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The Commoner
FEBRUARY, 1916
31
Catholic convent and academy, and
several private preparatory schools.
Miami is the home of enterprising
people from every part of the globe,
who have brought here the best ideas
and energy of the north, east, south
and west. It is a prosperous com
munity and a clean one, figuratively
as well as in the eyes of the sanita
tion experts. Those who have seen a
great many cities in America and
abroad, have liked Miami best and
have established their homes here.
If you would spend a winter, or a life
time, in comfort and contentment,
Miami should be your selection.
Miami Chamber of Commerce.
NO OTHER PliACB, COULD DO IT
Probably no moro characteristic
picture of Miami could be given than
that of yesterday, characteristic be
cause of its contrast with the rest of
the country.
A Sunday school class, numbering,
perhaps, six. or seven hundred people
assembled under the cocoanut trees
of Royal Palm park to hear the les
sons expounded by William J. Bryan,
America's greatest and best known
orator. All around were evidences
of a beautiful and progressive city.
A few" yards away were the waters of
orie of the most beautiful bays in the
country, and farther off were the
Florida keys and, beyond, the mighty
Atlantic all under - the spell- of .a
peaceful, balmy, tropical Sabbath
day.
With these surroundings and un
der these influences people from all
over this great country assembled for
- a few minutes' to study the Bible un-
der the leadership of one who has
made of It a careful study and who
has a wonderful gift for expounding
his views. The occasion was unique
and impressive, one that will never
be -forgotten by those, who were for
tunate enough to have had the priv
ilege of being present.
No other spot on the globe could
duplicate the scene, surroundings,
personnel, lessons, influence and im
pressions of the day. Miami (Fla.)
Herald, Jan. 24, 1916.
BAD JUDGMENT
The people of the eastern states
pretend to believe that Hon. William
Jennings Bryan has no influence In
the democratic party. They seem to
give no consideration to the fact that
three times Mr. Bryan has been se
lected as the standard bearer of his
party, and that on each oX these oc
casions he has received over, seven
million votes.
The eastern democrat and the
eastern republican count too much on
the noise they make. They have
howled down Mr. Bryan until they
have made themselves believe that
they have exterminated him. But
Mr. Bryan is still here and right now
is more influential and more popular
with the common run of plain .people
than he -has ever been. His doctrines
today are more in accord with the
views held by the masses than, they
have ever been in the past. Cole's
Michigan Review, Coldwater.
COST OF THE PROGRAM:
A reader- who writes that he has
been confused by the varying claims
as to the exact amount included in
the administration program for pre
paredness asks The News to examine
the records and ascertain just what Is
the amount that it is proposed to ex
pend. The message of the President
to congress dealt only with the first
year's cost, which he placed at ninety
four million dollars more than we
now spend for the army and navy.
These are almost exactly the figures
of the secretary of the navy, who es
timates the additional cost for the
next five years at a total of $502,
000,000. The' administration pro-
gram is for five years. This would be
followed by an estimated annual ex
penditure of $265,000,000 for the
navy and $162,000,000 for the army,
or a total of $427,000,000 annually,
to go on indefinitely. When wo con
sider how government finances are
handled and that estimates mado by
friends of a program are always
much lower than tho actual sums
needed, wo may make up our minds
that the military and naval program
saddles onto us $500,000,000 a year.
This is considerably moro than dou
blo our average annual expenditure
for the last ten years for these pur
poses. It is approximately three
times what Germany spent annually
on her army and navy for tho last
twelve years. During the period
from 1901-12 inclusive tho United
States spent three billion dollars on
her army and navy, which was 400
million more than did Franco and
850 million moro than did Germany.
It was about tho same as Great Brit
ain expended. Tho President's prop
osition Is to more than double what
Germany, France and Great Britain
deemed as sufficient sums annually
previous to the European war. Lin
coln, XNeb.) News.
n
HOISTED BY OWN PETARD
The turgid thinking that is done
by some of our supposedly eminent
writers is appalling. Here is what
the Wall Street Journal says: "Mr.
Bryan says American citizens have a
right to travel on belligerent ships,
but to keep the country out of trou
ble they should be prohibited by our
own laws from doing so. What
would Mr. Bryan think if somebody
were to tell him that he had a per
fect right to speak, but that he
wouldn't be allowed to exercise it?"
On its face that seems to be a most
effective comeback and a silencer
that Maxim' might' well envy. But
put it under the microscope and dis
sect it. In order to make the two
cases parallel, the writer should have
put this question: "What would Mr.
Bryan think if somebody were to tell
him that he had a perfect right to
speak, but that he wouldn't bo al
lowed to exercise it if the
exercise of it got biff coun
try into trouble?" That's just what
a man is prevented by law from do
ing, exercising the right of speech
when by reason of his position and
his action he actually does embroil
his country. Put the two cases on a
parallel and it will be found that the
illustration upon which this sapient
New Yorker hoped to confound Mr.
Bryan actually answers his own ques
tion and shows himself to bo in the
wrong. Lincoln (Neb.) News.
ARCHBISHOP FOR PROHIBITION
From "Catholics and Prohibition,"
Rev. Geo. Zurcher, Editor.
At tho last convention of tho Cath
olic Total Abstinenco Union of tho
dioceso of Dubuque, Archbishop
John J. Kcane presented the follow
ing ideal resolutions which wero rev
erently and enthusiastically adopted:
Whereas all history demonstrates
that the worst scourges of humanity
have ever been the lusts of tho flesh
and that their chief Incentive has
ever been intoxicating drink;
And whereas our Holy Mother, the
Catholic church, by tho example of
her saints, by tho decrees of her
I councils, by the exhortation of hor
pastors, by tho unceasing solicita
tions of her maternal solicitude, has
ever striven and docs still strive
against this giant evil;
And whereas her children would be
disloyal to her, and to our Divine
Saviour, if they did not cheerfully
and earnestly respond to her appeal,
and co-operate with her In a matter
of so vital importance to all the best
interests of both church and state.
Therefore, Resolved that we, as
representatives of tho church In
Iowa, do solemnly pledge ourselves
to respond to her appeal, and,.to com
bat the vice of Intemperance with all
our power; to practice total abstin
ence ourselves, and to lovingly and
earnestly inculcate it on all both by
word and by example.
Resolved, That for the better at
tainment of this so noble and so es
sentially important end, wo exhort
our fellow-Catholics everywhere to
revive the activities of tho Catholic
Total Abstinenco societies, which
havo done such noble work in the
past and for whose energies there
still remains so great need.
Resolved, That as loyal citizens of
Iowa wo welcome the act of our
legislature which puts prohibition
into effect next January; 'and" that
we deprecate among our fellow citi
zens any word or act to the contrary.
race, what th'" ladles guessed long
ago, that he's a deceitful, lyin' Jolly
in', treacherous ol' bunko steercr.
Whin they thought they'd had too
much iv him, tho fact was he had
enough Iv thlm. He wann'L annv
I help to thlm In annythlng they ought
jto bo doln'. Jawn's suckecaa might
nave continued f'r years if It hadn't
bin that th' wurruld began to sus
pect that ho was no good in a fight.
I'vo seen him start a millyon fights,
but niver see hira win wan. He's
lived f'r years on his repytatlon as a
warryor and a dlvvlo In a scrap. An
now people know that ho ain't anny
good at that ayothcr.
TAVENNER STRIKES A HARD
BLOW
In addition to urging establish
ment of a government munitions
plant, Congressman Tavenner of
Illinois has subjected his preparation
ist colleagues to further embarrass
ment by introducing a resolution for
investigation of expenditures on the
army and navy. The resolution is
embarrassing because the investiga
tion, if properly carried out, must
show either criminal waste of the
vast sums heretofore appropriated
for the army and navy, or the utter
falsity of preparationist claims that
we are "not prepared." It will strike
either interests very friendly to
preparationist agitation, or the prep
arationist propaganda itself. It may
strike both. - And every preparation
ist move to delay or prevent passage
of the resolution, or to change its
form, will be an admission of desire
to conceal damaging facts from the
public. The Public.
DOOLEY ON JAWN B.
After rollicking with Jawn Barley
cor f'r cinchries, th' fickle public has
rounded on him, an' is rapidly chasin'
him off th' map. In Rooshya th'
polis has stopped th' sale iv vodky,
which is th' namo iv tho Rooshan
naytional brainstorm.
But it's in this counthry that Jawn
is havin' his hardest time. At ivry
ilictlon a part iv th' popylace rises in
their wrath, an' outlaws their ol'
frind an' conkerer. Half the state of
Illinyo has to walk ten miles to
quench its thirst, an five years fr'm
now, if ye want a dhrink ye'll havo
to go to Dock O'Leary, an' he'll ad
ministher it to ye with a dhrop
chube. The wurruld has discovered
th' joyful ol' ruffyan ain't what he
prctinded to be. He's had potes an'
other press agants wurrukin' f'r him,
an' they've advertised him as th'
frlnd iv man. But it's been dawnin'
on th' male or intoxicated part iv th'
THEOLOGY AND PROHIBITION
A Catholic HinnlnMnn nnul.t ...!.
j scribe to legal prohibition on grounds
ul uAiiuuiencey in me matter of alco
hol, Just as he could subscribe to the
prohibition of betting and gambling,
not because either thing Is essentially
vicious in Itself, but because both arc
so closely associated with besetting
passion that nothing but total pro
scription would meet the evil. In
such cases tho innocent would have
to suffer a privation for tho sake of
the guilty, being forced to abstain
from something which Is In their case
perfectly legitimate, for the sake -of
the greatest good of the greatest
number. Bombay Catholic Exam
iner, quoted in Catholic Transcript.
AFTER THE WAR
When the foolish war is ended,
and tho sword is laid aside, and tho
fallen men are blended with the soil
on which they died, will the nations
be as daring as they were before tha
scrap, will they hunt for trouble,
caring for the outcome not a rap? ,
Will the monarchs and tho colonels,
having seen that war's a frost, hav
ing summed up in their journals
what tho crazy fighting cost will
they milder bo or bolder, will they
still be out for gore, with a chip on
every shoulder and a bulldog by the
door? Well, methlnks they will be
willing, being sick of blood and tears,
to postpone all further killing for at
least a hundred years. For they'll all
,bo so disgusted and so weary and so
sore, and their bank accounts so
busted, they'll consider war a bore.
But some men are greatly worried,
lest they sail across the seas, and
whip us, who've ne'er been curried
'twixt the fetlock and the knees.
They will have enough of fighting
when their wretched scrap is o'er;
there's no reason, at this writing,
why wo need to walk the floor.1
Walt Mason.
BUSINESS
"A gentleman to see you, sir."
"Too busy. Can't bother with him
now."
"But ho wants to arrange a golf
match."
"Oh, show him in immediately, you
idiot!" Buffalo Express.
There are many men of many
minds, some of, whom even mind
their own business.--rChicago News'.
r
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