The Commoner.
WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
VOL. 12, NO. 36
Lincoln, Nebraska, September 13, 1912
Whole Number 608
Speakers in the Campaign
The Commoner invites its readers everywhere to write to this office at once giving the names of the men whom
they think will be the most effective as campaign speakers in their neighborhood. The Commoner desires this infor
mation in order that it may be of service to the national committee in that committee's assignment of speakers for the
campaign. In this connection The Commoner urges the people everywhere to open the schoolhouses for the purpose
of political discussions.
THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
The adjournment of the first regular session
of the first democratic congress in sixteen years
makeB this an appropriate time to consider the
record made by that congress using the term
congress as it is usually employed to describe
the national house of representatives. No con
gress in recent years and few. congresses that
have assembled in all the nation's history, has
go much good legislation to its credit.
It began with a restoration of the principles
of popular government in the organization of
the house. Instead of electing a speaker and
then empowering him to appoint the committees,
It took from the speaker the power of appqlnt
ment ana entrusted the selection of committee
to the house itself each party selecting its share
of lh"e mehtbejtfdfi each 'committee. This was a
revolution and. a faivreaching one. Under the
old rule, the speaker had used the patronage of
the office to secure the coyeted place and to re
tain it, and then, having entrenched himself in
power, ho used his power of appointment to
coerce the house into obedience to his will.
The power to designate the minority members
as well as the majority opened the door to abuses
which lessened the vigor of the minority party
In. presenting its protests.
The change secured by the democrats leaves
the speaker to exert a moral influence over his
party and invites him to aspire to a higher
kind of leadership than is possible whore
coercion is employed. The enlargement of the
committee on rules was another step toward
more popular government and gave a better
representation to the various sections of tho
country.
At the beginning of the special session,
Speaker Clark outlined a program that embodied
the most Important planks of the national plat
form at Denver in 1908. The first was the
election of United StateB senators by direct vote
of the people. This reform was declared by tho
platform to be the gateway to other reforms.
While Andrew Johnson had once recommended
CONTENTS
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
GOVERNOR WILSON'S GOOD WORK
VERMONT ELECTION
STANLEY OF KENTUCKY MAKES
HOT REPLY
SOME HALF FORGOTTEN HISTORY
DEMOCRATIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
DON'T FORGET PENROSE
A NEW SPECIAL RATE CAMPAIGN
OFFER
HOME DEPARTMENT
NEWS OF THE WEEK
WASHINGTON NEWS
it, some forty-five years ago In a messago to con
gress; while the prohibition party had indorsed
it in its platform forty years ago, and whilo tho
populist party had indorsed it in its platform
twenty-eight years ago, the democratic party
enjoys tho distinction of putting the necessary
resolution through the national houso of re pre- -sentatives
for tho first time in 1892. Tho next
congress, also democratic, also passed tho reso
lution. Sentiment has continually grown under -democratic
leadership until tho entire country
has taken the matter up and tho senate has
been forced to yield to the popular demand. For
more ,than a year, the resolution was in con
ference between the two houses because the
resolution was radically amended by the senate.
Under the present method, the state fletennme
the time and manner of selecting senators, and
the house in its resolution sought to preserve to
tho states this right of control. The senate, on
the other hand, insisted upon changing tbo word
ing of the resolution in such a way as to re
serve federal supervision. As the issue thus
raised was an old one between the two parties,
it looked for a' whilo as if neither party would
yield, but finally the democrats of 'the house
showed tho intensity of their devotion to tho
cause of popular elections by accepting the
senate amendment rather than risk delay in
securing the reform. The test to which the two
parties were subjected In this matter recalls tho
mothers who contested before Solomon for a
child the real mother being discovered by her
willingness to glvo up tho custody of the child
rather than jeopardize its life. If tho demo
cratic house had done nothing else than secure
this organic change in the method of electing
senators it would deserve the gratitude of the
nation. With the senate converted Into a popu
lar body, responsive to the people's will, this
branch of congress ought to become the highest
legislative body In the world and seats In It
should be reserved for those who in less con
spicuous stations have demonstrated their ca
pacity for governmental affairs and their fidelity
to tho Interests of the people.
The second reform embraced in the demo
cratic program had in view the purifying of poll
tics. Probably in no other line has progress
been more apparent than in the effort to purgo
politics of the contaminating Influence of money
secretly contributed for the purpose of controll
ing the Instrumentalities of government. Until
within a decade, it seemed impossible to make
the average voter understand the extent to which
tho predatory interests controlled administra
tions through campaign contributions. The
democratic party had much earlier than that
called attention to the fat-frying processes em
ployed by republican committees whereby pro
tected interests were compelled to return In
contributions a part of the money given them
through special legislation. A little later, in
the campaign of 1896, complaint was made of
the enormous sum put up by financial Interests
to carry tho election, but the Investigations that
followed the election in 1904 made a much
deeper impression than the democrats have been
able to make and the disclosures resulted In the
enactment of a law prohibiting contributions
from corporations. This was the beginning of
remedial legislation of this character but tho law
was no soonor enacted than it was discovered
that It could bo evaded by largo Individual con
tributions on tho part of trust magnates and
big financiers. Then came tho demand for
publicity aa to individual contributions and by
the timo the campaign of 1908 opened tho issue
was so acuto that tho two loading parties were
united In demanding publicity, the doraocrats
insisting that tho publication should bo made
BEFORE tho election whilo the republicans pro
tested that tho publication of the names of con
tributors bo delayed until AFTER election. It
seems a little ludicrous npw that anyono should
have seriously pbjecfed to publicity before the
election but history records that frptft President;-Roosevelt
and, Candidate TaYt advanced
arguments against any publication of contribu
tions before the election. On no subject, how
ever, has tho sweep of public opinion lpon wider
or moro rapid and It was not two years aftor
tho law was enacted providing for publicity
after eloction before It was amonded so as to
provide publicity before the election, and the
amendment received a unanimous vote of the
house and encountered no opposition in the
senate. The amending measure oven went so far
as to apply tho publicity to tho preliminary con
tests for tho house and senate and It fixed a
maximum of five thousand dollars to a congress
man's expenditures' and ton thousand to the ex
penditures which a senatorial candidate can
lawfully make.
But comprehensive as was this publicity law
It soon lagged behind public sentiment on this
subject and tho house has within the last nine
months taken three steps In advance. In one
bill It asked tho president to make public the
recommendations, written and verbal, on which
ho appoints United States Judges; in a second.
It sought to extend the doctrine of publicity to
the period beforo presidential conventions so as
to inform tho public regarding contributions
made to aid in tho nomination of presidential
candidates; and tho third compels newspapers
to disclose their ownership. The last named
measure was by far the most important of the
three and It has recently become a law In the
signing of the post ofllco appropriation bill. In
the senate, tho measure was improved by the
addition of a provision requiring all advertising
matter to bo so marked as to distinguish it from
editorials and legitimate news. It is difficult to
overestimate tho good Influence that this publi
city law will exert. Heretofore, the exploiting
interests have been able to use newspapers
against tho public either by secret ownership or
through editorials and news items inserted for
pay. It Is a real victory for the pure food law
to have It applied to our newspaper diet; next to
having political poison kept out of tho news
papers we can be grateful to the present congress
for properly labeling It.
In the admission of Arizona and New Mexico
the house did a long delayed act of justice to
these two deserving territories arid In the word
ing of the resolutions, the house set a precedent
and rendered a great service to the people of the
territory. When President Taft threatened to
veto the Arizona statehood bill because the
state's constitution contained a provision for
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