The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923, May 17, 1907, Image 1
''Wfssmfs 7-L' ivr$7iw'wx$wi y,lirrrwj wy fvmymff rrr wmrw ' ' ""iPW ww Tyiwflp' upM" 'V-J T J f ((pwp ? p$k The Commoner. WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR VOL. 7. No. 18. Lincoln, Nebraska, May 17, 1907. Whole Number 330. CONTENTS REPUBLICAN ADVICE LINCOLN'S DEMOCRATIC MAYOR TAFT THE REFORM CENTER IS THIS REFORM? ' THE INDEPENDENCE LEAGUE . SEEKING CENTRALIZATION SERVING TWO MASTERS EASILY ANSWERED. INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE WASHINGTON LETTER COMMENT ON CURRENT TOPICS HOME DEPARTMENT WHETHER COMMON OR NOT -NEWS OF THE WEEK'- -- MOLLYCODDLE .. . , In defending his department .from the charge of inactivity, Attorney Genej-al Bonaparte says:' "The 'work of the department increases every day, and I do not' helleve it "ha ever re ceived more zealous and faithful attention, thahW-- Ji-' 1 A .11- . rr. . ' - '. it receives ikjw irom me omcers anu employes 01 the department, with the exception, of course, of the attorney general himself. I do not indeed consider it any part of the department's duty to furnish a liberal daily supply of headlines, for newspapers, and the department is not ad ministered with that laudable end In view." What can the attorney general mean by "a liberal daily supply of headlines for newspa pers?" Does he mean to intimate that other departments of the Roosevelt administration are operated with that end in view? If he does mean that Mr. Bonaparte might as well pack his grip and prepare to join the mollycoddles. '"A ,4 IVmIV ? m&Mfflj& ilNm miff f & , - r "IS THIS REFORM, MY LORD?" r REPUBLICAN ADVICE ) oooo LINCOLN'S DEMOCRATIC MAYOR Mayor Francis W. Brown, who for two years past has held the office of chief executive of Lincoln, has been re-elected. Mr. Brown is a democrat, and while Nebraska's capital "city is republican on a partisan vote, the democrats of the city are feeling quite jubilant over Mayor Brown's re-election.' While Mr. Brown's victory is largely a personal one, still the vote shows a very material gain in democratic strength. It need scarcely be added that Mr. Bryan is enjoying the election returns. Mayor Brown was one of the leaders of the movement which took a Nebraska delegation to New York to meet Mr. and Mrs. Bryan on their return from abroad, and as the readers of The Commoner will remember, the mayor presided T at the Lincoln reception. The Commoner pro poses the health of Mayor Brown, Lincoln's dem- - ocratic executive. OOOO "WHAT ABOUT THE "FOREIGNER?" Speaker Cannon addressed the Illinois legis lature' jecently, and in the course of his remarks said: "You will recollect that in the sessjon of congress that was lately adjourned, we appro priated for public service for the coming twelve months upwards of $900,000,000. Andthis vast , sum is gathered up by Indirect taxation that , most of us fail to realize we pay when we do pay it. Every time we smoke a cigar we pay the - lax. On most article;, that we get from abroad wo pay the tax." But heretofore Mr. Cannon and other re publican leaders have told us that "the foreigner pays the tax." It is interesting to read the advice which republicans are now giving to the democrats. It recalls the ear.ly months of 1904. The demo cratic party was at that time the recipient of a great deal of unsolicited advice from republi cans, and it was all along the same line. The democrats were assured that their defeats were attributable to radicalism and that they could strengthen their party by a return to conserva tive doctrines. They were not promised victory, of course not, but the republican edi'ors were so anxious to have a strong, virile organization to fight that we were assured that the republican party was becoming careless because it had no effective opposition and that it would really be good for the country to have the democratic party almost, but not quite, strong enough to win a victory. It would keep the republican party on its good behavior, make it careful about its conduct, etc. This kind of. advice was given in unstinted measure, and it was followed. We had an eminently respectable candidate; he had the confidence of the business interests, and his campaign was conducted upon thoroughly con servative lines, and then the republicans sat back and laughed at the success of their scheme as they counted up a majority almost too large for figures. Now the same game is being tried again. The republican editors are again pleading, for the democratic party; they are weeping over its supposed decreptitude. Well, it is bad enough for the republican editors to advise us. There is possibly some excuse for them. The presi dent is not taking their advice in the manage ment of the republican party, and they feel that they are entitled to advise some organization, but it is adding insult to Injury to have advice picked out a democratic candidate and gave him a boost. Here is a sample of liis advice: "There is no way under heaven and among men whereby this country will trust the demo cratic party again with power In all- the branches of the government, until there is a radical reformation in the principles of the party and the personnel of its leaders. What good would come of carrying tho southern states for a democratic candidate in 1908 with such accidental victories in other states as might pos sibly occur? The great body of the electorate is dead against the democratic party as it stands today, and it must have a guarantee of principle and not a guarantee of opportunity. "How is a better result to be brought about? A republican of unfaltering faith In his party, and a lack of faith in tho democratic party, ought not, perhaps, to give any advice, and surely his advice will not be counted as of any value by our democratic friends. Never theless, it would be the part of wisdom for the democratic party to turn Its back upon tho past, with a single statement to tho people of tho country as follows: 'We have tried aTrtrmber of experiments and they have failed. We will now retreat from the disorder of the skirmish lino, which has been so fatal to us on so many occasions, and fall back to the Interior line of democratic ideas, principles and history. We will 'demand that the politics of the ancient do mocracy, so far as they are applicable today, shall be adopted as the cardinal principles of latter day democracy. It shall have those funda mental ideas reiterated, the abandonment of which has led us "so far into the wilderness of defeat and demoralization. We will enact a platform embodying leraocratic principles; we from General Charles H. Grosvenor "the sage ' will adopt democratic ideas upon every living of Athens," as the Cincinnati Enquirer calls him. topic pf today's politics and we will ask the peo The Enquirer found him at the Sinton hotel. He pie of this country to retrace their steps from II