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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1909)
"D OCTOBERS!, 1909. The Commoner. vidually the party can. not rely with confidence on the fulfillment of, ijta platforms a conclu sion that.haa been forced- on the whole country by the spectacle of betrayal witnessed in tho recent session of congress. Until recently,. Mr. Bryan has not attached the relative importance to the tariff that it has deserved. If he will stick to the tariff as tho paramount issue of the next congressional elec tion and the succeeding presidential election, either ignoring or giving mindr place to other national questions, and avoiding altogether such new, eccentric or doubtful issues as he has pro- . posed in., tho past, and which have lost him votes and prestige, he will go far, through his potential leadership, toward bringing tho demo cratic party around to a sound, stable basis of 4 action. . The tariff is by far the biggest political issue before tho country. Barring the accidents of time, it will remain the biggest issue until it , is settled, and settled right. To comprehend this fact and to act with wisdom and patriotism t in .accordance therewith is public service of as . high a quality as any leader of men can attain to in American politics. Kansas City Star. - ALDRICH CROWNED AS REPUBLICAN LEADER "Mr. Aldrich is the leader of the sen- ate and certainly one of the ablest states- men in financial matters in either house. I believe it to be his earnest desire to aid the people." President Taft in his u speech to Boston business men Tuesday, September 14. , MR. BAILEY'S SPEECHES THE LEADER DESCRIBED BY A RE- PUBLICAN PAPER 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 re- publican party and in tho subserviency of the people to green goods politics has to be witnessed to be believed. Tho history of the American government furnishes no parallel to tho Insults which are now being heaped upon the doctrine of popular government by the senatorial boss from Rhode Island." THE NEBRASKA ELECTION The democrats of Nebraska have nominated for justices of the supremo court John J. Sulli van of Douglas county, James R. Dean of Custer county and Benjamin F. Good of Saun ders county. Judge Sullivan served one term on the supreme bench and he made a record that is unsurpassed in the history of that court. He is recognized as one of the great lawyers of the west and the people of Nebraska- are, indeed, fortunate in having the opportunity of choosing so capable a man. Judge Dean is now a member of the court. It was Judge Dean who wrote the dissenting opinion in the caso where republican judges destroyed the non partisan judiciary law. That opinion has been printed in full in The Commoner and it has been accepted by lawyers generally as a clear cut judicial document, while its logic and generally high' tone has commanded for it the respect of men of all political parties. Judge Good has served several terms as judge of tho district court and throughout his judicial district he la known as an able and upright judge. The democrats of Nebraska have reason to be proud of their candidates for the supremo bench and the people of the state will be fortu nate, indeed, should Judges Sullivan, Good and Dean be elected. The nominees for regent of the State Uni versity aTe Harvey U. Newbranch and Charles T. Knapp. Mr. Knapp is a business man of high standing in the city of Lincoln. Mr. New branch is the associate editor of the Omaha World-Herald. Upon him the brunt of the edi torial work of that paper has fallen and he has discharged his duty well. His editorials have come to be known throughout the west as models of earnest, scholarly appeals to the in telligence of the ..people. It is needless to say that the Interests of Nebraska's great university would bo well sejved .by the election of Messrs. Newbranch" and Knappi Senator Bailey of Texas replied to Mr. Bryan's speech, speaking at Dallas on tho ovening of September 18. Tho senator was given a great reception. Tho Fort Worth Record, a Bailey champion, gives tho- following as tho "key notes" of tho senator's speech: If, therefore, Mr. Bryan finds it necessary for tho democracy of Texas to reverse its position in order to harmonize itself with his views, ho must undertake the larger task of Inducing tho democracy of tho entiro country to repudinte tho tariff plank of tho platform on which ho re ceived lila first nomination for tho presidency. T stand uncovered in tho presence of the peo ple, and I say to them with religious sincerity, "Thy will bo done;" but whenever it is their will that something shall bo done that I can not in good conscience do, I will glvo them back their senatorship and let them bestow it on some - man who can execute their will without doing ' violence to his conscience. That is tho way, and that is the only way, to preserve a representative government. By levying a duty on a larger number of articles, wo will bo able to make tho duty lower on every article, and by distributing these duties over tho largest possible area, wo will neutralize " and minimize tho evil effect of protection. To make my meaning plain, let us buppobo that with a given amount of money to collect through the customs houses, one-half was to bo collected on raw materials, and one-half on manufactured articles. If we were to transfer by one stroke of the pen all raw materials from tho dutiable list to the free list, it would become necessary at once for the government to collect twice as much from tho articles still remaining on tho dutiable list in order to supply tho full amount of revenue which tho customs houses wore re quired to furnish; and tho people who manufac ture tho articles still left on the dutiable list would enjoy the privilege of buying their raw material under free trade conditions, and then selling the products manufactured out of, that free, raw material at. a price enhanced by tho duty on them. I do not intend to indulge in any personal criticism, for it is my earnest desiro and It shall be my steadfast purpose to keep this discussion on tho high plane of principles, and to eschew all personalities; but I think it permissible and proper for mo to say that there iwas a time when Mr. Bryan did not regard a democratic platform exactly "as a Christian regards tho Ten Com mandments." If Mr. Bryan had a right, in obedionce to tho platform of his district and in pursuance of his personal declaration, to vote against the repeal of the 10 per cent tax on the issue of state banks, I had a right to vote against repealing the tax on wood pulp, print paper and lumber in obe dience to the platform of my state and in ac cordance with my repeated declarations. And my answer to those who demand free raw material In order that our manufacturers may compete In the markets of tho world is that I am willing to take the tax off the raw material whenever they are willing to take the tax off the finished product. I believe that American consumers are as much entitled to tho benefit of competition in our markets as American man ufacturers are entitled to compete in foreign markets. If we are to have free trade in raw material for the benefit of the American manu facturer abroad let us also have free trade in their finished products for the benefit of Amer ican consumers at home. I do not demand a tax on'wool for the purpose of protecting the wool grower any more than Mr. Bryan demands a. tax on woolen goods for tho purpose of protecting the manufacturer. I advocate a tax on both for tho purpose of rais ing money to support tho government, and I con tend that it is a gross Injustice to relieve the manufacturer from his tax and still collect a tax from his customer. Whenever the govern ment can dispense with the revenue, I am In favor of putting both wool and woolen goods on the free list, but as long as the government must tax the clothes which the millions wear, T shall insist that it shall likewiso tax tho wool out of which tho manufacturers make those clothes, and thus compel the few who are rich to divide the burden of this 'government with tho. many who are poor. The duty on hides yielded in 1907 more than $2,000,000 of net revenue to the public treasury, while the duty on boots and shoes yielded less than $30,000; and yet these men-tell mo that . Li'0,!0, r,or ft duty lhnt rn,RCB "we limn ?2, 000000 for tho support of the government' I am a protectionist, while thoy can support a duty that brings less than $30,000and .yet claim to be 'tariff for rovenuo only" democrats. Of courso, 1 understand that there nrc a great many country publishers who are nono too pros perous, and that even a small" relief would ho welcomo to them; "but tho amount which tho publlshor of a country nowspaper would save by a repoal of tho tax on print paper would not bo sufllciont to fill tho baby's stocking at Christmas time; and the roal benefit of such a law would go to tho groat newspapers, mag azines and book houses, v,hono profits already run into the thousands and oven into tho mil lions ovory year. I deny that anybody, speaking In tho name of tho democratic party, had a right to order mo to repeal the duty on print paper an long as thero Is a duty on tho hat which covers tho farmor's head and tho shoes which protoct tho mechanic's feet. I havo no hesitation In de claring that the men who issued that order act ed against tho well establlshod principlea of tho democratic party and contrary to tho will of Texas democrats whom I havo tho honor to represent. Instead of Mr. Bryan's platform of special privilege to tho manufacturer, I would cnt6r tho campaign of 1912, preaching tho doctrlno of equal taxation, for In taxation, as In all othor things, equality is justice. I would not insist that every raw material shall bo subject to a tax, but I would insist that until tho finished product can bo emancipated for tho benefit Of tho people, tho raw material shall not bo emanci pated for tho benefit of tho manufacturer. That was tho doctrlno of our 'fathers in tho days when tho democratic party won Its most splen did victories and administered this government with such great success; and that must be our doctrine if we ovor hope to restore the demo cratic party to power in this republic. " ' BAILEY'S "PITILESS" LOGIC In an editorial entitled "Bailoy'a Answor to Bryan," tho Ft. Worth (Texas) Record aaya; .'- Senator Bailey's reply to Mr. Bryan Is a peca of unlmpassionod, impersonal and pitiless logic. The mind which Senator Root says "works with tho precision of a Corliss engine," was In per fect order and proceeded in measured sequence from clear premise to unanswerable conclusion. With scrupulous fairness to Mr. Bryan's posi tion and sincoro respect for his personality and party status, the senator answers him In detail upon every point of tho ground which tho Ne braskan choso for tho contest. Mr. Bryan may not think that his arguments are "answered" and that ho should return to Texas as he prom ised to do to present now and other arguments if his Dallas and Fort Worth contentions should, bo refuted, but no unprejudiced man will say, after reviewing tho debate, that tho Texas view is not justified by the senator's reasoning. Disclaiming and disproving tho purpose of the Texas platform to levy a protective tariff upon raw materials for protection's sake, Senator Bailey shows that there It Incidental and in evitable benefit to the man who produces or man ufactures any article which Is taxed, and ho contends that such benefit should be distributed equally or. equitably between the producer and tho manufacturer. He would construct a tariff, not for protection but for revenue, and would distribute the schedules over such a wide va riety of articles of import as to reduce tho burden to tho consumer upon each article to the minimum and apportion the benefits of tho taTiff among the greatest number. Tho Bryan idea Is to attack protection piece meal, to remove tho tariff first from raw ma terials and 'trust to good fortune and political power to remove it from manufactured articles. He commits tho fatal practical mistake of for-r getting that every reduction of revenue or raw materials will require a corresponding increaso somewhere on manufactured articles in order to savo the government's revenue. And ho would compel the producer to suffer a loss whllo the manufacturer enjoys at least a temporary; gain. The Bailey Idea or more broadly speaking . the Texas idea and the historic democratic idea, , is to attack protection all along tho lino, to ' ' compel reductions on manufactured products and raw products at the same time in order to preserve tho equities between classes and sec tions, and to reform tho tariff system to th V! ,j-4fU &mV -M- Lr'-r t?