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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 2, 1909)
H ' 1 a The Commoner WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR . i' VOL. 9, NO. 25 Lincoln, Nebraska, July 2, 1909 Whole Number 441 ALDRICH'S FAITH IN REPUBLICAN PARTY PERFIDY . In its issue of Monday, June 7, the Kansas City Star, a republican paper, printed this editorial: "The faith of Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich in the perfidy and temerity of the republican party and in the subserviency of the people to green goods politics has to be witnessed to be believed. The history of the American . government furnishes no parallel to the insults which are now being heaped upon the doctrine of popular government by the senatorial boss from Rhode Island." . ,. .- , . .. II I ' ! !! ... I , , ' Lest We Forget A word to college students: As you enter upon your life work do not forget that you must have some part in. the conduct of the govern ' .anent under which . you live. What part will . you take? Our government rests upon the con sent of the-gbverned, and while sbmq of its de partments are less responsive than others to, the will of the people, all of the government and all of its functions are, in the end, a reflection pf the intelligence and virtue of the people. Will you help to perfect the government ana neonle's ltfiam.vaiidtho fteht was a makeIt an'irimfuhint for good, or jSrtlf okd your indifference, permit It to become tliQgdilt through th platf0rm adopted at Chicago, where OI me seiliBH mm uhv;i.uijujivu9. nvmmv. that in every country some one of the various parties is nearer to the peqple than any other party some one more anxious than the others ' to keep the government within the control of the people. Ally ybursclf with that party for It will be the growing party. All over the world the trend is toward popular government, and sooner or later victory crowns every movement that has for its pbject the bringing of the gov ernment nearer to the people. In this country two parties stand out beyond all the rest in membership and influence the republican party, which is in control of the federal government and in control of most of the state governments, and the democratic party, which polled six million, four hundred thousand votes at the last election. No third party polls as many aB a half million votes. One of these parties democratic or republi can iS nearer to the people than the other. it you will examine the record you will find that at the present time the democratic party is the people's party and the republican parly the representative of monopolistic greed. Do nqt allow yourself to bo deceived by the fact that a few of the republican leaders are work ing for reform and that a few of the democratic leaders are betraying their party. Parties must be measured by the opinions that prevail among the rank and file rather than by the opinion that is represented by a few leaders. The voters control; they can change their leaders more easily than the leaders can change the rank and file. The voters of the democratic pirty spoke at Denver last summer, and they spoke in no un certain tones. The platform adopted at Denver CONTENTS ALDRICH'S FAITH LEST WE FORGET STILL AT SEA INCOME TAX AMENDMENT WORDS WORTH REMEMBERING THE VOTER'S SCRAP BOOK EDUCATIONAL SERIES TAXES THAT " ROB THE COMMUNITY - THE TARIFF IN THE SENATE PRACTICAL TARIFF TALKS PATHETIC WAIL FROM A REPUBLICAN . ' NEWSPAPER , MR. BRYAN AND. THE SENATE SKETCH OF "BOSS" ALDRICH . HOME DEPARTMENT . . . , , NEWS-OF ,THE WEEK V " . ' a.'.. reform propositions were voted down ana a platform written which can not be construed otherwise than as a deliberate attempt at de ception. That deception is now being carried out with a majority of the republican leaders actively supporting the deception. For forty years the republican party has lived upon the reputation which it made during the war. It has claimed a monopoly of intelligence, virtue and patriotism. It has charged the dem ocratic paTty with being opposed to the union, and yet history shows that the doctrine of seces sion was actively discussed and endorsed by prominent statesmen in Now England fifty years before it was presented in concrete form by the states that joined in the confederacy. Not only did the doctrine of secession have many supporters in the north, but the democratic party furnished one of the earliest champions of the union. Andrew Jackson when president denounced the doctrine of nullification and de nied the right of a state to secede. He con cluded his message to congress (January 16, 1833) on the South Carolina ordinance with the following language: "That a similar spirit will actuate the rep resentatives of the American people is not to be questioned; and I fervently pray that the Great Ruler of Nations may so guide your de liberations and our joint measures as that they may prove salutary examples not only to the present but to future times, and solemnly pro claim that the constitution and the laws are supreme and the UNION INDISSOLUBLE." Thorpe in a recent volume entitled "The Statesmanship of Andrew Jackson" (published ;by the Tandy-Thomas company, New York) quotes Herndon, Lincoln's law partner, as say ing in his "Life of Lincoln" that Jackson's proclamation against nullification was one of the three sources of reference which Lincoln called for when he prepared his first inaugural In the war, for the maintenance of the union, democrats fought side by side with republicans, and it ought not to be forgotten that Douglas, ' whom Lincoln defeated for the presidency in -We campaign of I860 was prompt in announc- ink his support of Lincoln -as soon as -war was -threatened. The republican leaders have not done justice to the union democrats, but havo on the contrary attempted to make political capital out of the fact that the republican party was in power and conducted, tile war to a suc cessful termination. The republican party has also mado capital out of the emancipation of slaves, and yet no reader of history can be Ignorant of the fact that the freeing of slaves had no part in the plans of the republican leaders when the war commenced. It must be remembered also that, the north profited by the slave trade, and while the slave trade existed, the defense of slavery was not confined to the south. Slavery was defended In New England even down to the' days of the revolution and after. Not only was slavery advocated and dofendoawltrhj.iiQrth, but there were opponents of slavery mthd south. Thomas Jefferson Was opposed to pl&ycryh and believed that emancipation must ultimately dome. Ho spoke upon the subject with such emphasis and so frequently that his position can not be doubted. Abraham Lincoln quoted Jefferson constantly in his speeches. Here wb have the founder of the republican party quot ing the language of, and relying upon, the two greatest democrats of the nation Thomas Jef-' ferson, the founder of the party, and Andrew Jacksoii its defender and yet republican lead ers ignore the services rendered by these demo crats and by a multitude of democrats who fol lowed them, and seek to claim entire credit for the freeing of the slaves and the saving of the union. The young men who are leaving our colleges should not only understand the history of the past, but they should understand the present situation. Even if the republican party could justly claim all the credit for the freeing of the slaves, and for the maintenance of the union, its past would not be a sufficient answer to the t indictment that can be brought against it at this time. A new slavery is being fastened upon the people the slavery of privilege and plutoc racy. Under the system of black slavery the owner had a pecuniary interest in the welfare of his slave. Eyen if he had no higher reasons, he could not afford to allow the slave to suffer for want of shelter, food, clothing or medical attention, but under the plutocratic system which has grown up under republican rule, the monopolist is getting the benefit of labor with out responsibility for it or accountability to it. A slave was a slave because all the proceeds of his labor were appropriated by his master with out his consent, but his master appropriated all; it was not all-profit for he furnished food, clothing and attention. Under existing condi tions the producers of wealth are being de prived of a part, at least, of their earnings, and when they cry for justice, they are denounced as disturbers of the peace. The patriotism which the republican leaders are manifesting today has been described as the patriotism of pelf and the college student who goes forth to do battle for his country must decide whether he will battle with the preda tory interests or against them, and If he de cides to bottle against them he must next de- iffimlufnr ijunlft "riBdgjh ijjjjf ff tl-l ltM -Am ' ,JJ-t- -tf-3--WiWT T i i ' I 8 -r
