, a republican
. paper, says that the Issue of the congressional
.: campaign will be the trusts The Globe-Demo-
crat then makes these remarkable statements:
K
":A vlntnrv fnr tho dfimonraftv this vear would be
itvio.tbrv for trustism in, the in oat offensive shane
in whichit;cnpe
ocratic candidate; for 'congress wiir stand nhe re
sources and the nower of the Backers' combine.
Jfor the Hills and the Morgans of the Northern
Securities company, which Roosevelt overthrew
in 1904, and the rest of the .aggregations of con
solidated capital whose existence will be menaced
if the republicans win. Against the banded
barons of corporate greed the republican party
is battling for the industrial freedom of 85,000,000
of Americans in the congressional canvass of
1906, and the fight which it is preparing to put
up and the principles which will be involved will
make the contest memorable."
Comment upon such statements as these is
unnecessary. They serve to give a fairly accurate
- Idea of the estimate which some of these repub-
lican editors place updh the intelligence of tho
'people. .
JJJ
WHAT ECKLES MEANT
" . Referring to tho democratic nomination for
1908, James H. Eckles of Chicago, who was. comp
troller of the currency under the Cleveland ad
"' ministration, said: "The desirable qualities in
such a candidate would be a belief in those things
which are absolutely democratic and are wholly
-removed from populism. The democratic party
can win if it is willing to be democratic; it can
nofwin If it is not democratic."
Thomas Kendrick of Glenwood Springs, Colo
rado, referring to this statement, says: "I don't
quite understand it. Will you please explain just
what Mr. Eckles' means by being willing to be
democratic. And what is" 'wholly removed from
populism?' " -
.-J-- By "absolutely democratic" Mr. Eckles means
absolutely subservient to special Interests. By
' "wnolly removed from populism" Mr. Eckels
means entirely free from the temptation to sym
pathize with the oppressed, and ah indisposition
to deny the divine right of the oppressor. .
JJJ
fV ROLL CALL IN WASHINGTON
'V- At the Jefferson banquet of the Douglas club,
held at Springfield, Mass., April 2, former Con-
gressman John R. Thayer according .to the New
""York World said: "A United States senator
said to me 'Thayer, it is so rotten in Washington
that when the roll is called. in congress I don't
know whether to say present or not guilty "
Yet there areNsome eminent republicans. who
'-"Wee ttie people to" "let well endujdi ainnn"
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PLUTOCRACY AT THE BATH
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The Philippines "The Northern Is1
ands and Their People
iVlr. Bryan's Thirteenth Letter
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While a deep interest in the political prob
lems tempts me to deal at once with the policy
to be pursued by our government with respect
to the Filipinos, I am constrained to proceed logi
cally and discuss first the islands and their peo
ple. And in speaking of the Filipinos, a distinc
tion should be made between those who inhabit
the northern islands and are members of one
branch of the Christian church and those who
inhabit the island of Mindanao and the Sulu
Archipelago people who are followers of Mo
hammed. While a considerable number of Fil
ipinos are to be found in Mindanao and some in
Sulu, the Sultans and Datus have dominated the
country. Even Spanish authority never extend
ed over the southern islands and the garrisons
maintained at the seaports were constantly In
fear of massacre.
Leaving the southern islands for the next
article, I shall confine myself at present to Lu
zon, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Samar and the smaller
islands which make up the Visayan group. These
islands contain the bulk of the territory, a large
majority of the people, most of the material
wealth and practically all of the civilization of
the Philippines. Luzon, the largest of the entire
group, reaches almost to the nineteenth parallel
and is about six degrees long.. Like the islands
of Japan, " it is mountainous and well
watered. The other islands of the group
are considerably smaller and extend
nn far emifh no tha ninth 'narallftl. Tbev. toO.
are mountainous, but the valleys are fertile and
support a large population. The principal indus
try is agriculture, and the soil produces a variety
of cereals, fruits and vegetables. Rice, as in
other oriental countries, Js the chief article of
food, though hemp Is by far the largest export,
. The hemp plant looks so much like tho banana
that the traveler can scarcely distinguish be
tween them. Sugar cane Is also grown In many
parts of the islands and would be cultivated still
more largely but for the low price of raw sugar.
Sugar, however, can not be raised here with tho
same profit that it can in Hawaii and Cuba owing
to the fact that It must be replanted more fre
quently. Tobacco of an excellent quality is pro
duced on several of the islands sufficient to sup
ply the home demand (and' nearly all Filipinos
use tobacco) and leave a surplus for export.
The cocoanut Is a staple product hero of
great value and Its cultivation can be indefinitely
extended. Of all the crops it probably yields the
largest income on the investment, but as the trees
do not begin to bear until they are about eight
years old, they are only cultivated in small groves
or by those, who can afford to wait for returns.
Copra, the dried meat of the cocoanut, Is now
exported, to- the value of two and a half million
dollars, but systematic effort ought to very large
ly increase this, export.
TJie methods of cultivation and the imple
mentB used are not as modern as one would ex
pect The carabou, or water buffalo, is the one
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