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The Commoner
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Vol.
17, NO. 3
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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.
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