The Commoner.
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. 8, NO. 2
Lincoln, Nebraska, January 24, 1908
Whole Number 366
CONTENTS
THE PARAMOUNT ISSUE
FORECASTS
SUSTAINING A PRECEDENT
INSTRUCT
DEMOCRATIC DINNERS
NEW YORK DEMOCRATS
NEBRASKA DEMOCRATS AT LINCOLN
PANICS AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
WASHINGTON LETTER
COMMENT ON CURRENT TOPICS
HOME DEPARTMENT
WHETHER COMMON OR NOT
NEWS OF THE WEEK
1 08 IN ONE WEEK
Charles Stephens, Columbus, Kan., writes:
Find enclosed money order for $21.60 for which
send The Commoner one year to the parties
herein named. This makes 108 subscriptions I
have taken and sent in this week. If you could
send to each of these parties, as good measure,
a copy of The Commoner containing the cartoon
"Watching the Clock," I would greatly appre
ciate it. I think the central committee of every
county in the United States should be called
together in their respective counties and an or
ganized effort made to immediately increase the
circulation of The Commoner. I also think that
all state committees should hold state conven
tions for the election of delegates to the national
convention not later than March 15, in order
that the country will have an absolute assurance
as to who the democratic standard bearer will
be.
OOOO
THE RECORD
The Columbia (S. C.) State shudders to
think what the republican party would do to
the democratic party in the next election if the
position of the two parties were reversed. The
State then proceeds to point out the republican
record as follows:
"Seven years of profitless, unintelligent
malefactor baiting, with not a malefactor yet
landed in jail; seven years of wild, excited and
loud-mouthed struggle with the forces of 'pre
datory wealth,' with no better result to show for
it all than a senseless and unreasonable panic
brought about in a year of big crops and abun
dant material prosperity; one hundred thousand
unemployed in the city of New York alone, with
the prospect before the winter is over of the
necessary establishment of the free soup kitchen
so dreaded by political parties; hard times,
'tight' monoy and a largo degree of business
pessimism."
To this the State might have added: "A sit
uation full of peril with no better remedy to
offer than no-cent dollars of the asset currency
brand; a railway merger declared illegal in the
courts but allowed to continue under another
name; a trust breeding tariff that the adminis
tration dare not touch for fear of being de
prived of a fund to finance iti campaign; a big
stick policy that has had as results only the
organization of Ananias clubs, the enumeration
of undesirable citizens and the scolding of
trained naval officials."
Such a record would condemn the demo
cratic party to deserved defeat. It remains to
be seen whether the people will call the guilty
Party to account.
TUB WATER CUIUS
ii in
ire has prospered so prodigiously with water saturated stocks that ho will not be satisfied
until the currency is treated the same way.
THE PARAMOUNT ISSUE
s'ome of the democrats who have been in
different to the trust question and the railroad
question are now insisting that tariff reform
shall be made the paramount issue and that
other questions shall be relegated to the rear.
Lest this demand shall deceive some of the rank
and file of the party, it may be well to recall a
bit of history. The men who are so zealous
now in their desire that consideration of the
tariff shall exclude the consideration of all other
questions had a chance in 189C to show their
interest in this subject. Then the republican
candidate was the high priest of protection; he
had linked his name with the McKinley bill
standing for the most ultra protection, and yet
some of these who are now" posing as the special
guardians of tariff reform did not hesitate to
support the republican ticket. It is entirely pos
sible that their enthusiasm for a reduction of
the tariff has increased since that time and yet
it is not at all unlikely that these same men will
be found supporting the republican ticket at the
next election even if the ticket has at its head
a standpat high tariff man. The fact is, and
it might as well be recognized, that some who
pall themselves democrats are so closely con
nected with railroad interests either as stock
olders legal representatives or financial agents
bat they resent any attempt at effective regula
tion of the railroads. Some of these democrats
ore also connected with trusts, some of them
hold stock, others are even directors and others
Jre at orneys for trusts. These men whether
consciously or unconsciously is a matter of opin
? imleretimate the importance of the trust
mention a those connected with the railroad
SuesUon. They insist that tariff, and that tariff
alone, shall bo considered, and yet It Is quit
certain that no tariff plank could be made strong
enough to suit them if the party at the same time
took an emphatic position in favor of railroad
regulation, and against trusts, and nominated
a candidate known to be in sympathy with the
platform. They would find some excuse for
fearing the disturbance of business or injury to
the public, for to them there is no business ex
cept that from which they derive a profit and
no public except that portion which is engaged
in the exploitation of tho masses.
The rank and file of the democratic party
fully believe in tariff reform and they believe
in tariff reform more earnestly and more con
sistently than these self-constituted guardians of
tariff reform who have suddenly become so in
terested in the successes of the democratic
party a party to whose defeat they largely con
tributed but the rank and file know that there
are other questions besides the tariff question,
and that these questions must bo considered. No
party can ignore an Issue which a majority of
the people desire to have considered and any
attempt to ignore such an issue is sure to result
disastrously to tho party. A majority of the
American people favor tariff reform and it is
probable that a majority would be willing to in
trust tariff reform tc the democratic party, al
though there is an element which deludes itself
with the idea that reform of the tariff can be
secured in and through the republican party.
It is to be hoped that during the campaign this
element may be brought to understand that the
republican leaders are impotent to bring tariff
reform. There is also a majority an even
larger jmajority nin favor of . arnihilating the