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flod with those who aro ongagcd in exploiting
tho masses. Ho bol loves in democracy and in
tho democratic party as a moans of advancing
democracy. Individually and through Tho Com
moner ho will exert himself to tho utmost to
secure to tho country tho blessings of democracy
applied to government and to socuro to tho party
the power and prestige which can only ho earned
by. fidelity to public interests.
WITH A COMMON PURPOSE
In a lottor prlntod in tho Oakland (Cal.) En
quiror, J. W. Button, lato of Company II. Fourth
Ohio voluntoor infantry, pleads for a bettor
understanding botwoen tho men of the north and
tho iuqii of tho south, and adds: "As victors, wo
can well afford at this distant day to generously
forgive and forgot. There aro other battles to
bo fought and other victories to bo won before
it can bo truthfully said that wo aro a 'free and
independent' people.
"Corporations aro enthroned and schoming
men by tho graco and favor of special privilege
have boen able to absorb by far too large a
portion of the wealth of tho nation the pro
ducts of industry, 'injustice, swift, erect and un
conflnod, sweeps the wide earth and tramples
o'er mankind,' and the signs of the. times seem
to indicate that if theso conditions be not oppor
tunely corrected thoy will precipitate this coun
try into a struggle, comparqd with which tho.
Civil war, terrible as it was, was but a skir
mish. "To avert this threatened danger let those of
us, who wore tho blue, hand in: hand with those
who wore tho gray, 'with malice toward nono
and charity for all unitedly resist the insidious
encroachments of selfish men, who, masquerad
ing as, friends of the republic, wpuld not scruple,;
to sacrifice all of liberty for wealth and power."
EXPERT TESTIMONY
'The Omaha Bee criticised' Mr. Bryan rather
severely for some observations concerning the
bad practices of certain newspapers but during
a moment when tho Bee editor did not have Mr.
Bryan's criticism in mind he wrote an interest
ing editorial charging that certain newspapers
"go right on constructing card houses to be
blown down, and basing, on- mere, gossip, the
minutest detail of what public men are going to
do, withput even giving them a chance to affirm
or dny."
The Bee editor added: "For those political
clairvoyants no tale is so preposterous, and no
yarn so far-fetched, as to require verification
from the only people who could verify. Perhaps
It h? a harmless pastime, although occasionally
some real damage is done.. But the chief
suftorers and victims are the newspapers, them
selves, that make it a business to manufacture
fakes sure to be quickly exploded, and to react
upon their own heads."
Isn't tho Bee editor just a bit too severe upon
tho press?
A HOT WEATHER ABSURDITY
Kansas City Star: It happens that a member
of the Jewish race, Mr. Oscar Straus, was a
prominerit and efficient member of President
Roosevelt's cabinet; that another member of
, the samo race, Mr. Louis Brandeis, has proved
one of the most useful citizens in private life
today; that another, Mr. Jacob Schiff, is one
of the most eminint philanthropists as well as
financiers in the nation; that others of the race
men like Rabbi Hirsch, of Chicago and Rabbi
Wise of New York are leaders in the American
pulpit; in short, that in every department of
American life the Jewish people occupy conspic
uous positions of honor and trust.
In view of the.se circumstances it is little
short of humorous that an unknown officer in
the army should attempt to bar a man from
promotion on the ground that he is a Jew.
TAFT ON FIRST BALLOT
Tho Washington correspondent for the Chi
cago Record-Herald says that a republican party
poll indicates that Mr. Taft will be renominated
on the first ballot. Seven states, he says, are
likely to send anti-Taft delegations. These
are California Oregon, Washington, the two
Dakotas, Idaho and Wisconsin.
WOULD LIICE TO HAVE IT ONE SIDED
The Baltimore Sun complains that "rebuking
Bryan is like arguing with an echo." It is too
bad tho spokesmen lor special interests can not
have it all their own way. It is too bad that
anyone has the temerity to criticise their at
tacks upon the public welfare.
The Commoner.
PUBLISHING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
Tho national publicity law organization is
urging the amendment of tho present law re
quiring tho publishing of tho names of contri
butors to national campaign funds. It asks for
the addition of tho following provision:
" "Sec. 5. That tho treasurer of every such
political committee shall, not moro than fifteen
days and not less than ten days before an elec
tion at which representatives In congress are to
bo elected in two or more states, file in the
office of tho clerk of the house of representa
tives at Washington, District of Columbia, with
said clerk, an itemized detailed statement, sworn
to by said treasurer and conforming to the re
quirements of the following section of this act.
It shall also bo tho duty of said treasurer to file
a similar and final statement with said clerk
within thirty days after such election, such final
statement also to be sworn to by said treasurer
and to conform to the requirements of the
following section of this act. The statements
so filed with tho clerk of the house shall be
preserved by him for fifteen months, and shall
be a part of tho public records of his office,
and shall be open to public inspection."
This was in the bill as it passed the house but
was stricken out in the senate. It goes without
.Baying that it will pass the democratic house
and it ought to pass at the special session
and it is likely to pass the senate by a combina
tion of democrats and progressive republicans.
The democratic national platform of 1908 de
manded: "We demand federal legislation, forever
terminating the partnership which has existed
between corporations of the country and the
republican party under the expressed or Implied
agreement that in return for the contribution of
great sums of money wherewith to purchase
elections they should be allowed to continue
substantially unmolested in their efforts to en
croach upon the rights of the people.
"Any reasonable doubt as to the existence of
this relation has been dispelled by the sworn
testimony of witnesses examined In the insurance
investigation in New York and the open admis
sion of a single individual unchallenged by the
republican national committee that he himself
at the- personal request ;of .the then republican
candidate for the presidency raised over a
quarter of a million, dollars to be used in a
single state during the closing hours of. the last
campaign. In order that this practice shall be
stopped fqr all time wo demand the passage of
a statute punishing by imprisonment any officer
of a corporation who shall either contribute -on
behalf of or consent to the contribution by a
corporation of any money or thing of value to
" be used In furthering the election of a president
or vice president of the United States, or of any
member of the congress thereof. We denounce
the republican party having complete control
of the federal government, for its failure to pass
the bill, Introduced in the last congress to com
pel the publication of the names of contributors
and the amounts contributed toward campaign
funds, and point to the evidence of the insin
cerity of republican leaders when they sought by
an absolutely irrelevant and impossible amend
ment to defeat the passage of the bill, as a
further evidence .of their intention to conduct
their campaign in the coming contest with vast
sums of money wrested from favor-seeking cor
porations. We call attention to the fact that
the recent republican national convention at
Chicago refused, when the Issue was presented
to it, to declare against such practices.
"We pledge the'democratlc party to the enact
ment of a law prohibiting any corporation from
contributing to a campaign fund, and any in
dividual from contributing an amount above a
reasonable maximum and providing for the pub
lication before election of all such contributions
above a reasonable minimum."
And that platform Is marching on to victory.
ELECTION OF SENATORS
By a vote of 64 to 24 the United States senate
passed the constitutional amendment providing
for the election of senators after attaching to it
the Bristow amendment which gives the federal
government supervision of senatorial elections.
On the adoption of the Bristow amendment
tho vote stood 44 to 44 and Vice President Sher
man, as the presiding officer, cast the deciding
vote in favor of the amendment, thus attaching
it to tho main measure. The whole proposition
was then adopted by a vote of 64 to 24. '
Tho Associated Press report of the proceed
ings says: "Mr. Davis of Arkansas arraigned
Mr. Bristow. Referring by name to Senator
VOLUME Hi NUMBER 23
Cummins, Clapp and La Follette ho declared 'tho
insurgent crowd never have been sincere on any
subject they have brought before the. country.'
"The chair called Mr. Davis to order. Mr.
Cummins defied Mr. Davis' statement of an
alleged instance as untrue. Mr. Bristow refuted
the charge, saying that only under great provo
cation 'would he pay any attention to what tho
senator from Arkansas said.'
"Mr. Bacon aroused feeling by declaring that
great interests had been bringing enormous
pressure to bear to defeat the resolution, and
Senators Works, Guggenheim and Cummins
arose to refute the allegation. Mr. Bacon ex
plained that he was imputing no impropriety to
any member.
"The ' alleged defection of the progressives
was scored by Senator Reed of Missburi, who de
clared the conversion of Mr. Bristow to Sena
tor Sunderland's view point was 'because of the
negro vote in Kansas.'
"Adoption of the Bristow amendment which
omitted the house provision transferring super
vision of senatorial elections from congress to
the state legislatures, was made possible by Mr.
Clark of Arkansas casting the only democratic
vote for the proposition. The tie on that ballot
would have been prevented if his vote had been
cast with his party, with whom he later voted
on adoption of the resolution. On this first
ballot five republicans, Messrs. Borah, Gronna,
La Follette, Poindexter and Works, all insur
gents, voted against the provision. On the
resolution as amended the vote sixty-lour to
twenty-four was six more than the necessary
two-thirds majority. Of the twenty-four nega-.
tive votes eight were cast by democrats and
sixteen by republicans as follows:
"Republicans Brandegee, Burnham, Crane,
Dillingham, Gallinger, Heyburn, Lippitt, Lodge,
Lorimer, Oliver, Page, Penrose, Richardson,
Root, Smoot and Wetmbre. ' ' .
"Democrats Bacon, Bankhead, Fletcher," Fos
ter, Johnston, Percy, Terrell and Williams.
PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION
"The resolution as amended and passed is as
follows:
.. " 'That in lieu of the first .paragraph of sec
tion 3 ,o article 1, of the constitution of the
United Statqsand ,in .lieu of, sa. much 6f .para
graph two, of the, same sectiori as relates 'to' the
filling of vacancies, the following be proposed as
an amendment to the constitution, which shall
be valid to all intents and purposes as part of
the constitution when ratified by the legislatures
of three-fourths of the states:
" 'The senate of the United. States shall be
composed of two senators from each state,
elected by the people thereof, for six years, and
each senator shall have one vote.
" 'The electors in each state shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most
numerous branch of the state legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representa
tion of any state in the senate, the executive
authority of such state shall issue writs of elec
tion to fill such vacancies; provided, that the
legislature of any state may einpowerthe execu-
?itiereof to make temporary appointments
until the people fill the vacancies by election as
tho legislature may direct.
"'This amendment shall not be so construed
as to affect the election or term of any senator
chosen before it becomes valid as part of the
constitution.'
"The amended resolution will now go into
conference between the senate and house and
some senators predict that the house will refuse
to accept it."
GOOD FOR MR. TAFT
President Taft's act in censuring the Ft. Meyer
co onel for opposing the promotion of a private
m u on tlle ground that that soldier is a Jew
will be commended heartily by thoughtful men
of every race and religion. Prejudice against
the Jew is rapidly dying out among the men
and women of America. It can have no place
in our army or navy and it really has no place
m our politics for some of the ablest of America's
public servants belong to that race whose repre
sentat ves have had to fight their way to tho
iront In the face of great obstacles.
A QUERY
J??01?1, WJly explain of "the taint of pro
tection in the wool bill, now that the caucus
has endorsed it? Answer: So that tariff re
iorm democrats may warn their constituents
against allowing the taint to attach itself to
other schedules. A bad policy acquiesced in be
comes permanent and universal.
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