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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1909)
The Commoner. WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR M M VOL. 9, NO. 41 Lincoln, Nebraska, October 22, 1909 Whole Number 457 Pushing the Commoner The - Fort;. Worth Record devotes a consid erable share of its editorial page in Its issue of October 2 to a discussion which it entitles, "Pub lisher Bryan's Bad Break." It quotes a letter written by the publisher of The Commoner to a number of Texas democrats. It complains because the publisher of The Commoner asks those democrats who agree with Mr. Bryan to assist in tho circulation of The Commoner. The Record is shocked that Mr. Bryan should at tempt to reach a larger number of readers. It refuses to accept the "harsh view" which it quotes one Texan as expressing, namely, that he, Mr. Bryan, has "started out on a money making scheme as well as to endeavor to raise his political declining star." It points out that Mr. Bryan has been three times the presidential nominee of a great party; that he has for twelve years enjoyed the trusted leadership of millions of democrats; that to be so honored and es teemed "is so rare a distinction as to lift even the most callous and most selfish man above material considerations and to consecrate him to the most devoted and sacrificial service." Not only that, but the Record adds, "To exploit such a trust for gain and to make it the convenient instrument of a cold-blopded business venture is revolting to tho most obvlqus considerations of propriety." It Is true that Mr. Bryan has been three times the candidate of his party, and he knows of no. honorable occupation in -Which he could be en gaged where he would not lb .oenefited pecu niarily by the acquaintance "qnd fame "that 'the nominations "bestowed;, but must" 'aniaTfhcr lias been' the' candidate of his party :be retired from all occupations, from labor of every kind and from remunerative employment merely be cause some enemy will accuse him of using his position for gain? If Mr. Bryan is not debarred from active work because of his having been a candidate, the next question is, is the newspaper business a legiti mate field? He assumes that it is not only legitimate but that it is the most appropriate field in which he could work because it enables him to take part in the discussion of public questions and to assist those who haVe been his co-laborers in the long campaign which has been waged for the restoration of the government to the hands of the whole people. Mr. Bryan has been publishing The Commoner for nearly nine years, and the editor of the Record has known this. When did it before raise a question as to the propriety of his edit ing tho paper? Did the Record oppose Mr. CONTENTS PUSHING THE COMMONER AN EPOCH-I "AKING SENTENCE EDUCATIONAL SERIES ELECTION OF ' SENATORS BY THE PEOPLE CON GRESS DIRECTED TO ACT TEXANS FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES : AN ANALYSIS BY "AN OLD-TIME DEMOCRAT" MR. BRYAN IN THE NORTHWEST "TAKE TIME TO THINK," BY PRESIDENT HADLEY OF YALE A NEBRASKA REPUBLICAN PAPER'S PLAIN TALK SENATOR ALDRICH IN THE SADDLE PRACTICAL TARIFF TALKS CURRENT TOPICS HOME DEPARTMENT .. -HOW MR. CRANE LOST HIS JOB , WHETHER COMMON OR NOT "-):s NEWS OF THE WEEK Bryan's re-nomination on tho ground that ho had made an improper uso of his prominonco in publishing Tho Commoner? If it is proper for Mr. Bryan to publish Tho Commoner, the next question arlsos, is it proper for him to extend its circulation in Texas? If not, why not? If the editor of tho Record has been a reader of Tho Commoner, ho must know that Mr Bryan made no departure in his speech in Texas. Tho platform which ho read at Dallas was embodied in an editorial which ho wroto for Tho Commoner beforo ho went to Texas, and It was published for the benefit of tho read ers of the wholo country. Tho oditor of tho Record is In error if he assumes that Tho Com moner's course has been or is based upon any thing that has been said or will be said In Texas. The Commoner roaches every stato in tho union, and, according to tho newspaper estimate, Is read by something like seven hundred thousand dem ocrats each week. Its policies are national. It Is an incident merely that the policy of Tho Commoner aroused opposition in Texas, and it has aroused opposition merely because thero are a few democrats in Texas who deny tho binding force of a platform and a' few more who think that protection should be spread out so as to include tho sheep growers of Texas and tho lumber producers of that stato.' Mr. Bryan regards it as entirely proper to increase Tho Commonerls circulation in Texas as ho thinks it proper to increase Its circulation in other states. The special reason for appealing to those dem ocrats in Texas who support Mr. Bryan's position is. that the papers that are advocating a tax on raw material do not fairly present,, the issue. This Is not very surprising, however, because the advocates of special interests, never present .the issue! airly . To do, soaul4batoanwr ineir own arguments, me success or error der pehds largely upon misrepreiehtation and iipoh the concealing of the real Issue. The Record Is as guilty as any other paper in so doing. If it would be fair, let It take tho platform read by .Mr. Bryan at Dallas and quote it plank by plank and give its reason for opposing that plat form, but instead of doing that, it attempts to misrepresent Mr. Bryan and put him In the atti tude of favoring a tariff for the benefit of man ufacturers. It is to expose tho unfairness of such papers that The Commoner was started, and it will continue to expose thJs unfairness -while it is published The Commoner is being offered to Its readers at afc near the actual cost of publication as can be safely estimated. In fact, the clubbing rates made by The Commoner for tho purpose of ox tending Its circulation have enabled tho demo crats of the entire country to get the paper at the lowest possible cost, it is probably safo to' say that no other paper in the United States having an equal circulation is published upon a closer margin than The Commoner. The readers of Tho Commoner know that while The Commoner has been self-supporting from the beginning and could not be continued unless it was self-supporting, the chief object of its publication is not pecuniary profit but the propagation of democratic principles, and it is for that reason that The Commoner has been enabled to rely upon its readers to extend its circulation and influence. . The Record complains that Mr. Bryan "ap peals to prejudice against the 'misrepresenta tions of the corporation press,' as if the news papers of this state were the hirelings of selfish Interests." The Record is welcome to interpret the language as It pleases, but the newspaper which wiir defend a taTlff on lumber for tho benefit of a few lumber companies ought not to take offense at anything said to a corporation press. A paper that will defend a tariff on iron ore which the steel trust asks for, and by which it largely profits, ought not to be sensitive about reference to the Influence of corporation papers. It is a matter of common knowledge that tho republican party has had in recent years a great advantage in having the support 'of the corpora tion press and that the effort to advance demo cratic doctrine has been handicapped by the lack of newspapers having large and general circulation. The Commoner has sought to en- courago tho establishment of democratic papera in all sections of tho country. Tho Commoner itself fills a field that has heretofore been un occupied, and democratic workors everywhere have borno testimony to thp good results of the campaign work dono in tholr community through tho columns of Tho Commoner. Mr. Bryan would liko to placo a copy of Tho Commoner in ovory Toxan homo, and not only in ovory Texas homo but in ovory homo In overy stato of tho union. Tho fact that those who fight for special Interests objoct to any plan for tho enlargomont of Tho Commoner's circu lation is not because tho objectors aro feaTful loBt Mr. Bryan might profit pecuniarily from tho increased circulation but rather that thoy know that tho efforts of Tho Commoner have been dedicated to tho causo of popular govern ment and that tho mlsfllon of this paper is to fight for truth as its editor sees tho truth. In its initial number it was said: "Tho Com moner will bo satisfied ir, by fidelity to tho com mon people, It proves Its right to tho namo which has boon chosen." Mr. Bryan is willing to leavo It to tho readors of his paper whether it has redeemed this implied plodgo It Is, how ovor, with bad graco that criticism comes from Uiopo who employ tho arguments of republican tariff makers, who use tho phrases of republican tariff dofendcrs, and who win tho favor of re publican tariff barons. AN EPOOH-MAKING SENTENCE Lloyd George, c)iancollor of tho exchequer, has coined an epoch-making sentence in his de nunciation of tho House ot Lords for ttfelr "op position to the-budget. He asks: ' '' la&J'Why make ten thousand owners, of. thajU birth ?' ' - , '.'-' .- - -- The speech Is said to have made a' tremen dous sensation and well it might! No wonder it was telegraphed all ovor England and caused tho papers to issue extra editions. It sounds liko tho warnings uttered by tho GraccI, when in the declining days of Rome they were pleading eloquently for their disinherited countrymen. Let us hope that tho plea of Lloyd George may not bo in vain. In every country the same Issue presents it self in some form. In this country a few monop olists aro collecting forced tribute from tho people; a' small fraction of tho people use tho protective tariff to lay a burdensome tax upon the rest of tho population; and just now a water power trust Is reaching out after tho mountain streams with tho intention of collecting a per petual toll" from Industry. It Is tho duty of overy citizen to study these questions and uso his influence to prevent the absorption of tho productive machinery of the country by a favored few. The question asked by Lloyd George Is a pertinent one everywhere. "WHY MAKE TEN THOUSAND OWNERS OF THE SOIL AND ALL THE REST TRES PASSERS IN THE LAND OF THEIR BIRTH?". THE MARTYRDOM OF FERRER Francisco Ferrer, leader of tho Spanish revo lution, died with the cry "Long live tho modern schools," and the king and the ministers of tho king appear to have been surprised. They were also surprised by tho commotion created throughout tho world by the martyrdom of Ferrer. They will probably be surprised when they find that Ferrer's tragic death has only given new impetus to the cause for which ho fought. Will kings never learn the lessons of history. MEN Not gold, but only men, can make A people great and strong; Men who, for truth and honor's sake. Stand fas and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep, Who dare while others fly They build a nation's pillars deep - And lift them to the sky. Ralph Waldo Emerson. I! M i