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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1916)
t ry' V, The Commoner VOL. 16, NO. 10 I- i K t fr publican speaker could threaten a panic and how a republican voter could bo frightened by tho threat. Wo have only had threo panics in this country since tho republican party was big enough to bring a panic. Tho panic of '73 camo twolvo years after tho republicans took control of tho government and elovon years boforo a democratic president was elected In 1884 in tho vory center of a twenty-four year period of republican power. Tho democratic party can not bo hold responsible for that panic, and therefore that panic is never referred to by republican Bporekors. That was the first. Tho last one camo in 1907, cloven years after tho republican party came Into power In '9G and live years be fore tho democrats came into power in 1912. So there, two-thirds of the way through another re publican porlod, camo tho last panic. Tho demo cratic party can not bo held responsible for that panic, and therefore, republican speakers nover roferrcd to it. Republican speakors wore so near-sighted that they could not gee tho first panic, and ho far-sighted that thoy could not seo the last panic, but their eyes wore fixed upon the one between tho two. That was tho only one thoy could see. Why? Because tho panic of '93 was tho only one of tho threo that came under a democratic president, and that panic was In such a hurry to como that It could not wait for a single law to bo repealed. It camo under republican laws. Thoso are tho three panics within tho last fifty yoars, two of them coming under republican presidents and tho third one coming under re publican laws. Tho democrats won in 1912 and roduced the tariff, and there has been no panic. Ry.en an unprecedented war in Europe has not VWt WOOL ANJJ tni,M Their specific predictions have failed aB well' as their general prophecies. Free wool has not killed tho sheep industry. Tho only republicans who havo suffered under free wool are thoso who, following tno advice or republican orators, sold their sheep and thus allowed democrats to get tho benefit of tho rise in wool and mutton. Under freo hides a republican farmer can now sell a steer's hide for nearly as much aB ho used to get for tho stoer. Republicans used to say that tho Lord was in partnership with the re publican party, and that, as ovldenco of it, He gave good crops when tho people voted the re publican ticket. I am authorized to announce that, if there over was any partnership between tho Lord and tho republican party, it has been dissolvod and not by mutual consent either, but by bankruptcy proceedings. Last year wo sold our crop for six hundred millions more than wo ever recoivod for a crop boforo, and wo had a democratic President, a democratic house and a democratic senate, If that crop had como under a republican president, the only repub lican argument this year would havo been "Don't risk voting the democratic ticket after such a crop as that." Tho panic scare is gone, and tho voter is now free to vote as ho pleases. THE INCOME TAX As part of that tariff law we havo an income tax law; that is 'the second re form to which I call your attention. Tho democratic party has taken $150,000,000 from the backs of the struggling poor and put it on the incomes of the rich. This would not havo been possible but for an income tax amendment to the constitution; and you should not forgot that the democrats led the fight for this income tax amendment. Two governors, who havo since become prominent in national politics, ex pressed themselves on this amendment, Gov ernor Wilson of New Jersey and Governor Hughes of Now York. Governor Wilson sent a message to his legislature asking them to ratify that income tax amendment, and, at about the same time, Governor Hughes sent a message to his legislature asking them NOT to ratify tho amendment. Thero you have these two men standing on opposite sides of a great question Tho country stood with Woodrow Wilson, and therefore you havo an amendment to the con stitution. Three-fourths of the states of this Uniondemocrats and republicans followed tho advice of Woodrow Wilson and less than one-fourth followed tho advice of Governor" Hughes of Now York. That is a great reform and you never would havo had it if the renuh licans had retained control of the federal gov ernment. Thoy would not have -given us an in come tax. Why? Because their leaders were liko Governor Hughes, under obligation to these great corporate interests and to tho owners of great incomes. CURRENCY REFORM Then thoy took up the currency question, and I remind you that what the democratic party has dono on currency the republican party had a chance to do for sixteen years while in control in the White house, senate and house. Repub licans talked about currency reform; why did they not give it to you? Because the leaders were tied to Wall street. It was not until you had a President who was freo, and a senate and house to support him, that you could secure that reform. No man since Andrew Jackson has had to faco such a financial combination as our President had to face, and no man not even Jackson ever showed more courage than Woodrow Wilson did in making this fight for tho people. The great banking interests, con trolling the association of bankers, met and protested against this law, and at one time they thought thoy had formed a combination that could defeat it. They began to bring pressure to bear upon the congressmen through business interests. They deliberately attempted to withdraw loans and restrict credit, and thus embarrass tho business of a nation in order to force the abandonment of this law. When Mr. McAdoo found out, from evidence coming in from all sections, that it was a deliberate and organized effort, he went to the White house and I remind you that that is the first time for many years that a secretary went in that direc tion in time of embarrassment. They had been in the habit of going to Wall street when any thing went wrong. This secretary went to the tlnnQriVftuse aml after a few minutes conversa tion WlUfl LUO - . i .. i t . V i nnt imvfl nf o ctoft.1 .McAdoo went back ana gave out a statement whicn it$ u n 4.A m our financial history. It reads something like tXllS r "ir any community anywiiera e i. nPGd of any money, it need not go to Wall street, but can come to Washington, and this government, which belongs to all tho people, -will stand by the community until the emergency Is past." That is what it means to have the White house on tho side of the people. And what did tho V panic do? It "folded its tent like the Arab, and silently stole away." Hero we have a great law that the President and congress secured in spite of the money power. Instead of having one fi nancial center -we have twelve, and they are linked together In Washington, not in New York, and they are in the control of men ap pointed by the President. The nation's business no longer is dominated by a few men in New York, and when this law broke the despotism of these men over the business of the country, it also put an end to their tyranny over the pol itics of a nation. That is what this law did. But remember that if you elect a President w,50.lB n;ympatny with Wall street he can ap point Wall street men as officers of the reserve nUl? and tYutB turn over t0 Wal1 street the machinery fashioned to relieve the people from tho tyranny and despotism of Wall street. The Currency law is the third great reform. RURAL CREDITS LAW uJf a coi?Pai;ion t0 t we have the Rural Cred its law. Th b is the greatest piece of legislation aver enaced for tho benefit of the farmers of the United States. It is the first time t5s gov ernment has ever attempted in a large way to relieve the farmer's financial needs gov ernment puts millions back of these land bank! if necessary to their success. These bonds wili furnish the money that will be loaned to Tho farmers, and on which they will have to nnv not more than one per cent above the intevelt paid on the bonds issued. And what wil the bonds sell for? They will become the giU "deed securities of the United States, ai their mar T,To1Uein fix the intereat te on the bos thr? ofTe earsnTf ' ing commissions renewals CL T" new law he can borrow oXTy years tfme with of security. ThtaSo toSrtt refo'rnT TRADE COMMISSION which exercise somo such authority over in, trial enterprises ag the interstate coi ' commission exercise over interstate railways ANTI-TRUST LAW The second anti-trust law defines tho ,i that are objectionable and layg the ax a? T root of the tree of private monopoly I remind you that the republican partv hn. never gone beyond the proposition that trust! ought to be REGULATED, and they have nevt properly regulated them because they allownJ the trust to select the regulators. Why adnm a burglar into your house, and then stay awaL all night to keep him from stealing? That 1b the theory on which the republicans act on th! trust question. They want to allow trusts to exist although they know that trusts exist for no other purpose than to plunder the public. Mr. Hughes was the leading defender of Mr' Taft's trust policy eight years ago when every trust in tho country was supporting Mr. Taft The democratic party has given you' the only anti-trust platform that is soundand that is "that a private monopoly is indefensible and in' tolerable." The President put those very words in his message to congress on the trust question Even before he sent that message he had put those very words in his speech of acceptance and before those words had been used in his speech of acceptance they had appeared four times in tho national platform of tho democratic party, beginning with 1900. Here is a platform here is a policy, and the President has com menced to carry it out. In that anti-trust law thero is a provision against "government by in junction," put there for the benefit of the la boring man, and remember that the demo cratic party is the first party that has drawn the line between a man with a soul and the inani mate matter which tho former anti-trust law was intended to control. ABOLISHED GOVERNMENT BY INJUNCTION Do you know what it is that it has taken nubftoavi0 secure? -What it is that the re publicans nave Oppuul-U U.Sril.Lcl Uio 4cll you it is just this simple proposition, that a laboring man shall not be denied right guar anteed to a thief. That is all. Our constitu tions sar that no matter how often a man has been convicted of felony he shall have the right of trial by jury if he is prosecuted again. You can not take it from him. Under government by injunction the laboring man was not permit ted to have a trial by jury in case he was charged with contempt, but our anti-trust law says that, ii this alleged contempt was committed outside tlio presence of the court and has to be cstab lished by testimony, the laboring man shall havo the same right that a thief, a burglar, or any one else has when charged with a crime name ly, that he can not be convicted until a jury finds mm guilty on the evidence presented. That is what tho democratic party has done for labor, and no wonder the laboring man regards the administration as his friend yet it has done no more than ought to be done. THE SHIPPING LAW . Nexfcjthe President secured the. passage of the Shipping bill. Do you know why it was neces sary? Let me tell you. International law seems to have been written for the benefit of nations at war, not for the benefit of nations at peace. When this war began two years ago, ono side drove the merchantmen of tho other side from the ocean, and there in our harbors these ves sels must remain, idle and useless, until this war ends, no matter how muph we suffer for lack of ships. That is international law, aud not only that, but the nations that have deprived us of these ships are under no obligation to fur nish ships to take the place of those they havo driven from the sea, but can withdraw their own vessels for transport servicfe, and to some extent they have done so, thus further crippling the carrying trade of the ocean. Because of scarcity of ships and because of increased risks, it has sometimes, cost us seven times as much to carry a bale of cotton across the ocean as it cost before the war. I know of one case where a man boughta ship, ana the freight rates col lected on one cargo more than paid for the ship. Last March the secretary of commerce an nounced that we were then paying nine times as much to transport a hushel of wheat from New York to Liverpool as it had cost two years be fore, five times as much for Hour, and four times as much for provisions. . The President proposed i (Continued on Page 14.) r f ('