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The Commoner.
ISSUED WEEKLY
Entered at tho Postofllco at Lincoln, Nebraska,
an second-class matter.
WlI.l.MM .1. UllVAN
Kdltor unit Proprietor
IticiiAitn J AIirrcAi.i'is
Amoclnto Editor
t'JIAItl.ja W. UllYAW
Publisher
Kdllorlnl Hooms and HhkIiipss
OHlco, 324-380 South IStU Stroot
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Nob.
DEMOCRATIC DATES
Democratic primaries or conventions will bo
held as follows:
April 27 Primaries for Tennessee.
April 29 Colorado democratic state conven
tion. April 30 Massachusetts primary.
April 30 Primaries for Florida.
May 1 Georgia primaries.
May 1 Connecticut stato convention.
May 9 Iowa stato convention.
May 14 California primaries.
May 1G Iowa stato convention.
May 21 Ohio primaries.
May 28 Primaries for New Jersey.
Juno 4 Primaries for South Dakota.
extended so as to give us publicity in three
other directions:
"First Publicity as to the expenses of per
sons who seek a presidential nomination.
"Second Publicity as to the recommenda
tions upon which the president makes appoint
ments. "Third Publicity as to the ownorship of
newspapers.
"The house has it in its power to secure these
reforms; in fact, it has already passed a bill
looking to publicity as to recommendations for
presidential appointments.
"With Speaker Clark and Mr. Underwood,
both presidential candidates, in the house, thoro
uugiii 10 00 no ueiay m tne passing of a bill
compelling publicity as to tho expenditures
made by candidates.' for that nomination. And
what objection can any democrat make to pub
licity as to the ownership of newspapers, after
the party has suffered so much at the hands of
a subsidized press?
APPROVAL OF TARIFF REFORM
MEASURES
"The tariff measures havo been good; not
what everybody would desire, but compromise
is always necessary as to tho details of tariff
measures. My only regret is that the revision
of Schedule K did not begin with free wool. A
tax on wool nocessarily 'left tho woollen trust
in possession of a higher duty than it could
nave secured if wool had been put upon tho
froo list. The free sugar bill and tho income
tax bill are the best measures that tho house
has passed dealing with the subject of taxation.
I was astonished to see that two-thirds of the
republicans voted for the income tax measure.
"I was glad to see a bill reported recently
providing for tho physical valuation of railways
Tho most serious mistake that congress has
made is its failure to act on the trust question
A caucus ought to havo been held the day after
tho supreme court decision and a measure pre
pared restoring so much of tho strength as tho
court had taken out of tho law by inserting tho
word 'unreasonable.' And yet nothing has been
done in spite of tho fact that tho alleged dis
solution of tho Standard Oil and Tobacco trusts
has raised rathor than lowered tho value of tho
stock of thoso trusts. OI tnG
"I think the democratic caucus erred also in
not providing for an investigation of tho money
trust by a special committee. A man must
The Commoner.
chloroform his own mind before he can justify
the turning over of such an investigation to a
committee whose chairman had already signed
the Aldrich report.
"But in inumerating some of the faults or
the democratic congress I reiterate that its
record all things considered is a brilliant
record, and the failures, as far as there havo
been failures, only show what tremendous
pressure the predatory interests can bring to
bear upon the people's representatives."
"Will the progressives in the national con
vention insist on the incorporation of planks
favoring the initiative, referendum and recall?"
STATE ISSUES NOT NATIONAL
"No, I do not expert any effort to be made to
secure the indorsement of any of those reforms.
They are state questions and not national is
sues. The opinions of candidates for the presi
dency on these questions are important only in
so far as they indicate a fundamental bias. A
man who is opposed to the initiative and refer
endum, for instance, is quite likely to be op
posed to the election of senators b"y the direct
vote of the people. This is not a universal rule,
because sometimes opposition to the initiative
and referendum is due to a lack of understand
ing of the principles involved. But when the
subject is clearly understood the man who
favors the popular election of senators is quite
likely to favor tho other reforms, and the man
who opposes one is likely to oppose the other;
and this distrust of the people is apt to show
itself on other questions."
"What prospect is there for the organization
of a third party?"
"None whatever. There may be two republi
can conventions and two republican candidates,
but there is no likelihood of there being a third
party organized. If there are two republican
tickets in the field, it will not be fair to call
either a third party, for they will not be per
manent in character. They would simply be
intended for one campaign, the purpose of the
candidates being to defeat each other and not
to form a new alignment."
WHY NOT?
Congressman Randall urges a bill prohibiting
congressmen and senators from accepting legal
employment which might influence official
action on their part. What objection can be
urged to it? Our national legislature acts as
a jury. Why should its members take employ
ment from corporations that appear as parties
lo the controversies that come before congress?
And now Congressman Lindburgh introduces
a resolution requiring congressmen to make a
list of their corporate holdings. Any objection
to that? Why should congressmen object to
letting tho public know whether they have a
pecuniary interest in matters coming before
., them for official action? If they "love dark
ness rather than light," is it "because their
deeds are evil?"
"Light" is the watchword now: Day is at
hand and a democratic congress can not afford
to shield those who shun publicity. Turn on
tho light.
MR. BRYAN AND THE ISSUES
Editorial in the New York World: Compari-
luA,inevitable' in the "eW; of the interview
with Mr Bryan in The World, between the
democrat who has three times been nominated
for the presidency and tho republican who ia
seeking a third term. s
In a number of their personal doctrines Mr
Bryan and Mr. Roosevelt are in general syml
Patliy ,C.er,tain radical ide3 Mr. Roosevelt h?s
appropriated without credit from Mr Bryan
whom he used to denounce as a "windy St
amiable demagogue," and labelled Cash
nZAn th?h0D?, of reSing office. They are
alike in calling themselves progressives but Mr
Bryan is fighting only for principles, whUe Mr
Roosevelt is fighting for a third term
na fr-Kr&sa fens
but himself. Mr. Bryar l dImos thS .?LuWican
Belt With Mr BooSra cusf U ! SbTO
On the whole, Mr. Bryan shown w 1 ,
disposed to be more StCtij
occasions in the past and that in a general tnv
ho is working for party harmony For al?
progressive policies ho7 is dXmineS to light
on tho floor of tho convention Ha win s M
render his individual convictions W 22 JfUXW
not pose as dictator to his parTwh must i!
?L?ta- H? WiU be always th the progres!
sivea against any candidate ho consider rill
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 1Q
tionary, but he proposes to remain neutral
where progressive candidates are concerned.
. While still holding firm to his faith in tho
initiative and referendum, Mr. Bryan makes it
clear that they should not go into the national
platform, because they are state issues. In
this way again he helps to remove difficulties
from the future pathway of his party. Experi
ments which separate states may choose to try
for themselves they can not and should not
seek to put to wider application.
In still another r,espect Mr. Bryan presents a
striking contrast with Mr. Roosevelt. There
have been periods in his career when his in
terest in tariff reform has been slack, but he
is alive t6 the present importance of the issue.
He does not take refuge in vague generaliza
tions about how in theory the tariff might be re
vised, but he has precise opinions to offer as
to tariff bills actually before congress at this
moment. As a progressive, as a foe to privi
lege, ho states exactly how and where he would
strike off unjust or excessive duties for tho
benefit of the people; he is fqr or against meas
ures that ho names, and he dares to offend
special interests of his own locality.
If Mr. Roosevelt could ever have brought
himself to show the same courage or frankness
when he was president, before now real tariff
revision might have been well under way; or
if at the present time he dared to go as far as
the western republican insurgents in the house
and senate, he would at least be dealing in a
straightforward fashion with the-voters whose
support he is soliciting in his chase after dele
gates at Chicago.
PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCES
A circular letter was sent out from the office
of Mr. Bryan's Commoner on December 18, ask
ing for opinions as to whom the democratic
party should choose as its standard bearer this
year. One reply closed with the following
paragraph:
"I trust you will see the. wisdom and great
benefit which would 'come to the democratic
party by having such a. man as Harmon at tho
head of the ticket. The warring factions in tho
republican party would indicate that Taft will
be nominated, whom if we must have a repub
lican president, I would much rather see there
than a man of La Toilette's type, as I think the
greatest calamity that could happen to this
country would be to have Robert M. La Follette
as the next president."
This letter was written on the stationery of
the Union Pacific Railroad company and was
signed by the assistant superintendent of that
road, Mr. George O. Brophy. There is a reason
why the railroads and other special interests in
politics want Harmon to be the democratic can
didate, and most anybody except La Follette to
be the republican candidate. The voters know
that reason. That is why in a great stato like
Wisconsin they roll up tremendous majorities
for Wilson and La Follette. La Follette's
Magazine.
A SERIOUS CHARGE
Speaking to a Chicago audience composed
largely of ministers, Rey. W. E. Biederwolf
brought the following charge against a portion
of the church membership:
"You have women in your churches today
who are thinking much more about the coming
bridge party than they are of the salvation of
uieir children; you have merchants in your
churches who think more of gold than of God;
ana you have in your churches too a great num
ber of those demasculinized creatures who give
more thought to the crease in their trousers
than to the crisis of their soul's affairs. Tho
Men and Religion Movement means to see that
conversion shall not give way to culture."
m,?ni,LS aerious accusation and,, if true, should
S, the activity of those in authority in the
SSfnes; The sreat mass of the church mem
SPJ8 earnestly at work raising the moral
? ?t!S ; ?eir Qfforts should nt be paralyzed
5?nq?!2!S brught uPo the church by the in
consistencies of a few.
-1
STAR 48ARIZbNA
cpitw! is S stat0 and her advent was duly
niiv Ed Jy h.er people- Mr- Bryan was fortu
S 1 5 n I . Btate at t10 time and participated
lne r wf 3 CinT? Ho nad t0 Pleasure of hear
a flS?0 3!unt'8 ina"gural address. It wag
vortS Z document from start to finish-
of S L ff,tho eplendia man who has the honor,
wm iB the state's first executive. The address
-mil ?nprinted ln next lBS1e of The Commons?
and wiU repay perusal.
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