The Commoner.
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
M
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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.
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