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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1916)
i "Vf IFhe Commoner January, : i9ic -Ajp-a K- ft of the smaller and mote remote banksj the prin ciples governing the great number of the moat successful banks at the centers and elsewhere, that consideration for the customer and the com munity is the wisest possible banking and the most certain to bring large and permanent suc cess. I am certain from the contents of your letter that your committee had ho suspicion of the real facts of the situation, as shown by the records in this" office. I invite your co-operation in tho effort to 'convince the managers of banks, es pecially those in villages and towns, that it is as much to their own interest and that of the coun try, to help the farmers and small struggling manufacturers and store-Tceepers around them, as the large majority of the big banks have found it to be to their advantage to nse their powerful resources to uphold and stimulate the vast commercial and industrial enterprises which contribute so greatly to the growth, the wealth, and the-prosperity of the country. As I am advised that your letter to me of No vember 15th was given to the press, I am sure you- will' appreciate the propriety of my making public this- reply.. i ." ' Respectfully yours, .- :. ..JOHN SKELTON WILLIAMS, . , - Comptroller of the .Currency. c4 . . : t i . " lv v B 0w vl m A' St ' Commissi on Bill , cT.he following .bill, was introduced in ,the senate- by -Senator Lane, and in the .house by Con gressman Shallenberger, January 4, ,1916: , . .. -"A BILL . .. i' ' "Creating a commission of five"- persons Hb'be known as the United States Commission forE'n during Peace; whose purpose it shall be to' aid in bringing about enduring, peace "at the earliest possible -moment. - . i Whiefoas'itiistheiopiriion'-of' many of 'bur cit 'ixoh's that -the-United States should makeu con-tlhu'ou&ii-'strenuo'us", hioral effort, to aid 'in bringing-about an enduring peace at the earliest pos sible moment; and ' "Whereas many of our citizens earnestly de sire that the 64th congress shall Immediately take-some 'action ' whereby sucli a continuous, strenuous, tnoral effort, shall be exerted, through some1 other than' the oustomary diplomatic chan nel, - especially in - view of the strained condi tions of international diplomacy at -this time; and i .. Whereas many oX our, citizens feel it is'ihe im perative , duty ,oi this country that we; should make every such, effort as is within our power not only because it is our duty to humanity, but to .show to bleeding Europe, that we have other thoughts concerning ithem than our gain in do--.mestic and foreign commerce at their. expense, ... "Bq it enacted by the senate and house of rep resentatives of the United States of America in opngress assembled, that a commission of. five persons, be appointed to, be known as the United -States ' Commission for Enduring Peace, whose purpose shall be to aid in bringing about an en during, peace at the earliest possible moment. "Sec. 2; That ill of the five members com posing this commission sjhall be native born cit izens of thejjriited. States of America; advocates Vf peace; neutral hi' .their attitude; and known 9. be specifically well qualified for such an un dertaking. ' .J . .''That' the following named persons shall, be appointed "to , constitute the membership of the United States Commission for. Enduring Peace: ,the . Honorable, William Howard ' Taf t, ex-pres-i&pnt of jfhe United States; the Honourable Wil lfani Jennings Bryan of Nebraska; Mrs Justice . Charles Evan Hughes of the United States su preme court; the Honorable William J. Stone, chairman of the Foreign Relations committee of the United' States senate, and the Honorable Henry D. Flood, chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee of the house of representatives. " "Sec. 3. This commission shall be accredited By the government of tlie United States to the various belligerent, nations of Europe for the 'purpose of informally aiding them as an inter mediary, or in. any other way possible, to bring s, about an enduring peace at the earliest oppor tunity. The commission created by this act shall' also be accredited to the neutral govern ments." ". . VJV 'lSec. 4. It shall be the duty of the commis sion' created under this act'to seek the plans' of the belligerent and the neutral; nations, to con sider the peaco plans of others and to formulate k plans of its own which may seem possible of aid- ing in any way in securing an enduring peace at the earliest possible moment; and to that end this commission shall start for such & European point as it shall determine within fifteen days after the passing of this act, if the members of the commission shall find it possible to do so. "Sec. 5. Tho members of this commission shall serve without pay, as it is the purpose of this congress that the commission shall be repre sentative of that vast majority of our people who would be willing, themselves, to make sacrifice to hasten enduring peace, and so far as possible it shall be untrarameled by the usual methods, precedents, and forms, incident to international diplomacy. "Sec. 0. . That every possible assistance shall be rendered to this commission by the represent atives and employees of the government of the United States, and nothing in this act shall be construed as a restraint upon the methods and procedure of this commission, whose existence shall terminate sixty days after tho-signlng of a final treaty of peaco and the cessation of hostil ities in Europe. ... "Seq. 7. That the sum of $35,000.Q(Kor so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and .the same hereby is, appropriated out of any. money in the treasury, not otherwise, appropriated, fort-the ex penses, of this. commission, at such timeand in such manner as a majority of the commission shall direct, upon the written, demand ot .its President. of preparedness, w,hlch was concolvod in tho grecc of special interests; jwas nurtured In a false philosophy and Is stimulated by the culti vation of international hatreds, it is time to call a halt. .HOW AMERICANS CAN HELP 'lIIHIU COUNTRY From the Washington Post. - s ., Americans .traveling Jn European waters should keep oft: vessels belonging to belligerents. They take deadly risks when they travel under fighting flags, and they unnecessarily involve their country in disputes which may lead to war. The United Styteagpverpmeut will notgive away the right of its citizens to travel on merchant vessqjs, of, any. nationality., in any waters. , .That rightr however, should be exercised with dis cretion by citizens. Pending a time when sub marine warfare ,wjll be. conducted under estab lished and accepted rules, American citizens r-houjd waive their right to travel under belliger ent flags... . The .American ;vho, in spite- of warnings, de liberately and defiantly asserts his right to travel ip- a vessel belonging to a nation at war when .ho can vayoid, doing so may be . dragging his own country into war, This is not common, sense or .patriotism.. It is mere braggadocio and egotism. T,he man who cares sp little for, his country .has little reason to demand his country's protection. There are so many obscure and undetermined questions surrounding submarine warfare that the United States government is seriously handi capped in its efforts to extend protection to its citizens in the European war zone. Unquestion ably a merchant vessel forfeits its hon-coirfbat-ant character when it arms itself and resists cap ture. Under the laws of war it has no right 'to attempt to escape. Yet merchant vessels' go armed, and in many cases they have, attempted to escape or ram the attacking 'submarine. The facts are usually hard to ascertain; the testimony is conflicting. If American lives are lost, there is a demand on the-part of hotheaded individuals for drastic action, whatever the state of facts may be. There is always the danger that -the United States- may bb drawn into war 'Without sufficient justification. If this great nation must draw the Sword, it should -be for reasonis that conclusively demand such action. Only upon an assured state of facts overwhelmingly justifying and reduirlng war should the United States plunge unto the vortex that ingulfs Europe. Steadiness is needed calm ness in studving the truth, caution in verifying the facts. War is the last remedy of desperate evils, and this nation is not in such extremities that it must shed the blood of- its citizens in a doubtful cause. It has a Tight to expect, its cit izens to exercise great caution, to do their share in avoiding' any canse of war. ... - THE NATION'S RIGHT TO KEEP OUT OF UNNECESSARY. WAR IS SURELY U PARA MOUNT TO THE CITIZEN'S RIGHT TO TRAVEL ON BELLIGERENT VESSELS. It is time for the' voters' to remind their pub lic servants that there is a day of reckoning. If all that the laborer produces and all that 'the farmer makes is to be squandered on a policy Why Not Now? - - - - A press dispatch from Berne, Switzerland, says; "General Wille, commander-in-chief of tho Swiss army, a soldier of the schdol 6f Ilinddh burg and Joffre, today expressed the belief that the time had como for 'The two most 'poweriu. forces in the world' to combine to put an end to the European war. These two forces, jie said, were the President of the United States and the Pope". In suggesting a peace proposal at this time from President Wilson attd Pope Benedict, General Wille said: 'An unltdd appeal from these two most powerful influences seconded as it would be by other neutrals could not but bo heeded by nil the warring nations.' General Wille said ho was not himself a Catholic, but tho powerful influence exerted by the pope was rocognlzcd in Europe without regard to re ligion. Only the greatest existing forces could speak with tho emphasis commanding attention and General Wille said ho was convinced through President Wilson and Pope 'Benedict there was a good prospect of restoring peace if they would take a strong and united initiative." Here is tho opinion of tho commandcr-fhchIef of the Swiss array. He believes that therd Id" a gftod prospect of restoring peace if these two outstanding figures would unite in an effort- to secure it. Tho papers have several times report ed that the Pope was anxious to see peace re stored, and ready to act why not the President? Success would bring immeasurable blessings a"rfcl there can be no disgrace in failure why wait? W. J. BRYAN Our instructors in the- Science of man-killTiig have decided that we should be prepared "to meet a "two-power attack." Now If they will fell us WHAT' TWO, 'WHY the attack is to 'be made, and when we may expeot it; wb' can judge better as to the wisdom of their 'recomMSnfla tions. - .; CO-OPERATION AMONG NATIONH ! Civilization ' works through co-operation ; .Jfn fact, the, ability to co-operate has been gl venous one of the tests of sanity. ,,. ' , Co-operation not only multiplies the power ot the individual, but' enables individuals, actjng to gether,, tp accomplish what none of them, acting alone,, woujd, ever undertake. If the entire pop ulation of the world had walked single file acrpss the Jsthmus of Panama, it would never lmvq oc curred to any one ot them to attempt to dfjj' the canal alone,' but'fqrty thousand men, organized, have, by co-operation, completed the wdrk. '" Government is one of the earliest fornisof co-operation, and still offers the largest oppor tunity for united effort. '- ' Froni time Immemorial, nations have jbined together to wage war. Why hot joint eftWrin behalf of peace? The thirty treaties which the United States 'government has entered ' Into with as mahyna tlons, provide for the investigation of 'alHdis putes that defy diplomatic settlement. ' Brazil, Argentina and Chile have takeir up'the Idea and entered into a similar treaty. ' 'Why not all the world? . ' ' ' W. J. BRYAN? INFORMATION WHICH PREPAR ATIOXISTS '--' SHOULD GIVH . ' Suppose, cpngress agrees ,tp spend hupdreda,of millions. in a way to satisfy tjie preparationlsts. Then suppose some other nation, noting this at once, increases, Its, military expenditures in order .to acquire an armament in excess of ours. Cre the preparationlsts prepared to sneak out now and. say what we must do under those circum stances? Are they ready to admit that we must still further increase 'our expenditures in order to keep ahead of the other nation at ever'y cost? If not, will we no be as unprepared as we arc 'now? Or if we must keep aliead with spending, what must be. the end? Answers to these ques tions should not" be postponed or evaded Even preparationlsts should realize the wisdom of looking before leaping, Theodore Roosevelt, the national security league, or some other recog nized preparations authority should furhish tho reply. The Public. ' w , - ' 4.w.JJt ( t g&SJLiii-irtafrrt tJ"&i ''" -U'hi'''A 'jjj. l-v afe.jfcj