V3
4
The Commoner
VOL. 18, 0 u
M4
TyF
I Mr. Taft on the .
Primary
VJ
Tho Rocky Mountain News of September 23
rIVch editorial space to ex-President Taft's views
on tho primary. Tho Nows describes Mr. Taft as
Vtho plain people's advocate" and credits him
with presenting upon tho wholo the average
citizen's view of things."
Tho editor of tho Nows speaks approvingly as
If ho conaldorod himself an "averago citizen."
And what has Ilr. Taft said to call forth this
editorial eulogy? Tho reader will find the edi
torial reproduced in full on another page. At
tention is called to It for tho purpose of point
ing out that Mr. Tafts objection to tho prin
ciple of tho primary is not now: ho has a con
stitutional distrust of tho people. He did not
expect to see tho "good men" selected at pri
maries. According to Mr. Taft and he is as
honestly aristocratic as tho democrat is honestly
democratic tho best men will not bo candi
dates because thoy know that "tho masses" will
iiot voto for tho so-called "best men."
' It Is not true that the primaries are a failure.
"Wo havo never had a hotter lot of men in ofllco
than wo havo today as is proven by tho legis
lation of today. Itoforms becamo possible when
(ho primaries put tho selection of representa
tives in tho hands of tho peoplo they woro
not possiblo until then. Mr. Taft points to Cali
fornia as proof that tho primary is a failure
no, it is proof that the liqnor interests tried to
control DOTH parties and failed. ONE party
MSOAPED. Is Mr. Taft sure that either party
would havo escaped under tho convention sys
tom? Tho Baloons used to control the conven
tions in BOTH parties in nearly, all tho states.
Thoy nominated different men but men equally
subservient to tho liquor power. '
. Mr. Taft does not complain of tho saloon but
ho finds fault with tho primary which has played
ii. largo part in the overthrow of tho saloon. Mr.
.Taft also complains of tho oxpens'.voness of the
(Primary to tho candidate that is an evil that
can be romedlod.
Lot tho government limit expenditures and
Issue a bulletin giving space for, statement of
claims and objections. Lot tho facts be laid be
fore tho pooplo the peoplo can be trusted to
pass upon thpm.
Mr. Taft is -a most lovable man and has added
to his admirers by the way ho has taken de
feats ho has been "a good loser." And he
has given sploudld support to the administration
in the prosecution of tho war, but he has a great
deal to learn about democracy.
. Shall wo glvo thousands of lives and expend
billions of dollars to "mako democracy safe" in
Europe and then retreat toward autocracv in
this country? No, the "plain pooplo" have their
faces to tho front and will march forward to
ward inoro and more and more popular govern
ment. W. J. BRYAN.
Such progrossWo democratic senators as Shaf
roth, Walsh, Overman, Sheppard, Lewis and
Thompson desorvo reflection, and such progres
sive democratic candidates as Osborne, Folk
Ford, Stanley and all other progressive demo
cratic candidates.
A GRATIFYING CHANGE
Mr. James Faulkner, the veteran nowspaper
correspondent whose facile pdn has so long on
livonod tho political columns of the Cincinnati
Enquirer, has discovered- a very important
chango in Ohio. Ho said in his recent weelclv
i'oview:
"Indeed it's a fact that in times like theso
the souls of men aro tried and oven though they
wo as pure as Ice and as chaste as snow thoy
do not escape calumny. Nowadays when every
body s nutty upon the subject of prohibit'on
tho saintly are required to bo circumspect oVdto
walk hi wariness. If one of thorn should happen
lo go into a hotel barroom to ask tho barteulor
what was tho hour, he- would bo lost forov0r
And as for getting peppermint for the coHc-'
Wof ffibto?WOUId accei,t that defense
1 Tihat I3 Ratifying. Tho Ohio politicians used
to bo afraid of offending the brewers J-now
thoy -aro afraid of offending the friends of p
'Xiibitlou, A revolution, indeed. p
W.J ppvam.
000
STATES VOTING ON PROHIBITION AT
NOVEMBER ELECTIONS, 1918 '
OHIO Constitutional amendment by
petition.
CALIFORNIA Constitutional amend
ment by petition.
UTAH Constitutional amendment sub
mitted by Legislature.
NEVADA By statute effective as soon
as result is proclaimed, which result
must be proclaimed within thirty
day b.
WYOMING Constitutional amendment
submitted by Legislature.
MINNESOTA Constitutional amend
ment submitted by Legislature.
MISSOURI -7- Const'tutional amendment
submitted by Legislature.
FLORIDA Const'tutional amendment
submitted by legislature.
MR. BRYAN'S PROHIBITION SPEECH
The readers will find in this issue of The Com
moner Mr. Bryan's speech in support of the pro
hibition amendments submitted in the several
states and in favor of the ratification of the
national amendment. The speech delivered at
St. Joseph was selected for publication because
Missouri is a pivotal state and The Commoner
has a large number of readers in that common
wealth. The arguments presented ought to havo
weight, however, in all states that have not yet
ratified, and additional weight in the states that
vote on state prohibition. Read the speech and
loan it to your neighbor.
NOT NECESSARILY
A German paper tells its readers that the re
jection of the recent (Austrian) peace proposals
means that "peace is attainable through" our
victory or at tho price of Our utter destruction."
Not necessarily. Victory is, of course, out of
question, but "utter destruction" is not a neces
sary alternative. There are several things they
m'ght try. Why not return the stolen goods,
or tip over the throne, or pitch the kaiser and
crown prince into the Rhine, or execute the
leaders of the military party? These are only
a few of the interesting experiments that might
be suggested.
PEACE PROSPECTS
Peace prospects grow brighter. The Presi
dent's last war speech, backed by the superb
fighting qualities of our sold'ers and the splen
did patriotism of the people, has brought the
enemy to tho point of suing for peace. The
terms proposed by the President are so just
that friends and foes alike see in them the basis
of permanent peace. The people support the
President in his demands and share his hopes.
THE KINGS ARE LEARNING.
The press dispatches report that Crown Prince
Charles of Roumania has renounced his right to
the succession in order to marry the woman he
loved. He remarked that thrones are a little
unstable now anyhow. The kings are learnings
but t ought not to require a shaky throne to
convince a man even a king that a LS
wife is better' than any throne Bd
A BREWERY BOUGHT ORGAN
On another page will be found the now
port of the exposure of the brewery acUvItyS
Washington the purchase of a paper for
Arthur Brisbane. It comes at an opportune time
it increased the maioritv in f.
liibltion. This is not the only case Will D5"
others be exposed? y aSe WiU tlle
A COSTLY FIGHT
saffian - s ?0orut
One explanation of why so mnnv t
to be found in the front linear tL !rine? aro
doubtless is that they can S? i Orleans
when the Kaiser waStsTomeone t fellV117
terms to. nB l0 tel1 Ms peaco
rwaisensm m
Minnesota
The brewers of Minnesota are
spending
large amount of money buying space" V
newspapers for the publication of thoir , k
of loyality-the immediate cause beg ft
posure of their secret effort to influent l!i?
opinion at the national capital, thronT
which they established there, by fShV?
owner $&75.000 with which to buy ft g Ue
Tho Minnesota brewers will have d'fllrnii.r
separating themselves from the German I h
lean Alliance which did its wort : Kw?
money furnished, by the brewers. But dlLi
as that will be, they will find it still noJSf
cult to explain why they began applying Z
Kaiser's methods to government in M'nnJh
twenty years ago, w
Knowing the criminal character of their bmi
ness and foreseeing that tho people would not
tolerate their sordid conspiracy against th
homes df Minnesota, the brewers, through the!
.representatives in the legislature secured th
submission of an amendment to the const'tutloa
whiqh virtually ties the hands of the people and
makes popular government extremely difficult
in this state.
, The Minnesota constitution formerly provided
that, an amendment to the constitution couU
be adopted by a majority of. the voters voting
on that amendment. That was democratic; It
enabled the peoplo to Change their constitution
at will. The brewery interests, being as auto
cratic in opinion as the Kaiser himself, and de
spising popular government as thoroughly as tie
Kaiser does, secured a chance makin? it news.
sary for an amendment to have a majority 0!
all the votes cast at tho election, but not cast
on, that particular proposition. It was au ingeni
ous scheme and it has. admirably accomplished
its purpose.
When, a few.yeas .ago the initiative and ref
erendum was .submitted to the voters, largeb
through the activity of the laboring and the
agricultural interests, the vote on the amend
ment stood about 170,000 for, and 40,00)
against more than four to one of the votes
cast on tho amendment but as the total vole
cast at the election was a little more than twice,
170,000, the amendment failed because It did
not have a majority of all the votes at the elec
tion. The brewers opposed the initiative and refer
endum because they feared that the people, if
given the right to initiate legislation, would
submit the I'quor question to the people. This
they took advantage of the amendment on their
side more than 130,000 votes cast at the elec
tion, but not cast on the amendment, defeated
the initiative and referendum.
According to the brewers' idea of government,
four to one is not enough to override the brew
ery autocracy.
In the present campaign the brewers have M
hope of defeating the amendment by polling J
many votes against it as will be cast for J
Their only hope is by counting on their side tw
support of all voters who vote at the elecuos,
but fail to vote' on the prohibition amendmen
They can still continue the "open season
Minnesota." and thus pile up fortunes by w
ruin of all those whom they can allure Into i
dram-shop. rt
Because of the amendment which the breww
secured two decades ago, when the peopw f
not on the watch, the friends of prohibu on
Minnesota today must work all the harder
secure a majority of all tho votes cast on u.
amendment
t.. ;, ,. i lav befor
xl may aeip arouse me puuio - . y
them this evidence of tho 'brewers' (lis loyaw
the form of government : under which tncy .
made their money. The people who are lur
ing millions of men and billions of mow
make democracy safe throughout the won-
spare a little time on election day to maw
mocracy safe in the United States, and cspt
in Minnesota wiiere the -brewers have f
shown their sympathy with the Kaiser s
of strangling the public conscience. ,
Now is the' time to strike a M0,
kalserism in Minnesota. Prohibit'on w
severest punishment that the people ca" $
upon the beer oligarchy that has S"
manufacturing criminals and paupers, au (M
insane hospitals aW Idiotic asylums '
vicTlms of its poisonous product.
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