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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1920)
wfr IV-ft !,. t snrfr vj'r"HV" "S ff -..i. The Commoner VOL. 20, NO. 6 f i la? w ;-,j Mr.Bryan's Chicago Letters ' (following aro spocial reports covering tho Re publican National convontlon at Chicago, Juno 8 to 4.2, which wore furnished by Mr. Bryari to various newspapers throughout tho country.) "PLATFORM; DAY Chicago, Juno 10. Today was platform day. t wish I could givo a phonographic description of tho scene. Language does not adequately doscrlbo such an occasion. Words may ho un derscored in print, hut no undorcoring can re produce tho impression that is made by tho voico of tho one who reads tho platform or tho re sponse that comes from tho audiohco. One can not by reading die printed page got tho tono of tho convontlon, as ho can from tho relative em phasis placed on different planks as they aro road, Tho convention was an anvil chorus on-criti-cism, but its voice was soft and low whop it ap proachod constructive measures. And it was no tlcoablo that tho criticism was overdone That is, tho audience was called upon to applaud criti cism so oflon that it bocamo weary. The cor poration comploxion of tho convention was made manifest by tho volume of noiso that, greeted dec larations against government owriorship and in favor of tho privato ownership of railroads and othor utilitios,, Of tho treaty plank T sha.ll treat more at length in my next article. It. was a compromise, and liko all compromises, did not express tho .real sontlmont of any considerable number. It was carofully written. It will not embarrass any Re publican senator, no matter how he Yoteg on tho treaty reservations. Senator Johnson and. Sena tor Borah can quoto this composite plank to .en dorse anything ho has ever said against tho treaty, whilo tho senators wlio voted for tho reservations, can select from tho plank sentences ., that will support all they said and did. The con vention, moroly asks ,ttie country to trust 'It .to decide what to do and liow to do, it' without limitation, restriction or direction. . Tho profiteering plank stands out as probably tho best ovidonco of tho Republican party's .in ability to protect the people from tho monacb of big business. Tho govornmont records furnish abundant and conclusive proof of conscienceless plundering by tho middlemen. Every community has boon victimized; tho rising resentment of producers and consumers is pno of tho chief causos of un : rost and yet a Republican national convention avoids tho subject by devoting to it its shortest plank. It is briof enough in full: "Profiteer ing" "Wo condemn tho Democratic administra ; tion for failure impartially to enforce tho anti profiteering laws onactod by tho Republican con- i gress. Here is a plank containing eighteen words and occupying a. little less than four lines of tho ordinary newspaper space. One of tho biggest subjects before tho American people is dismissed with one sontonco, and that sentence instead of promising something tnerely condemns tho Democratic administration. Tho plank does not spocify tho Republican laws that remain unen forced; it does not oven congratulate the Repub lican party upon passing such laws, The anti profiteering sentence isn't oven rod in tho face with indignation; it doesn't, shake its fist at the 'president or tho attorney general and demand the protection of tho people. It seems liko a casual statement thrown in parenthetically. It is preceded by an enumeration of the causes of the high cost of living, first and fore most among which is a "50 per cent deprecia tion in the purchasing power of the dollar." (Hore wo have a formal acceptance of the quantitative theory of money; it is easier to confess the party wrong twenty-four years ago , in denying the quantitative theory of money than o face tho profiteers of today. Among the lessor and not so foremost causes are "reduced production, burdensome taxation, swollen prof , .. Its, and thq increased demand for goods arising , from fictitious but enlarged buying power." Tho cause doscribed as "swoUon profits," is included with three other causes named, hut there is no . : Indication of auger or resentmqnt. ... There- Is another paragraph , just, preced , ing tho profiteering,, plank , which .contains .six teen lines in which the convention pledges the party to earnest and consistent attack upon tho high cost of living by, (1) avoidance of inflation, (2) intelligent deflation and, (3) encouragement of production by prevention of unreasonable profits, public economy, stimulation, thrift and revision of taxes. The platform not only offers no specific relief but It warns the country that "there is no short way out" and tho delegates therefore "decline to deceive tho people with vain promises of quack remedies." Can you find anything in this-pronouncement that strikos terror into the heart of tho profiteer or excites hope of relief in the hearts of the suffering? Tho servico men will not fail to note that the platform carefully avoids any pledge of a bonus. Tho delegates assure the soldiers and sailors of tho recont war that they hold "in imperishable remembrance tho valor and patriotism" that they exhibited, and they promise to discharge "to tho fullest the obligation which a grateful na tion justly should fulfill.". But the word bonus doos not appear. Instead of a specific promise tho dolegatcs declare that tho Republicans are not ungrateful and ask that "their history" he accepted as a pledge. Tho trouble is that tho Republican party is not billing to collect the money for a bonus from the only source available, viz., from those who made fortunes out of the .war whilo tho soldiers bore the risks of tho conflict. Tho fiasco on the prohibition plank probably has no equal in the history of national conven tions. Tho platform as prepared by the sub committee and published in the morning paper contained a six line sentence as follows: "With regard to tho sale and manufacturoTJTInox'icat ing bevorages. the Republican party will stand for tho enforcement of the constitution of the United Statos as it shall bo declared by thojsu premo court.' . That was surely weak enough; it has less than one-half of one per. cent of vigor in it. It jlid not mention tho Volstead law", it did. not "an-' nounco tho party's position on the subject Of pro hibition; it did not even congratulate the Re publican party on having a part in this great moral victory. But oven that plank, evasive at it was, was stricken out in the full committee, and tho plat form as adopted, amid great enthusiasm, makes no reference whatever to the subject of prohibi tion. Ono member of the committee on resolu tions prepared a minority report containing an ondorsomont plank; he gave it to an outsider, not a delegate to the convention, with instructions that it ho given to a prominent delegate from his state to present. The prominent delegate could not bo found, and tho delegates from thirty-four dry states, that is, dry by their own acts, sat mutes .while the subject was ignored. "FEARFUL AND WONDERFUL" PLANKS "Chicago, June 11. Oh, harmony, what crimes have been committed in thy name! Harmony is tho giant of the Philistines in this convention and no David near with a pebble and sling. A thousand delegates, leaders in public life and "not more than a handful who are willing to fight for their convictions in tho face of opposi tion. Ono man tried to present a minority re port on a number of economic questions. Chair- . man Lodge had difficulty in compelling the crowd to listen he had to threaten to clear tho gal leries, and then tho dissenting committeeman could get no state to second his demand for a roll call. The League of Nations plank is ono of tho most "perfect specimens of art in the way of compromise that can be found in all convention literature. Practically every delegate' accepts it with mental reservations, It is a mosaic made up of a multitude of sentences of all sizes and colors. Those who believe that our nation ought to lend its counsel to other nations in the inter est of universal peaco can thunder forth approval of the first sentence: "The Republican party ptands for agreemont among the nations to pre- servo tho peace of the world." Could anything bo moro emphatic? . And what kind of an agree ment shall it be? One like the President .brought hack from Paris with the approval of some twenty or more nations? Never! Of this the platform says: "The covenant signed by the President in Paris fails signally to accom plish this great purpose, and contains stipulation not only intolerable for independent people but certain to produce injustice, hostility, and con troversy among nations which it purposes to pro vent." If not tho covenant as brought back by tho President, what about the covenant as amended by more than two-thirds of the Republican sena ors? Even this is thrown into tho discard with the President's covenant at the demand of tho irreconcilables. But the platform says: "The senators per formed their duty faithfully" both the thirty four who voted for ratification with reservations and tho fifteen who prevented ratification with reservations. Evidently they w.ere both right. They were compliments of each other, although Jhe language with which they described each other was not always complimentary. And tho platform prpceeds" to say: "We approve their conduct and honor their courage and fidelity." No matter what they did, it was honorable, and above all, they were courageous. They showed their fidelity by fighting eaeh other. Why did they not save some of their fidelity for this con vention and fight here? Why did tho lion and the lamb lie down together, the lamb on tho in side? The convention is so inspired by the "honor," "courage" and "fidelity" ' shown by its senators that it concludes its platform by "pointing to its history and relying on its fundamental principles." It' admits, nay, even declares that the party has the "genius, courage, and constructive ability" to do the job. Suppose those who read the plat form happen to consult history not ancient his tory, but history about eight years old. What will they find? A convention much like this, managed by the same identical men, quite as proud of themselves then as they are now, and just as surejthat they had a monopoly of "genius, courage, and constructive ability," and yet only two states in the union applauded their remarks. Forty-six states voted no on tho roll ' all, leaving Utah and Vermont to certify to their "gonitis, courage, and constructive ability." But they laid their crowns' at the feet Of King Harmony, and tho leader will proceed to play the ' clairvoyant act and tell hdw a great piece of good fortune is coming to -the Republican party about tho fourth of March. And what will Senator have to say, 'service men an "imperishable remum "'apiece than 'a bonus. The soiuiers uw nrwl rnnoivP1 n hnnnilfit. It ClOesn t ma who has been exposing tho profiteers and de manding legislation that will protect producers and consumers from the greed of the middle men? What answer will he make when the audi ence hurls that. little eighteen-word anti-profiteering plank at him, and give him the horse laugh? But harmony demands acquiesence, aye, even the appearance of gratification. A story is told of a party" of men wlio went out on, a hunting trip; It was agreed that they would take turns cooking, and to prevent complaint ' .any person who criticized the cooking would have to take his turn next, The first morning ono of tho party had trouble with his steak, and with some emphasis declared: "This is the toughest piece of steak I ever ate" and then- remember ing the ruleyadded:"hut I like it." And Colonel r, won't he be a little em barrassed when he reads the soldier plank at a meeting of the Legion? It is much easier to give the brance fnv liron il ' an mil Mi on1 cmf en linrrl to collect. I WOndOr how many of the war profiteers would be willing to trade their newly-made fortunes for an im perishable remembrance." The Republican party started out quite bravely in the bonus iatteJ' but it couldn't keep up its gait. . A merchant, who on retiring from business turned his sioru over to his son, advised him how to be PPuia; without expense to himself "Subscribe to uio building fund of every church proposed, inu fight the location." Tho Republican party can find n location for a soldiers' bonus. But the most pathetic situation is VsenteA by the dodging of the .prohibition question, iteau the platform and see how gleeful the Republican party is over the record of its senators and men bers of congress--with what "honor," nB'A and "fidelity" they have done things creat ai small; see how proudly they assert the josu w of the Republican tfarty bn other questions oib and little, tittd then to think that they would r un , away from their most stupendous' act becaus few ex-liquor dealers and some thirsty worsnu uf&Ukf, iriA. .tu "fr '-it oi w " . '.. AfS W8hmfelifcta.ji t va4w4&&; ...2flfcfriid kh&tefoZ