Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1917)
U "W The Commoner ' r- Vol. 17, NO. 3 ? W r: IK KT rv izens to encourage or assist revolution In other states should bo sternly and effectually sup pressed and prevented. ALL STAND ON PLATFORM "I need not arguo theso principles to you, my fellow countrymen; they aro in- our own, part and parcel of your own thinking and your own motlvo In affairs. They spring up natlvo among us. Upon this platform of purposo and of ac tion wo stand together. "And It Is Imperative that wo should, stand together. Wo aro being forged Into a new unity amid tho fires that now'.blazo throughout the world. In their ardent heat wo shall, In God's providence, lot us hope, bo 'purged of faction and division, purified of the errant humors of party and of prlvato interest and shall stand forth In tho days to come with a new dignity of national prldo and spirit. Let each man see to It that tho dedication is in his own heart, the high pur pose of tho nation in his own mind, ruler of his own will and desire. " "I stand hero and havo taken tho high and solemn oath o which you have been audience because the people of the United States have chosen mo for this augus delegation of power and havo by their gracious judgment named me tlielr leader in affairs. I know now what tho task means. I realizo to tho full tho responsi bility which it involves. "I pray God I may bo given tho wisdom and tho prudence to do my duty in the true spirit of this great people. I am their servant and can succeed only as they sustain and guide mo by their onfidenco and their counsel. Tho .thing I shall count upon is the unity of Amer ica an America united in feeling, in purpose 'and in vision: of duty; of opportunity and of service. We are to beware of vall men who would turn the tasks and the necessities of the nation to their own private profit or use them for-tho, building up of private power; beware that no faction or disloyal intrigue break the harmory or embarrass the spirit of our people; boware that our government be kept pure and incorrupt in all its parts. "United alike in the conception of our duty and in the high resolve to perform it in the face of all men, lot us dedicate ourselves to the great task to which we must set our hand. For myself I beg your tolerance, in your counten ance and your united- aid. The shadows that now lie dark upon our path will soon be dis pelled and we shall walk with the light all about us if we be but true to ourselves to ourselves as we have wished to bo known in tho counsels of the world and in the thought of all those who love liberty and justice and tho right exalted." THE VALUE OF HOME TRAINING David, said, Psalms 37-25, "I have been young, and now am old: yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread." One can see this statement verified, if ho will teace. tho descendants of the righteous and com pare them with the descendants of the wicked take the contrast between the. EdwaVds fam ily and tho Jukes family for instance. Is not this your observation? Many start 'out with brilliant prospects and fail. Do you know of a real failuro in life that was not traceable to a break down in the moral purpose of tho man? PROM &, "W. TO N. E. From southwest to northeast this is the di , rection in which reforms move nowadays. The two-amendments adopted in necent years, name . ly popular election of senators, and income tax traveled from S. W. to N. E., and the storm signals indicate that another reform, pro v hibition, is moving in the same 'direction'. So moto Jt be. Need of Cloture Rule Mr. Bryan gave the fpllowing interview to tho Miami, Fla., Daily Metropolis. March S. The failuro of congress to act .on the bill em powering the President to arm 'American ships proves the need of cloture In the senate. The present rules are an absurdity; they are worse than an absurdity; they are the last bulwark of plutocracy. They have been retained be cause they give the minority the power to de lay, if not actually' to prevent legislation. They have been used to limit and restrict reforms; progressive legislation requires affirmative ac tion, and tho senate rules give the advantage to the opposition. The recent contest has focused public atten tion upon the need for a change and the strug gle will be worth its cost, if it results in the adoption of rules w.hich will permit the major ity to take responsibility for legislation. As long as unlimited debate is permitted, the minority is sure to take advantage of the rule, and some of those who most bitterly denounce the rule today took advantage of it, to prevent the passage of the shipping bill during the clos ing days of the congress elected in 1912. The bill proposed by the President aroused deep feeling on both sides, and those opposed to it felt justified in employing every means, at their command to defeat the measure, just as the opponents of the force bill did some twenty five years ago. They are responsible to their constituents and to them alone. The most important effect of the, filibuster will be to compel an extra session of cpngress and that can hardly be regarded as a great evil. The situation is critical; and the President, at such a time as this, can not well, object to the presence of the representatives of the forty eight states who share with him responsibility for the administration of the government. The people have great confidence in the President, but their confidence in him does not lessen their devotion to the theory that our govern ment rests upon the co-operation of the Presi dent and congress. As for the bill itself, the objection was not so much to the conferring of power, as to the language to be employed. I think the house resolution was preferable to the senate resolu tion. The house resolution provided that the insurance fund created by the resolution should not be used to insure ships carrying arms and ammunition. A minority of the committee fa vored the insertion of this clause in the para graph relating to the arming of ships also, and I am of opinion that the insertion of this lan guage would have improved the resolution. I do not believe that the government should arm vessels carrying ammunition. It is quite prob able that tho President, even without any in struction from congress, would refuse to per mit the arming of ships carrying munitions, but it would be better for congress to take respon sibility of inserting that provision than to throw upon the President the responsibility of mak ing such an order himself. - W.'J. BRYAN. AN EXCHANGE OF COMPLIMENTS Hon William JenBr th' 19 , Miami, Fla. If you and your friend Senator Tn and all of your joint followers and lymllft letto had gone to Heaven three years flfnShlzerB would nof have attempted to dHve the VS" States frorm the seas or to conspire with if nations to malce war upon her for 11 u ther by now have been well preparTd tZlToT selves, nor would you have had occasion T sneak out of Washington upon the S sCoVe?y f Ihe German plot. While you can ZIZ ? ?f the mischief you have planned yet if you quickly you may be able to persuade those Vow ambitious to become the Benedict Arnolds 0 congress to end tl shameful scene now tinl (Sigped) ALTON B. PARKER (and given to the press by him). NEW YORK HERALD INTERVIEW When Mr. Bryan was asked by a New York Herald correspondent whether he had recelv d the Parker telegram, and what answer he had to make he replied: "I received Judge Parker's telegram, but do noMntend to answer it I answered Judge Parker four years ago at Bal timore whqn lie attempted to lead the demo, cratic party into bondage to Wall street. He fa ed ingloripusly then, and I pray that he may fail as completely in the attempt which he is now making to coin the blood of the young men of America into dividends for the trafflcers in war." NAPOLEON ON PEACE Those who protested against the President's proposal of "peace without victory," will be in terested to know that .the President's concep tion of a durable peace Js supported by so great a warrior as Napoleon, who thus presents the same thought; "Peace ought to be the result of a system well considered; founded on the true interpsts of thp different countries, honorable to each, and ought not to be either a, capitulation or tho re sult of a threat." With such an authority- to rely on, the paci fist ought not to be afraid to stand for a peace without victory. SEVERAL STEPS YET, BUT There are several steps yet befpre war. Armed neutrality does not NECESSARILY mean war but it brings us a step nearer. Even a defensive use of force against attacks on the sea might not mean actual war, but it would bring us still nearer. The nearer we go to war the swifter the current just as it is aHovej Niagara Falls. And the abyss is just beyond. THE SOUTH LEADS The south has a right to feel proud of its leadership in the- fight for prohibition the greatest moral issue of the generation. . The senate performed some excellent work in drying up the nation through tho Reed amendment. i tt umer3tand it, tho argument is that the United States should go to war to sustain tho doctrino that a merchant shin has a right to arm against a submarine but that a sub marine has no riht to sink an armed ship. This reads moro like a lawsuit and p. cause of action than an international question and a cause of war. WASHINGTON "DRY" The South Dakota legislature-adjourned af ter being in session only sixty dns. Before drawing upon our supply ' of oomplimentary Phrases, we desiro to be first informed are South Dakota legislators paid only for "' sixty Once upon a time the test of a man's fool liardiness was taking a trip ovp- "-'"-nra Falls in a barrel. 'Nowadays it is tak'ng a trip to Europo in a British liner. ' Tho President has acted wisely in calling congress together in extra session.- -",- President Wilson is wise in retaining the cabinet He could not havo a better grof secretaries. . .'.. A. VL The white flag of prohibition now floats over the nation's capital, just under the Stars and Stripes. By a vote of more than two to one in the senate and nearly two to one In the house the District of Columbia has been made dry. At the samG time congress has prohibited the shipment of liquor into dry states and has pro hibited the use of tho mails for the advertise ment of liquor in dry states. The saloon is thus made an outlaw a fugi tive from justice. It may hide for a while in a few wet states, but Its days are numbered tho hour of its departure is at hand. The next congress is quite sure to submit a prohibition amendment and it will secure the necessary three-fourths of the states. And Kb MEMBER that a DEMOCRATIC President signed the first prohibition measure ever passed by congress, and do not orset tIlftJ; ? . DEMOCRATIC senate and a DEMOCRAi house sent the prohibition bill to the wiuw . house. Who will dare to call the democratic party a whisky-party now? W. J. dkyaw. i ti n
