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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1920)
. V w . 8 "Tt. T G!C0BER,-i926 The Comihongf IB I I IS fe T rQf iaLifnbling Must Go The-indictment of several ball players for telling Out to a group of gamblers will not af fect base ball as a legitimate sport, but it ousht to -put an end to the gambling that has come to be a part of the game. tfamtiilng ruined horse racing. As long as tests, of speed were used to develop superior horsed" they were legitimate, but whon the breeder and trainer gave way to the gambler racing t Had to go. The human race is more iniportant than the horse. . . So "with. base ball; it is the great American game--ad those who are interested in it should take the lead in suppressing gambling. The re cent scandal is a natural outgrowth of the gambling that lias attached itself tothese na- ' tional contests. The players could not be ex pected to ' resist xso great a temptation as the gamblers . set before them. Either gambling must go or professional baseball will soon be put orwthe'black list with horse racing. Remem. ber,tndt the women vote now; they will use their, ytes t Protect' their boys. An effort should; 'be' made to secure state legislation on this subject- at the session, that will be' heia during the coming winter. In addressing the constitutional convention of Nebraska last January, I called attention to this subject as follows: "This - convention will have to deal .with gambling. I hope the constitute you are writ ing willfput the seal of its condemnation upon all fortes of gambling. It is one of the sins that, .like'; Jhtbxication and immorality, has come down-from the remotest past, but it overthrows God's. 4aw of rewards. When the Creator gave us theearth with its fertile soil, the sunshine with its (warmth and the rains with their mois ture, -His voice proclaimed as clearly as if it had issued" from the clouds, 'Go work, and in pro portion Ho your. industry and your intelligence, so shall be your reward.' That is God's law of reards,-:and it must prevail except where force4 suppresses it or cunning evades it. ,wThe?J1ixo Should be-put at the root of the tree. Gambling is not a question of amount, and it does not matter whether one wins or loses; It is the- principle that should be con sidered,. ,There should be no more toleration of gambling on a small scale than on a large stale. Gambling at cigar counters, gambling with slot 'machines, gambling with wheels of fortuneall are gambling and should not bo permitted. Chalice should not be allowed to be substituted for honest industry; our children should, know from their youth that there is at least "one state in this union that makes no dis crimination between kinds of gambling, high or lowrlarge or BmaJU, but that all gambling is prohibited inv' Nebraska as far as law can pre ventMt;l;r s ' .? . W. J. BRYAN. - . -: L - GOOD ROADS Inftraveling recently from Asheville, N. C, to &i&m,la, about l,p00 miles by , autp, I had the2bes?k opportunity! have ever enjoyed to test "t'he5 roads. We selected the best, regard less of .distance, and found a wide difference tof opinion as to what constitutes a good road the same road being described as excellent by one and aa impossible by another. This is partly diie, to the weather a road which is ex cellent wjien dry can be made almost impas sable byarain, For instance, the road be tween Kthledgeville ajd Macon, Georgia, when dry, can 'be described as excellent (it is up and down lV nearly all the way but the grades are easy),5ut we passed over it in a rain, when passing. another car was really dangerous. Sandy road's" a' bttsrwet than dry the beach at Daytonavbeing unsurpassed, but the water seri ously Impairs the clay roads. Then, a wash out will "make -any road bad. We reached north ern Florida just after a heavy rain and found a stream -twenty-five feet wide and several feet deep running through a fill. Fortunately, the wash-out was near a place wheTe a number of conviefs' were working on a Btate highway. They wereVut to Work felling trees and building a brkl'ge. In all hour and a half we were on our way. ; 4Af fer'plotf ing through dry sand and skid ding onwet clay; and after some miles over the rebellious bricks of a once model nte&way, we eti'dedouf journey with a 200-mile run over an asphalt, boulevard, a m .. noa, I anymore .than ever convinqed of the need of aomplete system of national and .state ?te , Why not a Peace-way? The nation !tot2?iSWti.'Uf?.a hlBhway Connecting To counflo, Tth ft1? 8h0uld oxted K to the Zr St U W0Uld b0 a inomorial to tho sol In?n Kd a means of brBne tho word peace mDarfnn ?t0 commoTrco and yet bo tho boat SiSESS on f0r war II would 6lv the f armor thewMMfrm tm artiflc depression that the gamblers cause about harvest time tho im- se?whnnVthn fa(J8 " the Vrmer to to enlV Pn,C '? l0WCSt' aDd ll W0Uld heln to regulate railroad rates. Good roads nro coming eventuallywhy not now? W. J.- BRYAN. GUARANTEE OF PROTECTION CAUSE OF COST A Washington dispatch carrJed by tho As lo s S Undr date 0i 0ctobor G fo1" "Partial responsibility for continued high prices was laid today on the trade practice of manufacturers' guarantee against price decline by those who protested against the custom at hearings before the federal trado commission. More than 200 spokesmen Tor business Interests were present to adviso with the commission in formulating a policy on the subject. "The statement that prices would have gono down soon after tho armistice In many lines had the price guarantee .practice heen unknown in commerce was brought out in answer to questions by Chairman Murdock, who asked for opinions on that phase. Without exception op ponents of the system declared their belief had been confirmed by break in commodities where it was not employed, They cited the sugar and silk markets as typical. "James A. Goldsmith, of New York, repre senting the Silk Association of America, said the guarantee could be construed in no other light than as a means of maintaining 'a gener ally high level of prices and mitigating against any reduction which would have followed natural operations of the law of supply and de mand.' Silk prices, he said, had declined 50 per cent in tho last six months, which would have been impossible had the wholesalers been guaranteed against loss by the manufacturers. " 'I would say further,' he continued, 'that the guarantee against decline not only tends to hold up prices but means that plants will be shut and industry stagnated in order that tho guar anteeing manufacturer will not have to dig into his pocket and repay the wholesaler or other purchaser. Tho plants are shut down and tho demand remains, so prices stay high.' " 'What about holding up artificial prices, like war prlcesand would they have been re duced except for the price guarantee?' Mr. Mur dock inquired. " 'Unhesitatingly I would say they would have fallen long ago,' Mr. Goldsmith replied. 'I would not attempt to say to what extent tho guarantee has maintained the prices, but it cer--tainly has held them a much longer time than had the $ld law of supply and demand been per mitted to operate.' "Only two speakers defended the practice, but their side of the question will be heard fully to morrow. R. U. Delepenha, New York, repre- sentlng the National Preservers and Fruit Prod ucts Association, voiced approval of the custom saying its benefits more than offset any 111 ef fects depicted by the opponents of the practice. "L. F. Boffey, of the National Association of Purchasing Agents, held that no legitimate at - tack could be made on the guarantee system on ethical grounds as the law established the right of a citizen to employ trade methods of any kind so long as they did not tend to monopoly or dis crimination. "That the practice did tend to monopoly and discrimination was asserted by George D. Mcll vain of the Tin Plate Manufacturer Associa tion.' He argued thut the guarantee given by the big producers could not be met in most cases by little producers, who were compelled either to sell out or close up 'practically bank- "T D McCloskev, of the National Association of Sheet and Tin Plate Manufacturers, took the same position. "Julian Armstrong, of the bureau of related Industries, charged that the guarantee custom encouraged speculation, causing overstocking, stifled competition and 'invariably leads to rc bat ing' It resulted many times In 'old' goods hPins held over and sold as 'fresh' stocks ho added, 'creating a reaction in; the public mind against the whole industry. ' : Follow Nebraska Lead Question Gubernatorial Candidate To Hon. Samuel it. MoKoIvIa. Hon. John H. Morohead and Hon. Arthur G. Wray, Candidates for tbo ofiloo of Governor of tho State of Nobraka. j.jLuiiuii;u aim; 7 Tho federal constitution nm1 ih Vnhfufii constitution prohibit the manufacture or iale oil intoxicating bovoragos. ' b state enforcement law which define fhtoxlcatfulr? "hwio uuu ma. mu uiuonoiic content permmea' in oeveragos at ono-nalf of one per cent ,J Tho federal amendment was ratified by al-t most a unanimous vote of tho Nobral?a logf&J lature. The atato prohibition amendment wmr adopted by a majority of 29,000 by. tho voter ' of this state. TllQHQ COnRtltlltlOTlnl ntnnnrlrnnnta ami tawi'J wore adopted for tho purpose of promoting- the moral, social and economic welfare of the. poo plo of our state and nation. We look with alarm at tho efforts being made, by those who profit from tho liquor butlnMM financially or politically or from tho vices wlUch aro associated with tho liquor bualnoHS to rate tho alcoholic content or weaken tho enforce ment provisions of these creat moral lawn. " The governor of tho utato of Nebraska dur-v-S it, my uuAt two yuura uuu wiuiu n ihohi power- "i fUl influence state and nntlnmillv In nrnuArvfrnV aild ftnfnrnhlfr thflttn InWfi tn tiv ntirmtffierfrtcr m permitting their modification or nullification, WA; believe that vou will ntrrnn with iih thai randf. t. dates for the highest office in tho gift of th, people of the stato, who, after election will N In position to Influence or act on measures of tat and national Importance, should want the-peojpje, whom they aro to represent to know their vlewM on such questions so that the voter may cast his or her vote for the candidate who ndarcat rep- resents said voters' opinion. Wo believe that the undersigned can gpoak for a sufficiently largo number of votero to Jus tify them in publicly submitting to you four questions pertaining to tho prohibition- ques tion and kindlv reaueat vou to trlvo vntir re plies to these questions through tho daily prewrj oi tne state lor me iniormauon anu guiuancc of the voters. Tne -questions follow: 1. Will you, if elected governor, "use your personal and official influence to prevent the raising of the alcoholic content In pormltted beverages or the weakening of tho enforcement provisions of the present national prohibition enforcement law known as the Volstead act? 2. Will you, if elected governor, use your in fluence and veto power to prevent tho modifica tion (by weakening it), nullification or repeal of the Nebraska prohibition constitutional amendment or its enforcement law? ' ov 3. If elected governor, will you honestly and in good faith enforce to the fullest extent, without fear or favor, all the provisions of the prohibition enforcement law of this state? 4. If elected governor, will you, as an assur ance to the largp majority of the people of Ne braska who believe in prohibition and its strict enforcement, publicly promise them that you will appoint no one as a prohibition law en forcement officer or appoint no one to the pure food department of the state government except persons who aro known to be personally In favor - t.n TOTnhfnaTrft nrnhfhltlnn nonfitltutiottftl amendment and the present enforcement law of r ...... t y tM tnis state ; Thanking you for such consideration as you may give this request, we are, Very respectfully yours, Anti-Saloon League of Nebraska. By F. A. 1. i.-T T,. TA1aKotfin TLv f f!. HrrfWfill.' Jr., B. O. Kretslnger, Mamie M. Claflln, Ambrose ft W. C, T. U. of Nebraska. By Lela G. Dyaiv Nebraska Women's Dry Federatrpn.--By Jennie Callfas, President. . w";t Edna M. BarKiey, rresiaem, buim tw4 . ii.h iA..nit ft Mohriialra. nnn former president Nebraska State Suffrage Association. Omaha Committee of Five Thousand. By W. -A T. Graham, President. Women's Democratic League. By Clara Cj Clayton, rreamcuu " . t, a tVk uw,a-nv-v-