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JANUARY 15, 190
The Commoner.
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and goes to many foreign countries, the names
of not more than three per cent of the democratic
voters are, to be found on its subscription books.
The Commoner can not possibly deal with
, etate politics except as an issue raised in a state
touches national questions? Even if The Com
moner went into the home of every democratic
voter, It could not possibly deal thoroughly with
state issues since these differ in the various
Btates and. can not be fully understood by out
siders. There is an imperative demand, - there
fore, for a democratic state weekly. It does
not require.. so much capital to start a weekly
paper and it is even possible for one to carry
on another business and yet write such editorials
as may be necessary to present the democratic
side of the state issues that arise from time
to time. The Commoner calls for volunteers.
"Among the thousands of able and earnest dem
ocrats in each state it ought to be possible to
secure one to undertake the establishment of a
state paper, and such a paper ought to have a
support sufficient to cover all expenses.
Nor must the work stop here. Every county
needs a democratic paper. The cost of conduct
ing a county weekly is still less, and the editorial
work still lighter. The Commoner appeals to
the democrats of the nation, especially to the
democrats in the doubtful states, to give this
subject -earnest attention. Every democratic
voter ought to take a democratic county paper,
a democratic state paper and a democratic na
tional paper. The subscription price of a week
ly paper is usually $1, and a clubbing rate could
be formed between The Cqmmoner and a demo
cratic state paper and a democratic county pa
per by which the three could be furnished for $2
or $2.25. The newspaper is the least expensive
form of literature. As part of the expense is
paid by advertising, the reader really gets his
paper for less than actual cost. There are very
few democrats in the nation who could not afford
to subscribe for three such papers and the three
would give him information on all the political
questions upon which he is called upon to act.
The democratic party can not hope to win
except through educational work, and it can not
do educational work unless the literature can
be brought to the attention of the voters. The
predatory interests are able .to furnish news
papers for nothing because thoy make the
money back out of the privileges which they
secure from the government, but democratic
papers must be self supporting and thoy de
serve the support of the masses so long as they
protect the rights and guard the interests of
the general public. The Commoner liopes to
be able to notify its readers of the establish
ment of weekly democratic papers in the various
states, and will also be glad to chronicle the
establishment of county papers committed to
the support of democratic principles and pol
icies.' Let the educational work begin, and' be
gin at once.
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STILL BLIND
The Atchison Globe, in a recent issue, con
tained the 'following: "Of course you remember
when Mr. Bryan boosted for the free and unlim
ited coinage of free silver and made a good race
on that issue. Very likely you were among those
who boosted and voted for the same thing. But
the idea did not take very well in this country,
and is less popular today than it has ever been.
And this rule seems to apply the world over."
The editQr of the Globe is, on most subjects,
an intelligent man. If he can be guilty of such
misunderstanding of the subject, it is not strange
that republicans who are less studious should
be blind to the facts.
Now as to facts. During a period of more
than twenty years the world not the United
States alone, but the world had been disturbed
by the appreciation of gold. This appreciation
of gold largely a law made appreciation had
brought a world wide fall in prices. Three in
ternational conferences had been called to discuss-
a remedy, and these conferences were at
tended by representatives of all the leading na
tions. Still the exploitation went on and the
masses suffered while the owners of money and
of fixed investments profited. John G. Carlisle
pointed out the injustice; John Sherman ad
mitted it, and James G. Blaine declaimed against
it. It was a burning issue for years. The
remedy proposed was the' restoration of silver
that being regarded as the most practical means
of increasing the volume of money. Sometimes
the senate was for free coinage and sometimes
the house. The house once passed a free coin
age bill, Mr. McKinley, then a member, voting
for it. In 1888 the republican party denounced
Mr. Cleveland for discrimination against silver,
and elected its president; in 1892 both parties
declared for bimetallism and Mr. Cleveland won.
In 1893 Mr. Cleveland called a special session of
congress and forced through the repeal of the
purchase clause of the Sherman law, being sup
ported by a larger percentage of tho republican
senators and members than of tho democrats.
This made the issue acute and tho question
was taken up in the democratic, party, and tho
democratic convention of 1896 declared for tho
free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver
at the. present ratio of sixteen to one, without
waiting for tho aid or consent of any other
nation.
Tho republican party did not dare to advocate
the gold standard; it only asked for tho reten
tion of the gold standard until the other na
tions would help restore bimetallism and pledged
itself to work for an international agreement.
Tho republicans won it is not necessary to dis
cuss the means employed or tho fact that thero
was an enormous and still unexplained increase
in the-Vote that year. The first thing that Presi
dent McKinley did was to send a commission to
Europe to get rid of the gold standard. Eng
land opposed doing anything, although less than
a year before parliament had adopted a resolu
tion looking to the restoration of bimetallism.
Then, and not until then, the republican leaders
openly declared the gold standard as fixed!
Since 1896 we have seen an increase In the
production of gold unparalleled in history. This
increase has not only checked the fall of prices
and the appreciation of the dollar, but it has
actually led to a world-wide rise in prices a
world-wide fall in tho purchasing power of the
dollar. These new discoveries of gold have
brought the very thing that democrats were
laboring for, namely, an increase In the volume
of money. The increase has come from an un
expected source, but the increase has vindicated
the democratic position, and yet even men like
the editor of the Globe will write as if the
democratic contention had been an unsound or
foolish one. The democratic party was right;
It took the side of the people against the privi
leges enjoyed by a few. But for the unexpected
discoveries of gold the prosperity that we have
enjoyed during the past decade would havebeen
impossible. If the conditions of 1896 could be
restored today," if one-third of the money of
the country could be annihilated, we would re
turn to the same kind of a business depression
that we had then, except that it would, be, more
acute because the change would be sudden ..
Let no democrat be ashamed of thefight made
in 1896. It was a fight that saved the4 demo
cratic party from becoming the representative of
the privileged 'Classes.
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IS THIS PROSPERITY?
The following from the New York Evening
Post furnishes food lor thought:
"This report of tho Association for Improving
the Condition of tho Poor should be in the hands
of every person, be he statesman or humble
citizen, who recklessly urges large families in
order to 'save the race.' This is what it has
to say about the danger to the unskilled poor
from the increase of tho family:
" 'It is well known among social workers that
the birth of a child is a serious menace to the
prosperity of the ordinary day laborer's family,
and that in the case of the unskilled poor in
our great cities, the birth of a second or third
child, even in prosperous times, often brings
disaster to the home. Until the first children
are old enough to work, the mother must either
do profit-earning work at home, hire out, or
go into the factory. If, through lack of proper
attention, the baby falls sick or the mother's
strength is wasted, the inevitable result is that
from one to ten personsare thrown upon public
or private charity for support. The mother be
comes an Invalid, her children are neglected and
underfed, and make an early start upon the road
to physical degeneration and pauperism.'
"Yet the undiscriminating advocates of large
families are also always the ones who exclaim
about the physical degeneracy of the race! One
case cited by the association is that of a family
of eleven, the mother exhausted by the care of
nine children and the father's ability to support
the family long since outgrown. Had not the
association stepped in, there would have been
deaths from starvation with the total ruin of
this family. The Interests of -the children the
association watches over more and more, and
with them, of course, the mothers. Instruction
in caring for infants is now one of its most bene
ficlent services, by means of the Caroline Rest
teacher-nurses; this the. association considers the
surest way to prevent physical Inefficiency and
the inevitable dependence. It has- also done
notable s'orvlco In furthering co-operation of the
various influences in the community which cok
to prevent tho wasto of life."
Tho editor sees in it only a rebuke to the pres
ident for advising largo families, but does It not
really prcsont an argument against the rearing of
any children at all by tho "ordinary day labor
er?" Tho report, which tho Post seemingly ap
proves, says: "It Is well known among social
workors that tho birth of a child (A child, not
several) Is a. serious menace to the prosperity of
the ordinary day laborer's family, and that in the
case of tho unskilled poor In our great cities,
tho birth of a second or. third child, even In
prosperous times, often brings disaster to the
home'
Tho Post has nothing to say in condemnation
of the' conditions which mako it Impossible for
an unskilled workman to raise a family of two
or three children, oven in prosperous times, and
which mako one child a monaco to the ordinary
day laborer's family.
Swollen fortunes on tho one side fortunes
so large that they spoil tho fow children to whom
they are left and, on tho other side, poverty in
the midst of prosperity! Are these- tho neces
sary fruits, of civilization?- Must prosperity .cast
these shadows or' can these conditions bo im
proved? Surely, tho democratic party has- still
a work to do in a. country where one cMld la
a-., menace to the "ordinary day laborer" and
where, two. or three children bring disaster to
"the unskilled poor" "even in prosperous times."
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COERCION OR BUSINESS
A republican paper quotes Vlco President
Brown of tho New York Central railway as say
ing: "Tho morning after election I sent over
one hundred telegrams releasing orders for rail
road supplies and equipment for tho Now York -Central
lines alone, amounting, to tn'ovo than
thirty-one million dollars. These orders had
been placed contingent on tho election of Mr.
Taft." Tho republican paper then adds edi
torially:. "This was not coercion. It was plain
business." This is the same Mr. Brown who,
according to the press reports, made speeches
to tho employes of the New York Central rail
way, threatening a wage reduction in case of a
democratic victory and promising good times If
the republicans won. By what course of reason
ing can one reach tho conclusion that Mr.
Brown's conduct is legitimate and proper poli
tics? If Mr. Brown has the placing of thirty
one million dollars' worth of orders and can
place them with, different firms "contingent"
upon the election of his favorite candidate to
the presidency, he might be in position to exert
a deciding influence on the presidential election.
Ho might pick out a number of firms in each of
several doubtful states and, place a contingent
order with each firm. Counting the profit on
each order at ten per cent, this would be virtu
ally an offer of thousands of dollars to each
firm to throw its Influence to the republican
ticket. If each firm employed a thousand men,
the influence which Mr. Brown could thus exert
might be a very perceptible one. A great many
men who would look upon an offer of five,
twenty-five or a hundred dollars for their political
influence as a contemptible bribe might regard
it proper to so use their political influence as
to secure the profit of twenty-five, fifty or a
hundred thousand dollars through a manufac
turing plant, and It is easy to understand how a
large order might coerce a considerable percent
age of the employes when they were offered tho
promise of work on the one hand and threatened
with idleness on the other.
If the New York Central can use thirty-one
million, dollars' worth of orders as a bribe, what
about the Pennsylvania, the Erie, the Burling
ton, tho Rock Island, the Santa Fe, the North
western, tho Milwaukee, the Union Pacific, the
Missouri Pacific, the Louisville and Nashville,
the Southern, etc., etc.? If it Is proper for
one railroad magnate to thus use his influence In
politics, where is the line to be drawn? And if
all of these railroads go into politics, how is
their vast influence to be overcome? " And if
the railroads can go into politics, why not the
other big corporations?
If It becomes the practice of our great cor
porations to control elections by the placing of
contingent orders, the people will find it very
difficult to secure remedial legislation without
first obtaining the consent of the corporations.
"Will any republican defend such a condition or
point with pride to a victory won by the use
of such means? Is this business or coercion?
All plans for the African hunt have been
made, including the space rates.
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