-- VTTWV
The Commoner
VOL. 18, no. j
The Commoner
I8SUI2I) MONTHLY
Entered at the Powtofllco at Lincoln, Nobra&ka,
rh Hccoiul-clfisH matter.
WIUJAM .T. UJIYAN, CHIATIL13M W. BRYAN,
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TIIH COMSIONISII LINCOLN, N 1311.
An oxomptlon hoard in "Wntcrloo, Iowa, re
contly ruled that newspapers belong on the liajt
of non-OBBontials In war-time. Some ot the Chi
cago dallies must have a largo circulation in
"Waterloo.
As a proof of tho increasing sanity of the
pcoplo tho tost of whether a man is loyal to the
government now is his patriotic support of its
activities and its program, and not where he
was horn or the name he hears.
That Ttalnhow division of the American array,
that stemmed tho .Germans at Chateau Thierry
and thus enabled Foch to resumo the offensive
Booms to have lived up to tho old traditions of
what constitutes a good omen.
What's hocomo of the man who has been so
loudly proclaiming for tho last threo months his
antipathy to hot weather? Well, tho last wo
saw of him ho was trying to bo neutral as bc
twoon his furnace and his coal pile.
Tho new war revenue bill doubles tho tax on
attendance at moving picture theatres. If this
is intended to keep moro people at homo, it is
likely to fail of its object. It merely substitutes
for a personal pleasure a. patriotic duty.
If it wasn't for the looks of (he thing and tho
criticism it would assuredly bring down the as
sociation of American humorists would certainly
elect tho entire Gormaii war press bureau honor
ary members, as mon who havo shown they pos
sess tho proper goods.
In tho demands made by Germany upon Hol
land, in thoir recent squabble, was that the little
kingdom furnish a certain amount of quinino
each month. Tho kaiser must want it so as to
mako a little moro palatable the pills the allies
luwo been compelling him to swallow.
Over in Sioux City they are talking of remov
ing a city councilman from office on tho ground
that ho has beon guilty of having too intlmau.
relations with tho underworld. Dos Moines
papers will be pointing this out as evidence of
.thoir belief that Sioux City is a throwback among
cities anyway.
Spain is all heated up over the fact Uiat while
it has been vory friendly towards the German
government, the U boats would just as soon sink
a Spanish merchantman as any other, and-have
done so. Tho kaiser's list of friends seems to he
growing as small as his chance for coming out
' of tho war with his crown on tight
"
The Bolshevist government of Russia has been
tottering for so long now that it must be very
close to the edge of tho precipice. As an experi
; menfin popular government it failed because the
only lessons the common people ot Russia havo
fever had the opportunity to learn were from the
' s"aVcd nobility, and that is wifr they were un
able to distinguish between, liberty and license
Nebraska Will Ratify
The prohibition forces of Nebraska won a
splendid victory at the recent primary election.
Ratification of tho national prohibition amend
ment was defeated at the special session of the
Nebraska legislature last spring through the op
position of Governor Neville and eighteen wet
senators, tho house of representatives having
passed the ratification resolution almost unan
imously. Tho good people of the state were disap
pointed and expressed their dissatisfaction so
vigorously during the speciahjgession and since
that time that about one-half of the wet senators
who opposed ratification at the special session
decided to retire from politics and did not stand
as candidates for re-election, and of the one-half
of the wet senators who did file for re-nomination,
one-half of them were defeated at the
primaries. ,
In twenty-two of the thirty-three senatorial
districts there were no wet candidates nominated
on either ticket. In the remaining eleven districts
the drys will elect several of their candidates.
Tliis insures tho ratification of the national
prohibition amendment by an almost unanimous
vote, as the lower house will be overwhelmingly ,
dry. This victory in Nebraska is tho result of
the fight by tho dry forces in Nebraska two years
ago for state prohibition, a most vigorous fight
by tho dry forces at the special session of the
legislature last spring for ratification which put
every member of tho legislature on record, and
the activity of the dry forces in placing dry
candidates on tho ticket in all districts through
out the state this summer and urging their
nomination at the August primaries. Nebraska
will tako her place on tho prohibition roll of
honor January, 1919, by ratifying the national
prohibition amendment.
rv
TIER NEBRASKA PRIMARY
The. democratic primaries in Nebraska resulted
in the re-nomination of the present governor.
Tho democratic governor and eighteen wet state
sonators, almost all of whom were democrats,
prevented the ratification of the national pro
hibition amendment at the special session of the
Nebraska legislature last spring.
As the time approached for filiug candidates
for nomination on the state ticket, it developed
that the reactionary element of tho democratic
party which was in control of the democratic
state machinery was opposed to the democratic
party taking a stand in its state platform in
lavor of the ratification of the national prohibi
tion amendment although the state hod adopted
statutory prohibition the year before by thirty
thousand majority. It became apparent also that
the reactionary democratic leaders were opposed
to the party taking a stand in favor of spec'fic
progressive legislation that would protect the
producers and consumers against the profiteering
that was so shamelessly and unconscionably be
ing carried on in the state and which the state
wevent a " efl'rt t0 curb or'
I became a candidate for the democratic nomi
nation for governor for two purposes, first to
emphasize the importance of nominating and
electing a state legislature that would be pledged
to the ratification of the national prohibition
amendment, and second to suggest and disc ,
specific,progressive legislation hatwo
protect the farmers and consumers of tie state
against the organized profiteering that was coin
on, but to outline a progressiveegisiSvepro?
gram that the progressive democracy of Nebraska
could rally around when the reactionary liquor
machine in the democratic party lost L chief
ernor polling 17,500 less votes than they did at
the primary two years aco Of , Sli
of votes at the democraUc'priSary ahout
fourteen hundred more than my mmonWf w
ng his majority this year aLuf that much more"
than it was two years aco T S
liquor machine, whose Vote is ZTlll
cities and towns, was held toeerhpS t - le
the hope that enough TetcanalLfi? JQJn
legislature could he nominate, ? ?8 r the
swssrasraSSS
terests against whose profiteering I had w
mended specific legislation to curb Wl
vote in the cities and towns was decreased ?'
two years ago owing to the anti-profltecr'ne 2
which I was making, I made gains in tho I5
try, and but tor an extremely light vote in if
country, which was caused by the farmers L
very busy in tho fields, tho results of the rirS
would have been different. v mar'
In the two years that tho progressive demo,
crats of the state have waged a fight against 2
distillers, brewers and saloonkeepers great Vr
gress has been made. The state has adopted k?
dry prohibition, and in the recent prima?,
there has been nominated enough dry Candida
more than a two-thirds majority in both branch?
of the next legislature.
" Tho interference in democratic politics by th
state and national liquor interests will be term
inatedwith the ratification of tho national prohlbi.
tion amendment next January. The fight that ha!
been beguu in favor of specific, progressive leek
lation which will protect the producers and con.
sumers against the profiteering of the special
interests and that will enable the people to utilize
the state governmental machinery for the pur.
pose for which it was intended will be continued
until the legislation outlined in the recent prim.
ary will have been secured.
CHARLES W. BRYAN.
LIQOUR TAXES SAVED
The liquor interests made no protest against
a proposed levy of a billion dollar liquor tax in
the war revenue hill. In fact, they favored it
for the reason that they hoped it would postpone
war prohibition and possibly bring ahout the
defeat of the ratification of the national prohibi.
tion amendment in the state legislature tnb
coming winter. Intimations were published in
the daily and liquor press that the committees at
work on the revenue bill would get a billion
dollars revenue out of drink if war prohibition
was postponed, and, if not, they would have to
put new 'taxes on necessities a bribe and a
threat which will fail to influence congress or
the administration.
The brewer, conduct ihgihis business on a cost.
plus basis, knows that the liquor taxes are paid
by the drinkers' wives and children, and those
who in charity support them, and taxpayers who
pay for the consequent crimes. Higher liquor
taxes, like high license, only serve to entrench
the booze business with plausible reasons for ill
continuance. Instead of suffering any losses by
reason of failure to secure revenues from tin
liquor business, the American people will make
a tremendous saving. Discussing this p&int, the
Nebraska State Journal comments as follows:
"When America goes dry r.ext year, what ot
the $1,250,000,000 of revenue expected to flow
from liquor taxes under the new revenue bill?
Congress is disturbed over the prospective lost
of that sum. But if that $1,250,000,000 isn't
collected from the liquor business, it will mean
that the people have saved that amount. They
will have saved not only that amount, which re
presents only a portion of the profits from thJ
sale of liquor, but they will have saved the cntira
profit of the liquor men, together with the whole
cost of running the liquor business. If the tax
is $1,250;000,000, the total saving should be at
least three or four times that. If the revenue
law is drawn properly, this three or four billiom
saved by the American people should yield some
thing to the revenues by means' of the income or
profits taxes. A people who are saved three
billions would hardly object to turning back a
billion and a quarter of the saving for help with
the war. The liquor tax isn't lost. It is saved.
The advocates .of universal military service
are not content to wait after the war is over be
fore allowing the nation "to decide whether
should adopt that as a permanent military policy
or, whether the necessity has passed. They are
arguing that the improved physical condition oi
the youths who have been undergoing tralnJJ
is in itself a sufficient reason why the poiw
should be adopted. This improv.ed physical con
dition is due to tho fact that the government re
quires systematic exercise, provides the prop
kinds of food, loolcs after their teeth, nails w
feet, and requires the observance of stated sleep
ing and waiting hours. They are lietter pwjj
sically because of this regimen, and so wuia ,,.
of us. "We would also all be better off if W J J
a good' many other things that we know W"
be good for ub mentally and spiritually, but u
government is organized primarily for Peilc
times, and not on strictly paternal lines.
v
-Ubautl