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The Commoner.
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Nob.
If the jPeojpe Utile Why Don't
They Get What They Want?
In his groat speech, dolivored In the United
States senate, Senator Owen of Oklahoma asked,
"If the people really rule why don't the people
get what they want?"
Tho Commoner has received many replies to
this question and some of these are hereinafter
printed:
Frank II. Howe, Columbus, Ohio. The people
rule, but do not get what they want for tho
same reason that a parent can not get dutiful
conduct from a spoiled child. Back in the
"sixties" tho republican party (the child) per
formed a splendid service for the parent (tho
people) and tho indulgent parent has ever since
believed the child could do no intentional wrong;
and each time tho child does a wrong act, and
promises to do bettor next time, the 'parent with
holds the proper punishment and gives the child
new liberties. Once the parent did give the child
a good spanking and sent it into the dark closet
for awhile. Then its other child (the demo
cratic party) was indulged, but disobeyed its
parent by forsaking tho tariff issue, for which
it has been severely punished ever since. If the
people want to rule all the time, the parent must
ever keep before its children the necessity for
doing that which the parent desires (this can
bo done with the initiative and referendum) and
tho certainty of punishment if the children do
not obey, (this can be done with tho recall).
Until wo can get tho initiative and referendum
text book and the recall switch into use we may
expect that the "kids" will play "hookey," rob
orchards, play marbles for keeps and do sundry
other things that unruly children without a firm
guiding hand are wont to do.
C. F. Michael, Hartford, Conn. If anyone
thinks today that anybody rules but the special
interests they are indeed to be pitied. They
own so completely both republican and democrat
parties and the parties own bo completely the.
voters, that to me the case looks hopeless. Let
mo illustrate my position. In the first platje I
want to say that I don't think there is a man
living that admires Mr. Bryan more than I do,
and when in the spring of 1904, before the na
tional convention, Mr. Bryan gave his reason
why Judge Parker was not eligible aB a candi
date for president on the democratic ticket in
the columns of The Commoner, every word was
true and Mr. Bryan made the mistake of his
life when, after tho convention, he gave the lie
to his utterances before the convention and
swallowed Parker, gold brick and all. I only
mention this to show what an awful thing this
allegiance to party is. Had Mr. Bryan left tho
rotten crowd then, things would be entirely dif
ferent now. Tho people need a Moses to lead
them out of the wilderness, and I believe Mr.
Bryan is the Moses, but we have lost eight
years of valuable time by Mr. Bryan's sad mis
take. If Mr. Bryan or any man like him should
got tho nomination on the democratic ticket
two years hence he will have tho whole gang of
machine democrats against him and of course
unless he should be elected by an overwhelming
majority ho will never be allowed to fill the
ofllce.
James K. McClung, Jackson, Ohio. On this
question the people, aB a whole, may bo divided
into two classes those who know and those
who do not know what they are voting for or
against. Of this latter class, the vast majority
would make no mistake at the ballot box, if
their want of knowledge on the issues was not
taken advantage of during the campaign by the
former class, and they blindly lead to do at the
polls just what they would not do if left alone,
and free to follow the bent of their own simple
judgment as they In their simple honesty form
them. The first class is the real danger class.
They know; and they are the fellows who lead
this common herd astray at the polls. Of this
class is the present insurgents. Every one of
these men have voted, at each presidential and
congressional election ever since they have been
voters to bring about the very condition of which
thoy now complain; and at the last three elec
tions when the question was squarely put they
voted for the doctrine of the standpatters, not
only that but were the cause of leading this hon
est, but ignorant class with them. The reason
the people do not get what they want is because
party with these insurgents is still dearer than
principle. Between elections they wail hard of
the iniquities of the standpatters, but on election
day they forget it all, and vote for party. The
remedy lies in these men forgetting party during
the campaign, and at the ballot box, working as
a unit for principle and voting as they speak.
Thoy will then take this class they have been
deceiving into becoming a party asset with them,
and then will elections begin to be carried for
the people and the people will not only get what
they want but rule in fact.
L. J. McDanlel, South Kankuna, Wis. In an
swer to Senator Owen's query, I will answer that
there is, outside of the progressive element, a
very small portion that know just what they
want and get it through Cannon and Aldrich.
The rest of the people don't know what they
want, as is demonstrated at the polls. The
American people like to be fooled; they enjoy it;
they are for party pot for principle. The ques
tion of today is, when shall the people rule?
Henry Baer, York, Neb. Let us have the in
itiative and referendum and the power of recall,
nation-wide, state and municipal, and the people
will rule to such wide an extent as is possible
in a peoples' government.
A. J. McDonald, Clayton, N. M. The people
do not get what they want, because they do not
rule. The wealthy few rule by employing spe
cialists in the science of government to obtain
for them what they want. The people do not
rule for several reasons: First, our political and
industrial systems are so complicated that none
but a specialist in their study can understand
them. This makes it easy for one so inclined
to mislead the people. Second, our competitive
system makes it to the interest of one man or set
of men to mislead another man or set of men. It
makes it to the interest of the man or set first
mentioned to make our political and industrial
systems still more complicated, so that they may
still further and more easily mislead the people.
Third, this same haphazard competitive system
of production and distribution causes the mere
making of a living to occupy so much of a man's
time that he has none left In which to acquire
an understanding of tho systems mentioned
Hero again the self interest of the first mentioned
class steps In and tries to lengthen the hours of
labor and thus perpetuate Ignorance. There is a
vicious circle. The indifference of many, and
the aloofness of others, are due largely to tho
above. Remedy: The initiative and the referen
dum, to bring the people at large closer to their
law making; education to enable them to use
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 29
the initiative and the referendum to better and
always better advantage; the elimination of tho
conflict of interests, and the simplification of our
political and industrial systems, by means of a
nearer, though of course gradual, approach to
pure socialism.
J. Paul Jones, Kempton, Okla. The people do
not rule. Money rules. Money, the life blood
of the nation, stamped and guaranteed by tho
government to be good, is absolutely controlled
by private institutions. Interest should never
reach a point higher than the necessary expense
it takes to carry on the exchange. The govern
ment should control the output at cost and the
money changer should be put to work at some
useful avocation. As it is he is a blood sucker
and a drone on society. Public ownership of
public utilities must come and will come. The
initiative and referendum and right of recall!
Don't it look queer to us who have been clam
moring so long for it to see democrats and even
republicans advocating it? We were called crazy
and wild-eyed, but it's different now.
R. H. Distin, Orange, Conn. In answer to
Senator Owen's query, "If the people rule why
don't they get what they want?" would like to
recall the proverb, the difference between a poli
tician and a statesman is that a politician gives
the people what they want and a statesman gives
them what they need. If this is a proper diag
nosis, should say they get what they want and
then are not' satisfied. However, in my mind it
can be summed up in the fact that the people
should have been mislead by garrulous babbling,
they have not yet learned to judge between a
clear headed statesman on the one hand and a
loquacious politician on the other.
J. D. Golightly, Winchester, Va. The" people
do not rule. They pose as sovereigns of elections
which sounds harmonious to the ear, but when
they get their share of justice frbm the govern
ment it is broken to the sense. They get peon
age instead; their sovereignty is a satire; they
have no hold on the men they put in office; they
do just as they like or are bought; there must
be a law to recall all such servants as do not do
what they are elected to do. The president has
too much power and the people too little. If
the question was put to the people, would you
rather wear shoddy clothes than clothes made
out of pure wool and cotton, surely they would
choose the latter.
E. G. Kline, Hartville, Ohio As to Senator
Owen's question, it appears to me that the people
i. e., the majority, get exactly 'what they want.
In our last national campaign one party prom
ised tariff revision downward, the other revision
only, the best definition for which was only,
probably downward. They preferred the doubt
ful, and got it. Why buy seed of a dealer who
says his seed is probably pure when you can get
it of a dealer who guarantees his seed to be
pure. No wonder Mr. Barnum said: "The Amer
ican people like to be humbugged." I think one
reason why the people do not get what they
want is that too many people are "party blind."
They read their own party papers only, attend
only speeches of their own party. There are
people who boast that they never voted a mixed
ticket. If people would study both sides, there
would soon be more independent voters. Then
the initiative and referendum would be an as
sured thing, and then we could get what we
want. I believe that in our independent vote
lies our salvation. The only safe way now is
to vote only for a candidate who will be bound
by his platform, for if he will not say that be
fore election he will surely not be bound by it if
elected. People also become discouraged be
cause they are betrayed so often, as is the case
in Ohio now. If our convention would have
endorsed a senatorial candidate, we would have
a chance to say what we want and might ge? it,
but as it is, in case of democratic success we
might get what we don't want. The way to do,
Is to go to the primaries, attend the caucus, in
struct delegates to conventions, obtain pledges
from candidates that a' platform is binding, study
politics, and vote for the best interests of the
country. Our country is greater than our party.
Let those who see the truth work fearlessly for
it, like Mr. Bryan is doing, and by and by wo
will know what we want, and get it.
"One Florida Cracker Subscriber," Haines?
City, Fla'. Seeing the answers of the Com
moner's readers to Senator Gore's question, "Do
the people rule?" I submit the following: Yes
ignorantly, carelessly and clumsily. The minor
" ity rules at present with the majority's consent
