Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1905-04-13
NEW PANACEA BY BRYAN.
Recommended by Him rs the Great
Remedy for the Peoples
Political Ills.

Not many years ago William J. BTy-
al was going up and down in the land
assuring the people that the one thing
wanting to make them prosperous and
happy was the free and unlimited coin
age of silver, for account OF depositors of
that metal at the mints, at the rate of IL
ounces to one ounce of gold.
He was telling the people in rear end
platform speeches as he rushed from
place to place, says the Chicago Chron-
icle, that the alleged decentralization of
silver-"the crime of '73"-was the
cause of hard times, lack of employment
and all other economic woes, and that
the reconciliation of silver" would
lift their burdens and fill the land with
all the good things of life.
Four years later he was not so insist
ent upon immediate free coinage with
out waiting for the concurrent action or
| consent of any other nation. Imperial
ism had come to be the paramount is
sue, the imminent danger, the frightful
monster threatening the liberties Of the
people and the life of the republic. He
declared that we must throttle imperial
ism and be sure OF our freedom before
we could stop to talk about the sort OF
money we should have.
Aften another interval of four years
he perceived that the country had sur
viyed Imperialism, and the formal es-
tablishment of the gold standard and
had become wonderfully prosperous de-
spite these dreadful happenings. In
fact, it had become too prosperous, in SO
much that enormous corporations had
been formed by the union of smaller
ones and capitalized at from twice to
four times the value of the properties
combined, and that these were source
of unhappiness and would soon make us
unspeakably wTetched. Especially
were great railroad combinations
source of impending tyranny and i'm
poYerishment. Therefore he changed
his prescription for the salvation of the
country to government ownership of
railroads At first it was state owner
ship, but later he modified that and made
it state ownership of roads for traffic
not crossing state lines-instate traf-
fc-and national ownership of roads for
interstate traffic.
Now, after an interval Of less than
four months, he is out with a new pre-
scription. Finding himself badly
tangled in his mixed state and national
ownership, he seeks escape under cover
of loud outcry for the direct election
of United States senators by the people
This he now declares to be the great
source of relief from most of the burdens
under which the country is laboring. OF
one thing he feels sure-that when the
United States senate is elected by the
direct vote of the people the trusts will
be done away with"
Probably Mr.. Bryan will think it safe
to stick to this new political panacea
for more than four months. 1t is not
new with him except as a panacea. 1t
has been agitated more or less for years.
and, since it has called out no pop
ular opposition to speak of, it is a toll
erably safe thing to offer it as a cure-alI
when there is nothing else in sight that
looks as though it might be popular.
Perhaps the senate would be better if
senators were elected directly by pop
ular vote, and perhaps it would not.
OF one thing we may be sure, it would
not be much more responsive to the
popular clamor which passes for public
opinion. Its conservatism and com
parative Indifference to clamor are due
much more to the fact that the term of a
senator is three times as long as that
of representative than to the fact that
he is elected by the Legislature and not
by direct popular vote. 1t would still be
comparatively slow and conservative
If elected by the latter mode, both be
cause of the length of the term and be
cause the senate is a smaller body than
the house and can be in fact a delibera-
tive body and still reach decisions in
most nn sos wit Li1, q aa..r,r No ti1,,-