Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1908-07-03

Lincoln. Neb., June Z3.-Denount-
ing the Republican platform as 81
lent repu6 iation ofalmost every Rose
veltian principle, William j. Bryan
today completed an editorial summary
Of the work of the Chicago convention.
"Have you read the Republican
platform. If not, you ought to read it.
The contest in the Republican party
between the refoTmer and standpatter
is for the present at an end, with the
stand-patter in the saddle. The plat
form is silent reputation of pearIy
every promise of reform that the Pres
dent and his followers have given to
the country. 1t begins with eulogy of
the President 'in no other period since
the days of Lincoln according to the
platform, 'has there been such might y
progress IN those ideals of govern
ment which make for justice, equality
and fair dealing among men,
Nothing is said of the conspiracy
formed among the Republican leaders
of the Senate to defeat the Presidents
railroad rate bill; no intimation is here
given that he sent several messages to
Con ,ress in a VAIN endeavor to get the
lower house to take up the reforms
which he was urging. The President
must resent the fact that the platform
expresses no gratitude to the Demo-
cratic members and senators for sup
porting him when the Republicans
deserted him. Mr. Williams, leader of
the minority, time and again called
upon the Republicans TO furnish 30
votes in support of the Presidents pol
icies. and pler ged the Democratic mi
nority to furnish the remaining num-
Der Of votes necessary to carry out sew
eral of the Presidents recommends
lions, and vet the men who wrote the
platform persume upon the ignorance
of the people and complain that the
filituster prevented the enactment of
"many wholesome aud progressive
lava
1.-The writers of platform especially
commend ethe passage of the emer-
gency currency bill, a bill which COM
bined two features, one of which had
been rejected by the Senate and the
other by the House. So long as this
was chance for discussion there was
sufficient Republican opposition to
condemn both features of the bilI;but
under the influence of few financiers
the bill was rushed through during the
closing hours with all of the bad fea-
lures restored and all the good ones
eliminated.
"Fhe plank demanding permanent
change in the currency system is gen :.
eral enough to permit the Republican
orators to advocate in each section of
the country the system most popular
there, and sufficiently indefinite to en-
able Congress to do whatever it pIeases
or nothing without violating any
pledge.
''The trust plank must prove dis
appointment to every Republican who
has come to understand the iniquity of
the trusts. There is no demand 70 a
rigid enforcement of the law there is
no suggestion that the criminal clause
which has NOT yet bro ught the trust
malefactcr within the wall of the pen
itentlary should be called into use.
The platform says that the law can be
strengthened by amendments which
will enlarge the supervision of the
general government, but these amend
ments are not mentioned and there is
nothing in this plank of the platform
that cal be appealed to secure any
real improvement in the law.
"lf the President, with all his siren
uOsity, has rot been able to enforce
the criminal law against a single
trust, what progress, with such an
antitrust plank as that inserted in the
Republican platform"
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