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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1916)
iifv? iywjiH V , The Commoner yOb. 16, NO. 7 20 r If- Epoch-Making Achievements of Wilson's Administration Senator Ollie M. James' Great Speech Before the Democratic National Convention at St Louis, June 15, 1916 Tho speech of Sonator 011io James of Kentucky, Juno 15, as permanent oliRlrmnn of tho democratic national convention at St. Louis, was ono of tho romarkablo . uttorancoo of the convention. A brlof review of this nddrosB wan glvon In Mr. Bryan's St. Louis lottors In tho Juno Issuo, but lack of spaco preventing Its repro duction In full In that issue, Its pub lication has boon withhold until this month. Tho democrats of tho coun try will valuo this address because It gives volco to tho notable achieve ments of tho Wilson administration and will sorvo as a campaign docu ment whldh should bo circulated from ono end of tho country to tho othor. Sonator James speech, In full, fol lows: Mr. Chairman, Follow Democrats, Ladles and Gentlemen: I greet my democratic brethren of tho republic, tho roprosontatlves of a proud, vic torious, and unconquerable democ racy whoso life, achievements, and history challenges tho admiration of tho world. Wo cheerfully raoet face to faco tho public wo have not be trayed to point with delight to a matchless record of promises wo have kopt. During throo yoars of Its national control democracy has enacted Into Jaw moro progresBlvo remodlal legis lation than tho nation has over writ ten upon Its statute books Blnco Kb birth. In formor national contests in tho last two decados our party camo as a prophot. Wo could only point out wrongs and promise romodlos; but today wo como with deods, not words; with performance, not promise. Our deeds in thojna tlon havo boon greator than our words upon tho hustings; our per iformancos as tho lawmakers greater than our promise as tho campaigner. In othor words, tho democratic imrty has kopt Its word with the American people Wo havo made good. Wo have by our conduct of tho affairs of this nation deserved the rqpewod confidence of Its poople by proving worthy of tho confidence onco bestowod. The democratic party rejoices that under this administration for the first time slnco tho Civil war it was enabled to amend tho constitution of the United States in tho Interest of .good government and tho massos of the poople. Wo freed tihe senate from tho control of tho great Inter ests by making it elective by tho peo ple at tho polls. Wo wrote into tho constitution itself an amendment, susceptible of no dispute, that wealth should boar Its propor burden of the taxation necessary to run tho gov ernment efficiently, economically and honestly. Powerful Lobby Ousted President Wilson drovo invisible government out of Washington and uncovered the mightiest lobby that evur ramified a republic or had its rendezvous in its capital. Ho drove the lobbyist out; he turned the American people in. The democratic party undertook to enact a now tariff law in keeping with tho historic principles of the -democratic party and justice to all hf people. The democratic party be lieves that the right of taxation can only exist for tho purpose of raising ufftclent revenue to run tho govern ment. Taxation never did justly ex 1st and never will in a free govern ment for tho purpose of enriching on class at the expense of all the xmt of the people. We undertook tho reformation of hands, unowned, unpledged to any Interest oxcopt that of tljo public welfare, and wo aro proud of -our achiovomont In writing into law tho present Underwood-Simmons tariff bill. Not a schedule In It fosters mon opoly; not a rato in it protects a trust. Wo made as nearly free of taxation as possiblo the necessities of life, and sought to obtain as much revenue as thoy would boar from the luxuries of life. One of tho greatest features of this law is tho income tax, which raise from the fortunes of tho rich, the prosperous, tho well-to-do people of tho nation $120,000,000 per annum, and lifts this burden off tho tables and backs of tho poor To my mind, no law is moro just than that of an Income tax. Those that prosper un der tho government ought to be will ing to pay taxes to perpetuate It. It id a tax that forecloses no mortgages, forces no sales. It Is collected only whero riches abound and prosperity smiles. Would tho republican party dare to suggest the repeal of this part of tho tariff law? Will they be specific in tholr objections to this legislation? What schedule would they repeal? What rato would thoy increase? Would they substitute tho Dingley rato or tho Payne-Aldrich rate? If thoy were given control again, would they re-enact the tariff law that the democratic party repeated, a bill that was repudiated by tho republican party itself at the polls? Tariff Bonrd to Bo Created Who is It, anyhow that desires really tho repeal of the present law, made by honest men for an honest purpose, that of raising revenue sufficient to defray the expenses of tho government and substitute in its stead tho lobby-made, monopoly breeding, trust-creating, millionaire producing Payne-Aldrich bill? Our republican frlendB told us when we enacted this bill Into law that it would close tho factories, fill the streets with idle men, produce a panic, create souphouses, and distress would reign everywhere; hut we rejoice today to point to an un-ex-amplod, prosperity in the nation, with lahor moro generally employed, at nignor rates, snorter hours and bet ter conditions than ever before. Our republican friends tell us that after the war is over, poor, stricken, prostrate, torn, bleeding Europe will take our homo market here from us; that this young, virile republic, with 100,000,000 freemen, that has cone out to take the foreign markets of the world, must tremble in great fear lest these war-torn countries, with millions of their men the flower and strongtn or their manhood buried in the trenches, with their factories destroyed, tholr country laid waste, their charred and blood-soaked land filled with widows and orphans and crippled men, and upon them the heaviest debt of all ages, will come here to this happy land, uncursed by war's ravages or Its burden of debt, and take our home market from ub. No, gentlemen; I havo no such fear; America is going to take the markets of the world; we are going to meet our competitors In tho other markets of the earth and take them, and this great poople here fears no competitor at home that wo aro willing to meet away from home. f-ta " im wu liuikiil nuu ana cost Or, : transportation in our favor lift wa certainly have nothing to fear when wo are meotlng them where the freight rate and transportation and many times adverse tariffs' are In tneir iavor. wut wo shall cut from falso Issue, for we shall pass a bill creating a tariff board to 'gather the facts created by the new 'war conditions or the conditions that may exist after peace is declared, and up on these official acts, obtained by men not interested in enriching themselves by taxing others, and -with this gath ered information be ready to meet every new condition which may arise. the" tariff with open minds and clean them the last bopo of having even a DECLARES FEDERAIj RESERVE LAW MAKES PANICS IMPOS SIBLE AND HAS SAVED COUNTRY IN BIG CRISIS Would our republican opponents repeal the present Federal Reserve law that emancipated tho credit of a nation; that made tho credft of tho country to run In life-giving currents through tho avenues of business? Under the old system a few men could creato a panic, as the whole nation witnessed in 1907, when all the world was at peace and enjoying unusual prosperity. A small group of men upon Manhattan Island precipitated overnight one of the greatest panics in the history of the nation. It toppled, values, wrecked fortunes, destroyed holdings, turned out of employment thousands of men, and locked the door of almost every bank in the country against the de positor who called for his own money. , w The republican party in control for 40 years of our national life either did not have the ability or the courage or the desire to remedy this brutal system that lodged the money of a nation in the control of this heartless group of men. The demo cratic party took control of this na tion, and under the leadership of Woodrow Wolson met this great problem. We took tho money con trol out of the hands of this olig archy; we lodged Its control in the hands of tho government and created tho Federal Reserve banks of the country. We rested the finances of the great people of this nation upon what they own, and not upon what they owe. The output of the factory, the product of the farm, ,the ore of the mine, the business achievements of the people, Was the basis of the money Issued under this new system, and not the bonds that were resting upon tho people. What would have been the result if the old republican system had been In effect when the world's war broke upon us? The stock exchanges in every city In tho wnrid warA closed. Europe poured its vast hold ings in plethargic streams upon our shores. The cry that went up from all the nations of the Old World was, "We want gold." Who thinks that tho republican system of finance un der the guidance of these patriotic guardians would have been able to withstand this mighty cataclysm In the peace and credit of the world? But what was the result? Not a bank closed its doors; not a laborer was thrown out of employment; not a business was forced into bank ruptcy; but here stood strong, serv ing the masses of mankind, this great loglRlative achievement of the dem ocratic party. Panics No "Longer Possible Panics no longer are possible. The truth of it is, they have only come, during the history of this nation when the republican party either was in control of its affairs or the a mai iw uaQ enacted wero unre pealed upon our statute books The panic of 1873 la familiar to the older of our citizens. The re publican nnrHr -ama t ... i . ' I Panic of W3 came whneThe laws written by the republican party wero unrepealed upon the statute books and the platea for the iaauanVJ I bonds had been prepared by th out going Harrison administration Ad so we are quite familiar with tS? panic of 1907; but as thn ,Bf achievement of' Woodrow Wllst my mind, next to keeping 100 obo 000 people at peace with the worhf the historian will record the Fetal Reserve law that created a domocracy and established a currency m controlled hy the government that 5 quickly responsive to ' the husiness needs of the country. iness Would our republican friends sug gest a repeal of this law? I Imagine not, though we enacted it over their Intense and bitter opposition. They stood upon the floor of the senate and, with all the eloquence and logic at their command, declared in sol emn tones that if we did enact it in to law that In 30 days the mightiest panic that ever broko upon a nation would be with us. They said it was but a recrudescence of greenbackism and the old free-silver craze. They declared that the national banks, 8,000 strong, would not go into it. We discarded this advice. Wo weathered these evil forebodings, and in the interest of mankind wo wrote the law. No republican con vention from that day to this, no re publican orator upon the hustings with any degree of responsibility has suggested, a word of criticism or ut tered a line of condemnation of this law. Demands Loyalty to. Flag We are all Americana no matter whence we come. We love our country because it makes us free. The beauty of the .oceans that wash our shores, our fertile plains, our lofty mountains, our winding riv ers, our unequaled landscapes, can only bo enjoyed in their real and matchless beauty through the eyes of a freeman. More beautiful than the beauty and splendor of the land is tho glory of the government. The humblest may become the greatest, the weakest may become tho strongest, the poorest may be come the richest; here no taint of blood, no law of royalty. This free dom is as much the right of the one who comes here as the one who is born here. We are glad of it and happy to offer this opportunity and this happiness to all. Wo only ask in return loyalty, valor and love; loyalty to the flag, valor in its defense, and love of our free institutions. We do not care what songs of the old home land you may sing or what memories of the country from which you came you may cherish. All we ask is that the song you shall hold dearest to your heart is the Star-Spangled Banner. And the memories you shall cherish most and best are those of America that makes you free. There are some who seek to de stroy this nation whose freedom and blessings they enjoy. They call themsfilvoa nnnin1ia(a T4 T rinrJ TT1V way, I would not allow a single man " uaauuiauon oi men to near aion upori the streets and highways of th's notlnn r. H ii ll.-L .lll.no """"u s or eincuem mat eiui-i questioned the integrity or authority of the Stars and Stripes of the republic. democratic tarty stands for navy bo strong no hos TILE SHEW CAN FAUj IN AN AMERICAN CITY In 1906 I attended the great peace conference held in London and saw there assembled 26 nations of ,the .