Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1902-02-03
THE COMM0NER.

Commoner has passed, and what was
regarded by some Of the friends ana
all of the many and noisy critics OF
that gentleman, as questionable
venture, stands upon an apparently
secure footing, both politically ana
financially. That both these results
have been so soon and SO abundantly
reached, occasions no surprise to those
who knew and weighed at their worth
Mr.. Bryan's versatility of talents, and
the gladness with which large con-
stituency of readers welcome publ
cation which anticipates their needs
of political information and advice,
and Is broadly in sympathy with
their aspirations and hopes. This
want the Commoner has ably and well
filed, and in doing so 1t has but re-
flected the honesty and conscientious
industry of its editor and proprietor.
That unerring Judgment of the practi-
cal fitness of things, which in him
amounts to intuition, which Is so
characteristic of the man, and which
has stood him In such good stead
through a career of unexampled open
ness to attack, saw the need of fur
nishing for those OF the people who
believe in government by Themselves
In Democracy, properly so-callcd, some
forum for the adequate expression of
Democratic doctrine, which could
neither be bought up by the mercantile
spirit of the time, nor prostituted to
the purposes of an interested peryer-
lion of the truth.
We are not saying that there We're
not already In the country newspapers
which, SO far fulfilled these condi-
ilons; happily there were, and are.
But for various reasons many of them
did not, because they could not, reach
the popular ear or quicken the popular
conscience, Some Of them, because
they advocated measures, or discussed
theories, not yet within the range of
the practical and the attainablc, -
doctrines yet resting perhaps in the
realm of the speculative, or, at any
rate, not visible to the unalded eye OF
the average voter, whose need is tc
have remedies which can be In his OWL
time crystallized and imbedded into the
forms OF law and applied to tn,
redress of the mschiefs at which they
are aimed, and forgetting that til,
dollar-a day man cannot well wait fo
posterity to share In political, socla
or economic blessings, before his plat,
Is helped at all
Others were too expensive to reacl
the classes which stand most OF all II
need of advice and sympathy in tn
discharge of their duties az member
which make up the body-politic
Still others were--lf we may be a
lowed to say It, too ably edited; tina
Is TO say they discussed matters /
an abstruse or academic sort of way
very proper and praiseworthy with
their likely-to-be circle of readers, b,
not In n style level 10 the wants {
the plain people" to reach whom
powerfully, helpfully and sympathet
cally, II has been, and IL, the NANTES
lot OF william j. Bryan.
Others, ngaln, 1t Is rcgretfully
be said, seem to regard their dut
done when they advocate measur,
which make for the material intercs
Of the relatively small proportion
the public which already has absorb,
a large part OF the wealth and almo
all the legislation of the country, nj
which, needing the advocacy Of pow,
full organs less than any other cla'
really has monopoly of them. The
journals comprise substantially ali o
metropolitan newspapers-all OF I
go-called influential organs, no mat
under what party name they m
masquerade; they are owned by,
are mortgaged TO- some or other
gregation of capital; their sympath
If SO human a term may be imput
10 them, are wholly with privile
their consciences are In the purses
their owners, and stretch and shr
with them; they are the swift ape
gists of every abuse intrenched
bind which their clientele may mi
profit. and are the eager benehcIal
Of an administration of goyernm