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The Commoner
VOL. 15, NO. 5
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The Commoner
ISSUED MONTHLY
Entered at tho Postofllco at Lincoln, Nebraska,
n t)(qcond-clas8 matter.
WTLIiTAM J. BRYAN CHARLES W. BRYAN
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Address all communications to
THE COMMONER, LINCOLN, NEB.
STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MAN
AGEMENT, ETC.,
of Tho Commoner, published monthly at Lincoln,
Nebraska, required by the Act o August 24,
1012:
Namo of Postofflce Address
Editor and Owner
Villiam Jennings Bryan . . . Lincoln, Nebraska
Associate Editor and Publisher
Charles W. Bryan Lincoln, Nebraska
Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other
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total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other se
curities: None.
CHAS. W. BRYAN, Publisher.
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 28th
day of March, 1915.
(Seal) J. R. F ARRIS, Notary Public.
My commission expires July 19, 1918..
JUDGE FARMER OF ILLINOIS
In Illinois, on Monday, June 7, there will be
elected several judges of the supreme court, the
highest judicial body of the state.
The constitution of Illinois divides the state
into supreme court districts, and one judge is
elected from each of these districts. The pres-.
ent member of the supreme court from the sec
ond judicial district of Illinois is Judge William
M. Farmer of Vandalia, 111. Nine years ago he
was elected for tho term which expires in June;
at that time he was elected without opposition
from the republican party. '
The framers of the constitution fixed the date
of the election for judges of the. supreme court
in June, for the purpose of keeping the office
of politics, realizing the necessity of keeping
this sacred olllce free from partisanship. But
thid time the republican party has nominated a
candidate. It is reportdd that this candidate
has had no judicial experience, and the leaders
of his party will probably seek .to elect him by
appealing to "party spirit."
Judge Farmer has made a fine record as an
able, courageous, fair and impartial judge.
Ho is a democrat but ho has never been influ
enced In tho slightest degree as a judicial officer
by party affiliation or bias. He has been inde
pendent of-tho control of any party or of any in
terest. Judge Farmer should be re-elected; not sim
ply because ho is a democrat, but because of his
high character as a. man, because of his effi
ciency and worth as a judge, a proven by his
service. He has been tried; ho has been weighed
in the balance and has never- been found want
ing. The Commoner urges that voters' of all parties
in tho second judicial district of Illinois join in
re-electing Judge Farmer.
Senator Borah, who is mentioned in progres
sive, republican circles as a good man for the
presidential nomination, said tho other day in a
ipeech that President Wilson is greater than his
party. By this he meant that tho president had
o conducted himself in times of great stresa as
to command a public confidence not bounded by
narty lines, showing that Mr. Borah, differs from
noma of Mb eminent colleagues in that he does,
not allow partisan considerations and matters,
to color his conception ot the truth with respect
to the. nation'a chief executive.
Roosevelt vs. Barnes
The libel suit brought by Mr. Barnes against
Mr. Roosevelt seems to have drifted far from
its mooring. Whether Mr. Barnes is a boss seems
to have been lost sight of in the investigation of
Mr. Roosevelt's political methods. There is an
old saying that "honest men get their dues when
thieves fall out"; it is equally true that a falling
out among political bosses results in advantage
to those who seek to purify politics. The political
literature of the country was enriched by many
valuablo phrases when President Taft and ex
President Roosevelt at the same time yielded to
the dictates of their conscience and told what
they knew about each other.
Now Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Barnes, for more
than a decade co-laborers in the republican vine
yard and co-partners in the rewards of political
toil, fall out "hence these tears." "Hell hath
no fury like a woman scorned," and earth no
anger like a politician deserted. Mr. Roosevelt
testifies that he patiently bore with Barnes as
long as he thought "the root of righteousness"
within him could be watered and fertilized into
producing a stalk, but the case was given up as
hopeless when the hardhearted Barnes would
not respond to the personal appeals of the ex
president not even when Barnes was flattering
ly assured that he had some such opportunity as
that which fell to Lincoln.
Mr. Barnes is not contented with showing that
he was no more of a boss AFTER Mr. Roosevelt
cast him aside than he was when he enjoyed the
confidence and smile of the ex-president, but he
proceeds to call attention, to certain evidences of
Mr. Roosevelt's familiarity with certain "unde
sirable citizens." It will be remembered that
Mr. Roosevelt's friends put up something like
$3,000,000 for his campaign fund. The then
presidential candidate says that four or five
thousand persons contributing to this fund (even
at this estimate the contributors amount to less
than one in a thousand voters) but a large part
of the sum was made up of BIG .contributions
from BIG business men. that is, men engaged in
business directly affected by administrative and
legislative action and, therefore, personally in
terested in having a friend in the White house.
When asked: "Q. Did you see any connection
whatever between business and politics in con
tributions of $100,000, $50,000 and $20,000?"
he answered "No more connection than there is
when those same men contribute to the Y.M.C.A.
I mention that because I know that Mr. George
W. Perkins, who, during the time, was contribut
ing so heavily to the campaign funds, has con
tributed much more liberally to the building of
the Y. M. C. A.'s, and the contribution from
Mr. Perkins- of $25,000 might be considerably
less than a contribution of $25 from the station
agent at Oyster Bay, and I should feel as grate
ful to the one man for $25 as to the other man
for the $25,000 contribution. X should be in
capable of acting for either in any way because
of that contribution." "Q. Do you mean to say
that you would regard a contribution of $3,
000,000 to a political campaign fund from busi
ness men in a campaign where you were run
ning for president as being in the same class and
category as contributions to the 'Young Men's
Christian Association?" "A. If you mean as be
ing given in the spirit as those same men gave
contributions to the Y. M. C. A., yes, precisely,
and with no more hope of reward."
How innocently confiding; how confidingly in
nocent! He could imagine no improper reason
for making those contributions, though subse
quent investigations have shown that something
like seventy per cent of the contributions to Mr
Roosevelt's campaign fund in 1904 came from
corporations. WE NOW HAVE A STATTTTT?
WHICH MAKES SUCH CONTRIBUTIONS lAfc
LAWFUL. Within four years after these con
tributions, were made, public opinion, expressed
through congress and President Roosevelt
himself signed tho bill prohibited corporations
from contributing to campaign funds; and yet a
candidate for president could see no wromr in
these contributions being made to HIS campaign
fund, and mistook the spirit which prompted
them for the spirit which prompts contributions
for religious purposes. It will not be forgotten
atT2,uL,nR,. Presidcnt Roosevelt's occupancy of
tho- White house, trusts grew and thrived Sow
than they ever did before or have since ?B i t
purely accidental that immunity was granted
by the man to whose election the SL
tributed? Is H merely lltilllf i
toward the trusts in the same spirit in whirl,
tho trust magnates acted toward the trust mine,
tion?" lut8'
W. J. BRYAN.
The influence of education is varied. When
most of the men now mature were young thev
gave unquestioned acquiscence to tho entire
truth of the stories which purported to accur
ately give the dying words of the nation's early
statesmen and presidents. The school children
of today dismiss these stories with the curt
comment that they must have been written by
the ancestors of the present group of moving
picture authors.
Most men have the idea that the best qual
ification for state leadership of a party are those
based upon the ability to give expression to the
spirit of the organization and to enthuse its
members to greater effort in the task of having
its principles enacted -into law. It is only rarely
that men who assert their right and titlo to be
ing called state leaders are found at legislative
sessions listed as lobbyists on behalf of special
interests.
Colonel Roosevelt's explanation of his in
timacy with Barnes was that he hoped to be able
to convince him of his errors in a political way
and- thus bring to the service of the public
Barnes' undoubted talents for constructive work.
The colonel seemed. to be about as successful in
reforming the New York boss as he was in re
forming the republican party nationally.
The New York Journal of Commerce records
the existence of a strong- sentiment in the east
for the nomination by the republicans of Elihu
Root for the presidency- This is equivalent to
saying that there is a strong- demand in the east
for the retention of the democratic party in
power, since there is no more certain way to
bring ahout the latter than, to do the former.
Apparently Boss Barnes' attorneys believed
that the easiest way to discredit Roosevelt was
to prove that he had been on terms of political
intimacy with their client. This was an easy
way for the attorneys, but it was rather rough
on the boss.
.THE PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION
An enterprising agent of one of the transcon
tinental lines has hit upon a captivating phrase
for advertising the Panama-Pacific exposition,
namely, "two fairs for one fare." The epigram
has always been highly prized because it says
much in little, and the phrase referred to, though
brief, is very expressive. The opening of the
Panama canal is an epoch-making event and the
exposition at San Francisco, according to re
ports, surpasses all previous efforts "time's
noblest offspring," in the way of expositions, is
tho last. California is a 'great state no com
monwealth surpasses it in enterprise and energy.
Those who havo attended expositions in
different parts of the country have not failed to
notice how splendidly the resources' of California
have been presented, and these exhibits give as
surance that when her products are shown at
home, under the stimulus of state pride, Cal
ifornia will do her best. The president was pre
vented by official duties from attending the open
ing but he hopes to visit the fair some time dur
ing the season, and every other citizen who finds
it possible to do so should avail himself of this
opportunity to see the latest that has been de
veloped in this line of work.
And the visitor who goes to San Francisco will
not be able to resist the temptation to visit San
Deigo also, for this enterprising city which has
been built up at the extreme southern point in
California has shown remarkable local spirit in
the display that has been provided there. No
view of California is complete that does not in
clude the orange growing section, and San Diego
shares with southern Florida the distinction of
being below the frost line.
The people on the Pacific coast have from the
very beginning been ardent advocates of an Isth
mian canal and alj of the coast cities will share
in the commercial advantages that follow from
the joining of the oceans. The opening of the
canal, therefore, will be an, event to which the
people of the United States will look back with
both pleasure and pride, and a visit to California
will fix the date and the occasion in the memory
of all those who take; this journey across the
Sierras.
.'...' W. J.. BRYAN.
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