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The Commo
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. 12, NO. 6
Lincoln, Nebraska, February 16, 1912
Whole Number 578
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The First Voter
Young man, great responsibility attaches to
rour first vote. As you begin, so you are likely
fto continue. The momentum that carries you
into a party at the beginning of your political
life is apt to keep you in that party unless some
convulsion shakes you out of it. Start right.
and in order that you may start right, examine
:the principles of the parties and the policies
iwhich they advocate.
There are two great party organizations in the
'"United States, one more than fifty years old, and
vxihe other more than a century old. The repub-
7 lican party has been in power almost uninter
ruptedly for more than half a century, and under
its reign abuses have grown up which threaten
. the perpetuity of the government and endanger
i our civilization. So great are these abuses that
republican reformers are now pointing out that
jsomething must bo done and what can bo
done? The first thing is to undo the things that
have been done, and the party to undo these
fabuses is not the party which has done them,
ibut the party which has protested against these
abuses and pointed out remedies.
The republican party has turned the taxing
)ower over to private individuals; it has allowed
phonopolics to grow up and assume control of
sine industries or tne country uy granting privi-
iges by law and by giving immunity to the
i,rge violators of the law; the republican party
mas permitted the fortunes of the predatory rich
to become so large that government is corrupted,
politics debauched, and business polluted.
" Tlin rtpninnrnfip. nnrlv nrnnnnpa tn wifhflrnw
lihe taxing power from private hands, to so legis
late as to make a private monopoly impossible.
rand to enforce the law without discrimination.
Tf rt-vrrkOcs tn ninfnnf lrorlf J tno to nrnnlMi ond
',J.l. JlUIUUtP IU 1lUtCMt HtjlUlHUlU VtA.l,l uuu
J3, punish those who attempt to plunder the public
for private gain. On which side do you stand,
f, young man? Are you with the masses in their
I effort to restore the government to its old foun-
i dation and make it a government of the people,
for the people and by the people, or are you
r with the republican leaders in their effort to per
petuate the party in power by selling immunity
in return for campaign contributions?
There are always two parties in the country,
and one is necessarily nearer to the people than
the other. In this country the democratic party
is nearer to the people than the republican party.
Its leaders have more faith in the people and are
more anxious to keep the government under the
control of the people. Take the election of
United States senators by the people as a test.
The democrats want to give to the voters a
chance to elect and to control their representa
tives in the United States senate. The demo
cratic party in the house of representatives
CONTENTS
FROM MISSOURI
THE FIRST VOTER
THE HIGHEST OFFICE
SENATE DEMANDS INVESTIGATION
MR. HARMON ATTACKS DIRECT
LEGISLATION
GENERAL JAMES B. WEAVER
MARTIN DIES ATTACKS MR. BRYAN
HOW THEY LOOK AT IT IN OHIO
AS A PROGRESSIVE REPUBLICAN
SEES IT
FOLK WITHDRAWS IN MISSOURI
HOME DEPARTMENT
WHETHER COMMON OR NOT
NEWS OF THE WEEK
WASHINGTON NEWS
Q
0 0
0 A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE 0
0 . 0
0 Whilo Representative ITcnry's rcsolu- 0
0 tion providing for an investigation of the 0
0 Money trust was pending Mr, Henry
0 received a letter from former Represen-
0 tntivo Fowler of New Jersey who has a 0
0 pretty accurate idea of money trust
0 methods, saying: 0
"No one was ever engaged in a moro
righteous cause than you. It will be a
crime against the American people not
to pass your resolution." 0
0 0
passed the first resolution for the submission
of the necessary constitutional amendment.
They did this eight years before any republi
can congress did it. The democratic party has
twice demanded this reform in its national plat
form. The republican party has not done so.
Why do democratic leaders insist upon this re
form and republicans leaders opose it? There
can be but one answer the democratic party
is nearer to the people than the republican
party. Young man, will you stand with tho
people or against them?
The answer to this question affects your coun
try. If you are with the people your influence,
be it great or small, will hasten their victory.
But while in the first instance it is your coun
try that may gain or lose by your action, you
muBt remember that in the long run your own
position in politics will depend upon your con
duct. You can not fool the people always. You
may lead them astray if you dare, but they will
punish you when they find you out. You may
work for the people without their recognizing
it at first, but you can trust them to discover
the character of your work and to reward you
accordingly.
TRANSFORMING STUMP SPEECHES INTO
SUPREME COURT OPINIONS
From the speech delivered at Detroit, Mich.,
October 4, by George W. Perkins:
"The only vestige of keeping faith with tho
people on anything involved in this question and
as discussed in the campaign, is found in tho
supreme court's recent trust decisions wherein
thorule of reason is applied, and in connection
with this, the following closing sentences from
the Youngstown speech of Governor Hughes (for
the past year a member of the supreme court)
are significant:
ti ( j$U(. jn our progress we must
seek to avoid false steps. Ours must bo THE
RULE OF REASON, clear-eyed, calm, patient
and steadfast; defeating the conspiracies of in
trigue and escaping the pitfalls of folly. Supremo
must ho tho sense of justice, with its recogni
tion of our mutual dependence.' "
REAL INVESTIGATION
According to reports in the Houston Post,
Congressman Glass in arguing for investigation
by the banking committee of which he is a mem
ber, declared that he was not in favor of turning
attention away from the tariff. The -banking
committee can not make a thorough investiga
tion of the Money trust if it is afraid to turn
public attention to the Money trust's methods.
GOOD FOR HENRY
Congratulations, Mr. Henry! You made a
good fight and you kept the faith. If the bank
ing committee does its duty you can rejoice; if
as seems probable the committee makes a farce
of tho Investigation your judgment will be
vindicated and the men who opposed you will
be apologizing to their constituents.
A good many congressmen will wish for a
secret caucus before they square themselves '
with their constituents for voting against a
a special committee to Investigate the Money
trust.
"F
rom
Mi
99
issoun
Those democrats who havo been deceived by
tho claim that Mr. Harmon is a "progressive
democrat" will learn something to thoir advan
tage by reading tho story of tho unsuccessful
fight made by Governor Harmon last woek
against the initiative and referendum before tho
Ohio constitutional convention now in session.
Tho following Associated Press dispatch tolls
tho story:
"Columbus, O., Feb. 8. After hearing an
address at noon today by Governor Harmon, in
which ho took a strong position against incor
porating a clause providing for tho statowido
initiative and referendum in the new constitu
tion, supporters of the proposed initiative and
referendum plank won a decisive victory in tho
constitutional convention a few hours later Tho
governor in his address said the idea of direct
legislation still is in an experimental stage and
that Ohio would do well at least to wait until
it has been given a thorough trial in other states.
He defined his own position on tho subject as
a whole as being in tho attitudo of tho 'man
from Missouri.'
"The declaration of the governor camojn tho
nature of a sensation to tho supporters of tho
initiative and referendum in the constitutional
convention, coming as it did at a time when that
body was about to take up for consideration a
resolution which had been introduced by Dele
gate Hill, of Allen county. The Hill resolu
tion, backed by opponents of the initiative nnd
referendum, proposed to censure President Bige
low for having secured pledges from many
members to abide by caucus action on that
subject.
"Tho resolution declared that the action of
tho president of tho convention in securing
pledges for caucus support of tho initiative and
referendum was unfair.
"Following the address of Governor Harmon
and at the close of an acrimlnous debate the con
vention late today tabled tho resolution, tho
vote standing GO to 45.
"President Bigelow led tho debate on the
resolution, declaring that it was being supported
by 'reactionaries,' and asserting .that it was
necessary to secure the caucus support to pro
vent the initiative and referendum plank being
lost because of divergence of views of its
friends regarding matters of detail."
Does any reader -of Tho Commoner believe
that a progressive democrat would in this day
urge a constitutional convention to defeat the
initiative and referendum? At the very time
when progressive republicans and progressive
democrats, progressive populists and progressive
independents are working one with the other
and irrespective of political prejudice for the
advancement of the great reform known as
initiative and referendum, otherwise direct legis
lation, Mr. Harmon of Ohio rises before the
constitutional convention of his state and pleads
for the defeat of that reform.
"Ohio would do well at least to wait until it
(the initiative and referendum) has been given
a thorough trial in other states," says Mr. Har
mon of Ohio, who on this occasion declares that
with respect to arguments in favor of tho
initiative and referendum he is the "man from
Missouri." Ohio is one of the greatest states
of the union; must it wait for other states to
take the lead in great reforms? Must It be the
late day follower rather than the- bravo, intrepid
leader?, Mr. Harmon, 'the man from Missouri,'
says that Ohio must not take the lead but that
Ohio must wait until the initiative and referen
dum has been given a thorough trial in other
states. What a magnificently progressive stato
Ohio would be if it yielded to the plea made
by its present day governor and how magnifi
cently progressive is the man who fights direct
legislation when men of all parties are sub
scribing to that reform.
Well, sixty-six democrats voted for a real
investigation of the Money trust. That is a
beginning.
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