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WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
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vol m NO. 11
'! Ill HI MS MTOOHBWgpganiBEP ,.,, . '
nrifT'imiii ! ,.,.
Lincoln, Nebraska, November, 1920
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PKang the Blame
Whilethdjorities are larger' than even the
RepublicanVders expected, a Democratic de
feat was neyitable and the. blame is easily
placed. rp&&r esident laid the foundations for
the disas.teaffd Governor Cox completed the
Btructuro.The-i'rIdent attempted to drive out'
of public .life every Democrat who dared to dit
fer from hjlm ...even in minute details, While he
made no effort to strengthen the Democrats who
made him; the keeper of their conscience. He
alienate alk-Republican support and invited
partisanopp'osition by his appeal, just before
the election of ID 1 8, for a congress that would
siipportNjiis '," personal leadership, and then,
though jcnowing full cwell the majority, in the
nation, asgain st him,-. he refused" tb dea.with
the senate .as a co-ordinate branch of the gov
ernment: Instead -of recognizing that the con-
Btitufioa! provision requiring ' twb-thfrda,, ma
iQYityMTor . t jratif icatib'ri. ; COMPELtlEtl .IdoM-1.
PROsfeUeiisMe'd jippn, dictating pi terms
upo4 Which" ratification could l&Ji'd'd and .then,
on the., 19th of lrift Mqrch? stubbbraiyLrejeeted,
ratiicaj;ion witli reservations even when Sena
tor Harding and some thirty-five other Republi
cans were will'ng to accept the league as he
wrote i't.-with the few changes upon which they
insisted-. By thus preventing ratification, the
President assumed responsibility for the nation's
failure tp;enj;er the league and thrust the league
into the campaign as a partisan issue.- The peo
ple, confronted with the choice between, presi
dential infallibility and respect for thQ opinion
of the majority ot the Senate, naturally chose
the latter,. and- tb,e Democratic party, "by endors
ing the Prijlent's position, invited the defeat
that has p.Virtalcen it
GovernorCfcox, instead of repairing the 'injury
done by the President, aggravated the situation m
by the manner fn which he avoided domestic
issues andnjisrepresented the position of the
Republicanpariyon the league iBsue, which he
declared to ,pe parampunt. He dodged the
Mquor queaVipri;, seeking to create in the west the
impressionthat. he favored prohibition while
attemptingjtbld the wet vote of the east by.
hia wet record He sought to conciliate Wall
Street by ttdfocatin the ..repeal of the excess
Profits tax :4ft$3te. appealed to the west against
the reactionari&v Hia attempt to put the Demo
cratic party in 'tho attitude of being the solo
guardian op peafce was ridiculous, and his as
saults upon suclx t.well .known advocates of peace
as Ex-PresiUentTft and Herbert Hoover were
disgracefuW '',"'.- '
The American people want the government to
Playjts part3:the abolition of war but they
are indifferetiasto whether we are, part of a
DESERVE TO WIN
THEN ORGANIZE
The overwhelming defeat of the Democratic
candidates, state and national, was not ac
cidental. The people meant it. The Democratic
national convention voted down (lie resolutions
that represented the people's aspirations and de
sires on moral and economic measures. Tho
party went into the campaign with a wet cahdi-
. date nominated by the reactionary leaders' on
an evasive platform. The rebuke and repudln-
tion were in proportion to the offense.
An officer of the Democratic National Commit
tee has announced a plan of hiring nn organizer
to organize all varieties of Democrats into one
body of workers, etc. The Democratic forces
of the country don't need an organizer; (hey,
need a program, an ideal, issues and leaders who
represent the needs and ambitions of the people.
The pa.$yjncdi3 ,tp -take a stand that will cn
.title, it to. the confidence of the public, and its
, motives , and leaders . must be such that the
. woin'oh jivlli ra-Ify to. its support. The leaders in
control of tho San Francisco convention and the
work of that cbnvention did not reflect the opin
ions or heeds of the great democratic member
ship of tho party. The people were not alert
when the primaries were boing held but they
- were aroused before election day.
Tho day is past when tho liquor machines and
"Wall Street interests of the large cities can suc
cessfully dictate to the great moral majority of
the nation. Make the Democratic party deserve
to win, then organize for the coming struggle.
The Republican party, as organized, officered
and controlled, con not bring content and pros
perity to tho masses the reaction will come
fastnd emphatic. Democrats, progressives
and independents should meet, confer, plan and
outline 'legislative needs, municipal, state and
national;
The Commoner desires (o hear from those who
will undertake to help rehabilitate the party in
their respective counties and states.
league or vmirtfJFfif an- association of nations.
There is nojthfng '$ a name but everything in a
sentiment.irhe'pal issue presented by the
DemQcraticfaB not whether we should
ooperatQwISther nations interested in peace,
but whether we should assume a moral obliga
tion which had no weight except as It suspended
the right of congress to act independently when
the time arrived for action. The nation will
do its part in aiding to prevent war but it will
not surrender into the keeping of any foreign
group the right to determine when we shall de-,
elare war
Now that our participation will rest upon the
will of congress and not upon tho arbitrary opin
ion of a single man, we may expect that universal
disarmament will be made one of the conditions
upon which we attempt to advise. Peace by
terrorism has been proven impossible; -peace
based upon friendship and cooperation will be
tried provided the nations, of Europe are willing
to lay aside their land-grabbing schemes and
join together-on the basis of good will. The
country will expect Mr. Harding to carry out his
Xdgeto advance the cause of world peace, and
therf is no reason to doubt that he will do so.
Slhe meantime, the progressive forces pf he
S Hon will organize to cpmpel congress and the
PresiSen provide the legislative means by
Whl The masses can protect themselves igo
the greed of the exploiters. W. J. BKYAJN. k
Whole Number 739
WHy Wait?
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The Prosldont refused to allow tho nation iti''4
enter tho loaguo with tho reservations favorbil
by tho Senate and demanded a referendum. The
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roturns of the referendum aro now tabulatadj.
the poople by an unprecedented majority rojopt
the league as tho President framed it and auifi
orize President-elect Harding to procood with
his "association of nations" a plan outlined
in the Republican platform, ondorsod by Senator
Harding in his campaign speeches and pludgd(
anew in post-olection utterances. Now that tho
votors have rendered their verdict nearly un
anlmous on an issue declared by both parties to
be paramount, why not proceed to give Immedi
ate effect to that verdict? All tho people wnat
the United States to participate in securing
world peaco: their only difference was as to tft
means of securing it and as to tho tejjmtols W
to( assume that tho President wodlSWfef!)
MEDIATE ACTION and, fortunately,, our cpn&t'l
tution provides a way by whjph tho peopled wli;
can be put Into effect AT ONCE. Tho President
can, by resigning, allow Vice-President Marshal
to become chief executive, thus rowarding tho
Vice-President for the loyal service he has ren
dered the President, sometimes at a high coat
to himself. President Marshall can, say at the
convening of congress, appoint Mr. Harding sec
rotary of state and resign. Secretary Harding
would then by the law of succession become
president and, with a Senate and House in
sympathy with him, could Immediately enter in
to negotiation with the other governments and
hasten the beginning of our nation's participa
tion in the association of nations, ,.
Besides preventing delay in settling an inter
national question it would clear the way for an
earlier consideration of pressing domestic prbby
lems.
Will the President favor suchra, plan? No on?
doubts his earnest desire to promote"" world
peace: his health is such that he is likely to wel
come relief from official cares as soon as he can
honorably lay down the burden: and what pleas
ure can ho expect to derive from a three months?
combat with a hostile congress, elected as a pro
test and now endorsed in its opposition?
As for-Hhe President-elect, bow could he if
asked refuse to assumfe at once the responsifili?,
Ities to which he has been called? ,' ,-
VV. J. BRYAN.
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DEAD AS SLAVEKY
The defeat of Governor Cox will put ah end te
all agitation for the repeal or weakening of the
Volstead law. The wets of the east regarded tho
nomination of the governor as a triumph ior
their plans, but sometime beforethe election it
became apparent that the wets were deserting
Cox. They can not fool the Democrats any mor
and Harding does not dare espouse their causr
The liquor traffic is dead.
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