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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1915)
The Commoner JANUARY, 1915 eystdm itself is being paraded as a moans to that end rather than as an instrument of wat. Hence the peace of the people must surely be a con dition conducive to their welfare and happiness, and to be cherishod by them as the most valu able asset of civilized society. If that be so, it seems proper to inquire: What have tho nations of the world, what have wo done to protect it and to make it secure beyond all human perad venture? Again I point to the Mexican trouble as the most illuminating answer And what I am going to say is the second object lesson which our recent troubles have brought homo 1(0 us. A naval commander in foreign wateVs demands a certain kind of reparation for what he terms an insult to the American uniform and- flag.- In fact, with out specific instructions from his government, he issues an ultimatum -to tho effect that, unless his' terms aro complied with within a few hours; he will begin to bombard the town: The president and congress -under these forced circumstances are obligpd to stand by him of course I do not. But, in spite of the fact that congress and the president stood by him, you can see in reality ' that It is not congress which declares war, al though congress is the sole authority to declare war, according to the terms of theconstitutioUi It is rather. a. single naval officer who, acting on the spur of the moment and in an impassioned mood, dares to embroil the whole-country in war. Does this not show conclusively that our peace, despite the enlightenment of the age Is not sufficiently safeguarded that, in. fact, it hangs on a very thin thread? Now it is a, "casus belli" like this that the peace party propose to guard against. Perhaps we can not prevent the oc currence .itsoU at least not as long as our battleships are moving around the world foment, ing trouble but we can guard, and ought to guard, against such trivial incidents plunging the country into the horrors of w.ar Gentlemen, if but the American people and all the other na tions Qf the world would take. JLhese lessons to heart, the Mexican embroglio might eventually be hailed as, a blessing in disguise! Take also, the measure of greatness which Christ presents one that wo. all recognize to be true .and yet how .slowly it ias, made-progress. It is the- most evolutionary .of doctrines that greatHess.is to be measured by service. The sel Dsb, Idea Is .that greatness Is to be measured by what you can compel people to ,do for you; but the real measure, of greatness is what you volun tarily do for others. Life is nqt to be estimated by what you get out of it; it is to be estimated by what you put into it. Now, this needs no proof. It is a self-evident truth,, and yet how slowly this doctrine makes progress throughout tho world. You are engaged in the promotion of a great cause, and because it is great it does not move rapidly. The trees' that stand the blasts of the storm are the trees of slow growth. Those trees that spring up quickly have not great strength. It is because your cause takes hold upon that which, is most vital in life and of that, which is fundamental in civilization that you must not expect it to run you must be content if it walks. But it is growing, and we could not face the future with, hope if it were not growing. If we could be convinced that the idea of peace was going backward, there would not be a single star in the sky. It is only because we do be lieve, and believe with all our hearts, that the peace movement is making progress; for that reason, and for that reason only, we believe that the future is bright. We must not expect that the progress will be the samo everywhere throughout the world. We have to meet condi tions,, some of them far from ideal. The ideal inspires, and we look to it and work toward it. We must not be disappointed if we find it im possible at once to realize the ideal. It would not be a high ideal if It were within our reach; it would not bo a worthy ideal if it were not lofty enough to keep us looking upward all the time; it would not be an ideal worth while if we ever expected fully to attain it. But our cause is making progress, There Is not a country in the world that has not felt to some extent tho impetus of the peace movement; if you have any doubt of it, let me give you evi dence that I regard as conclusive and most en couraging. Your chairman has been kind enough to refer to the peace plan which has by the president's authority, been presented to the world. It was, on the 26th day of April a little more than- a year agopresented to the foreign representatives residing in Washington. Before a year had expired the-principle had been accepted by morja than thirty governments, Ten resenting more than three-fourths of all the peo ple of the world. Now, when the governments Boys, Will You Sign the Pledge With Me? A pledge of total abstinence i3 being signed by a host of boys in Michigan why not the boyB of other states as well? A book will be opened at Tho Commoner ofllce, wherein will be entered the names and addresses of thoso who sign this pledge with me. Cut out the pledge, paste it on a piece of paper and sign it. Lay the pledge away that you may have it as a reminder of tho decision you have made, but send a rostal card to The Commoner, stating that you have signed it, and giving your ago and address. If you do not caro to stato your ago, uso tho word "adult," instead of giving tho number of years. Receipt of thcso pledges will bp acknowledged by publi cation in Tho Commoner in which only tho natne and address will bo given. Ask others to sir with you secure as many signatures as possible and thus be the means of sprcadlug tho influ ence of the pledge. Thoso who abstain from drink do .good not only to thomsolvcs, but to, .those .alsp who are oncouraged by their example. "W. J. BRYAN; v yC fi&&u;.z -ste-nx. L.'l r .J ' ' I V. . 'I1 ' 7L ylyyUC , d&i . tiJL&fis i2ls f- OL1 , &J( ; Ct-v. Li. Ns ilf &z '&CWLs CL. ? .' XraXi I 0-K ZP 9'V. IsjuL-tz, I I - II 9 i -- 1t sv. 'Cky. v jk-i4b4 (This is tho temperance pledge in Mr. Bryan's own handwriting that he presented to 5,000 boys at Ann Arbor. It will be circulated all over the state by boys of tho Y. M. C. A. Mr". Bryan believes that 50,000 'Michigan boys wjll sign with him. Detroit (Michigan) Times.) While Mr. Bryan asks tho readers of Tho Commoner to sign with him, ho desires it understood, that his object is to secure signers, not merely to enjoy the honor of signing with othdrs, If any one prefers to sign by himself, let him do so. Or, it he prefers, let him ask any one lie plea to sign with him. But whether alone or with another, let him SIGN. representing more than three-fourths of all the human beiugs on this globe will endorse a plan that contemplates- a period of deliberation and investigation before there can bo a declaration of war or the commencement of hostilities; when that can be done by governments representing more than three-fourths of the pjoplc3 of the world, and done in a single year, certainly there is no reason for discouragement. Not only has this been done, but treaties have .been signed with fifteen of these countries, and ten more have their treaties practically ready. Among the ten whose treaties are practically completed are Great Britain, France, and China, and the three greatest republics of South America. When the ten pow approaching completion aro signed, as they will be at no distant day, we will have considerably more than one-half of the people of tho world living under governments which are linked to us by treaties which provide that neither -side shall fire a shot until the cause of dispute has been investigated by an impartial commission. (The nations above mentioned have since signed thirty is the total number at this time.) That is the progress that has been made in a little more than a year, and yet this progress would not have been possible had it not been for the preliminary work dono in the years that have passed I rejoice in the prospect today and In the progress that we now witness; I am grateful to those who have given to this move ment enthusiastic support, and who, so many years before we were born, realized that there was a higher plane than the plane of physical force upon which to settle international differ ences. Their labors have not been in vain. Wo shall not know tho names of all, nor shall we be able to estimate with accuracy tho contribu tion that each has made. But what difference does that make? What if the world does not know? He who from a worthy motive strives for a' noble cause is not concerned wtiether others know what he -does or speak words of praise; it is sufficient for him that he hag done his part and lived up to- the opportunities that havo come to him. It takes tho work of all to accomplish, the total result. A few years ago my wife and I visited the Grand Canyon ia Arizona. . We went down 4,600 feet from the top of the Canyon to where the Colorado river wends its way, and .thejo we saw evidences of tho action of (he waters through the ages. As, wo lotfked upon that stream, I wondered how many drops of water had found their way through that can yon. No arithmetic would enable us to compute them; neither could we toll just what influence each one had had it was the work of all. And so with every great movement it is tho work not of one, or of a few, but of the multitude. I am' glad to bo with those who, as a part of the multitude, are working for peace. From the Advocate of Peace. George W. Wickersham, who was attorney general of f.ho United States under President Tuft, has endorsed as good and fairly sure to ba effective the Clayton law and tho law creating a federal trades commission. He is inclined to be lieve that with a trades commission wisely con stituted and the law properly administered, the new policy towards business will prove of great value. Mr. Wickersham is guarded in his com mendation, but it is something to secure from a republican so conservative as ho is, the admis sion that tho democrats have enacted two good laws that are calculated to end vexatious condi tions in commerce. ' A FRIEND Not since the acquaintance was formed at the Chicago convention in 189 G, have I lost a more devoted friend than Charles Henry Daugherty, of Philadelphia, who died on tho 18th of last month. He went to the Chicago convention opposed to tho financial policy endorsed by the conven tion, but left the city as earnest and zealous a supporter as any of thoso who went to the con vention instructed. During tho nearly two de cades which havo elapsed since, he was, in season and out of season, a friend. Whenever I ha4 occasion to visit Philadelphia', no matter on what mission, his genial face welcomed me and bin God speed cheered me on my departure. How ever large a circle of acquaintances one has he can not but miss one so genuine, so loyal, so constant as the one whose death Is now recorded. Public life has its trials and burdens, but suck affection as Charles Daugherty's weighs feeav-' ily in the balance against them. Peace to his ashes; to his bereaved family, sympathy. W. J. BRYAN. ' ..'