The Commoner
FEBKUMir, 1916
The Yourig Man's
Opportunity
In popular government every crisis is to tho
young man an opportunity. In times of quiet
men grow into prominence by slow degrees and
the young must serve an apprenticeship beforo
they can aspire to leadership, but when a crisis
comes; when a great reform breaks the crust
of society and' Insists upon being dealt with the
old leaders are apt to be too timid to meet the
requirements of the occasion. Office holding
usually makes the occupant conservative. His
obligations to those who have elevated him to
the place and his hope of continued preferment
make him hesitate to disturb harmony or to
alienate those upon whom he has relied.
It is at such a time that the young man, free
from such restraints, is able to make his way
to the front it is the time that tries the mettle
of the man. It is the time when the brave go
forth to battle while the weaklings wait.
Such a time is at hand. The old issues are
passing; the new ones are here. The tariff has
been a bone of contention for a century first
a high tariff and then a low tariff but we seem
to have reached a settlement of the issue. The
success ,of the present tariff law has been such
that eyen the unprecedented disturbances caused
by the war have not shaken its foundations. We
are not likely to return to the high tariffs of the
past; especially if the present administration's
policy is endorsed at this year's election.
The currency question is also settled. The
country, for the first time in half a century, is
freed from the grip of Wall street, and there is
no likelihood of a return to former conditions.
Tho republican party would hardly dare to
repeal the present law even if by chance it were
able to regain control of the government. And
so with the anti-trust legislation, it has come to
stay. 'ajw. V ;.h' .
j 'We tiow have the. popular election of United
States Benators ; -we have the' income tax and we
have a primary system- We have also adopted
the initiative and referendum in the states, and
this still further insures the rule of the people.
All these reforms are the result of the move
ment that began twenty years ago for the over
throw of coroporato domination. One more na
tional democratic victory will make these, re
forms permanent, and with that victory achieved
next year the way is open for the new issues
Peace, Prohibition and Equal Suffrage.
All of these appeal to young men and furnish
themes which they can present with all the en
thusiasm of youth. The boy has- caught the
spirit of the age and is inspired by a desire to
contribute a service to the world, a servipe
which will be measured by the help he can ren
der rather than by exploits on the battlefield.
He is enlisted as a warrior for peace.
He is also naturally inclined to Prohibition
because he has learned in his youh to avoid in-,
toxicating liquor, and, knowing the intelligence
with which his mother has safe-guarded his
early life, he is not afraid to trust her influence
at the polls when she seeks to use the vote to
better the environment in which the children
are to be reared. . .
No trinity of issues could more appeal to the
young men and for that matter to the young
women than those which are now before us:'
PEACE, PROHIBITION and EQUAL SUF
FRAGE. 'The political arena calls for the en
ergy, the intelligence and the enthusiasm of the
new generation, and the call is already heard.
The response will come from the country, the
village and the city from the school and the
college; from all everywhere who are willing
to invest their time and their strength in causes
that are righteous- and which, because righteous,
are sure to prevail;
W. J. BRYAN.
A SATISFACTORY RECORD
With the tariff reduced, the government's
right to- issue paper money vindicated, Wall
street's grip on business and politics broken, pri
vate monopolies "in process of ultimate extinc
tion," an income tax on the statute book, popu
lar election of senators in operation, and a prom
ise of Philippine independence passed by the sen
ate with all these reforms secured within three
years, Mr: Bryan has reason to be pleased with
the progress made on domestic questions.
MINISTERS AROUSED
On another page will be found a copy of a
letter sent by twenty ministers of Bridgeport,
Connecticut, and vicinity, to the President on
tho subject of preparedness. This lettor is sig
nificant for two reasons. First, because it is a
protest coming from ministers. It i& gratifying
to see the stirring of conscience among the min
isters of tho land and the Increased couraga
with which they are speaking out against tho
policy which the manufacturers of munitions
and tho army and navy experts are trying to
force upon the country. It is also significant
that such a protest should come from Bridge
port, Connecticut one of the centers temporari
ly enjoying pecuniary benefit from supplying
war munitions to the countries at war. The
poison of preparedness finds its antidote in the
immediate vicinity of the factories. Tho Pres
ident, senators and members of congress can not
afford to overlook tho protest of those who
speak for the Christian conscience qf the nation
and who, on matters involving morals, exert an
influence far beyond their numbers.
"THERE'S A REASON"
Why are the special interests so SURE that
there is danger of war? Because they MAKE
MONEY OUT OF "SCAREDNESS." Why are
tho masses SURE that there is uo danger of war?
Because they have to PAY THE TAXES made
necessary by the "scaredness" program. The
special interests are gambling on a sure thing.
They will make money oven if their predictions
fail, and still more if they can provoke war. Tho
people, on the other hand, lose if they have to
pay for unnecessary preparation or for prepara
tion which provokes war and compels still
heavier taxes.
WE SHOULD LEAD NOT FOLLOW
"Yet I am asked, I, who am one of the legis
lators of a Christian country, to measure my
policy by the policy of ancient and pagan
Rome!" exclaimed John Bright when protesting
against the plans of the militarists of Great
Britain. And so "the Christian statesman of the
United States may protest against the adoption
of a diplomacy which imitates tlie blo'od-stained
diplomacy of Europe a diplomacy which reeks
with threats and revels in tho ultimatum.
With the army experts advising a 600 million
expenditure on the army, and tho navy experts
advising the expenditure of 500 millions on the
navy a total of one billion, or twice the net
profits of all the farmers in the United States
the plain people can get some idea of the fren
zied preparedness toward which the President
would lead us.
How provoking -it must be -to the jingoes to
have it leak out that we have the second best
navy in the world and were never better pre
pared than now to repel invasion. It is real
mean in any one to so completely answer the
slanders which the jingoes are daily uttering
against their country.
THE DISEASE IS SPREADING
An Associated Press dispatch from 'Havana,
Cuba, January 26th, says:
"The question of the increase of the army
and navy of Cuba continues to come up for oc
casional agitation in the press but seems to ex
cite no popular response. The few advocates of
Cuban 'preparedness' base their argument on
the possibility of the United States being drawn
into the European conflict, in which event they
fear that the wealth of Cuba might excite the
cupidity of some of the combatants who might
seize upon her attitude of dependency on the
United States as an excuse to violate her neu
trality. That Cuh.a could raise an army of sev
eral hundred thousand men is obvious but there,
are very few, if any, Cubans who can see the
faintest necessity for it."
Here we have it, just as might have been ex
pected. Manufacturers of munitions, after try
ing to scare the United States are proceeding to
scare Spanish America. And why should our
neighbors on the south be expected to withstand
the temptation, if the United States yields to it.
"On with the scare, let war be unconfined!" is
the shout of the purveyors of war materials
and the professional soldiers. What a pity! Or
rather, what a sin hut would It not be really
a crime, for this great nation to set such an un
christian example to the Spanish speaking re
publics as we are now -asked- to set?
W. J. BRYAN;
Prophecies and Their
Interpretation
I havo received a fow letters enclosing ser
mons In favor of war, or In favor of prepared
ness with a view to war, and these sermons are
usually based upon prophecies the minister so
interpreting tho prophecy as to mean that war
is Imminent and inevitable. Tho error Into
which these ministers havo fallen is due to a
failue to distinguish between a PROPHECY and
tho INTERPRETATION of a prophecy. It is a
common mistake into which many fall, to give
to an uninspired intcrpretati6h tho forco to
which only an Inspired prophecy is entitled. Ono
can admit that the prophecies of Holy Writ aro
inspired without conceding Infallibility to those
who so interpret them as to find their fulfill
ment In tho present age. A minister ought to bo
tho last to claim for his interpretation any
more weight than he himself would give to an
opinion of another minister who Interprets tho
prophecy differently. These Interpretations aro
sometimes dangerous, becauso when a man onco
convinces himself that his interpretation Is cor
rect, he then follows his own opinion as If It
had all the binding forco of prophecy, and In so
doing he may paralyze his Christian usefulness.
Suppose, for instance, a minister construes a
given prophecy to mean that AT THIS TIME
there Is to be a universal war, and that tho
United States Is to play an Important part in it.
If ho is convinced that his interpretation is cor
rect he is not only useless as an advocate of
peace but he becomes dangerous to peace. Ac
cepting War as inevitable he becomes an advo
cate of preparedness, and, if ho has any influ
ence, he may, by helping to engender a military
smrlt, bring about the very wars which he pr
diets.
The safer plan in it not the Christian plan?
-is .to accept the teachings of Christ as a mean
of pi-eventing war and then apply them, having
faith that they will havo tho effect that Christ
promised. . If war. is to como lff no Chi;BMivb.
responsible for it by a misinterpretation of pro
phecies or by lack of confidence In the power of
God to employ love .and Christian service for
the prevention of wapf
. W. J. BRYAN.
THE GROWTH OF THE ARMY
Oh another page will be found a tabulated
statement showing the size of tho standing
army from the years 1891 to 1915 inclusive, to
gether with the amount appropriated every year,
and the amount spent for fortifications. It will
bo seen that in the 25 years covered by the sta
tistics the number of officers increased from
2052 to 4G16, and the number of enlisted men
from 23,398 to 87,384. The appropriations for
the support of tho army Increased from
26,000.000.00 to $98,000,000.00. The army Is
practically four times as great as it was 25
years ago, and the hospital corps is five times as
great as it was then. This does not include the
quartermaster corps or the Philippine scouts.
The appropriations for the army are practically
four times what they were 25 years ago. As
the object Is simply to measure the growth o
the standing army, no reference Is made In the
table to the volunteer army which served in the
Spanish war.
A CHILLY DAY
" 'Twas a chilly day for WHUc when the mer
cury went down," is the wdy a witty editor
chronicled the death of the lad who swallowed
some quicksilver. The lines are recalled" by the
chill that ran through the militarists when the
military committee was Informed that tho war'
department could equip FIVE HUNDRED THOU
SAND MEN IMMEDIATELY with arms NOW
ON HAND, and. three hundred thousand more in
three months. The testimony shows that "the
country was never in better position in this re
spect."
AN APPROPRIATE BUTTON
1 :
Miss Margaret Winans of Swissvale, Pa., has
designed one of the most appropriate peace but
tons thus far brought to the attention of the
public. It has In the center a dove with an olive
branch in its mouth and in a circle around it
the song heard at Bethlehem: "Peace on earth:
good will toward men." t
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