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The Commoner.
VOLUMES, NUMBER 5
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The Commoner. Letters From the People
ISSUED WEEKLY.
WII.MAM .7. MlYAN
Krilturnml Proprietor.
Hicham L. Mitcai.fk
AuoclntcKdltor.
ClIAllMS W. UnYAN
Fiibltalicr.
FdltorJnl lloonip nml ItusltiOKi
Onico JJM-rtO South 12lh Street
Knloird At Dip 1'oMc.fl co nl Lincoln, Neb., ns tccond-clflfs ninltcr
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
p. A combination of wireless telegraphy and
panlcloss puBsengers is a happy one in case of
a collision at sea.
A number of republican legislators in Oregon
felt callod upon to apologize and explain for
voting as they had agreed to vote.
One is to bo pardoned for looking askance
upon tho legislators who feel it incumbent upon
them to apologize for keeping a solemn pledge
mado to the people who elected them.
Some of these days tho west, which feeds tho
country, and the south, which clothes the coun
try, will combine politically against that small
section of the east which exploits tho country.
Really, now, would it be surprising if some
body dug up a law providing for the punish
ment of flippant paragraphers who mado caustic
comment concerning ox-presidential hunting
Wage oarnors who aro inclined to complain
because tho promises of employment .after the
election of Taf t arer not kept should remember '
that tho recruiting stations of the regular army
are open some eight or nine hours a day. There
aro plenty of steady jobs in that line of em
ployment for ablo bodied men.
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
(Continued from Page 5) '
Justice David Brewer said in his New" York
"The two supreme dangers that menace a
democratic state are despotism on the one hand
and mob rule on the other. The more
constant and universal the voice of the peon
!? tS6lf ?!arifGat tho nearer do we ? ap
proach to an ideal government. The Initial?
and referendum make public opinion the con
trolling factor in tho government. The m?
KES7 ?nd h moro fu"y Public officers ?
hito effect such public opinion, the moro t!uv
ts government of the people realized y
ninwrlQS ?VGrywhQrG oppose the rule of tho
plain people. Tho claim is set up that thnv S
competent. So said Charles I? s said Lu,s
XVI. So say all tories today And vf
world's history bluntly tells th atmS J tnG
loy havo over attended thorn nf d, wl" ana
Ornmonts were eSKKd TnTyt
"wwwwgmi
V
George Watkins, Verdon, Neb. The party
can not hope, under Bryanism, to gain control,
of the federal government until the masses dis
play more interest in exact and equal justice.
J. B. Van Court, Newton, la. I can see but
ono way to bring about tho reforms the people'
want, when the reformers are divided into four
parties, as they are at present, and tho'plutes
have but ono party and all stand together and
rule the people in the other four parties. Now
to, place this republic back into the hands and
rule of tho people to bring about the reforms
they want, I suggest the following method.: Let
those four parties, democrat, populist, socialist
and independent, meet together in a national
convention and frame a platform on which they
can all stand and form a new party, dropping all
their names and adopt a new name and all as
ono party work together under the new name
to bring about the reforms they need. I will
suggest a name, viz., Jefferson and Lincoln
party.
Dr. J. J. Morony, Breeze, III. The demo
cratic party can not hope to gain control of the .
federal government as long as the people re
member the last democratic administration. It
looks to me as though it will take some great
crisis, such as slavery, to overcome the horde
of officeholders, negro and old soldier vote, not
to mention the slush fund. We are too honest
in our advocacy of the people's cause in the
sense we would not take advantage of the panic
or anything else while our friends, the enemy,
never let a chance pass to embarrass the party
in power.
William P. Norton, Cold Water, Mich. The
future looks dark to me. It seems to me that
it tho republican party continues in power it
will lead to a revolution.
A. De Bard, Arkansas City, Kan. The people
aro not equal to dealing with these great ques
tions of government. Popular government is
still an experiment. I still remain your sup
porter and admirer.
T. P. Quinn, Chicago, 111. Mr. Bryan should
take the initiative and call a conference of the
friends of the democracy of Jefferson and Jack
son and this conference should assemble in some
central city of the union and include men from
all over the nation selected by himself for their
known devotion to the cause of human progress
and thoy should discuss the very questions that
we are now discussing and decide on a distinct
and aggressive plan of organization that will
drive out of the democratic party the corpora
tion representatives, the blacklegs and thugs
that now infest and control it in some of the
groat cities. If this can not be done, then a new
party should be organized immediately on such
lines as will best serve the interests of demo
crats who are now in the republican and other
parties. Desperate diseases require desperate
remedies" and it should be remembered I Sat
those who make half revolutions but dig their
own graves." Fourth question, "Can the demo
cratic party hope ever to gain control of The
federal government?" Not as at present or
gan zed, for in the south it is largely controlled
by the patrician class while in the north east
and west, particularly in the great cities Us
control s vested in tho hands of cornomtion
representatives and their hirelings and the
masses of the people knowing this to be true
have lost confidence in it. It is the verdict of
history that new parties must solve new ques
tions and tho new and the great question of
this day is the industrial questYon-hoT to give
to the farmer and wageworker the product of
their toil The spirit of democracy can solve
SSuSSS no?6 demCratiC Party as
beeAn ffZ
organized, for his defeat. Fear alone beat him
Walter F. Hobbs, Chicago, Ill.-The threat of
rnffi?larceSsWUh
nouidt&
SfflT mre a- tn
it has gone on in ever chanrine form S. les
armenV0r3
never forgot that "Ab ashes can w JcaQ
kindled, so freedom denarted f2 ? be, re"
nevor regained." Tho toge received Pfrnn,8
our fathers Is too precious to furrender even in
the face of present disheartening discourage
ments, but it is well to know and look the facts
in the face. Without this, or if we deceive our
selves the problem of redemption .will be tho
harder of solution by reason of lack of intelli
'gent direction of efforts.
John Hatcher, Long Street, La. The big
stick and wealth on the one side and the mis
understanding by the masses and a misconcep
tion of conditions and issues did the work.
, Dr. S. C. Thompson, Cedarville, 111. My opin
ion is that it was the recollection of Mr. Bryan's
espousal of the issud of the free coinage of
silver at the ratio of 16 to 1 without waiting
for the aid or consent, etc. Had he bluntly and
promptly answered that he would, if elected,
maintain tho single gold standard, that he was
mistaken honestly In 1896 and 1900 in advocat
ing the double standard, he would have allayed
the fears of business men and a vast number
of small capitalists like myself. He would have
gained great credit for moral courage as did
Mr. Cleveland with his famous "Tell the Truth"
which gave the country a new thrill and sudden
ly transformed the wretched Halpin incident
into a potent battle cry.
C. Somerville, McCook, Neb. The course to
be taken in the future is to continue the course
we are now working upon continue our organi
zation and nominate honest men and on good,
strong platforms. The democratic party can
not hope to gain control as long as our govern
ment is in the hands of a few plutocrats. A
rebellion alone will return to America her
freedom.
R. P. Langley -Walter, Okla. Tlie xeal re
form element in tho republican party should be
drawn away from the standpat wing.
A. A. Gingrich, Wichita, Kan.--You will see
that the republican candidate for governor in
Kansas ran on a democratic platform, state re
publican platform was more democratic than
the democratic national platform. "President
elect Taft run on the national republican plat
form and both state and national were on the
same ticket, the national republican ticket.
Now r contend in this case tho solution of this
mystery absurd and inconsistent as it id, is due
to the name republican party. That name for
nearly fifty years has been bred into that party
until it has become second to nature, and it
will be yeaTs before it can be bred out for its
strongholds, graft, political favoritism's, band
wagons and big Indian, goes with the American
people. P. T. Barnum learned long ago that
LlnooiPne0RPl1Iked t0 be f00led'" and.Abraam
nl Vaid y2u can f001 a11 tne People part
of the time, and part of the people all the time
cJd Zl bavuPe- A Kansas horticulturist
got it into his head a few years ago he could
raise apples without seeds, he now has the
seedless apples; this took time; the first second
bSt bfnal0? th3 bject 0f " "SSft
succeeded 5n TOselecons and perseverence he
succeeded. So we are just as sure to win but
PlaSombtGheal?ufH,thiline' With ? SSfaSJ
tives back of T 0t Vr Cause and the mo
tives oack of it. There is no other criterion
LJWBr?aVB a private cItIzen means more
" J Bryan' President. As president he
F. E. Stohr, Bolivar N v t v.
ful democratic reformers must aTJnv t SUCCeSS"
believe these reforms would wtJi If Y,e
tions in this limd, tten we mu?tnSJ iSV01!?1"
children of Israel win JS V ? be like the
because they dW I 'not enteln UeIr leader
land of milk and honey as soon nt Promised
ed. Let us reject neither bnt 11"" expect"
the time, when rin win nil foIow on until
over might Let ui work in hht t0 trIumph
our views may 2 tanrewed S.0nyand &
us all become subscribes of thn? the8' let
which knows no fear from thagreat PaPer
Commoner. m Plutocracy, The
ThydemocrtrS010,110---should
-deMiro "e Prsressive. It
puwlte uumfes! ov3"Bent ownership ' ol
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