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The Commoner.
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. 7. No. 3.
Lincoln, Nebraska, February 1, 1907.
Whole Number 315.
CONTENTS
THE I'RINCE OF PEACE
TOO MUCH POWER
INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE
NOW FOR THE SHIP SUBSIDY
WHAT ARE THE FACTS? '
RAILWAYS NOT PRIVATE HIGHWAYS
MIGHT TRY THIS
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE
THE AUTO TRUST
COMMENT ON CURRENT TOPICS
HOME DEPARTMENT
WHETHER COMMON OR NOT
NEWS OF THE WEEK '
TOO MUCH POWER
The Wall Street Journal snys that E. H. Har
rlman is, perhaps, the most powerful Individual
in the United Stales not even excepting the presi
dent. The Journal explains: "His power is ab
solute over about 15,000 miles of railroad having
a capitalization of about $1,100,000,000. His au
thority is very lnrge over 13,000-additional miles
of road having a capitalization of $1,200,000,000,
while he has a potent voice in the management of
38,000 miles of load having a capitalization of
$1,GOO,000,000. Thus directly and indirectly his
power extends over one-third of the railroad-transportation
interests of the United States, and of a
very considerable part of this he is an autocrat,
and by reason of his autocratic powers over the
Union Pacific, and 'especially his unrestricted
power over its finances, his influence oVer the re
maining portion, as well as over the financial
markets, is increased."
Does it occur to any Commoner reader that this
is altogether too much power for one "man to pos
sess in a republic?
OOOO
THE INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGE
A British peer recently married the daughter
of an American millionaire, having settled upon
himself an income of $100,000 a year by the father
of his wife. He conferred upon the American girl
his title and the right to wear the family jewels.
A few years have passed and the couple have
signed articles of separation, divorce proceedings
having been avoided, it is said, by intercession of
King Edward. The British peer retains his income
of 100,000 American dollars, and the wife retains
the title she bought and the right to wear the
family jewels. This is a sample of "international
commerce" that does not commend itself to those
old-fashioned people who believe Hint marriage
should be the result of love, not of barter and sale.
OOOO
MIGHT TRY THIS
The Boston Herald quotes a fruit dealer as
saying that the popular slang expression, "haudod
him a lemon," is hurting the lemon trade. "Peo
ple who formerly had no hesitancy In asking for a
lemon," says the Herald, "now pass on and buy
some other variety." In view of this the Herald
asks for something new something that will re
lieve the lemon trade and incidentally provide
something new in the way of slang. Because of
our sympathy for the lemon dealers, and also be
cause of our desire to be of service to the es
teemed Boston Herald, we suggest the phrase,
"handed him some republican tariff revision." It
conveys the same idea as "handed him a lemon,'"
and at the same time Is very expressive of a true
state of affairs.
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LOWERING HIS COLORS
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THE PRINCE OF PEACE
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I offer no apology for speaking upon a religious
theme for it is the most universal of all themes. If
I addressed you upon the subject of law I might
interest the. lawyers; if I discussed the science
of medicine I might interest the physicians; in
like manner merchants might be interested in a
talk on commerce, and farmers in a discussion
of agriculture; but none of these subjects appeal
to all. Even the science of government though
broader than any profession or occupation does
not embrace the whole sum of life, and those who
think upon it differ so among themselves that I
could not speak upon the subject so as to please
a part without offending others. While to me the
science of government is intensely absorbing 1
recognize that the most important things in life
lie outside of the realm of government and that
more depends upon what the individual does for
himself than upon what the government does or
can do for him. Men 'can be miserable under the
best government and they can be happy under the
worst government.
Government touches but a part of the life
which we live hoie and does not touch at all the
life beyond, while religion affects the infinite cir
cle of existence cs well as the small arc of that
circle which we spend on efarth. No greater theme,
therefore, can eugnge our attention.
Man is a religious being; the heart instinctively
seeks for a God. Whether he worships on the
banks of the Ganges, prays with his face towards
the sun. kneels toward Mecca or, regarding all
An Address Delivered by Mr. Bryan
on Various Occasions and now Pub- J
lished by Request. I
space as a temple, communes with the Heavenly
Father according to the Christian creed, man is
essentially devout.
Some regard religion as a superstition, pard
onable in the ignorant but unworthy of the edu
cated a mental slate which one can and should
outgrow. Those who hold this view look down
with mild contempt upon such as give to religion
a definite place in their thoughts and lives. They
assume an intellectual superiority and often take
little pains to conceal the assumption. Tolstoy ad
ministers to the "cultured crowd" (the words
quoted are his) a severe rebuke when he declares
that the religions sentiment rests not upon a su
perstitious fear ot the invisible forces of nature,
but upon man's consciousness of his finiteness amid
an infinite universe and of his sinfulness; and this
consciousness, the great philosopher adds, man
can never outgrow. Tolstoy is right; man recog
nizes how limited are his own powers and how
vast is the universe, and lie leans upon the arm
that is stronger than his. Man feels the weight
of his sins and looks for One who is sinless.
Religion lias been defined as the relation which
man fixes between himself and his God, morality
being the outward manifestation of this relation.
Every one, by the time he reaches maturity, has
fixed some relation between himself and God and
no material change in this relation can take place
without a revolution In the jnan, for this relation
is the supreme thing in his life.
Religion Is the basis of morality in the Individ-