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The Commoner.
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. 11, NO. 3
Lincoln, Nebraska, January 27, 1911
Whole Number 523
The World Turns 'State's Evidence"
The New York World, leader of the re
organizers of 1904, and leader again for 1912,
Las "turned state's evidence."
The World was very anxious to defeatWllliam
F. Shcehan in his candidacy for United States
senator from Now York. It objected to Sheehan
on the ground that he represented special in
terests. The truth .is the World's objections
were that Sheehan did not represent the particu
lar faction of special interests for which the
World is spokesman. The World's candidate
was acceptable to many of the special interests.
But in its fight against Mr. Sheehan the
World furnished strong testimony in support of
those democrats who object to the World's re
organization scheme so far as concerns the na
tional democratic party.
In its issue of Monday, January 16, the World
printed an editorial entitled "Shall the state
go republican next fall?" In that editorial the
World said:
"Judge Parker assures us that William F.
Sheehan is as free from alliances that would
hinder
frco
cal influence Is back of Mr. Sheehan's candidacy?
Will he explain why all of Anthony N. Brady's
political influence is back of Mr. Sheehan's can
didacy? Will ho explain why all the political in
fluence of the Ryan corporations and the Brady
corporations is back of Mr. Sheehan's can
didacy? Wo have never known the time when
either Mr. Ryan or Mr. Brady was greatly in
terested in the election of public officials whoso
most conspicuous merit was their usefulness to
tho people.' "
Be it remembered that Judge Parker was tho
New York World's candidate for the democratic
nomination in 1904. Then the World told us
in effect that Judge Parker was "as free from
alliances that would hinder his usefulness to
the people as God's free air." But many re
fused to accept the World's word on this point,
for they saw all the representatives of special
interests within the democratic party and tho
influences ever co-operating with thoso Interests
lining up behind Judge Parker's candidacy. They
reasoned then even as the World reasons now
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"Such beingthocasewiUJudgeParkercx applying it., to the New York World's 1911 effort cials whoso
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pVesidoncy lot us paraphraso the World's antl
Sheohan editorial. Here It Is:
Tho Now York World assures us that tho
candidates it would foist upon tho democratic
party in 1012 are "as frco from alliances that
would hinder their usefulness to tho people as
God's free air."
Such being tho case will tho New York World
explain why the men who aided tho special in
terests in defeating tho democratic party in 1800
are back of tho Wow York World's candidates?
Will it explain why tho representatives of special
interests wholerldcd democratic candidates and
platforms in 1800, 1000 and 1008 and who con
tributed to republican campaign funds are back
of tho World's candidates? Will it explain why
newspapers that are known among the profes
sion and to many pcoplo as being owned or con.
trolled by special interests are supporters of tht
World's candidates and endorsers of tho World'i
policies? Wo have never known tho time who
any of these representatives of special interctifa,
or habitual contributors to republican campaign
rporation controlled newspapers wje$,.
interested in the election of public offt
most conspicuous merit was their
usefulness to tho people."
"Bryan Socialism
"By Bryan socialism," the New York World
says, "we mean specifically all that centraliza
tion hodge-podge which populism, through tho
agency of Mr. Bryan, inflicted upon the demo
cratic party. We include government owner
ship of the railroads, federal licenses for tame
trusts that do not control fifty per cent of the
product, prohibition, government guarantee of
bank deposits and the like."
Now that the World has specified its charges
they can be easily met. It might plead ignor
ance of the subject as an excuse for Its errors.
It does not mention the two most prominent
things that populism has "inflicted" upon tho
democratic party, namely, the election of sen
ators by the people now about to be secured
and the income tax. But as a democratic con
gress, as far back as 1892, "inflicted" the pop
ular election of senators upon the party and
the next democratic congress (in 1894) "in
flicted" the income tax on the party, the World
probably feels that these two populist doctrines
ought to be charged against Mr. Bryan.
As, to government ownership it may be an-
CONTENTS
WORLD TURNS "STATE'S EVIDENCE"
"BRYAN SOCIALISM"
THAT "FIFTY PER CENT SNEER"
SENATOR-ELECT HITCHCOCK'S SPEECH
TO THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE
PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICANS ORGANIZE
A WORD TO REFORMERS
GORE OF OKLAHOMA
OLL'IE JAMES WAS RIGHT
THE BALTIMORE CONFERENCE
CURRENT TOPICS
WASHINGTON NEWS
' ' NEWS OF THE WEEK 1
swered that it has not been inflicted on tho
party by Mr. Bryan or anybody else. It has
never been made a part of any democratic na
tional platform, nor has it been a part of any
platform that Mr. Bryan ever helped to write
or endorse. He has never advocated its inser
tion in any platform, state or national. Ho
does not desire government ownership of the
railroads, but he has said, and still says, that
government ownership is the ultimate solution
of tho railroad question not because the peo
ple want it but because the railroads will not
consent to necessary 'regulations. They will
continue to insist on running tho government
until the people, for self protection, take charge
of the roads. Mr. Bryan is trying to postpone
government ownership by urging efficient regu
lation while the World, and papers like it, are
hastening government ownership by opposing
the regulations needed.
Mr. Bryan's dislike for centralization Is so
strong that he Insists that when- the railroads
and their newspaper allies have forced the
country into government ownership we shall
have state ownership .of local lines which will
strengthen the states rather than weaken them.
But until Mr. Bryan advocates a platform de
claration in favor of government ownership, it
is hardly fair to accuse him of "inflicting" this
doctrine upon the party.
And prohibition, Is that a populist doctrine?
When did the populist party ever, in a national
platform, declare for prohibition? And when
did Mr. Bryan ever favor a platform declaration
in favor of prohibition? The World will search
in vain for a prohibition platform, state or
national, that Mr. Bryan ever wrote, helped to
write pr ran upon. Mr. Bryan has not dis
cussed liquor legislation outside of Nebraska.
He has advocated county option in Nebraska,
but that cannot be called a populistlc doctrine.
It has been adopted in Texas and other demo
cratic, states and by Ohio and other republican
states. The World is an ardent admirer of
Governor Harmon and yet Mr. Harmon has
served two years as governor of Ohio without
recommending a repeal of county option, and
he ran for re-eleption recently on a platform
that was silent on the question. It ought not
be a crime or even populistlc for Mr. Bryan to
favor, in Nebraska, a system which is, at worst,
not bad enough to excite tho opposition of
Governor Harmon.
Federal licenses for large interstate corpora
tions is another doctrine that tho World charges
against Mr. Bryan, but it is not populistlc. It
appeared first in the democratic platform of
1900 and reappeared in 1904, and Mr. Bryan,
pleads guilty of being its author. Tho World
opposes it because it strikes at the root of the
ovil. It talks about tho trusts but it has no
remedy. It advocates the nomination of men
selected by tho trusts and warranted harmless.
The license plan does not enlarge the power
of corporations; it restricts the power they now
have. It does not Increase the power of tho
federal government; it simply employs the re
straining power which it now has. The license
system for big corporations adds a national
remedy to a state remedy; it expressly reserves
to the states the exercise of all the authority
over corporations that they now have. The
World is very much opposed to effective federal
regulation on the trust question, but it is per
fectly willing to have breweries use tho inter-
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EXAMINE THEIR RECORD
The record of every candidate should
be carefully examined to see whether he
is so situated as to be able to serve the
public without bias In favor of any in
terest antagonistic to the public. "No
man can serve two masters," and those
whose environment is such as not to
leave them free for the service of the
people should not be supported by tho
people. Is a candidate supported or op
posed by the enemies of the people?
That should be the inquiry, and those
who stand for the common good cannot
be far wrong when they get on tho other
side, and oppose those upheld by the
agents of privilege. Joseph W. Folk, in
The Commoner, January 20, 1911.
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