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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1908)
!1!4 ; --r-r wrT.rjm,mVA I ..n wjmm Uf fty,ifiiifHWi iWPH V'(TWTrVirKr flift 4 The Commoner o national committee contributed $15,000 In 1904, and tho mombora of tho national committee who bad charge of tho fund, havo stated that tho contribution was mado from tho general fund of tho commltteo, and was not contributed to tho committee by any one for the purpose of being sent to Nebraska." 00 00 ONE BILLION! One billion dollars ! This is now the cost of the national government for ono year. It looks big to the ordinary taxpayer, but it prob ably Hcenis quite, moderate to (lie men who havo boon permitted to issue and dispose of about n billion dollars' worth of watered stocks a year for tho past ten years. t tS vv All the robberies committed by all of tho insurance companies in all times In the past docs not amount to one-fifth of tho robberies com mitted under the Dinglcy law in ono single year. Governor Cummins, republican governor of Iowa. 0 0 0 OR IT MAY BE A magazine writer who seems to be "groping blindly in tho darkness" says: "Thq thing which has made Bryanism again possible may be a mere spinning ccstacy in the nerves of an over-wrought people; it may be a slow moral revolu tion, swinging tidelike from party to party; it may be a recognition of the en during power of an unsullied manhood, coupled with an incomparable tongue; it may be a mere habit, or it may be a mood of despair in which all candidates retire in favor of the ono man who has learned how to make defeat pay." Or it may be that the American peo ple havo grown weary of the impositions put upon them by truBt magnates pos ing as "defenders of the national honor." ) "The Republican Party is on the Run" XJndor date of Chicago, September 24, N. O. Messenger, special correspondent of the Wash ington (D. C.) Star (Ind. Rep.) pent to his paper tho following: That dark-looking, lowering cloud which you seo on the horizon upon approaching Chi cago is not the smoke and grime usually denot ing tho nearness of tho windy city. You will observe that there Is an added grayness, sullen ness and gloominess which does not characterize the ovory-day pall hanging over the city. No, dear friend, what you see Is the glo'om settling over republican national headquarters. But that rainbow above the mark? j Ah, true, there Is a rainbow. It signifies -Mr. Taft's personal entry into tho campaign with a vallso full of ginger. He is on the job at last, much to the relief of the waiting republicans, who have cbafed under tho enforced restraint of a campaign which up to this time has shown none of the force and fire which Mr. Bryan has in fused Into his efforts. BRIFT, TOAVARD DEMOCRACY But, to leave this idle figure of speech and got down to facts, it Is not to be denied that the republicans are In very anxlouB state of mind at this time. Things have not been com ing their way in the past two weeks, not by a long shot, and they can not help but realize it. Ugly situations in a number of states are con fronting the republicans, and tho present drift of affnirs scorns to bo against them. This is not to say that they are In a panic, or that sort of thing. Tt Is not to predict what may he the condition when the voters go to tho polls November 3, nor even to forecast the stato of feeling which may exist two weeks hence, when Taft and Hughes have stirred the west. It is tho purpose of these dispatches to describe the conditions as they exist for the time, to call the cards as they fall, and not to forestall the cash -in. The fact remains that republican reports of actual conditions In several states which ought to be regarded as safely-republican Indi cate that tho republicans will have to make a fight, and a mighty competent, strenuous and skillful fight, before they can claim the states, unless they would be like the man who cheatB himself In playing solitaire. Here In Chicago you get hold of the strings which lead into a number of these middle west states, and as a spider in tho center of tho web, feel the vibra tions from tho outermost rings. The buzzing does not sound good to tho republicans. There is Indiana. INDIANA COUNTED LOST "Well, if you get an honest avowal lor pub lication from the ramihllonn monocm in , state it probably would be that Indiana is already .ju tuu uibuiuu; mm. as maicauons now point the stato Is framed up to go democratic on tho huilu uvKei una tnat ran; win have to fight and fight hard, for tho electoral vote. There is Illi nois; tho state torn with local factional troubles the labor vote in doubt, tho negro vote vacillat ing, apathy ruling among farmers and business men and a general state of dissatisfaction, hard . VOLUME 8, NUMBER 3$ thority. I know that Messenger Is too good a republican and stands too high in Journalism at the capitol to falsify the political situation as he sizes it up. If he did otherwise the repub lican owners of the Star would not hesitate to remove him. That which he tells the people in his dispatches is the truth and nothing but tho truth. The republican party is today on tho run." to particularize, but regarded as inimical to re publican prospects at this time, mind you. There is Ohio. Well, about Ohio, one republican of prominence in the state said to me today: "The situation in Ohio is just about as bad as it could be." However, that statement coming from the particular person In question should be taken with a grain of salt, since he differs with tho Roosevelt Idea of dealing with Senator For aker and may bo unduly discouraged. But from . other sources comes the information that the labor vote Is sullen and secretive, that the trend is against the republicans, but that salvation a may be found in the great farmer vote, which isiinclinedj to bejn the main republican. .The ? natural deduction is that Ohio is a doubtful state, tho result depending upon the relative of the former vote to the labor disaffection, and at this stage no ope can frame a definite pre diction. WEST VIRGINIA "ROTTEN" There is "West Virginia. Tho republicans who talk honestly, but not for quotation, rum marize the situation ip one word, "rotten." There is MnTvland. The best indication of the republican feeling is the fact that the managers have scheduled Governor Hughes for a number of speeches, beginning at Cumberland and end ing at Baltimore. This was announced today. For weeks the republicans counted Maryland as a sure republican Btate. They now consider the stale as reasonably to be counted in the Taft column. , Nebraska and Kansas can not be reason ablv and honestly counted upon bv either party at this time for the reason that-the voters have not "lit." The issue of bank guaranty is a burning question yet to be solved. The electo rate is said to be undecided and the republican campaign is surely undecided upon this score. Iowa has, been regarded as safely repub lican by a reduced plurality, and it was some thing of a surprise when the Iowa folk demand ed that Mr. Taft should alter his schedule to make a speech In that state. However, it is onlv frank to state that the best republican judgment Is that Towa is for Taft at this time and I have not found any democratic opinion worthy of consideration to offset this view. TREND IS TO BRYAN But tho main cause for anxiety among the republican managers is not so much a specifica tion of particular cases of dissatisfaction, hut the general trend of public opinion In the west is in favor of Brvan, in favor of a chance and apathy toward all politics and all politicians ?Tn1 trtn?hf bsness men is very pronounced! Up to this time it has not been possible to scare them about Brvan's election. They refuso fo be alarmed. They say that times are hard? that they avo been hurt as much as they can" be, and they don't really care very much xvh is elected They are not Inclined 7o contribute verHa'd lign.UDdS' " that ls e a Referring to tho Moeao- - quoting it at length, Colonel 6 O snW Washington correspondent foT So Loulsvilfe Courier-Journal, says: uuiavuie 'Wow I am quoting good republican au- A 1008 CABINET MEETING Washington, September 29. Special dis patch to the Louisville Courier-Journal: Tho republican administration cabinet held its reg ular political meeting today. Among the mat tors discussed were the following: Shall the scorcher of Chancellor Day bo answered? Shall we give the department em ployes as much right to engage in a partisan campaign for Taft as onrselves? Shall Glass cock be allowed to run for governor on the re publican ticket in West Virginia, and still retain his internal revenue collectorship? Shall the West Virginia postmaster be removed in defiance of his Hitchcock letter of immunity? Shall the cabinet officer under the pay of Standard Oil make an explanation? Shall any attention be paid to the facts proven by the official records that Arthur I. Vorys, chief of staff to Candidate Taft, was disbarred from practice in the interior department for fifteen years for withholding tho pension money of a soldier's wife? Shall the high-salaried officers of the government go home and stir up their republican friends, with their expenses paid, charged up "as away on official duties?" Shall all the members of the cabinet take the stump for Teddy and Taft, or just work the press In "official reports" and interviews? And, in conclusion, shall Theodore the First, de liver another lecture to the American people of what they should do or not do in tho present campaign? ' It can be said that not anything connected with the affairs of the government and the good of the people was given any attention. After the cabinet meeting adjourned the president gave them a luncheon fit for a king. After the luncheon prominent republicans from a number of doubtful states filed In and told the president that he was the greatest man on earth since the beginning of the Christian era and that Bryan would only carry a dozen states in the election. This Is the kind of officeholders and offce-seek-ers; men who want favors from the chief execu tive of this government that constantly visit the White House and offer up their praise and fulsome flattery to its occupant. Does he take it all in? Yes, he smiles and smiles and drinks down his praise with the greatest glee and gusto. He is not parading for Taft only to glorify him self. His amhition is this: "See what I have done. T refused the crown that mv people wero determined I should wear. Instead, I named the man whom I desired to succeed me. I had the officeholders at my beck and qall, at my com mand. I had a smart, keen man in tnetreas urv, Cortelyou, who, after T gave him a 'good talking to,' abandoned all his hones In the direc tion of the presidency. I had Frank Hitchcock In the postoffice department another bright and alert young man, who I knew would or ganize the postmasters, especiallv In the south, for 'ray man.' After T had 'called down' Cor telvou he was compelled to submit and go In with me. I treated other heads of my depart ments the same way. They all had to swing into line for my man, and that is all there Is to it." I do not quote the president in the above. I only quote what he has said to his friends and whnt he has said and done since the nomination of Mr. Taft. It's wonderful to me that he should make such a plain, personal campaign for him self without the people taking notice and resent ing it at the polls. For audacity and egotism it stands unparalleled In American politics. O. O. STEALEY. 5 ? v i5 HOW TO DEFEAT CANNON Repuhlicans who are anxious that Mr. Can non be defeated for speaker should remember that; the way to defeat Cannon is to elect a dem ocratic house. Some republican candidates for congress are promising to vote against Cannon in the republican caucus, but such a promise ia useless so far as the defeat of Cannon is con cerned. When a republican candidate for congress promises to vote against Cannon, ask him If he will vote against him In the contest In the house as ivell as in the contest In the republican caucus. n flBgH W Qt. j ,4. ij t K4UtU