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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1908)
IWJIPK W WWl??M"V.?W"mt S :&& APRIL. 17, 1908 3 r Walter Well man Sounds a Warning Walter Wellman, Washington correspon dent for the Chicago Record-Herald (rep.) has recently made a trip through the country and, as a result, is greatly impressed with the pop ularity of the guaranteed deposits plan. Fol lowing are extracts from an article written by Mr. Wellman and printed in the Record-Herald of Thursday, April 9: What have the republicans to offer the country as an offset to this plank as a means of winning votes? The Aldrich bill? In any consideration of the chances of the parties in the coming struggle for control of the government these highly important facts must not be overlooked. At the present time, it is true, the republican leaders have little concep tion of the significance of this issue. They do not realize the advantage which advocacy of deposit guarantee is sure to give the democ racy. But they will realize it before the cam paign is over. If they fail to provide an ade quate offset, either by legislation or by a like declaration in their own platform, they will regret it before election day next November. Mr. Bryan never did a shrewder thing in his life .than when he filed a aveat upon the suggestion of compulsory insurance and guar-, antee of deposits in national banks. The lead ers of the republican party at Washington may go on with their heads in the sand; the big bankers who do not want the little bankers to gain the advantage of equal security may pooh pooh as much as they like; the historians may point out that the idea is not original with Mr. Bryan; the theorists may sneer at what they choose to call a socialistic proposition. These things do not change the facts. And the facts are that deposit insurance and guarantee under the supervision of the government and at the expense of the banks or their customers has taken a deep hold upon the public a hold so deep that if one political party favors it and the other does not, the first gains a distinct and possibly decisive advantage in the coming cam paign. And Mr. Bryan was clever enough to make sure that his name was associated with the idea. There are two things the people of the country everywhere are talking about: The recent panic and means of preventing more panics, and the making of a new president of the United States. What statesman politician, candidate or leader has brought forth an idea that links the two things together in the opinion of the .masses of people? Mr. Bryan and Mr. Bryan alone. Call it a clever adaptation of an other man's idea, or imitation, or plagiarism, or what, you choose. The fact remains that Mr. Bryan has filed a caveat. The people are willing to give him a patent. It stands before the country as the Bryan idea. Many other men have advocated the same thing much more ably than Mr. Bryan, conspicuous among them be ing Mr. Revell of Chicago. Some, indeed, ad vocated it before Mr. Bryan did. But it was Bryan who gave it life and vogue and caught the attention of the country with it. That most delightful and lovable of men, the late John Hay, used to tell, me a little story of a farmer friend of his who put it: "It does't make half so much diff'rence what a man says as it does whar he set when he says it." Mr. Bryan sat in the right place. And he said what the majority of the people believe is the right thing. Then the panic came along. It shocked men into thought. It filled the country with thinkers, students, all convinced such disasters were preventable and that, being preventable, they must somehow be prevented. But how? By what means? Most people thought it was to be done by some currency tinkering, more money or an elastic currency or an emergency currency. But who put his finger on the right spot? -..Who came forward with the suggestion .which struck the hard-headed, every-day, sen sible American people as the one thing that would do It? None other than this same vis ionary Mr. Bryan. No matter where Mr. Bryan got the idea, no matter in what particular form men think the idea should be worked out in practice, the fact remains that the principle has taken deep hold upon the country and that Bryan has eter nally linked his name with it. He sat in the right place. He spoke at the right time, at the The Commoner. psychological moment. It was inspiration or luck. It vastly improved Mr. Bryan's chances to win tho presidency; and how much it has im proved them will be more apparent as tho months roll along than it is at tho present moment. If anyone doubts that this principle of de posit insurance has taken possession of tho coun try he should travel through a dozen states, as I have done. He should talk with men from all walks of life. He should read the correspon dence on this and kindred subjects which has poured in upon writers for the press, like my self, who have taken the lead in trying to ex press the current thought of the people tho thought of today which points the way to tho legislation of tomorrow. The people have per ceived that the trouble with the present bank ing system is the isolation of the units; the facility with which confidence in one of theso units, standing alone, may bo impaired; tho rapidity with which confidence dissolves once dissolution has begun; the magic way in which it overruns the country, from ocean to ocean. They have perceived that the government, hav ing compelled tho banks to make absolutely safe one-twentieth of the system, that repre sented by the circulating medium or money, should now compel the banks to make absolutely safo tho remaining nineteen-twentieths repre sented by the deposits. They have perceived that as governmnt compels safety of note Issues through the maintenance of a guarantee fund at Washington, so it should compel safety of book credits by the maintenance of a guarantee fund somewhere, both under government con trol, and both at the expensu of tlie banks or their customers. Of course it is true that in addition to deposit safety ''for stopping fear and panic, with drawals and runs, there must be something else. The whole -system is wrong. It is badly bal anced. It is strong as a rock in one place, weak as a bed of sand in another. The reserve system breaks down because it rests upon an inadequate stock of money. The supervision of banks and enforcement' of law and disciplinary power are lax and ineffective, with the result that bad banking, while not frequent, is too much In evidence. All these things are seen and understood by men who take trouble to study out the whole business. But what the masses of the people see is that if the depositors are made safe by an insurance fund ample for the purpose there need be no more panics. They can not understand the reserve and currency problem so well; these are complex. But the rock of safety in protection of all depositors Is a simple fact which the consciousness of the country has grasped. t It is a fact which seems destined to- an Important part in the impending presidential battle. i&w fr i& SOUTH DAKOTA CONVENTION The democratic state convention for South Dakota met at Mitchell April 7. Following is the Associated Press report: It was midnight before the democratic slate convention finished Its work of olectlns eight delegates to tho national convention. At tho beginning of tho evoning session a fight was precipitated over -tho manner of choosing tho delegates, there being a division as to whether tho districts should elect the delogates or tho convention as a whole. On roll call tho olectlon was left with tho districts. Colonel W. A. Lynch of Huron was elected pormanont chairman. The platform adopted at tho night session favors the abolition of tho tariff on all trust controlled articles, a graduated income tax, an inheritance tax, a law compelling all foreign corporations to appear and stand trial boforo state courts; demands tho vigorous enforcement of tho criminal law against trusts and trust magnates; urges tariff reforms and instructs the delegates to the national convention to vote for the nomination of William J. Bryan, first, last and all the time and for nobody else. Henry Volkmar of Mlllbank started a fight over the positive Instructions for Bryan, urging that the convention should permit the delegates to have a second choice. Ho offered an amend ment to the effect that delegates bo instructed for Bryan so long as his name Is before the convention and then to use their best judgment in selecting a second candidate. When pressed for a second choice Volkmar named Governor Johnson of Minnesota. A dozen speeches were made against the possibility of voting for Johnson, and then former Senator Pettigrew took the platform and denounced tho attempt to creato the. first break in the solid support for Bryan. Volkmar's amendment was defeated practically unanimously. Andrew E. Leo was indorsed for governor. The following delegates wore elected to tho Denver convention: S. W. Ziebach, First dis trict; R. F. Pettigrew, Second district; Andrew F. Foley, Third district; Edward 13. Loohan, Fourth district; Dr. II. J. Rock, Fifth dfstrlct; Judge Davis Mooro, Sixth district; Frank M. Stewart, Seventh district; W. L. McLaughlin, Eighth district. Alternates: C. M. McCullom, First; P. I. Pixley, Second; William Madden, Third; Zach T. Sutley, Fourth; John Parrott, Fifth; Frank Tracoy, Sixth; A. J. Colgan, Seventh; J. D. Hale, Eighth. fcj fr l2rt r THE HOME OF WASHINGTON Elsewhere in this issue will bo found an address delivered by Mrs. Charles F. Manderson of Omaha, vice regent of the Mount Vernon Asso ciation. This address should be carefully read because It tells briefly of the work done by women of the country to preserve Mount Vor non, the home of Washington. This has been a magnificent work, prosecuted under discour aging conditions but persevcre(d in by patriotic ."" -'is. and hearts that naturally associate "home" with ideas of patriotism. It was only natural that the good women of this association should consider the home of Washington as the best memorial of the Father of His Country. The history of the association is full of interest as full of interest as it has been full of work and struggle. What the Democratic State Committee of Wisconsin is Doing The Wisconsin democratic state committee is circulating throughout that state printed slips under the headline, "Democratic Literature," and containing suggestions as follows: "A great many requests are being made from democrats throughout the state for democratic literature. For this purpose The Commoner should be utilized by us from now on. In the line of literature it supplies every party need. "It is the one great exponent of democratic policies and principles published in the Union and in its weekly visits explains all pending issues and gives full and complete in formation on all current subjects of a political character. "In our efforts to extend the circulation of The Commoner we should take special pains to get as many liberal or independent republicans as possible to subscribe for it, and at the extremely low price of CO cents per year, or 30 cents for six months, very few, who take an intelligent interest in public affairs, will refuse to subscribe. "Every present subscriber for The Commoner, every chairman of a democratic com mittee, all committeemen and democrats generally, are urged to join hands in a determined effort to secure from five to ten republican subscribers in each voting precinct. There are here and there, throughout the state, many well to do democrats who will pay for at least five Commoners to go to their republican neighbors for six months or a year. These demo crats should be appealed to. "During the past few weeks there has been a wonderful increase in The Commoner circulation in Wisconsin and if this work will be earnestly and enthusiastically taken up and pushed by local democrats, as it ought to be,- it will tell its own story when the votes are counted next November. Will you do your share?" i I M m M r i i i . r ) .Iti ' ' V iifli Jlirwmaiw- "