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The Commoner
VOL. .13, NO. 32
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The President On Peace
In his message tho president says:
"Tho country, J am thankful to say, is at peace
'With all tho world, and many happy manifesta
tions multiply about us of a growing cordiality
and sonso of community of interests among the
nations, foreshadowing an age of settled peace
and good will. More and more readily each
decade do the nations manifest their will
ingness '. )nd themselves by solemn treaty to
tho lAjcpf.cs of peace, tho processes of frank
ness and fair concession. So far the United
States has stood at tho front of such negotia
tions. She will, I earnestly hope and confidently
believe, givo fresh proof of her sincere ad
herence to tho cause of international friendship,
by ratifying tho several treaties of arbitration
awaiting renewal by the senate. In addition to
these, it has been tho privilege of tho depart
ment of stato to gain the assent, in principle, of
no less than thirty-one nations, representing
four-fifths of the population cf tho world, to the
negotiation of treaties by which it shall be
agrood that whenever differences of interest or
of policy ariso which cannot be resolved by the
ordinary processes of diplomacy they shall bo
publicly analyzod, discussed, and reported upon
by a tribunal chosen by tho parties before either
nation determines its course of action.
. "There is only one possible standard by which
to determine controversies between tho United
States and other nations, and that is com
pounded of those two elements: Our own honor
THE SITUATION IN MEXICO
The president in his message to congress has
given to the public more fully than at any time
heretofore the reasons why he has fait -it his
duty to refuse recognition to Huorta. He has
used the word "usurper" in describing him a
strong word and yet a word justified by the
means employed by Genoral Huorta to secure
control of the government of Mexico.
As head of the army, he was not only under
the. orders but in the confidence of the president;
and yet, while Madero was being attacked by in
surrectionists, Huorta turned upon the executive,
made him prisoner, forced him to resign, and
then permitted his assassination. Having thus
taken control of the government, ho held a parley
with tho head of tho attacking forces and entered
into an agreement, by which it was understood
that he was to bo provisional president and the
insurgent leader the candidate to succeed him at
an. election to be called. This was the beginning
of his reign; how it has continued is only too
well known to the reading public. It was, of
course, impossible for an administration thus
created to expect moral support, and it has been
as impotent to enforce physical authority. Thp
constitutionalists, although hampered in the
obtaining of arms and munitioiu of war, have
secured control of the northern portion of the
country, approximately half in geographical ex
tent, and General Huerta has been powerless to
protect either persons or property in this terri
tory. To recognize him would to to offer a premium
on the methods which he employed and would
threaten the stability of the governments in tin
smaller republics of Central and South America,
which have already paid dearly for the ambitions
of military chieftains who have exploited these
countries through frequent revolutions.
If any Americans or Europeans entertained
the hope that an administration so conceived and
brought into existence, could conduct t. stablj
government and make it responsive to the will
of the people, such hope was shattered when
General Huerta dissolved congress, imprisoned
nearly half of the deputies, and assumed the
dictatorial power which he now exercises. To
add to his offenses, he has conducted an election
which was designedly a failure and a farce, so
obviously so that tlie. new congress, though hav
ing no authority except that which it obtained
at the election, has declared the election of a
president null and void.
President "Wilson desires peace in Mexico, and
ho knows that peace is only possible under con
ditions which give assurances of the maintenance
of constitutional government. He has given
Huerta an opportunity to retire' with dignity
and our obligations to the peace of the world.
A test so compounded ought easily to bo made
to govern both the establishment of new treaty
obligations and the interpretation of those al
ready assumed."
What a blessing it is to have in tho White
House one who believes in the substitution of
reason for force! Our country has had since
the 4th of March more opportunities to excite in
ternational friction than usually come during
the same length of time, and a great deal de
pends upon the temper and the controlling im
pulses of the chief executive. Instead of assum
ing that war must be the result of every dis
agreement, the president assumes that every
controversy can be adjusted by conference, and
by the bringing of an enlightened public opinion
to "bear upon the matter in dispute. Recogniz
ing that our nation 'lias' beddme 'the leader of the
peace movement, lie has 'determined that it shall
maintain its positibn and that it shall press for
ward with this great internatibnal work when
ever occasion off of S. History probably presents
no parallel to what has occurred since this ad
ministration began. The peace plan to which
the president refers was offered to the nations
less than eight months' ago, and yet it has been
adopted in principle by governments represent
ing so large a percentage of the population of
tho world that its success is liow assured.
And it is only the beginning, for each step
taken in the right direction gives us courage for
still further advance. W. J. BRYAN.
and, when he refused to do so, has isolated him
from the support and sympathy of Europe and
left him to a fate which will be a warning to all
who may hereafter contemplate the establish
ment of a despotism supported by bayonets.
GiVMULING GREAT AN1) SMALL
Gambling is, one of the curses of he present
day not merely the small gambling which is
carried on in back alleys and obscure places, but
tho gambling which goes on in the chambers
of commerce, the boards of trade and the' stock
exchanges. Purchases and sales of commodi
ties and stocks when the sellers have nothing
to sell and tho purchasers have no intention of
receiving the goods this may bo called busi
ness, but it is nothing more nor less than
gambling, and in some respects it is worse than
gambling at the card table. First, it is on a
larger scale than the gambling in the houses
known as gambling houses; and second, the
men who gamble on the markets sometimes
control the markets and thus take an unfair
advantage, of those who enter into the game
with them. A corporation whose stock rests
upon actual value does not furnish much of an
opportunity for exploitation. What the gambler
wants is a stock whose value is uncertain, be
cause then the market price can be juggled with.
Just as a farm, whose value is to a certain ex
tent fixed, does not furnish the same oppor
tunity to the speculator as the mine whose value
is undetermined, so the railroad stock that
rests upon a value to be found in the road itself
is not subject to iluctuaticn like the stock of a
road whoso dividends depend upon the ability
of the manager to monopolize business.
The evil of gambling, in whatever form it
may appear, is that it cultivates a desire to get
something for nothing and substitutes the law
of chance for God's law of "reward earned by
service." Some bad habits affect only the body
at least in their beginning, but gambling im
mediately attacks the will and undermines the
character. It is a heart disease and paralyzes
one's energy. Tho man who becomes addicted
to this vice soon ceases to be a producer because
he can not content himself with the slow re
turns of legitimate effort; then he neglects those
dependent upon him and wastes that which he
has already accumulated. By this time he is
ready to go a step further and use trust funds
and cheat those whom ho entices into a game
Sometimes tho cheating is done with loaded dice
or marked cards; sometimes by shells and
sleight of hand; sometimes it is done on a larger
scale by grain corners, wash-sales or by the
manipulation of stocks. After swindling comes
disgrace and often suicide. Nothing but a
higher ideal will prevent one's falling into thQ
habit and nothing but moral regeneration win
restore one who lias fallen into the habit tJ
malady is so difficult to cure as one that attiolo
the will. Parents ought to warn their chilX
against gambling; ministers ought to warn S
congregations against it, and newspapers oue t
to point out its .evils. -to their readers Onlv
when one is willing to give to society a 'dollar'
worth of. service for a dollar's worth of pay and
is as careful to give good measure as he is to
demand good measure is he on solid ground An
honest purpose begets honest methods and the
two give peace of mind and the best assurance
of success in every walk of life.
LETTERS FROM THE WORKERS
D. P. L. Hudson, Selma, Calif. I realize the
great influence of the work done by The Com
moner; I am confident that The Commoner has
been the chief factor in bringing about the con
dition that has given our party control of our
national government. All democrats ought to
read and heed its policies. I am enclosing a re
mittance for a club of six yearly subscribers at
your special clubbing rate of 60c a year. Keep
the good work going.
E. V. Kautsky, Colby, Wis. I have taken
pleasure in sending to you list after list of sub
scriptions to The Commoner; the paper has done
a great work and in its present form will in my
estimation do a still greater work. I am glad
that I am alive to see the day that we have a
national administration that is a hope and in
spiration to the democrats of the rank and file.
May the good work go on is my sincere wish.
. DID YOU?
The 33 1-3 per cent which the Owen section
of the currency committee has recommended to
be held as a gold reserve for the redemption of
these notes at the treasury is amply sufficient to
make it a perfect currency., Did you ever notice
that whenever it came to providing for the issu
ance of bank bills the bankers never ask to
make their notes redeemable in gold? Did you
ever hear a banker suggest that national bank
notes should be made payable in gold at the
bank counter. Senator John F. Shafroth, Colorado.
In a recent speech President Taft said that he
feels that he was deceived into granting a pardon
to a New York banker, who was represented to
him to be on the edge of the grave and certain
to live but a few months. The pardon was
granted several years ago, and the banker is
again in active business life, with many years
apparently ahead of him, which would seem
pretty good evidenco for the newly-voiced
opinion of Mr. Taft. Possibly in a few more
years the gentleman will also be willing to con
cedo that ho was also deceived into saying tho
1909 law was the best tariff law ever enacted.
A little over a billion dollars is tho total of
the estimates' of expenses made by tho various
departments of the national government, in the
budget handed into congress. This is about forty
millions less than their republican predecessors
asked to be appropriated for the current year.
Forty millions was regarded as a gigantic sum
by the republican members of congress when
they were talking about it as a decreaso in the
sugar tariff revenue.
RENEWALS
The subscriptions of those whe became
subscribers with the first issue of The
Commoner and have renewed at th3 close
of each year, expire with the January
issue. In order to facilitate T work
of changing and re-entering the ad-dress-.r
upon our subscription books and
mailing lists and obviate the expense of
sending out personal statements an
nouncing that renewals are due, sub
scribers are urgently requested o renew
with as little delay as possible. The
work of correcting the stencils entails
an enormous amount of labor and the
publisher asks subscribers to assist as
much as possible by making their re
newals promptly.
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