jm&f '-- ' The Commoner - ' Mw ' ' VO1S.20' po. u . j i- UftteJfo i .-, s - ' ' " ''.' ''Vfcti. Some Needed Reforms Two pew cabinet officers, secretary of educa tion and secretary of health; throe constltu tibhar amendments, one permitting ratification of treaties by a majority vote, another making the constitution amendable When amendments are submitted by a majority in two successive congresses, and. ratified by a majority of the popular vote iii a majority of the 'states, pro vided it is also a majority of the popular vote in the nation; third, an amendment requiring a Toforendum on a declaration of war except In case of actual Invasion. Sovoral statutory reforms are needed: First, a federal primary law providing for presidential primaries in all the states on the same day, voter to express first, second and third choice; cam paign expenses to bo limited in amount and source to be made known before the primary. Second, a national bulletin should be estab lished under bipartisan control, with editorial J Race equitably divided between parties repre eutod In congress. Third, penal laws that will prevent profi teering. ' ' Fourth, legislation that will, .prevent private monopoly. Fifth, legislation that will prevent specula tion in farm products, government bonds and industrial securities. , State reforms and other national reforms Will be discussed In the next issue. ' W.J.BRYAN. THEY WILL RISK AGAIN ( Landslides do not respect great personalities; the big are overwhelmed" with the small, the blameless with those who are at fault. As a result of the very magnitude of the Republican votary the country will temporarily lose; the services of many Democrats whose re-election Would have been Sure under normal conditions j men like Chamberlain, Phelan, Nugent, Mark Smith and Beckham in the Senate, and like Champ Clark, Henry Rainey, Ayres of Kansas and Morris of Oklahoma, not to speak' of such rrom.islng now men as Julian of Ohio, Long 6f Missouri, Scqtt of Colorado and Moyle of Utah. We also lose many splendid officials who hold Appointive positions, like John Skelton Williams, the host comptroller of the currency the- Na tion over had; Indian Commissioner Sells, Anthony Caminetti, commissioner general of im migration, and Louis F Post, assistant sedretafy of labor. The cabinet officers, too, go Into par tial eclipse, but the good Democrats die not with out hope-? they will rise again with the resurrec tion of democracy which is sure to come. . .."Truth crushed to earth shall rise again: ,. Th' eternal years of God are hers." If the Bemocrats of New York will consult the .platform which they adopted last spring and then review the course of their delegation at Sari Francisco, they may understand the causes of Democratic defeat as well as the other Democrats of the nation do. If the authorities can find any one who issued or circulated the cruel slander against Senator Harding during the closing days of the cam paign, the culprit jjhould be dealt withcriraihal ly. Civil process Is hot severe enough vf or such cases. MB. BRYAN'S PART IN THE CAMPAIGN Mr. Bryan did not make any political speeches' during the campaign of 1920 but he traveled nearly two-thousand miles from his winter homo in Flordia to Lincoln, Nebraska to cast his vote for Cox and Roosevelt and the entire. Democratic state and congressional ticket. He did not speak because his speeches would not fit into the plans of the campaign. The presi dential candidate has a right to direct the cam- paign, and Governor Cox so directed It that, distressing as it was to Mr. Bryan, he could not make speeches in harmony with those made by the candidate. He could not guarantee Govern- ' or Cox's position on the liquor question or en dorse Ws evasions in the West and his silence on this subject in the Bast. He could not sup port Mr. Cox's declaration in favor of a repeal M tho excess profit tax ra gratuitous abandon-' mont of the national pTatform in Order to throw a sop to Wall Street. Neither could he support Governor Cox in his effort to make the Demo cratic party appear as the sole champion of world peace. Knowing that the President was more to blame than Mr. Harding for the failure of our nation to enter the league on March 19, 1920, and believing as firmly in the sincerity of such peace advocates as Taft and Hoover as he did In the sincerity of the Democratic can didate, he could not insult the intelligence of the American people by questioning the good faith of these distinguished Americans. He voted for Mr. Cox. not because of the lat ter's campaign speeches but In spite of them. He believed that Mr. Cox would use his influ ence to prevent a surrender of the splendid eco nomic reforms secured by the Democratic party during its lease of power, and he belieyed that the Democratic party could better be trusted than the Republican party with the solution" of the economic problems that demand thjs at tention of the American people. Wv J. BRYAN. T The yeftiocratic Party Still lives v.-.': :.. WHEN LAW IS' ENFORCED; w'-h;' -' vThe wets -are" boasting of lawlessness under prohibition, but it is where prohibition is' not enforced. Some states and cities are not help ing the federal government to enforce the law. The New York governor ran on a platform ihat encouraged violation of prohibition; Chicago's chief of police has just been removed for collu sion with bootleggers, and look at New Jersey's governor. But New York's governor was de feated by a candidate pledged to enforcement, and New Jersey's governor has been rebuked at the polls. Ohio and Missouri have ratified their enforcement laws, and Great Britain will soon -cease to permit her territory to be used as a base for conspiracies against our .laws. The world moves. v Let no Democrat despair. Today clouds con ceal the shining pun, but Senator Harding's big majority Is not an expression of confidence in the reactionary leaders of the Republican party; it is a protestagainst the failure of the Demo cratic party to measure up to great opportun ities. There never has been as many people yearning for reform as there are today; their forces are defeated and their councils are dis tracted but the reaction against the Republican party Will begin on, the fifth day of March if not on the fourth day of November. When the Democratic party makes an inventory of its stock, it will find that its splendid economic re cord will be its great asset. If the Republican party permits it to stand, it will be a confession of Democratic virtue; If it attempts to undo what has been done, it will arouse an opposition as irresistible as that which the Democratic party has just encountered. The time for preparation for the next conflict is at hand. Let thp Demo crats bestir themselves and put their house In order; let unfaithful leaders be relegated to the rear and men of vision and unselfish purpose bo called to the front; let the progressive forces of the nation join hands and compel the Republican party. to meet the present uomestic problems of today, or failing, give way to those who are able to protect the people's interests. W,: J. BRYAN. L- L. DEMOCRATIC PART BETRAYED On another page will be found an editorial reproduced from The Commoner of last Febru ary entitled M1904 Over Again." It may be in teresting for the readers of The Commoner to compare prediction with4 fulfillment. The New York democracy played its old game, and played It with Unusual nrcfreM.' it took the party up on to the mountain and 'offered it victory in re turn for surrender, and then it basely betrayed the party and helped to give the Republican candidates an unprecedented majority in the state. How long, oh Lord, how long can this polipy of deception and betrayal .continue to mis lead the well-meaning Democrats of the nation? RELIGION NECESSARY HOW MANY WANT INCREASE?, If, as estimated, the government will need, four-billions in revenues next year, and Wall street succeeds in securing a repeal of the ex cess profits tax, how shall we make up the bil lion dollars that repeal of the excess profits tax will give to the profiteers? It Will require an The effort to divorce religion from education xhas been carried so far that scepticism and agnosticism are, being taught under the 'guise of scieiice ah.d philosophy. If the tfihle can not be defended in public schools the teachers should 'not be allowed to attack It or to undermine the 'faith of those 'who believe in it. Attention is called to aa article on 'this subject on another page. In view of the fact that New York gave Hard ing a million majority, NeW Jersey" three hun dred thousand, Illinois eight hundred thousand, Ohio; four .hundred thousand, and Indiana over a increase of 3$ 1-3 per cent in the taxes on the- hundred thousand, it may be well to remember rest of the people. Those who want their taxes that Murphy, Nugent, Brennan and Tag increased will please raise theirljands. sart helped to select the Democratic candidate 8 . and pledged their states ,to him. Can they de- THE WOMAN VOTE ceiye the west and south again? CONGRESS, TAKE NOTICE! An effort will be made to repeal the excess 'profits tax. Candidate Harding declared for the Repeal of the excess" profits tax, Candidate Cox declaed for repeal, and the President! has recom mended repeal. Quite a respectable group of supporters of repeal, I admit, but it is a Wall Street demand and congress can nOt afford to 'yield t'o the demand, The excess projlt has al ready liQQn collected from the people for ten , months and a half of the year 19250 why allgw .the profiteers to keeii it all? Jf the profitoera will qjit profiteering there will be no excess lrofits.to tax. Why not reduce, the excess prof "its tax 6y reducing PROFITEERING;? s I prof iteers plunder in spite of the tax, they would plunder. 8.illmpre if there, was 'no .tax Tho ex cess ; tyfot It's. ta should staM,uiul profiteering is STOPPED. Stop profiteering; let the tax stand. W, J. BRYAN. .The woman vote did not seem to help Cox much, but that is no reason, for regretting woman suffrage the male vote did not help . much either. Some Jiope for the, future can be de rived, from the old proverb that credits woman with the right to change her mind. To win. in 1924 we need a largo amount of change. ' NO NEW PARTY NECESSARY. Candidate Cox ia correct when, in his post election statement, ho declares" that the Demo cratic party is not dead, War questions have overshadowed domestic issues; the way Will soon be cleared for the consideration of economic questions and then it will be easy to see which party is the real progressive. . . SPECIAL INTERESTS REPRESENTED On another page will be found a list ot.the organizations represented by special agents' At Washington. .The average man is the "forgottec man. Ho must rely upon his congressman and senators;, therefore, he should be careful to se cure the nomination and election of candidates who can be trusted to represent the masses The failure of wet Democrats to make good the pledges into whichtliey entered at San Francisco will relieve tho democratic party of the prohibition issue for the future. Never again can a bunch of brewers deceive er intimi uate the Democratic hosts into silence upon this great moral .question- It .was -costly experience but its lesson will not be forgotten. , The Democratic National Committee assured us. that the tide turned in favor of Governor Cox about the middle of October and was running higher and higher up to the time, of election. It makes us shudder to think what the result might have been if the election had occurred before the tide turned. ."" . Wanted, a Democratic par,t;yjn Jew York that cannot be intoxicated, by Unejl'iquor inter ests pv intimidated by Wall Street, r The day is past when the liquor machines and yl Street interest of th 'Urge cities can suc cessfully dictate to the great moral majority of the nation. Make the Democratic party deserve to win, hen organise for tlie coming struggle. Ik m - --"&,4.'a,')(fc