i'jvyai
..'!!''
12
t' til'
31.
V;
aM-
.i in
wv v
i'
iN
n
Mf
! i.
Md
if '
lit
The Commoner.
VOLUME 13, NUMBER 24
H
A Remarkable New Book
by Woodrow Wilson
THE NEW
FREEDOM
Tho publication on Monday, February 17, of a book by Woodrow
Wilson,- is tho moat important political event of tho spring. It is
ono of tho most striking events of tho political history of the na
tion, Novor before had a president-elect, on tho eve of his inaugu
ration, addressed to tho country a profession of faith and a state
ment of his intentions.
Speaking of this romarkablo book, the Mobile (Ala.) Item says:
"Tho work Ib ono of tho most remarkable ever put in the field, both
by reason of tho bitterness of its arraignment of the present financial
systom and by its exploitation of a futuro presidential policy. No
other chiof executive of tho United States since tho declaration of
indopondonco has porformod the feat of Mr. Wilson on the eve of
taking ofllco. Ho not only attacks the trusts and monopolies of tho
country, but makes it clear that he will do all In his power to legiti
mately restore trade competition and individual opportunity and to
disoutanglo community centralization which, ho says, has become
dangorously co-ordinated."
A SPECIAL OFFER TO COMMONER READERS
In anticipation of tho tremendous demand for this new book
special arrangements have boon made to supply Commoner readers
direct from tho publishers without delay. The book alone will bo
sont prepaid to any address for $1.10, or will be sent prepaid in
combination, with a year's subscription to both The Commoner and
Tho American Homestead for only .$1.75. This book is handsomely
bound in cloth and printed In large type on fine book paper, and con
tains upwards of 300 pages. Every progressive American should
own a copy. Send your order at once.
Address All Orders to The Commoner, Lincoln, Neb.
FOR SALE
An Improved Texas Farm
I OFFER for Sale 240 acres of
land, three miles from Mission,
Texas, on the Rio Grande, 200
acres are cleared and under irriga
tion. The improvements, consist
ing of a $2500.00. house with
barns, fences, etc., have cost over
$5,000.00. Easy terms will be
given on deferred payments. I
would not care to sell to anyone
unless purchaser makes a personal
examination of the property. Ap
ply to owner for price and. terms.
W. J, Bryan, Lincoln, Neb.
Faith Triumphant
Tho following address was given
by Mr. Bryan in Y.'ashington, D. C.,
April 20, under tho auspices of the
District of Columbia Christian En
deavor Union:
I went to a little Sunday school
to act am substitute for my wife one
day and teach her class when she
could not go herself. The subject
that Sunday was Abraham, and in
studying the lesson preparatory to
teaching it Abraham's faith im
pressed me as it had not done be
fore. As a result of that Sunday-school
lesson I found myself considering
the influence of faith upon a life;
and, as tho subject was revolved in
my mind, it grew upon mo until I
used it in speaking before college
students.
If you will turn back to the story
of Abraham, you will find that at
the command of the Almighty he left
his homo and kindred, and journeyed
into a far country. It would not
seem far today with our modern,
modes of travel, but at that time it
was a far country; and yet because
of his faith in God he obeyed the
call, and as a result of that man's
faith we have a race, one of the
greatest known to. history; as a' re
sult of that man's faith some four
hundred millions of human beings
today are worshippers of God. And,
as we contemplate the influence that
Abraham's faith exercised not only
upon his life, but through him upon
succeeding generations, we come to
understand what the Bible says
when it declares that "without faith
it is impossible to please God."
I think the statement might be
made even stronger than that. I
think we might even say that with
out faith it is impossible to do any
thing of importance.
Sometimes we hear a discussion
as to which is the more important,
faith or works. It is idle discus
sion, for without faith there would
be no works. Faith, comes first,
works afterward.
You might as well discuss the
relative importance of a plan and
a house. There can be no house
without a plan. It is only when
people see things that they do them.
Those who have faith attempt the
seemingly impossible, and by at
tempting prove what man. can do.
Those who have no faith can not ac
complish anything,, because they will
not attempt anything.
Let me illustrate what I mean by
applying this subject in a few
directions.
A man will not begin a great en
deavor without faith in his power to
accomplish. A man must have faith
in his physical strength. A man who
is really weak can not believe that
he is strong; and therefore, if one
would have faith in his physical
strength, he must cultivate strength
that can be the basis of his faith.
But it is not sufficient for ono to
have faith in his physical strength.
He must have faith in his mental
preparedness. That is one of the
reasons why we send boys to school,
that there may be a foundation of
fact upon which a young man's faith
can rest when ho attempts some
thing. I know there are some nannlA whn
have the idea that the college boy
already has faith enough i . himself
Well, don't find fault with him. f
know some, who have not themselves
ren, fc collegQ, perhaps, are apt to
think that the college boy is egotis-
uwu, mitt ue nas too much faith in
himself. Well, there are worse
faults.
My father was once defending a
man who was accused of egotism
and his defense was this. If a man
has the "big head," you can whittle
it down; but, if he has the "ltttlo
head," there is no hope for him
Egotism is offensive, but tho very
fact that it is offensive makes it less
calamitous to the man who has it
the fact that it is offensive makes
all his friends willing to help him
reduce the swelling of his head. But
if a man has the "little head," how
are you going .o help him?
A man must be prepared before
he can really have faith in his pre
paredness, and the consciousness
that he is prepared is a large part of
his strength. You take a man who
has never studied great things in
engineering; take him to tho side
of a mountain, and tell him to build
a railroad to the top, and see how
helpless he feels. But show that
task to a trained engineer, and be
fore a spade is put into the ground
he in his mind sees the railroad
winding its. way to the summit. It
is the picture of that finished work
before it Is begun that makes him
ready to undertake it. And in our
daily walk with our fellow men wo
are constantly measuring ourselves
against those with whom we have to
compete, and just in proportion as
we feel that we are prepared for a
task we are strong to undertake it.
In China we see a very interesting
kind of .contest which they have
there sometimes, between singing
larks. You will find them carrying
these larks out upon the street in
cages to air them; and, when they
have a contest, they bring a number
of larks together, each in his cage,
and they have a singing contest; and
the beauty of it is that the larks de
cide it themselves.
They all begin to sing, but ono
after another discovers that it is
out of its class; and then it gets
down off the perch, and puts its head
under its wing, and won't sing for
weeks afterward; and this process
of elimination goes on until finally
only one bird is left singing, and it
sings as if it were conscious of its
victory in the contest.
Now, we do not sing; but we are
all in contests, and contests in which
we ourselves decide whether to con
tinue the contest or not. The con
sciousness that we are not prepared
is the thing that breaks our strength
if we are not prepared, and the con
sciousness that we are prepared is
the thing that gives us strength if
we are prepared.
To illustrate: suppose some great
subject is under discussion, it mat
ters not whether it is a question
confined to the city or the county
or the state or the nation or the
world, if you will bring a hundred
men together in a room to discuss
this question, fifty on a side, and
they do not know one another, they
will all expect to participate in the
debate; but, as the debate proceeds,
one after another will retire, and
after a while there will be just two
persons discussing it; and they will
be the ones on each side best pre
pared to discuss it. And the others,
if they have the best interest of the
cause at heart, will withdraw to have
their side better presented by an
other than not so well presented by
themselveB. This contest of persons,
I repeat, is a very important factor
in one's success; and therefore, in
order to have a foundation for that
faith to rest upon, one must have
intellectual preparation.
But that is not all. The true ele
ment in this faith Is of even more
importance. In order to accomplisn
a great work, a man must not only
have the strength physically, that he
may have faith in his power of en
durance; he must not only have in
tellectual strength, that he may be
unafraid in the presence of those
who go against him; but he musi
A
Li
'.. . '
.a. JtmM,jwiMmLii&. .
3fckJ&i