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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 22, 1908)
kmV&iMMWMMwto A a The Commoner. '.VOLUME J, NUMBER 19 wasw.i. .. i.w4w;i1 Interesting Remarks By Republican Editors V V "wv,: THE REPUBLICAN TARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR CANNON A roador of tho Philadelphia North Ameri can gives tho editor of that newspaper some thing to think about when ho writes: "I am unahio to follow you in this attack on Speaker Cannon.. Several times lately you have opened the floodgates of your vocabulary of vilification, and have engulfed tho speaker of tho houso of representatives in the torrents that flowed through. "Now, why? "Cannon is accused of being a czar, an autocrat, of possessing unconstitutional powor, which ho is alleged to have usurped. "What a marvelous old man he must be, to bo sure, to have subverted tho constitution and to reign as a dictator of this groat nation which thus becomes only a nominal republic. "How did Cannon do it? We look in vain through his record for the name of his regi ment, his Tenth Legion, his Ironsides, his grena diers, who swept away tho Council of Five Hun dred and tho directorate in Washington. "But tho North American explains. He has grasped unconstitutional powor, and he "retains tho same through his perfidious committee ap pointments, Horrible. Uncle Joe says to a man: 'You vote for the measures I want and I will put you on the committees you want.' "Then tho committee becomes a powerful engine for smothering undesirable legislation. "But whero does Speaker Cannon get this menacing right of appointing committees. Why, from the members from the republican ma jority in the houso of representatives. Any time that this republican majority wants to change the rules, niter the method of appointing com mittees, or e&t rid of Cannon by making him go way back and sit down, it can do so. It is just as simple as rolling off a log or, to make it plainer to the politician as simple as log rolling. "But tho .republican party wants Cannon thoro because he carries out its policies. " 'Oh, no, you say, 'those are not the repub lican policies.' "Tho dickens they're not! Party policies are not made in conventions. Campaign plat forms do not mean anything. They are so much wind and water. A party policy is the body of legislation that the party promotes or obstructs. "The republican party has a free-working majority in both houses of congress. It is abso lutely responsible for Cannon and the likes of him. Tho platform the real platform of the republican party is being written from day to day into the Congressional Record. "The North. American knows who is re-," sponsible for Cannon, for the blocking of legis lation in the interests of the people, for tho pro motion of laws calculated to foster iniquitous privilege and to protect predatory wealth. It is tho republican party. " 'Roosevelt,' you say, 'is the true republi can leader.' "Thoro is nothing to show it on tho stat ute books. THE GREAT OBSTRUCTOR Tho Chicago Tribune (rep.) prints this edi torial: "Tho people of Illinois are loath to credit the report from Washington that Speaker Cannon gratuitously is playing the role of the Great Obstructor. As speaker of the house it is to bo presumed that his first obligation is to the public and that he should respond to tho wishes of tho majority of the house and espe cially to the wishes of tho majority of his own party. Is it true that he was opposed to an ade quate appropriation for the interstate commerce commission? Is it true that he approves the emasculation of tho Becret service which will make it impossible for tho government to con tinue its prosecution of land thieves and its in vestigations of violations of the Sherman law? Id it true that he opposes personally the presi dent's recommendation for the repeal of the tariff on wood pulp and paper? The action of tho houso will make plain tho role of the speak er. The legislation passed at this session will indicate clearly whether he is alive to tho in terests of his constituents or has permitted him self to bo hypnotized by those enemies of the president whose chief purpose is to defeat lecis lation recommended by him." But don't forget that the speaker would have to respond to the wishes of the republican majority in the house if- the republican members were not willing that tho obstruction tactics should be continued or were too cowardly to register their protest. It will be remembered that John Sharp Williams asked for only thirty republicans to step out and join with the demo crats in doing service for tho people, but the thirty were not forthcoming. Hold the speaker responsible for his sins, but don't forget that tho republican party Is responsible also. "FULL STEAM AnEAD" Under the headline "Full Steam Ahead" "Puck" shows that an American humorous week ly has a serious fide. The editorial follows: "Some people do not understand Puck. They think it is our pleasure, or our peculiar dutv, to laugh at everything and everybody. Notbinar of the sort. "Tho men who put this paper together mean business. We appreciate a good joke; we know a good joke when we see one; and whether any- body else will see it, we do not pause to con sider wo sock no levels of intelligence, aim at .no 'average reader.' But we also know th.it the only humor that is worth while the only humor that ever was worth while is the humor that has a serious foundation. In addi tion to a sense of humor we have certain con victions of what Is right and wrong in govern ment, in business, in life. And that is why wo do not choose, or feel obliged, to laugv at every thing and everybody. Take the cartoons, for. example. Sometimes they are intended to be humorous: more frequently they are not so in tended. Tn short, when this paper is serious it expects to be taken seriously; when humorous you may take it as you please. "We wish to add that at no time in its career has Puck been more In earnest than the present, at no time has jocularity had a more serious basis. We believe that the men who have discovered wrong and' injustice and cried it aloud have rendered their country an Incalculable service, and, further, that there never was greater need of their lahors than at the present moment, when a half-awakened public conscience is debating whether to turn over and go to' sleep again, "Not 'Slow down!' but 'Full steam ahead!' is the command of a clear conscience and a sound head. We believe that, absolutely. For this reason: If the experiment of democracy In this coimtrv is not to end in crash and failure, the rorm folio, must foe upbuilt, or rebuilt, on lines of rigid honesty. No compromise! Compromise is a servJfpnblo weapon.. font this is not the time for it. This Is tho time for the naked sword of "Honestv. Tmt now or the torch of revolu tion for our children. "Business has been hurt: yes. Business mov be further hurt: yes acain. But we are tnlcinir our share of the hurt. Take yours. Puok has no resnect for business, hi: or little, that is not honest business. Neither have vou nor you. Then whv not snv so? That is all that is necessary enough people saying a thing. It . goes then. "Puck's motto is, 'What, fools these mortals foe' not 'What knaves!' Fools we may be; but here and there a wise man lifts his voice', and Puck gives oar and stretches out n hand! We are for tho cause your cause. And our wish, our purpose, is to extend, as far as lies in our power, the influence of the men who are battling for honest government in the best country under the sun." FLY BLISTERS The following editorial Is taken from the Philadelnhia North American (rep) : "When John Sharp Williams played re vivalist and pleaded in a mock sermon with tho republican majority in congress either to per mit or refuse to permit a vote on the Stevens bill, to place wood pulp on the free list the democratic leader furnished good fun. ' "But it was moro serious comedy than it was considered by the republican congressmen, who grinned at his satire and ignored his plea. As a matter of fact, his call for thirty memfoers of the majority to join the solid minority in a vote expressive of the real sentiment of a majority of congress, and the wish of practically the entire public .was the bitterest of rebukes. What Mr Williams did was to place two fly blisters on the Cannon clique and on those who submit mqekly to the speaker's vicious tyranny.. Thoy laughed on Wednesday. But. they will not laugh when the sting of thosot blisters grows hottest next November. "The first blister was put upon the 'stand patters.' These have been blind to changes in business conditions and in public sentiment. They have been too narrow-minded to under stand the causes which have induced the truo leaders of the party to declare for tariff revision. The result is that the democratic leader vns enabled to show the false republican leaders in an attitude of absurd perplexity, unable to ad vance or retreat without complete self-stultification. "And the second Williams blister was his striking exposition of the complete control of the Cannon machine over the .once representa tive house of representatives. "Truth never was more stinging than his plea for 'only thirty' good republicans to sign the petition to the speaker, already signed by 162 democrats, to grant recognition to someone to move the passage of- a bill aimed at an iniquit ous and oppressive monopoly.. "Mr. Williams is right. There are many more than thirty republican congressmen who, in their hearts, know the justice and the need of this, legislation. But they sit more like mice than men, fearing Cannon more than the will of the whole people, expressed by the people's president. . - "It is not a pleasing spectacle for any honest republican. Yet we think it well that light should-be thrown thus uporr men without sufli- - cient courage to vote for their own convictions "The exposure came at a good time. The newspaper publishers of the , country are in Washington, either in person, or by jroxyj They are there saying two words for the public to every one for themselves in their' protest against the outrageous extortion of the foreswrec;king paper trust. They are seeing jfor themselves how the cowed senators and congressmen trickle and shame themselves at the dictation.; of .the Aldrich clique arrd the Cannon clique." m "From them truths long suppressed, or else glossed over, will be given to the people. ,And, when, it -is too late to laugh at .WJlliams',, gr,im humor, many of these misrepresentatiyes will, learn that in this country the people, after ail, have the last word and the last laugh.'"', .,,' , j. - . THE DEGRADATION OF THE HLOUSE The following editorial is from the ChVcago Evening Post, a republican paperi "', "To what depths of degradation the house of representatives in the congress of the United States has sunk John Sharp Willirims effectively showed his 80,000,000 countrymen' yesterday,' even though he chose to do so with rtn ill-timed and unfitting buffoonery. "For "Mr. Williams forced upon the republic the almost incredible spectacle' of l6'4,kTduly elected representatives of the: people pleading In vain for the mere opportunity to present to their fellow legislators in any shape or form a legislative proposal which they unitedly favored. "One hundred and sixty-four servants of' the people demanded a right which the constitution gives them and which their oaths of office oblige them to use. One insolently self-made master of the people ignored that demand and rendered it futile. Could travesty of democratic govern ment go further? . "Tho very fact that so vital a protest as that made by the minority was presented with the clownish trappings of a moclc revival meet ing gives startling evidence of the vicious thor oughness with which the regime of Joseph G. Cannon, Sereno E. Payne and John Dalzell has stamped out in the lower chamber of congress the sense of political morality, tho habit of com mon decency and the ideals of representative government. It is today astoundingly clear that the things which America holds most high have become in tho house of representatives merely tho objects of a cynical and contemptuous pity. "With solemn humbug, with party bun combe, with ancient political cant Speaker Can non has completed the wretched work of turn ing the free legislative assembly of a democracy into a shameless autocracy. He himself, singly and unaided, now dares to speak, think and act for 386 men whom the people have labor iously chosen to make their laws for them. The rule of the majority, a fundamental principle of the nation, he disregards with a cool impudence that would not be tolerated in the Russian duma."