Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-17

bee duuTeebeQ 10 MT. bryan several
uncomfortable questions which he
evaded, answering by saying that he
would take no notice OF them because
the questioner merely wanted to at
tract attention. Since then Mr.. Bryan
has overcome his aversion to taking
notice Of The Bee and its editor as evil
denced by his speeches and statements
to the press. Inasmuch as Mr.. Bryan
is about to speak in Omaha, perhaps
he will be willing to take notice of
The Bee a little more to the extent of
answering a few pertinent questions.
1. You, Mr.. Bryan, are making
Dor. Why is it that practically no leg
~islation to protect labor has been en-
acted in the southern states in which
democrats have absolute control? why
south? Why are there no laws to
protect m wage earners in the
south? You and your fusion friends
had absolute executive and legislative
control of Nebraska for several years.
Why was no legislation to protect la
Dor passed then? Why did the wage
workers of Nebraska have to wait for
succeeding republican legislatures to
remove the $1,000 death damage
limit, to get an equitable employers
liability act and to get a child labor
law?
2. You, Mr.. Bryan, are trying to
make your paramount issue, Shall the
people rule?" The most advanced
step toward popular rule has been
through the direct primary. Why is
it, Mr.. Bryan, that your fusion friends
when in complete control did not give
Nebraska a direct primary law? Why
is it that the republicans of Nebraska
had to secure the direct primary law
over the opposition of the democrats?
Why is it that the progressive repub-
lican states have enacted direct pri-
mary laws to bring the filling of Offices
closer to the people, while in the demo-
cratic states of the south direct pri-
mary laws have been enacted avowedly
to ~disfranchise the people?
3, You, Mr.. Bryan, are bidding for
Office on your antitrust remedies. Why
is 1t that all the effective legislation
against illegal combinations have been
enacted by republican congresses and
for the most part by republican state
legislatures, while the democratic
states have no effective antitrust leg
i~slation?
4. You, Mr.. Bryan, are bidding for
labor votes by promising to abolish
the writ of injunction in labor dis
putes. Do you not know that injunc-
ton abuses have been ~chargeable as
much to state courts as to federal
courts? Can you name a single dem
ocratic state which has passed a law
to prevent the abuse of injunction by
state courts? Why was no such law
passed in Nebraska when your fusion
friends were in complete control?
S. You, Mr.. Bryan, are bidding for
votes on your scheme of bank deposit
guaranty. Oklahoma is the only state
that has put such a law on it's statute
books. Why have none of the other
democratic states enacted deposit guar
anty laws? You, personally, intro
duced such a bill into congress in the
early '90s. Why did you not get your
fusion friends to enact the bill as a
state law when they were in complete
control CT Nebraska? A deposit guar
anty bill, which you endorsed, was
offered in congress last winter as a
substitute for the Vreeland bill, but
only a handful of the democratic con
gressmen voted for it, the remaining
others voting against it or refusing to
vote. The only democratic congress-
man from Nebraska was one of those
who refused to vote. If your endorse
ment of that bill was unable to make
these democratic congressman vote for
it last winter, will you be able to make
them vote for it next winter?
6. You, Mr.. Bryan, are trying to
make much of the popular election of
United States senators. We have the
statement of Mr.. Tibbles, made three
years ago, that a large sum of money,
said to be $4,000 or $780, 600, was
contributed by Ryan, Belmont G. Co"
in 1904 through your brother-in-law
toward your campaign for United
States senator in Nebraska. Is Mr..
Tibbles mistaken in his assertions?
II so, why did you not correct them
long ago? II not, why did you not
put your name on the ballot as a candi-
date for senator and ask a vote of pop-
ular preference under the Nebraska
law which gives you that right? Why
did the democrats refuse to submit
candidates for United States senator to
popular vote in Nebraska in 1898, in
1900 and in 1904?
Z. You, Mr.. Bryan, are making
much of publicity of campaign con-
tributions. Nebraska has a campaign
publicity law, but it was enacted, as
you know, by a republican legislature