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Commoner
VOLUME!, 6,,. NUMBER &
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The Commoner
" I5SVED WEEKLY" J ;
OiLUUjra W. Bbyajt
Publisher.'
Editorial Rooms and Business
Onlco 824-3S0 So. 12th Street.
Wuxxak J .Bbyam
Edltgr and Proprietor.
UlClIAUD L. MXTOAIiTO
." ' - Associate Editor.
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Address all communications to
THE COMMONER. Lincoln. Nb
Tho "standpatters'
tag -tho "sit tighters."
are in danger of becom-
Fonr.er Senator Burton goes to jail, for. doing
fn a small way what a lot of oilier' senators have
been doing in a large way for a quarter -of a
cetntury. ' " .
'
..Men who profit through the operation of
high" tariff schedules will be too slow to revise
the tariff in tho interests of the consumers who
have to pay the profit.
Having made a deal that will put several
hundred million dollars in his pocket Mr. Janies
J. Hill can afford to Bit around and, take a pessi
mistic view of the future.
The Chicago Tribuno is calling the school
board a "lot of, boodlers." Can it be possible the
a board 1b compelling the Tribune to pay up on
that school property lease? '
Sir Thomas Lipton says American women
are the best in the world. And that entitles Sir
Thomas to the cup for discernment, even if he
cannot win the yacht cup.
.
How it must pain Senator Aldrich, Senator
Piatt Senator Dopew and Senator Penrose' to see
the disgrace cast upon the grave and dignified
senate by Burton of Kansas!
The price of denatured alcohol explains why
Senator Aldrich was -not frightened at the pros
pects of the Standard Oil company being com
pelled to suffer undue competition.
Senator Dolliver gravely informs us that
there is no lumber trust. The amount of valu
able misinformation given the public by repub
lican spellbinders is something great.
It is quite evident that Mr. Rhoe of the
Chicago American base ball team could carry
Cook county unanimously for almost any old of
fice he might condescend to run for.
Tho Milwaukee Sentinel endorses Hamilton
and Lincoln in the same breath. The political
acrobatics of the Milwaukee Sentinel are calcul
ated to bring additional fame to Milwaukee
Secretary Wilson has agreed to let the pack-,
ers label' their steamed- beef as 'Wstb'eef."
Ho calls it a "concession to the packersWiTe
pauperized beef packers aro sadly . ine'dAf
some concessions. . ' ',
- Noting that Mr. Howard Gould is angry be
cause he has a Chinese brother-in-law, the Hous
ton Post sagely observes that he ought to be
thankful it isn't Harry Lehr. There's eenuino
optimism for .you. .-.."""
The Filipino who sold the tombstone over
his mother-in-law's grave in order to get money
to feed his favorite game cock; sbould hasten
over to Pennsylvania and become a cog in" the
republican state machine. - -
Speaker Cannon says the president "co-operated
with the senate and house in the matter of
rate regulation." It is. easy to imagine that
Speaker Cannon winked at Senators Aldrich, For
aker and Dick when he said it
Count Boni de Castellane, bounced from the
French chamber for fraud, has been re-elected.
What a queer lot those Frenchmen ; are, to.be
sure. Over here we save time by merely letting
them remain in from their first election,
Mr. Rockefeller says that if the newspapers
knew him better they would not say such mean
things about him. If they knew him better they
might be saying meaner things. Mr. Rockefeller
should not fly in the face of providence.
The report that several senators have formed
a cabal for the purpose of suppressing Senator
LaFollette would, if true, indicate that several
senators are slated for the experience of the bull
that tried to butt the locomotive off the bridge.
Third Assistant Postmaster General Madden
urges the appointment of- a commission to inves
tigate the second-class mail privileges. He says
the present system is a burden on the government.
Yes, but think what a snap it is lor the railroads.
"Scotch humor" is well illustrated by the
Edinburgh professor who naively 'announces that
he favors spelling reform and in the same breath
makes known the fact that Mr. Carnegie has
given the professor's university a little matter of
$50,000.
Governor Fletcher of Vermont is likely to
be adjudged guilty of treason by the managers of
the' g. o. p. He recently declared that "we can
not create prosperity merely by legislation." If
that isn't treason to the republican tariff theory
nothing is. . , .,
Mr. Harriman and Mr. Fish are struggling
for possession of the Illinois Central railroad.
The battle will cost a pile of money, but the
contestants 'know right , where to turn and get
it." The peqr'e also know, having had. previous
experience." .
PRIMARY PLEDGE
As this copy of The Commoner may be read
by some one not familiar with the 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
the 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 straight-forward declaration of
the party's position on every question upon which
the voters, of the party desire to speak. Those
desiring to be enrolled can either write to Tho
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 page 14.
Primary pledges have been sent in in num
bers as follows: William- H. Sage, Homesvilla,
N. Y., 22; John McCarthy, New York City, N. Y.,
12; G. W. Adkins, Crete, W. Va 35; J. J. Estes,
Hurricane, W. Va., 55; Joe Johns, Erbacon, W.
Va., 35; M. E. Rhodes, Huron, Tenn., 25.
W. A. Manchester, Roscoe, Ohio Enclosed
please find 16 good democrats. ' This .make 52
names I have sent in. Let the good work go
on. I am between 70 and 80 years old and you
can't expect me to get around very fast. Please
send me a blank or two and I will pick up
a man now and then.
David P. Fry, M. D., Hedgesville, W. Va.
Enclosed find primary pledge of 60 signatures.
Only four democrats refused to sign and three of
Pilose were really not democrats, but Palmer
.Jand Buclmerites. All democrats deem deter-
'mined and anxious for the next scrap with the
public pirates.
G. W; Hyatt, Sylvatus, Va. Please find here
with primary pledges with 34 signatures, -all good
rock-ribbed democrats of the Jeffersonian type.
Long may The Commoner and its editor live to
carry the glad tidings of democracy to the voters
of tho United States.
J. F. Puchheit, Lancaster, Pa. Enclosed
please find 35 .signatures .to. the primary pledso
I am so busy that I have but little time, but if
you will send me another blank I will' try to
fill it as soon as possible.
George Ray Batt, Annapolis, Sonoma County
Cal. I herewith enclose 20 names who have
signed tho primary pledge. Stewart's Point pre
cinct is Very largo and most of tho voters have
to go ten and fifteen miled to vote, but they
generally get there. I was sent as a delegate
to the county convention at Santa Rosa. It was
the first convention I ever ; attended. Although
the once beautiful city weeps in ruins, caused
by the mighty earthquake on the 18th of April,
and we all stopped to drop a tear for the dead,'
yet above all men and women in that convention
were filled with the spirit of true democracy;
all cheered for the man of peace, our gloriouB
leader, William J. Bryan. I shall never forget
one brave man in that convention a Mr. Reed,
who lost in the earthquake two beautiful daugh
ters and a grandchild. There I beheld him, with
his quiet duty, his locks of white hair, this good
earnest worker in the cause of the people. Yes,
the democrats of California are in the fight for a
cleaner, a brighter and a happier day when the
wrong must be turned down and out. I am de' i
ly in love with. The Commoner from first to last
and shall soon send on more subscriptions.
GUY R. SPENCER
(Continued from Page 5)
work in teaching and rousing the public conscience
and forcing legislation that will open 'a good many
people's eyes to their own and their neighbor's
misdeeds. But the battle has only begun. The
great-breeding place of the graft stegomyia, the
principle or legislation for the pocketbook, has
hardly been touched. The great tariff question
is still argued on the proposition: Is it profitable?
Not on the principle: Is it right? Great states
men still rise in their places in the ruling body of
this nation and oppose publicly and unblushingly,
p,robably believing themselves in the rectitude of
their actions and oppose right and just measures
because the codfish industry might be hurt, the
cigar and tobacco business be injifred, or the
railroad, interests might suffer, tjie express com
. panies lose a few thousand dollars, or the banking
fraternity be unable to rake in quite so many
shekels as heretofore.
"Others champion with might and main bills
of plunder, ostensibly to protect the merchant
marine from losing the dollars that the ships of
some other nation are honestly earning, or to make
the currency expansive enough to save a few
gamblers from the pit of their own digging. No
question of right or wrong, but of dollars and
cents. From cover to cover tho Congressional
Record is full of dollar argument, with just enough
high-sounding patriotism and morality to give it
flavor.
"This idea of legislation for the financial
advancement of the nation, instead of for the
moral betterment, is largely responsible for the
widespread worship of the dollar. We have al
most come to believe that our governing bodies
exist largely for the purpose of looking after busi
ness and finance, and that legislative and
official action should of right be largely
influenced by its effect on the finances of the citi
zens, instead of controlled entirely by considera
tions of right and wrong. President Roosevelt's
exposure of the horrible practices of the beef trust
raised a howl of protest from a great many hon
est man, because it injured the business, not only
of the guilty packers, but of the innocent stock
men, and dependent industries. They would have
smothered the report, a benefit to the whole coun-'
try, a godsend in its probable results, merely be
cause somebody 'stood to lose' some money in
the event of its publication! Again the right and
wrong of the issue entirely overshadowed by the
almighty dollar."
The representative cartoons by Mr. Spencer
which we publish tell their own story and drive
home certain facts very important for the people
to understand, more impressively than would
labored editorials.
Mr. Spencer is only 28 years of age; Before
him we trust thero may be many fruitful years.
He has it in his power to do a great work for civic
integrity and democratic progress in the-great
battle that is now opening between the peopfe.and
the interests, between free institutions and plutoc-
racy; and unless we are greatly mistaken he will
acquit himself worthily in as noble a cause as man
has ever striven for, for he Is under the compul
sion of moral idealism, as was Thomas Kast when
. he achieved one of the greatest triumphs for civic
righteousness that was won . in the nineteenth-century.
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