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The Commoner,
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. 9, NO. 49
Lincoln, Nebraska, December 17, 1909
Whole Number 465
Chinese Students
The press dispatches report that forty-seven
Chinese students have arrived from the Orient
to enter various colleges in this country for
technical education, at the expense of the '
Chinese government. They will be followed
next year by one hundred and fifty-three stu
dents, and the entire two hundred will return
home when they have completed their several
courses, and China will doubtless profit greatly
by the influence which their American educa
tion will enable them to exert.
The sending of these students to America' is
an outgrowth of our nation's generosity, or
rather its act of justice, in remitting $10,000,000
of the indemnity claimed from China. It was
found that ,the amount awarded the . United
States was in excess pf the actual injury done,
and our nation set a splendid example in notify
ing the Chinese government that we would not
retain a larger sum than necessary to cover the
actual injuries.
Mr. Bryan has already discussed this matter,
and The Commoner reproduces an extract from
an article written by Mr. Bryan nearly four
years ago, just after his visit to China. Ho
said:
"Students ought to bo invited to our country;
we can afford to make the welcome cordial and
access to our institutions easy, for there is no
fetter., way of-influencing other countries for
good than through their young men and young
women who, gathering now1 ideas in America,
-aces!- scarry- them back and apply them in their own
country A smal.part of the money now'speht
in b'uildiiig warships fb protect us from ihiaglh
ary foes would, if.sperit in the education of the
children of foreigners, make us friends abroad
who would constantly lesson the probability of
war. The newspapers have given currency to
the report that our government contemplates
returning to China a part of the indemnity ex
acted because of the Boxer attack, and the
Chinese are much gratified at the rumor. It
is coupled with the statement that the return
of the money would be conditioned upon the ex
penditure of the money for education. I can
conceive of no greater favor that our country
can bestow upon China than to make permanent
provision for schools which will give the Chinese
youth an opportunity to acquire the most mod
ern instruction in literature and in physical and
political science. If the tfsum to be returned
were to be divided and the larger part given
for the endowment of a series of universities
in China, while the smaller part endowed a
college at Washington, under the control of the
Chinese embassy, it would do more to extend
our commerce, our ideals and our prestige than
CONTENTS
,
-C " ' CHINESE STUDENTS
TWO EDITORIALS
"AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS" A
CHRISTMAS THOUGHT
THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
SENATOR CULBERSON'S STATEMENT
EDUCATIONAL SERIES THE BRITISH
BUDGET
"WAITING"
ENGLAND'S GREAT STRUGGLE
TARIFF AND TRUSTS FURNISH THE
ANSJyVER
CURRENT TOPICS
HOME DEPARTMENT
WHETHER COMMON OR NOT
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE . .
NEWS OF THE WEEK
WASHINGTON NEWS
a hundred times that Bum oxponded on a mili
tary establishment or a navy."
China, instead of establishing a university is
scattering the students, among the different
American colleges and this is probably better,
because if scattered about a fow at each col
lege they will absorb moro of American lifo
than they would if they attended tho Bamo uni
versity, and wero separated from tho American
students. The two hundred Chineso students
will do moro to spread American ideas through
out China than could bo done in any other way,
and this is only tho beginning.
A hearty welcome should bo extended to thcso
Chinese students, for thoy will bo our ambas
sadors to China, more potent for tho spread of
western ideals than any official embassy that
we could send.
CHAUTAUQUA ENGAGEMENTS FOR 10JO
Mr. Bryan expects to limit his Chautauqua
engagements for 1910 to thirty-five or forty and
these will bo arranged directly from Lincoln.
In making applications for dates please stato
the days covered by tho Chautauqua session.
"AS AVE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS"
A OIIRISTMAS THOUGHT w
t
(By Richard L. Metcalfe)
.1 met recently, in a gathering of-old
acquaintances, a woman who had s.uf- ,
v-fereHa great wrong yet discharged her
duty in a way that must provide' insplra-
tion for an unforgiving world. To those
who: had injured,, lier she had given in-
disputable proof "of an unconditional''''
pardon; and with her. forgiving was for-
getting.
"I know," on one occasion said this
woman of tho great love-heart, "that I
have had much to. forgive. But I am
the one In this world who can grant tho
pardon; and I have done it on tho
promise of the Christ."
What an inspiration for unforgiving
men !
Standing in the presence of this fine
examplar of a matchless law I saw tho
utter insignificance of every wrong I had
treasured up in all tho years of active
life. Injuries 'that had seemed impor-
tant and had remained unforgiven lost
consequence. Enmities whoso cultlva-
tion had seemed imperative now looked
foolish. In this light I saw how small a
thing it would be for mo to grant full
paTdon to my every debtor. And so I
thank this woman for tho glimpse she
gave me of the Christ-idea.
And now to old time friend and
whilom "foe," to neighbor near and
neighbor "far away," I send this living
thought, this word of perfect peace of
"Peace on earth good will towards
Men:"
If there be in all this world one scar
that word, or deed, or thought of mino
has made, I bid it In tho name of
Love and Life and Truth to heal; and
crave the pardon of the victim of my
fault. , ,
Wherever in this vale of tears and
vain regrets, of laughter and of joy,
there lives one creature who has done
me wrong I blot tho memory from the
realm of human fact.
Then turning from the 'embers where
all hate has died I feef the life-full cur-
rents of the Father's Prayer as I repeat
the plea, "Forgive our debts as wo for-
give our debtors;" and looking up
through Light and Love I bow my head
in gratitude to God and claim the bene-
diction of the holy pledge.
T.itinnin TNtehrnska. December, 1909.
(Copyright, 1909.)
Two Editorials
The Philadelphia Public Lodger, disclosing J.
Pierpont Morgan's capturo of tho Equltablo Lifo
Assuranco Society, prints this somewhat re
markable editorial:
"Tho very safest placo for tho title to thoso
502 shares of Equitable Btock Is in his safe Ho
is not pressed for money. Ho can afford to
leave it thoro, whllo tho trustees work out to
completion tho reorganization of tho society's
affairs, or he can himself establish it upon a
basis of permanent security. Tho Insuranco
laws of Now York limit so closely tho charactor
and extent of investments and tho manner of
thoir use that stock control no longer carries
the former speculative opportunities. To speak
of this purchase as 'bringing tho EqtiflnbJo'fl
assets into Wall Street' is to invert Its signifi
cance; it takes them moro effectively out of 'tho
street' and out of tho reach of private specula
tive purpose. Well informed people In New
York regard this purchaso by Mr. Morgan not
as an extension of his power, but as an example
of his conservative and constructive public
spirit."
Is it possible that as big a newspaper as tho
Philadelphia Public Ledger Is so slmplo as to
take Itself seriously in these statements? Tho
idea that in his role of monopolist J. Plorpont
Morgan has at heart the public Intpresta, rather
than ah ambition to' extend "his own, power may
h seriously belloved ip tho editorial rooms' of
the Public Ledger. That holng. true thon wo
can better understand some of tho pcculmr edi
torials prin tod from day to day In the paper that
Was established by George V Chllds.
Even tho New York World that can, when it
chooses, take a limited view of things, ovidently
does not share tho Public Lodger's opinion. In
an editorial entitled "What Mr. Morgan Bought"
tho World says:
"What J. Pierpont Morgan bought from
Thomas F. Ryan was not a majority of tho s'ock
of tho Equltablo Life Assurance Society but thO
privilege of controlling over $430,000,000 of
other peoplo's money.
' "The Equitable stock that Mr. Ryan originally
owned could pay only $3,514 In legitimate divi
dends under the 7 per cent clause In the society's
charter. Mr. Ryan paid James Uazon Hylo
$2,500,000 for this opportunity to earn $3,51 t
a year. What Mr. Morgan has paid to Mi
Ryan is still a' secret, but Mr. Ryan is not In
the habit of selling anything for less than ho
paid for it.
"Tho Morgan Interests have long dominated
tho New York Life. Now with tho assets of.
the Equitable In their possession they wield
what is probably tho most tremendous financial
power concentrated in tho hands of any set of
private individuals in the world. The control
of this thousand million dollars of policyholders'
money means tho power to create a market for
Morgan securities and to close tho market to
other securities when desired. It means power
to elevate prices or to depress prices. It means
tho domination of more banks and trust com
panies and of their deposits and financial in
fluence. It means immediate access to millions
of dollars of other people's money whenever this
money is needed for Morgan purposes. It means
the opportunity to exploit tho savings of hun
dreds of thousands of Americans for tho further
enrichment of a Wall Street coterie.
"To a greater extent than formerly the policy
holders are protected by tho Armstrong code,
but tho public is not equally protected. In spite
of codes and superintendents of Insurance the
control of hundreds of millions of dollars of the
country's savings places a power In the hands .
of private individuals such as the American
people never contemplated intrusting even to
their own government."
'
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