f ri
.mi
The Commoner.
K
N
li
;'
m
nr
m
,
0
0
0
.0
0
j
A TIUIiUTE TO THE COMMONER
Tho Wenthcrford, Texas, Herald prints
an Interesting letter from Mr. J. M.
Richards, an attorney of Weatherford.
Mr. Richards was ono of the delegates
from Texas to the democratic national
convention in 1890. His letter to tho
Weatherford Herald follows:
"Publishers of the Herald: I, as a
democrat and advocate of tho teachings
of our great leaders, hereby endorse your
efforts to increase tho circulation of Tho
Commoner, edited and published by the
world's greatest leader and patriot. I
have been a subscriber to Mr. Bryan's
paper since ho first began its publication
and find therein discussed from time to
time questions that underlie the safety
and prosperity of our republican form of
government. (No good loyal democrat
should fail to read The Commoner. It
should be in every family in tho United
StatcB to teach justice, equality, mor
ality, virtue and all the baBlc principles
that constitute good citizenship. Besides
its political department it weekly con
tains items of Interest for each and every
member of the household. If any intelli
gent democrat will subscribe for and reg
ularly read Tho Commoner ono year and
thon Btato on honor that it has not been
worth tho price I will give him tho
amount ho paid. This paper is
published by our great leader,
who, though overcome by a debauching
slush fund of tho trust-ridden tariff-robbing
republican party, aided by sorao
weak-kneed, easily scared so-called dem
ocrats, who have not sufficient sense to
know that the boss calamity howlers and
false prophets of ruin and disorder,
hoadod by 'Teddy the Terror,' were re
sorting to such 'pot-house' political
trickB, to intimidate tho ignorar.t and
weak-minded voters. Of course every
family should first subscribe for his
county paper and then take The
Commoner.
"Bryan is the livest patriotic corpse
ever consigned to a political grave-yard.
Democracy will Hv nntti ..iir!
3?JiaL .?A been ted. only
,."" oi'uiHea. &
'un with the battle.'
"J. M. RICHARDS."
000000
A HUGE BRIBE
At a banquet given recently in his hotinr m
SnfHarn,man Is alleeed to have said. "I? t?
Mr. Hantaan'. UO OOO.OOOomo frSra
times ovorPaISSgamo.bfe $& b S0VeraI
THE PRESIDENT'S LIBEL SUIT
Smith of the IndianaSs News Thdfi'vana Mr"
cusod of libeling tho president wh J ?? aJQ ac"
socretary of Btato- Sif V? ent,' Elihu Root, then
law, J. Piorpont Morgan Vm'i theivin"
well and CharlL P. Taft m Nelson Crom-
This is the first effort thnt ,
nearly a century -to throUlo nS l ade
oral Prosecution, and it oucht to nPress by fed
Indignation to make it thJ fLl n0118! enousn
other century. Congress ouStfomPt fr an"
immedlately withdrawing from !,I)as,s a. la
authority to Prosecute for c?iUcismGnal C0Urta
mental action, if ovppv m of Sovern
is to be threatened witlf banSn?f
Prosecution in case C oo
against tho action of a federal official, we will
have taken the first step toward despotism.
It will cost Mr. Pulitzer and Mr. Smith more
than tho fortune of the average man to defend
themselves in the suits brought. What chance,
therefore, would the average editor have in such
a case? Our state laws are sufficient for the
protection of the individual, for any person who
is injured by a libel is at liberty to prosecute.
It is not necessary that the entire machinery
of the federal government should be turned
upon a critic who happens to offend the powers
that be. The president has done many good
things, but all that he has done would not off
set the evil influence which would be exerted
by such a precedent as he is undertaking to
establish.
2r t W V
MR. ROCKEFELLER'S "MEAN TRICK"
The state of Texas found the Standard Oil
company guilty of violating the laws of that
state, where it was doing business under the
name of the Waters-Pierce Oil company. A fine
of over a million dollars has been sustained by
the supreme court of tho United States. The
state of Missouri has also found the Standard
Oil company guilty of violating the laws of
Missouri through the same subsidiary company,
and yet there are those who still regard Mr.
Rockefeller as a high-minded and moral repre
sentative of the business world. What will Mr.
Rockefeller have to do, in the opinion of his
worshippers, to lose his halo?
Again The Commoner begs to call attention
to the fact that the president has not sent a
message to congress denouncing Mr. Rockefeller
for the "mean trick" he played upon the re
publican party by announcing his support of
Mr. Taft. Instead of trying to indict the New
York World for reflecting on the republican
party in the Panama case, why not indict Mr.
Rockefeller for libeling the government by an
nouncing his support of the administration's
candidate?
Letters From the People
i, ' nA w5et,stone' McComb, Ohio. We know
that lack of democratic literature is one cause
of the defeat of 1908. But I would suggest that
a copy of the Congressional Record daflf during
the time congress is in session would enlighten
evSSit iat thG SCalGS W0Uld op from Seir
eyes, that they may seo the between true democ
racy and supposed prosperity. I ask this Ques
tion: Wouldn't it be bettor to place these
many millions of dollars that are given to the
state boards of agriculture for the f ree distribu!
t on ot seeds into more copies of the Congres
sional Record that all legal voters who rtf?
Sft velrV SvGnt t0 marra'ef
are corrupt. All citizann ? i elections
from contributing To hSte nSdbe,?Ri!,IWS?d
in a single or collective cabLitv r? Vldually
artificial), and these iikfiJii (na,tural and
costs and expense? incidental or Z, legI"ato
good government Riim, i iH tol r otherwise to
and United State ? t?ea,,r?iaId 0Ut of the state
idea, again, o veramen? nTS80"7617' The
for money for self hi S 0f money and self,
trusts and private SL?ni7 i"1? Uy Belf
ernment of, for and b??hi nLInstead, of a Sv
peoplo is no just LvLn pe?pl.e and the whole
little secuHty in ft tlTZi &t S1' There Is
whom, of whom and b? VhSt San thy for
I believe ,in a government tt?t f- 5 constItuted.
partial in its adminhrtmUo? V deci(ley im
ites, has no favo? to brit L110 " favor
and maintain the .Just and ennJ?8 iaf ? protecta
fear, favor or affectn, iTrl $
VOLUME "D, NUMBER 7
thereof, but nevertheless a government baq0f,
upon and carried on by unselfish love of nif
black white, high, low, poor, -or rioh. Individ
uals do; but the government can not, outfit !'
must not, make any distinctions between hi
citizens. All are her citizens and all mus S
the love of her protecting arm, and her vorrim
ing power. When it becomes necessary ror "
people to cover their state houses with io!
drawn out legislative acts, to correct abuses of
greed and graft, there is the time for a feJ
clean cut; root and butt cutting acts instead 0r
topping off the tops and branches to gror on
again.. Uncle Sam, you and. your several' sons
can t drive the boys, who are stealing voU
apples, out of the trees with grass. Let ami com
pel the government to pay its legitime ex
penses but individuals and trust as such, never'
A. U Riffle Waterloo, W. Va. We can noi
expect to elect our man and act honestly with
everybody in all parts of the country. By ac tin!
dishonestly the republicans gain their victory
and elect their candidates. This is the way they
get the voters to endorse their administration
Dayid Roche, Atchison, Kan.The honest
moral sense of the American lives with the dem
ocratic party. If it should .disband schemers
would seize it and play for a side show for
the benefit of the g. o. p;
R. Derby, Jr., Milan, O. The people could
rule, but they choose to be ridden. With many
of the common people lined up with the inter
ests, it is purely ignorance, We must say "for
give them, they know not what they do.'5 Let
the rich fatten and the poor suffer4. May be God
has decreed it so. May be the devil has So
we leave it. Let us fight on. I have faith in
humanity; they will triumph yet. If we ca
we' o'-iS Ww W; J B'an a standard beai'r
we can not win with any other. When the
people want a president who will scorn at a big
graft as well as a little one, one who will not
Sfw whirlfwlnd ln the face of the peoS
against predatory wealth and then go into a
closet and laugh with the interests how he fooled
11 PhPnPlT WiUl?U.t lnjUry to tuem then. and not
fo" President?11' fr W' J Brya
M JUG' cJ' ?.artnaee Mo; I believe Mr.
iSrvMi difmInatlon to maintain during the
ll,Sf campaigns official headquar
mi,nHfSiWhi0h.a continuous dissemination of
hv rPnati'!?1factsiin(1 omenta may be made
nLv t nSiblG fnd recsnized leaders of our
party is as good a course as any to adont It
tTden0rUaHoayInf t?atMthta ply assumed th a
the democratic party is "the reformers " Jude-
Se tUe TCent elections alone, Se foUow-
aniinirarevS2!iBMl,ldlns the Woes the
remaining vote the white vote -is nnito
oSUaSiodn1aV1Iafl,betWee,i Par" e
fmm 1i,r i i .man s eovemment. Excluding
eeSentacTeJ6,."16 recentIy naturalized
whulnatfvi ZLlonty, of the renialnder (the
the word in f S?ns) are demoorats, using
established our govUmeTd wto hSfaldS
ment remains SwL long as that state"
heart. Theatorinf?!0 democrat should lose
parties reMeSSHnS M 6 Ups and downs of thQ
of goverammt JS SG, antaeonistic theories
ingtoTto JSgoThour ConS.f GVrge Wash"
comforting lesson wSSfi, ntaIn8 a cheering and
do well to read-' bn T ?0UIlB men would
within the first rule Hi i hS t0 long to comG
replies. So Turfl .! J2 d dWn to govern these
People can be SeSri3e maSf of the American
the right of a mauer Z? to eventually adopt
because we a?e rSht rL? expect vlctory
fully and hopJfnUy yonrs efP am heer'
weSre MoBtaJttS011' If Many men
was successfully used Kelr?03it?u' Coercion
educational Ss drl ? Up the flght along
loyalamancetoconS?ftefr,IOW- GIve tne
1912. Use a portion of ffro,m now on untiI
literature. Keen th vnL thls f und to set out
the movemente Sf ?heVS e7?r in touch ith
istrations. the present incoming admin-
BemaTloS, S$S5' f Wis.-Misrepre-liance
upon the ignoSe t0o?rejudIce and re"
with the brutal 2? 0t voters together
cultivation of fea? Sfat ??, and Persistent
caused our defeat Th yanism meant ruin
in direct union priJarv ?6,f the f uture lies
cratic party can nilfeC,tIons' he demo"
test until the peonle Jln ln natIonal C0Q
primary contests P enablqd to ruIe
-Jtt... .?., -,
jjjl- itMnaAi.. ,x
--V-- - "lovl