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The Commoner
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
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Vol. 6. No. 49.
Lincoln, Nebraska, December 21, 1906.
Whole Number 309.
CONTENTS
Suggestions for Oklahoma's Constitu-
, y , . TION
- Root on Centralization
The Job Session
Care foe the Aged
The Peace Prize
A Memorial Address
Keeping Christmas in the Heart
Washington News
Comment on Current Topics
Home Department
Whether Common or N ot
Neavs oir tub Week
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CHRISTMAS, 1906
Ring merrily; ring cheerily,
Ye glad-toned Christmas bell,
Bach note resound the world around,
A tale of joy to tell.
Tell how was born on Christmas morn
Within the manger low,
The King of Kings whose great love
brings
The peace all men shall know.
Ring forth His message ring until
The world shall hear--Peace, and Good
Will!
Ring merrily; ring cheerily,
Ye bells of Christmas time,
Let love abound the world around,
In ev'ry land and clime,
Ring error's doom! Ring out the gloom
Of unrequited toil.
Ring in the light of truth and might,
Ring out war's fierce turmoil,
Ring forth His message ring until
The world shall hear Peace, and Good
Will!
Ring merrily; ring cheerily,
Yo bolls of Christmas day,
From out your throats fling forth the
notes
Of love and joy alway.
O'er vales and hills the message thrills
Till all the world shall hear;
Till hearts bowed low with weight of woe
Grow light with Christmas cheer.
Ring forth His message ring until
The world shall hear Peace, and Good
Will!
Ring merrily; ring cheerily,
Ye sweet-toned Christmas bells.
- A story sweet of love complete
Each ringing echo tells.
Whate'er betide yet shall abide
Love, heaven's brightest gem;
And men adore Thee, more and more,
Thou B'abo of Bethlehem.
Ring forth His message ring until
'The world shall hear Peace, and Good
'' ' Will. ' ' ,
W. M. M.
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SUGGESTIONS FOR OKLAHOMA'S
CONSTITUTION
To the Members of the Constitutional Convention
of Oklahoma Gentlemen:
After expressing my grateful appreciation of
the honor you do me in inviting me to address
you, and my regret that circumstances prevent
ray acceptance, I beg to submit some suggestions
in writing, in lieu of those which I would take
pleasure in submitting orally if I could be present.
The ta3k which the citizens of Oklahoma have,
by their generous confidence, imposed upon you
is a very honorable one as well as a very im
portant one. The organic law of the state is
more permanent than the statutes and, therefore,
greater care should be exercised in framing it.
You have, however, the advantage of the ex
perience of other states, and should profit by the
wisdom and the mistakes of those who have pre
pared former constitutions. It will be your own
fault it you do not frame the best constitution
ever written. The final draft of the document
which you prepare will not be the work of one
man or of a few men, but will rather be a com
posite production and reflect those ideas which
you hold in common. Trusting that you will ac
cept mv suggestions in the spirit in which they
are offered arid adopt only such as commend
themselves to your good judgment, I venture to
speak to you freely. . .
Your bill of rights ought to sequre to each
individual, freedom of conscience, that he may
worship God in his own way; freedom of speech
and of the press, that he may communicate his
thought to others and share in the moulding of
public opinion, responsible only to thoKe whom
he may injure by the uttering of falsehoods; free
dom of assembly and debate, security in his per
son and property pnd opportunity to secure re
dress for Injuries by speedy trial. The jury
should be permitted in eaulty cases as well as
In cases at law, if either party desires a jury,
and the law should not require a unanimous ver
dict in civil cases. I would prefer a verdict
by two-thirds, but argument may be made in
favor of a verdict by a majority or by three
fourths. In a civil case the verdict follows tho
weight of testimony and there is no reason why
the case should be continued until one side or
the other can convince twelve men. The hung
jury, and it is generally hung by one or two, fur
nishes the most popular argument against tho
system and those who believe most strongly in
the value of the jury should be the most anxious
to free it from every just criticism. When a
question is appealed to a court where several
judges sit together the decision is rendered by a
majority and there is no good reason why two
thirds of a jury should not be permitted to render
a verdict in civil suits.
Wliile a jury should be composed of persons
entirely disinterested, no one should be excluded
from service in a case merely because he has
read the details of a crime as published in the
newspapers. The Impression made by a news
paper account, while it may be the basis of an
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