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The Commoner
VOL. 21, NO. 12
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era and no dofonso to bo made for it. It it was
intended to pay back campaign funds the repay
raont was oxcessivo; It was many times the
amount contributed, if we can Judge by the re
port filed by the Republican committee.
If the excuse given was the real one, it was
insufficient. The argument made by the reac
tionary Republicans was that big incomes, when
released from taxation, would bo invested in
blisinoss and restore prosperity. But, if this
was the intention, why was there not some
provision that would compel the investment of
those incomes in business? Why take the tax off
and then leave them free to invest it in non-taxable
securities. If the Republican loaders want
to force this money into business, why did. they
not oxompt only so much as the owners wore
Willing to invest in business?
But -the excuse is worthless for another rea
son, viz: that tho first business rtded of the
country 'is MORE PURCHASING, NOT MORE
MANUFACTURING. The manufacturers will
produce when they can sell but they cannot sell
unless' people can buy. Tho Democrats and pro
gressive Republicans took tho more sensible
position.1 They said, "Relieve tho masses of
taxation and you will increase their purchasing
power and thus increaeo tho demand for manu
factured tyrbductB." This is common sense.- No'
paVtybVer put forth a more vulnerable revenue7
law. 'IV could have been attacked with success
oven '(flf every Republican in the Senate dhd1
House hud voted for it. But with the Western1
Republican Senators' and members rebelling
agalnsfit ttnd joining the Democrats in "defeating-
stfme 6f its worst provisions, how caii a'
party 1nako it an issue' in a -'campaign?'1
Nowis 'tho'tfmo lor Demdcfrats to pick but"
strong; fclcan men attd put them up' f 5r the" Seil?:
ate' and the House in every' sato and district.
Let ' ttte candidates1 get 'to' work and useu the'
winter ntoh'ths td1 expose' the iniquity of the Re-4
pulilidan scheriie to transfer the burden of taxa
tion from tho rich ttf the poor1 from the stroh'g'
to" 'the Weak, :- '- W, J. BRYAN; " '
JfcHREE VTjCTbRIIS IN ONE HvEEK, '' t
P.em.pprats, haye youvrj9ad ofrthe three -victor-.
ies Vfithin a weoki?v On the ,12th day of NOvem-t
bor, the President of the United States and' Sec-rotary,-Hughes
gave to the world- a Democratic
plan fop the reduction of. armaments as a means
of. bringing wortdrpoacft.- Look' at the record- of
the Pemocratio party om this'.subjeot. It twas
a Democratic president who joined in securing;
a .treaty that promised tho investigation of allr
questions before arresortto war progressive dis
armament and the, abolition of t secret .'treaties;
Tfeeso three provisions were not touched by -the'
controversy over 'reservations. . . , ., -.'t ...i
fit,, was, the Democratic parAy? .that prevented
thq.adoptloa of .un'vorsal compulsory- military
training m this country at a costpf 7:00 mil
lions a year, It waa the Democratic party that
forced reduction of tho array and reductions, ot
the, Appropriations fotfrthe iavy. ;A majority-.of
thq . Republican n Senate and House favored
universal compulsory military training, a larg-t
er army -and larger appropriations for the navy.
T,he disarmament - iproposition- of the United
States waBj therefore, .more -in line with- the
Democratic position than with the Republican
position' and the Democrats are certainly as '
happy as the Republicans that disarmament Is
coming. , ,v
In another editorial, reference has been made
to -the victory won on the Revenue bill by the
Denxdcra'fcrof the House on tho 17th of Novem
berwfive days after the 12th.
On November 18th, six days after the 12th
the Senate by a vote of 56 to 22 passed the anti
beer billa victory in which the Democrats had
as large a share as the Republicans. The West
and tho South have stood together on all three
of these propositions and deserve the credit for
resisting' the reactionary element of the North
east. There is every reason why tho Demo
crats should lllce' Paul, "Thank God and take
courage' - . w. ,T. BRYAN.
Accdrding' to stock market reports the Burl
ington railroad is; shortly to declare a 25 nQr
cont dividend. It is too bad that the members
of tho interstate comnierce commission who
are 'supposed to restrict the earnings of the rail
roads to a reasonable return on the investment"
are not in the habit of reading tho newspapers
regularly. - -.
President Harding will not be a candidate for
re-election at the 1922 elections. A third of the
Senateand all of the lower House members win
be. This -may explain the action of the Renuhlf
cans aided by the Democrats, in refusing In
follow the president's suggestion that the ruv -taxes
on large incomes should bo reduced "
The President' s
Message
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( In his last message to congress President
Harding has dealt seriously and sensibly with
several important problems. He calls attention
to tho fact that under present conditions it is
more profitable for the cotton growers .who pro-
duce nine million bales of cotton than to produce
thirteen million, bales, the reason being that they
can realize a larger net return from nine million
than from thirteen million. It requires Jess land
and less labor to raise nine million bales and the
shortage increases the price enough to insure a
larger. profit from the small product than they
could derive from the larger product. The same
is true in the matter of wheat, seven hundred
million bushels yielding a larger net return than
a billion bushels. But what of tho public? A
shortage, of lour million .bales of cotton means a
shortage in, .-clothing and. other, manufactures of
cotton and. a shortage, of, 30d million bushels
of weat means less bread." The President urges
in ore" cooperation in marketing , That .will bring
relief if It eliminates unnecessary middlemen and
compels necessary middlemen, to serve for rea
sonable 'Compensation. But-in-kCase of funda
mental products it may be necessary for the gov
ernment to' fht a minimum price by buying at the
minimum price and selling at a- price sufficiently
higher t6 cover the cost of storage and handling.
During-the war it was 'necessary to fix a mini
mmn prfe'e for wheat. The powers of the-government
ar'eas'cOmplefe in time" 6t peace as in time
of war when the -necessity 'is sufficient to com
pel the Employment of plenary power.
' The ' Prudent also" refers to labpf disputes
and emphasizes' "the superior Iriterests of the
community as a whole to either the labor group
or the capitalistic group." r This important third
party has too often been ignordd'while those im
mediately "'connected with the question fought
out their tflftferences.
lTlie remedies which the Resident suggests are
not' defined with sufficient" clearness to permit,
the passing of fipaludgment'Jur!on it. When he'
speaks'bf "judicial or' Vadi Judicial tribunals"
one' is sleft in doubt as t6 whether "or not he fa
vors1 Compulsory arbitration.' When he compares
industrial wars with international wars he may
be speaking In favor ot tribunals for investiga
tln,J?a"d conciliation rather than . tribunals
which' will attempt to enforce aecre,es. The plan
for 'investigation of all questions! which is being
applifed to; international deputes, 'is' applicable'
to industrial dispute but -freedom of action after
the investigation Ip as" necessary in the industrial
world asjn international matters.
In .the matter4 of tariff the4 President plants
himself upon the 'Republican arguments in favor
of protection but he indicates a willingness to
conMder a very irnportant fact, namely, that we
cannot expect to sell to the world Without buy
ing from the 'world, , w. J. BRYAN.
M , EACE VS. ALLIES DEBT
Th6 postponment of tho question of land dis
armament nrives tme for the consideration of
proposals made with a view to aiding in the re
duction of armies. While local conditions will
nefiPBsarHv plav a large part in determining the
action taken by each nation much will depend
unon- general principles that will applv to all
alike. In other words, the average reduction
possible will be larnre in proportion as the "will
to peace," to use Secretary Hughes's language
takes tho place of the "will to war." Anythlnc
therefore, wliich will increase the sense of se
curity wUl decrease the army estimates lust as
any suggestion of future wars will tend to in
crease tho armv estimates.
Mr. Vanderlip. once the head of America's
zrontwt banl and still prominent among the na
tion r financiers,' has recently called attention
to JMironean conditions and proposed thnt t0
TTnifpd sfntiy. Instead of brinSnto the United
States principal and interest of tho ten billion
dol Ijto dne from the Allies, use the entire sum
in the rebuilding of France. Other plans S
been proposed looking to the funding of interest,-the
extension of time and the transfer of Z
debtedness." The situation is acute and I it i ,"
essary to consider thd effect of payment as Xii
as the possibility of payment. uyraent as wel1
- ,T"lA I)? th? 1,fi?t "s-e t0 m'o of it WOlllrl
seemno bo a use that will m in turning the
world from war, . to peace. The effect of this
transfofmation would be manifested in many
ways j first, in the reduction of taxation tk
world 4s, ataggering beneath an unbearable innS
of ta'xes: This load can be lightened just in nm.
portion as reductions can be made in approm-ia
tions for navies and armies. Tho ten yearn
naval holiday will bring instant relief to til
naval nations but none whatever to the nation!
that rely on armies instead of navies, and in
most of the nations It is the army appropriations
that are most oppressive. These cannot be re
duced as long as war remains the final arbiter of
disputes. Preparedness for war is nearly aa
burdensome as war itself and preparedness rests
on fear of attack when it does not rest upon 'ho
greed that underlies aggression. Friendship i8
the only thing that can be substituted for both,
fear and greed, and the United States is the
only nation that is in a position to contribute
largely toward the re-establishment of friend
ship. As long as the United States demands
from the Allies the repayment of ten billion
dollars, loaned, the Allies will feel justified :n col
lecting this amount from the enemy nations.
Even if .payment to the United-States is post
poned payment from enemy nations will bo ex
pected. ' Thus the United States may contribute
to a condition that will prevent the re-establishment
of the. friendship necessary.to world peace.
To cancel the debt in favor of. tlve Allies would
not produce the desired results..- It might even
aggravate the situation, and result in the ex
penditure of the amount in preparation for an
anothef war. France justifies the retention ot
arms on 'the ground that Germany contemplates
aggression. t Whether this is true .or fa)se can be
determined hy an' investigationthat is, so far
as preparation for aggression .concerned. iBut
a reopening of the war depends more upon the
spirit of unfriendliness than upon actual pre
parations. Tho great question, .is whether tho
spirit of friendship can be restored, for, without
this all peace plans are futile. Can the United
States use this indebtedness to re-establish real
friendship between the nations at war?' Can re
conciliation be effected by an equitable "distribu
tion of the ten billions among; theN European na-tfdns,-Allies
and enemies? T so, cannot the
United States afford to use a debt of doubtful
value to purchase a benefit ot incalculable value?
If such a use of the debt generates a. w6rld dis
position towards peace the United Stabs will
soon save more than ten, bill jQns hy, the reduc
tions which it will make pbsslble in army and
navy appropriations. The alternative course
may cost the United States many, times the debt,
not to' spak of the Jioss of an ppportunity for
supreme service to the "world!
V. J. BRYAtf.
ANOTHER STEP TOWARD PEACE
If unofficial reports of the. WQi;k .pfthe con
ference, committee are trustworthy another long
step h,as befen taken towards pegce. It Ts stated,
on American authority, thought" to be! reliable,
that' the United State's, Great B.rltain, Jf pan, and,
France have reached an agreement by the terms '
of Whjch they will consult e.ach 6'ther before
going to war in regard to any 'islands in the
Pacific. It is not an alliance ad does not bind
any of the nations to aid another but 16 in lina
With the Thirty Treaties negotiated, by the
United States and In line with one provision of
the covenant of the League o'f Nations. Like
the plan of the Thirty Treatiestp chief virtue
lies In the securing of time for deliberations.
Wars are usually the result of !passlonf Some act
of another nation is resented and War breaks
out while the blood is hot and wjien it Is difficult
to separate questions of honor from questions,
of fact. The World War began with the killing
of a member of a royal family an,d the ultimatum
allowed only forty-eight hours, for compliance
with the demand made. Diplomats have declared
that, the war could have been prevented if two
weeks had been allowed for investigation and
for the marshalling cf the peace forces of the
world. The Thirty Treaties allow one year for
investigation and report, during which neither
side will resort to force. In the League of Na
tions the time was reduced to six months for
investigation and three months! for consideration
of the report. v '
If the four nations interested in the Pacific
agree to consult each other over any dispute
which may arise about -islands In thrtt ocean war
on these subjects will hecome a 'remote possibil
ity. Another victory for the peace conference.
Scarcely less important is the agreement
reached by the Far Eastern Committee to re
spect the neutrality of China "Jn 'any war "J
which China is not a party. This was one or
the requests included in Chiria's Bill of Rigots
The peace' momentum increases" with the prog
ress of, the conference it is lirrp to give the
world a great Christmas present? :'
v ' - --WJ. BRYAN.
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