The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-07-23

cation of the National committee.
They want the rush of funds to begin
at once, and, with delightful naivete, it
Is stated that previous TO the construc-
ton of an official contribution box the
dollars may be sent to The Commoner
treasury"
A farmer who travelled 100 miles from
Iowa previous to the Denver convention
ard deposited 500 as a first contribu-
ton to the campaign Doodle sounded the
financial keynote for agrarian cough
ing up" Bryan at once had his eyes
and ears opened to the possibilities.
When Kern came to Lincoln the two
laid their heads together and made the
appeal to the millions of farmers who
suffer from the incursions Of predatory
wealth - Hundreds of thousands Of
| farmers, they proclaim, are able to con-
| tribute. Thousands are able to contrib
ute 500 each, tens Of thousands to give
$50 each and ''still more who could give
| $50, or SO, or So" No sum will be
held in contempt and before the end Of
the campaign it would not be at all sur
prising is penny contributions should be
asked. to be called THE Commoner's
Pense."
According to a former announcement
in regard to the much-vaunted matter
Of publicity contributions Of 500 or un-
der will not be made public previous to
the election. Suppose therefore, %, 600
| farmers give 500 each: $4,000. $50
each; 5000, 525 each; 100, 600, $40 each,
and $50, 600 s. each, which is doubtless
the minimum that is expected by Bryan
and Kern. The result from this o rec
alone would be S.. 625, GOO, whose expen-
| diture would not have to be accounted
for previous to the election. The pos
sibility Of this makes the Wanting of
prediction publicity, merely to al
sums in excess Of 500, look colossallv
ridiculous.
Campaign journals and ledgers will
doubtless be kept at The Commoner
Office and by the National Committee
after Mr.. Bryan ceases to collect per-
sonally. The sums received each day
should be known and the aggregate
transferred to the ledger. To be con
sistent, therefore, Bryan and Kern
should insist upon publicity before the
election of the totals which they expect
from the farmers and other classes. It
would be exceedingly pleasing to the
people of the whole country if The
Commoner would devote a profound
moment or two in explanation # this
question Of consistency in publicity.
Doubtless it also occurred to the Dis
patch that the monetary theories upon
which Bryan made his appeal to the
farmers in particular. in both the cam
paigns Of 1896 and 1900. have been thor
oughly discredited He preached in
those campaigns, continuously. the doc
urine that the single gold standard
meant high priced money: that high
priced money meant low priced agricul-
tural produ IS. And yet, with the
steadying Of the business of the bust
ness Of the country by adoption of the
gold standard for fixing monetary
values, and under The wise policy Of
successive Republican administrations
the prices Of both wheat and cotton are
now nearly double what they were
upon the average during the last four
years of Democratic administration.
Mr.. Bryan has not single argument,
backed by evidence, to place before the
farmers of the Middle West, or of any
otter section Of the country, which will
tend to convince them that they ought
to vote for him. The farmers of the
country have reason to regard Bryan as
a dangerous risk, just as the manufac-
turing, commerc al and financial inter-
ests generally so regard him.