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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1901)
"7"' ''W'PlffwpiNf tf: and "one-half in which to show tlie American people his conception of ofticial duty. "Will ho "bo content to jdevoto hiniBelf unselfishly to tho public good as ho gees it, or will ho begin to plan for the capture of the next republican con vention? Will ho decide all controversies with" an eye single to tho nation's welfare, or -will the advancement of his own political for tune bo uppermost in his mind? When Mr. Cleveland acoepted tho Democratic nomina tion in 1884, ho said: "When an election to office shall be tho selec tion by the voters of one of their number to as sume for a time a public trust Instead of his dedi cation to tho profession of politics; when tho hold ers of tho ballot, quickened by a sense of duty, shall avenge truth betrayed and pledges broken, and when the suffrage shall be altogether free and uncbiTupted, the full realization of a government by the people will be at hand. And of the means to this end, not one would, in ray judgment, be more effective than an amendment to the constitution disqualifying the president from re-election. "When we consider the patronage of this great office, the allurements of power, tho temptation t6 retain public office once gained, and, more than all, the availability a party finds in an incumbent whom a horde of office-holders, with zeaborn of benefits received and fostered by the hope of favors yet to come, stand ready to aid with money and trained political service, we recognize in the eligi bility of a president for re-election a most serious danger to that calm, deliberate and. intelligent political action which must characterize a govern ment by the people." Mr ,OlQveland would have stood better yi history.and his party would have been benefitted , iflie had. if ollowcd his own advice and declined aQOQnd.to.rnvbu lis, acceptance of a. renomi ,ia tpn 9,ply proved the strength of tlo Influ ences against which ho .warned Iijb countrymen. If Mr. Koosevelt desires republican author ity on this subjeot, ho can find it in tho letter of acceptance of Mr. Hayes in 1870. Ho said: "Tho declaration of principles by the Cincin nati convention makes no announcement in favor of a single presidential term. I do not assume to add to that declaration, but believing that the restoration of the civil service to tho system es tablished by Washington and followed by the early presidents can be best accomplished by an executive officer who is under no temptation to use the patronage of his office to promote his own re election, I desire to perform what I regard as a duty in stating now my inflexible purpose, if elected, not to be a candidate for election to a sec ond term." President HaycB adhered to his determina ' tiori and his party was Btronger in 1880 than it was in 1870. , Mr. "Roosevelt will find that there are many things that "can be best accomplished by an executive officer who is under no temptation to use the patronage of his office to promote his own re-election." If he will announce his de tcrminati&n not to be a candidate for renomi riation, he will bo relieved of a great deal of embarrassment and anxiety, and ho will find sufficient "strenuous life" in an effort to make his administration conspicuous for its honesty and efficiency. If he intends to appear before tho next republican convention as a candidate he must prepare to fight tho bosses of his party or to surrender to them, no is aware of tho fact that tho republican organization did not look with fayor upon his candidacy; he wag ; The Commoner. thought too independent. If ho is indepen dent and does his own thinking ho will alienato those gentlemen (it is not necessary to name them) who insist upon controlling political af fairs in their various sections. There is ono question which President Roosevelt will hayo to meet Upon which his course is likely to be determined by his ambition. If ho is going to seek another term, he will find it difficult to antagonize the great corporations which are rapidly scouring a monopoly of tho nation's in dustries, for the trust magnates are influential in republican conventions and. their contribu tions aro helpful during campaigns. The finan ciers will insist upon controlling tho financial policy of his administration and their threats will bo potent if he mus't pass 'through a re publican convention before ho can got to tho people for an endorsement, but their fury will be of no avail if he is content with tho record made during tho present term. Scarcely a day will pass but that he will have to decide between himself and the people. What will his decision be? Three years and a half of work as a conscientious, earnest and brave defender of the' interests of "the people would win for him more real glory than seven years and a half devoted to tho advancement of his own interests tho first half spent in con tracting obligation with influential men and corporations and the second lialf spent in dis charging the obligations at the expense of the people. - .President Roosevelt hap reached the parting of theways; which road will be take? .- , r, v.)1. .-.. '.y?'-v ..'( .ft W Much Ado About Nothing. A young woman living in an interior town in Illinois wrote recently to President Harper of tho University of Chicago informing him that she intended to attend that school and would arrive on a certain day, and asking tho good doctor to, meet her at the depot. Evidently Dr. Harper regarded this request in the nature of lose majeste, for it appears that he gave this letter to the newspapers, and these disseminators of fact and fiction have made a vast amount of noise concerning this simple request. It would seem that President Harper was greatly shocked because this "prospective stu dent asked bo eminent a man to meet her at tho ' depot and assist her in reaching tho college. All of tho Chicago papers of September .12 de voted considerable space to the publication of this girl's letter. Td be sure, the girl's namo is not given, but it will unquestionably be humiliating to her to have her very simple re quest posted so conspicuously before the world. If fhis Illinois girl was guilty of a great offense in making such a request, it would seem that so eminent a man as the president of tho University of Chicago could afford to over look tho enormous wrong; at least ho need not have offered a rebuke in the form of publica- tion.. It would have been vastly more to Dr. Harper's credit had he simply detailed ono of tho subordinates, with, whom ho is plentifully supplied, to comply with this girl's request, or if that was not possible ho might have bo noti fied his correspondent. It is not strange that a young girl'from an' interior town, intending to visit a strange city of Chicago's size, should desiro to avoid any of tho inconveniences or embarrassments fre quently attending a young girl's first visit to a great town. Jt is strange, however, that tho president of a college would seek to humiliate a prospective student, or, for that matter, .seek to humiliato any other person who happened to make of him a very simple request, by giving publicity to tho simplicity and making sport of her ignorance of the importance of a greatrand eminent man like the President 6i Mi. Roclie feller's university. w f Riches Well Employed. . The .Btory of the will of Alfred B. Nobel, reported to have been tho richest man in Sweden, is told in tho Chicago Record-Herald by William E. Curtis. Nobel died in Decem ber, 1890. Ho left a will providing for tho establishment of five institutes representing as many different fields of activity, physical sci ence, chemistry, medioine, literature and hu manity, or. the cause of peace, Each of these institutes is to be -permanent and receive its proportionate share of the revenue from tho Nobel estate. The headquarters of all are to be in Stockholm. Mr. Curtis tells the details thus: "The king' of Sweden Is to have general su pervision and appoint a general inspector or pres ident of the joint committee or executive board. He has already selected Dr. Bostrom, whd for six teen years Was prime minister of Sweden, but was compelled to resign last summer. Each .Institute is to have its own building, library and apparatus, and its affairs aro to ba governed by a faculty of specialists. Tho members of these faculties may bo Swedes or foreigners, but they must be scientists of unquestioned reputation in their respective fields of inquiry and devote their entire time to the duties of their position, which are to de velop and extond the usefulness of tho discoveries or inventions for which prizes Te awarded. Th., are to have the title of professor and must reside in Stockholm. "Each year a -prize Is to be awarded to that person who in the judgment of the committee has made the most important discovery in the flc'.d of science or written the most valuable literary work, or performed the most useful service in pro moting peace among his fellow men. Candidates for these prizes must be named by learned bodies. Personal applications will not be received. Pro fessors In certain universities, both Swedish and foreign, distinguished scientists and scholars, espe cially Invited by the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and former prize winners may make nominations. The provisions are complete and are printed in great detail in a code Of statutes, which has tho approval of the king. "The money value of the prizes will defend upon the income of the fund. This year the first prizes to be awarded under the will have the valuq of 150,000 kroner each, or a littlojnore than $40,000 In American money. "The prizes for the most important discov eries or inventions' In physical science and chem istry will be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that in medicine by the Qarolina Medi cal Institute of Stockholm; the prize for literature by the Swedish Academy, and the prize for peace by a committee of five persons to be elected by tho Norwegian parliament." ! It is pointed out as a singular fact that