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The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 35
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and the privates in the ranks. As the dividing is done largely by
the captains, it is not unnatural that they should magnify their part
and appropriate too large a share; neither is it unnatural that there
should be complaint on the part of the toilers who think that their
recompense is insufficient.
The labor question, therefore, as it presents itself at this time, is
chiefly a question of distribution, and the legislation asked for is leg
islation which will secure to each that to which his services entitle
him. As legislation is secured through the ballot every one should use
the ballot to obtain the legislation necessary. The democratic plat
form presents the ideal toward which the Democratic party is striv
ing, namely, justice in the distribution of rewards. The Democratic
party proclaims that each individual should receive from society a
reward for his toil commensurate with his contribution to the wel
fare of society, and unless some other party can do the work better,
the Democratic party ought to have the support of all, whether they
belong to the wage-earning class or occupy positions in- which they
direct the efforts of others. If an officer in the industrial army were
sure that his children and his children's children would inherit his
position, he might feel possibly indifferent as to those under his com
mand, but the children of those who, today, work for wages may
employ the children of those who, in this generation, are employers
This uncertainty as to future generations, as well as our sense of
justice, should lead us to make the government as nearly perfect as
possible, for a good government is the best legacy that a parent can
leave to his child. Riches may take the wings of the morning and
fly away, but government is permanent, and we cannot serve pos
terity better than by contributing to the perfection of the govern
ment, that each child born into the world may feel that it has here
an opportunity for the most complete development, and a chance to
secure, through service, the largest possible happiness and honor
THE STATE AND THE NATION
Extracts from Address Delivered by Mr. Bryan at Peoria, III., September 9
C- l,.-kM
The success of our svstem of government rests utmn the careful
observance of the constitutional division of power between the state
and the nation. A number of expressions have been coined to de
scribe the relations existing between tiie federal government and
the several subdivisions, but no one has been more ielicitous in defi
nitions than Jefferson or more accurate in drawing lines of demar
kation. He presented the historic position of the Democratic party
when he declared mmseli in favor of ' ' the support of the state gov
ernments in all their- rights, as the most competent administrations
for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican
tendencies," and "the preservation of the general govern
ment in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our
safety at home and peace abroad." The democratic platform,
adopted at Denver, quotes the language of Jefferson and declares
that it expresses the party's position at this time.
It would be almost as difficult to maintain a free, self-governing
republic over a large area and with a large population without state
governments as it would be to maintain such a republic without a
general government. The interests of the different parts of the
country are so varied, and the matters requiring legislative atten
tion so numerous, that it would be impossible to have all of the work
done at the national capitol. One has only to examine the bills in
trod,ucefl va. each Congress, and then add to the number the bills in
troduced at the legislative sessions of each of the forty-six states, to
realize that it would be beyond the power of any body of men to
ibynslate intelligently on the multitude of questions that require
cwsideratiattv
Not oib woul'cTlimtional legislators lack the time necessary for
investigation, auk therefore lack the information necessary to wise
decision, but the indifference of representatives in one part of the
country to local matters in other parts of the country would invite
the abuse of power. Then, tod, the seat of government would be so
far from the great majority of the voters as to prevent that scrutiny
of public conduct which is essential to clean and honest government.
The union of the separate states under a federal government offers
the only plan that can adapt itself to indefinite extension.
Our constitution expressly reserves to the states and to the people
respectively all powers not delegated to the federal government, and
only by respecting this division of powers can we hope to keep the
government within the reach of the people and responsive to the
wiir of the people. Because in all disputes as to the relative spheres
of the nation and the states the final decision rests with the federal
courts, the tendency is naturally toward centralization, and greater
care is required to preserve the reserved rights of the states than to
maintain the authority of the general government.
In recent years another force has been exerting an increasing in
fluence in extending the authority of the central government I re
?? hG FQQ,t ?0VVti0' They prefer the federal courts to the
state courts, and employ every possible device to drag litigants be-
& KnlSate? dgeS' ey a?S0 prefer coOTionaf regula
tion to state regulation, and those interested in large corporation
have for years been seeking federal incorporation. IL DemrS
party wi 1 resist every attempt to obliterate state linefwheTher the
attempt is made through legislation or through iKh
tion Amendment of the organic law by fud rial mterreSon
would be destructive of constitutional government ESntto
can be amended by the people in accordance withhTte?mfof
document itself, and no group of men, however honorabir0r hih
minded can usurp this power without violating ZCdamenM
principles of our government. b unaamentai
It has been . suggested that the rights of the qtntp iQ
through non-use, and that Congress is justified 1Z l P
thority of the state if the state fafls SSS WMe'
this doctrine has hp.p.-n ailtmnnaA i ,. jj --... . .,
. -. - .ww u uuo Aci$;juueu merest, 01 xne peo
ple, it is as insidious and as dangerous an assault as has ever been
made on our constitutional form of government. The people of the
state can act with more promptness than the people of the nation,
State prefTr Saction. "" "' the peoPle of
oniSS IT LPUrP?Se that .those have in view wno complain of the in-.
fh?rrff ? ' 1tnt mre Strict "ffdation of corporations, but
the relief of corporations from state regulation.
The Democratic party favors the full exercise of the powers of the
SEES? f f th.e P.rtf tion of the rights of the peopl ach gov!
eminent to act within its constitutional sphere. Our platform de
Stlon? federal legislation be added noi STltt;
nwfPreV0ry corPorations have taken advantage of the dual
character of our government and have tried to hide behind state
rights when prosecuted in the federal courts and behind tta Tinted
state coSerCe f thG constitution when Prosecuted in the
tJSwi, ni TW a between the nation and the. state in'
which the exploiting mterestsvcan take refuge from both;, "There is
lW && where beyond the jurisdiction of either sover!
eignty, the plunderers of the public can find a safe retreat. As Iouff
as a corporation confines its activities to the state in which it Was
created, it is subject to state regulation only; but as soon as it in
vades interstate commerce it becomes amenable to federal laws as
weU as to the laws of the state which created it and the laws of the
states in which it does business.
How strict can these laws be? Just as strict as may be necessarv
for the protection of the public. y necessarv
Our platform outlines the regulation deemed necessary, and the
regulation u specifically set forth in order thatour opponents may
Xtfn t(?.tcarlthe PIN? Predicting hurtful leSSn. 7Z
2?S platfo- y -cans -d
tiotThrnL18 ?VV between.the railroads and other corpora
be MUJT a ?u?Jic corporation and, as such,
oeing permitted to exercise a part of the sovereignty of the state is
b5& ref-n -aVhf andS f b0th th nLTtAtt
! t0fPPle the railroads but to in!
as the sShowirf ?h? PeoPle aVf g are as much interested
as me stockholders are in the successful operation of the railroads
Their own pecuniary interests as well as their sense of iustke would
restrain them from doing anything that would tnStrSm
1$M$ VfelingW is vita&dtdthe
payment of wages sufficient to command the most intelligent service
trains, guard the switches, and keep the track in repair.
aSSST Vrty WOUld distillguish between those railroad
Z Si?; te San.d manaSer who, recognizing their obligation to
eMEM? the Jalanes bv conscientious devotion to the work
whTi VmST and thSe FPous "Napoleons of Finance"
rtard t ffiS.ES" in a eat ambUnS me without
T? tw gh Pkyes r to the interests of the patrons.
Li fhp j.nter r f bonest aUroading and legitimate investment
that the Democratic party seeks to ascertain the present value of the
railroad properties and to prevent for the futoe the wteriSr of
Uf fictitir capitalization; and it S Kter
est of both the railroads and the public that it seeks onlv such re-
tion, without deterioration in the service and without iniustice to
legitimate investments. The Democratic part iSSta Sf Si the
matter of regulation of railroads both iSS4 S
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