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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1914)
"VJt rn ". tpnmfrrjw&w f The Commoner W, 1914 tfjM yr Elect a Democratic Congress Democrats and independent voters who be lieve in the platform adopted at Baltimore, and believe that the Wilson administration and the democratic congress are conscientiously carry ing out that platform in the interest of the peo ple, should beware of the efforts being made in the various parts of the country to divert the minds of the people to other unimportant issues which might result in a failure to elect a demo cratic congress and thus prevent President Wil son and the democratic party from fulfilling the pledges made to the people In the democratic national platform of 1912. The reform legislation promised to the people in the Baltimore platform was first presented in the Chicago platform of 1896. In each cam paign since that time the spirit of that platform has been reiterated in each state and national platform promulgated by democrats. The people have been educated to believe that the legislation promised in democratic platforms is for the pro tection of the people as a whole. And while the democratic party has been making these prom ises for eighteen years, this is the first oppor tunity they have had to fulfill their promises, and they have undertaken their work in a spirit and in a manner that is meeting with the ap proval of not only democrats but of the people generally. When the present congress adjourns, the dem ocratic program, as outlined in the Baltimore platform, will be only partly completed. While the legislation already enacted, and that under process of enactment by congress, is sufficient to justify- the reelection of a democratic congress, yet there is a still more important reason why a democratic congress should be returned this fall. When this session of congress adjourns scarcely more than one-half of the democratic platform pledges will have been fulfilled. A democratic congress is needed to help President Wilson carry out the remainder of the demo- - cratic program. The remaining planks of the Baltimore platform are of vital interest to the welfare of the people. The failure to elect a democratic congress this fall would not only prevent the fulfillment of the remainder of the national platform, pledges, but It would be con strued by the special interests as an indication that the people did not approve of the legisla tion that has already been passed during the first two years of the Wilson administration. The interest of the democratic party and the welfare of the people make it important that the sentiment in the approaching campaign should be crystallized as far as possible around the na tional issues. An effort is being made both within and without the party to divert the peo ple's minds by injecting other issues for con sideration. The success of such efforts will jeopardize the election of a democratic congress. A majority of the people are supporting the president's policies and they should not permit the various groups of special Interests or dis gruntled persons .o place the people in a posi tion in the approaching campaign where they cannot express their approval of the president's policies without endorsing principles that they do not care to consider at this time. AMUSEMENTS How shall we amuse ourselves, and what amusements shall we provide for our children? These, questions we must' answer, whether wo will or no. Every normal' child must have amusement; it cannot develop properly without It, and when one must have a thing the only remaining questions are, what form shall it take? how shall the thing needed bo supplied? Just as idle hands are sure to do mischief "Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do" so the place left in the life for amuse ment must be filled by amusements that are hurtful if not by amusements that are helpful: The parent is often perplexed as to the right settlement of these questions, being continually called upon to decide between different forms of amusements that are proposed. It may be well therefore, to consider two rules which aTe of universal application. First, the ideal, and, second, the means by wnich it can be made effective. Whether we are considering the in dividual in youth or in mature life, the ideal is the thing of paramount importance. Unless a desire for good things can be implanted in the heart, it is difficult to argue as to the particular kind of amusement to be enjoyed. A conception of life becomes, therefore, fundamental,,,, and until tha individual has consciously and deliber ately outllnpd a plan of life, each proposed amusement will be a thing for discussion and, -what is worse, there will be no fixed rules ap plied in measuring its value. The discussion of amusements often resolves itself into a comparison, each one favoring the amusement that he enjoys and condemning the amusement that he does not enjoy. Discussions over different forms of amusement are frequent ly fruitless because neither party Is willing to give up the form of amusement which appeals to him, however he may be Inclined to censure a form that does not appeal to him. When once a proper and comprehensive life plan is adopted, amusements, like other things, will be made to square with this plan, and as no life plan is defensible that does not contem plate the largest possible usefulness, only those amusements can be commended which contribute to physical perfection, intellectual strength .or moral worth. Physical exercise is almost as necessary as food, and yet we are limited in taking, exercise by at least two restrictions. First, it is a waste of time to take more exercise than is needed, for exercL- is not an end in itself, but a means to a higher end; and, in the second place, exercise, important as it is, should not take a form which incurs risk to mind or morals. So with intellectual dlvorslms. Light read ing may relieve a mind wearied by continuous thought on serious subjects, but light reading contains a percentage of mental alcohol, so to speak, which may develop a ruinous habit. And as literature, whether light or serious, may carry moral poison in solution, care has to be taken in the selection of the books to be read. Travel is one of the most fascinating forms of intellectual amusement, and when the results of travel are properly employed it is productive of gre good, both to the traveler and those to whom he afterwards imparts the benefits which ho has received;. but travel merely for en joyment may become a dissipation and consume time that might be better employed. The seeing of what are known as "the best things" some times robs one of the pleasure which the ordi nary things give to the ordinary man. Social amusements cannot be put into a class for themselves, for they are either intellectual or physical, and must be governed by the rules that apply to those amusements. The introduc tion of the social Idea simply increases the re sponsibility involved in a choice, for while no one can justify injuring himseff in his selection of amusements, he can still less justify the set ting of an example that will injure others. "Am I my brother's keeper?" the question asked by Cain when he attempted to ward off suspicion, has been asked during ages and near ly always with a similar purpose. Society con fers upon us certain inestimable benefits and these benefits are accompanied by inexorable exactions. No person, however strong or self confident, can afford to do things that will lead others into temptation, and no one will desire to do so if his conception of life is as high and as large as it ought to be. A high ideal once operative will make easy the discrimination between what is good and what is bad, and, fortunately, the high ideal has the power to expel the lower the noble pur pose has the power to overcome the ignoble a truth felicitously expressed in one of our re ligious songs: "No broken cisterns need they Who drink from living rills; No other music heed they Whom God's own music thrills; Earth's precious things are tasteless, Its boisterous mirth repels, Where blooms in measure wasteless The glory that excels." W. J. BRYAN. PRESIDENT WILSON'S TRIBUTE TO TIIE COUNTRY'S DEAD To tho men of the navy who died at the occu pation of Vera Cruz, the nation paid a romark jible tribute in a great outpduririg of its cltbsens at tho pageant and ceremonies attending tire funeral at tho Brooklyn navy yard, May 11, 1914. ' Secretary of the Navy Daniels recited the names of the nineteen men in whose honor the sorvlces woro held. This number included two who dlod at Vera Cruz since tho ship bearing the nation's dead had sailed. The secretary conr eluded: "I hand you, sir, tho names of the heroes recorded high on the national roll call 'tit honor, that they may be preserved in the archives of our republic." Replying, tho prei dont said: "Mr. Secretary, I know that tho feelings whfofr characterize all who stand about mo and tha whole nation at this hour are not feelings whidh can be suitably expressed In terms of attempted oratory or eloquence. They are things too deep for ordinary speech. For my own part, I have a singular mixture of feelings. The feeling that Is uppermost is one of profound grief that these lads should have had to go to their death. And yet there is mixed with that grief a profound pride that they should have gone as they did, and if I may say it, out of my heart, a touch of oriv'y of those who were permitted so quietly, so nobly, to do their duty. "Have you thought of it men, hero Is tho roster of the navy, the list of tho men, officers 'and- en listed men, and marines, and suddenly there swim nineteen stars out of the list. Men who have suddenly gone into the firmament of mem ory, where we shall always see their names shine; not because they called on us to admire them, but because they served us without asking any questions, and in the performance of a ddty which is laid on us as well as on them. ' ' "Duty is not an uncommon thing, gentlemen. Men are performing It in the ordinary walks of life all around us, all the time, and they are mak ing great sacrifices to perform it. What gives men like this peculiar distinction Is not merely that they did their duty, but that their duty had nothing to do with them or with their own per sonal and peculiar interests. They did not give their lives for themselves; they gave their lives for us because we called on them as a nation to perform an unexpected duty. That is tho way in which men grow distinguished, and that is the only way by serving somebody else than them selves. And what greater thing could you serve than a nation such as this we love and are proud of? ' ' "Are you sorry for these lads? Are you sorry for the way they will be remembered? Does it not quicken your pulses to think of tho list of them? I hope to God none of you may join' the list, but if you do, you will join an immortal company. "So while you are profoundly sorrowful and while there goes out of our hearts a very deep and affectionate sympathy for the friends and relatives of these lads who for the rest of their lives shall mourn them, though with a touch ol pride we know why we do not go away from this occasion cast down, but with our head's lifted and our eyes on the future of this country, with absolute confidence of how it will be worked out; not only the more vague future of this country, but tho Immediate future. "We have gone down to Mexico to serve man kind, If we can find out the way. We do not want to fight the Mexicans; we want to serve the Mexicans if we can, because we know how we would like to be freed and how we would like to be served if there were friends standing by ready to serve us. "A war of aggression Is not a war in which it is a proud thing to die, but a war of service is a thing in which it is a proud thing to die. Notice that these men were of our blood men of our American blood, which is not drawn from any one country; which is not drawn from any one stock; which is not drawn from any one lan guage of the modern world; but free men every where have sent their' sons and their brothers and their daughters to this country in order to make that great compounded nation which con sists of all the sturdy elements and of all the best elements of the whole globe. "I listened again to this list with a profound interest at the mixture of the names, for tho names bear the marks of tho several national stocks from which these men came. But they are not Irishmen, or Germans, or Frenchmen or Hebrews any more. They were not when they (Continued on pago 9.) GW'i.' 'iUfcfei fcfeJJL'