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The Commoner.
ISSUED WEEKLY.
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
Sign a primary pledge.
Primary pledge blanlcs will bo furnished on
Application to The Commoner.
Aro you real sure that none of your insur
ance premiums went into that wheat deal?
Tho dodgjng ability of tho Russian fleet is
adding largely to our geographical nomeclature.
Can it bo possible that Togo and Rojest
venslty havo met with tho horrible Kilkenny cat
light result.
President Roosevelt's hurry to get home in
dicates that Secretary Taft is growing wobbly on
tho lid.
Perhaps those ;Lovo Letters of a Political
Boss" did not contain Uta usual , postscript, "B
T Lr-." .,'
r"
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It would seem that Rojestvenslcy's vessels
aro sadly hampered in their movements by their
consonants.
A largo number of prominent citizens aro
now in tho "also mentioned" class for president'
of tho Equitable.
Mr. Bigelowwas one of the eminent gentle
men who in 189G was very joalous of "national
honor and integrity."
Tho difference between tho presidential hunt
ing of Wall street and Colorado bears is that he
got tho Colorado bears.
There are a great many, men who are not so
fortunate as to bo able to go bear hunting in
Colorado about housecleaning time.
The trust question could bo closed with con
siderable rapidity by opening the penitentiary
doors to some of the criminal trust managers.
Of course a number of Wisconsin legislators
who voted for tho anti-tip bill will be able to con
vince themselves that a railroad pass is not a
tip.
The Commoner.
Tho senator-elect from Missouri says his
election cost him, $28.70, and tho senator-elect
from Tennessee says his election cost him $11.50".
There aro senators whose elections cost vastly
moro who aro worth Infinitely less.
Ex-Senator Thurston has been retained to
defend Senator Mitchell. Doubtless Senator
Mitchell will find his attorney much more loyal
to his interests than that attorney was to his
constituents when he was senator from Nebraska.
If our European neighbors have any bills
against South American republics they should
hasten to collect. The time is rapidly coming
when this country will no longer be a bad debt
collection agency with "big stick" and press agent
attachments.
Tho Duke of Manchester takes as personal
Mr. Carnegie's remarks concerning dukes and
coachmen. But what grounds has tho duke for
complaint? The wonder is that the coachmen
have not objected to being mentioned in con
nection therewith.
A St. Paul republican daily has purchased tho
subscription list of the defunct St. Paul Globe,
a paper that claimed to be democratic. The
Globe's old subscribers who read tho republican
paper will have great difficulty In seeing any dif
ference in editorial utterances and policies.
v A Minnesota man is trying to prove that a
jack rabbit is speedier than a locomotive. If
the Minnesota gentleman is looking for speed
lot him take a glance at the rapidity with which
the g. o. p. bosses get away from tariff revision
immediately after election.
Mr. Rogers indignantly 'denies that Mr. Rocke
feller was a member of the South Improvement
company, and explains that it was the Southern
Improvement company that he belonged to, the
two companies having the same object. This
recalls the plea of the small boy. "I didn't steal
no jell tarts; 'twas the gooseberry pie I stole."
Many organs opposed to interfering with the
rapacity of the railroads and other corporations
are worrying over what might happen if the
employes of a government owned road should
strike. Just as soon as we hear of postal clerks,
department clerks, postmasters and army officers
-striking we'll begin worrying a little. Did any
one ever hear of .policemen or firemen going on
strike?
The New York Press wants to know how
lobbyists may be kept out of the legislature. Tho
election of tho right kind of a legislature might
help to answor tho question.
1 Jhe Commoner points with pride to ltd hun
dreds of "assistant editors" who have been on
duty for several weeks and promise to keep on
doing duty for about 200 weeks to come.
The discovery of Paul Jones' body lends color
to the belief that it is yet possible for th Trepub.
Ucan leaders to find and resurrect the reciprocity
ICinley G' BlaIn anQ William Mc-
Tho colored, minister who was invited to
pray for the New York legislature will not be
invited again. He prayed that the Almighty
would guide the assembly through life and bring
tho members safely to "that general assembly
x where Jesus Christ is the speaker and business
transacted without graft or the dictation of a
lobby." So many of the members took it as a
personal reflection that they were too nervous
to do business all the rest of the day.
Rev. Dr. Buckley, editor of the Advocate, an
organ of the Methodist church, having asserted
wiu.1, no wuuiu mite money -for
his hospital from any one who
5d a legal title to it, Rev.
Charles Crane, pastor, of the
orcuiJios lempie, Boston, re
plies in a caustic vein by saying: "The editor of
tire leading Methodist advocate asserts that he
will take money for his hospital from any one who
has a legal title to it. Had he been one of the
high priests or elders who spurned the thirtv
Pieces of silver that Judas Iscariot tried to give to
them he would have justified the acceptance of
it on the ground that he should not inquire into
the source from which the money camewhich
shows ono difference between a modern Methodisr
and an ancient Jew." Rev. Mr. Crane, himself a
leading minister of the Methodist church, seems
to have given Rev. Dr. Buckley something to think
About
Rockefeller's
Gifts
The result of Mr. Cleveland's article on worn
En 8cm. mUSt ,remI?d bIra fcclbly of tlie muss
?o m! r up When he tried t0 sel1 thoBo bonds
baste San n a Very privat0 and Potable
The
Rates Are
Too High
Secretary Morton declares that American
freight rates are lower and wages of raifrSid em.
i'"vb "iBuor in mis country
than in Europe, and from this
premise reaches tho conclusion
that government regulation of
should not be .allowed BrrtaVScStS Zi
the only man, who takes the wi4g view of tWa
question. It Is. not a question of whelher the
rates aro lower in this countrv Vnr. 1
.countries, but whether1 thare Srann
- VOLUME 5, NUMBER 17
justice and right they should bo. Another phass
of the question Is: Are the people entitled to
assurance that some shippers are not being bene
fitted at the expense of other shippers by corno"
rations that are primarily chartered to give equal
service to all the people? If the rates charged
bring in more than enough revenue to pay one
rating expenses and reasonable interest on the
money invested, then the rates charged are too
high. If one set of shippers are being favored at
the expense of another set of shippers, then tho
railroad is violating the spirit of the law under
which it is chartered. But railroad rates that
permit of large dividends on stock watered from
300 to 1,000 per cent are too high, no "matter if
they are lower than rates charged in other
countries.
Initiative
and
Referendum
The Referendum club bureau of Washington
city calls attention to the fact that the lower
house of the Maine legislature
voted 66 to 38 for an amendment
to the constitution providing for
the initiative and referendum.
, As it requires a two-thirds vote
for the submission of such an amendment, it
failed. In the senate the vote stood 13 to 13. In
both houses all of the democrats favored the bill.
This is a good sign. The initiative and the refe
rendum do not displace representative govern
ment; they simply bring the government nearer
to the people, and by perfecting representative
government they rather strengthen than weaken
it.
GOOD WORK
Many Commoner readers are taking advan
tage of the special subscription offer with the re
sult that The Commoner's circulation is Increasing
every week. The following are sample extracts
from letters sent in by men who are assisting
ia enlarging The Commoner's sphere of influence
by increasing its circulation:
John R. Bodie, St. Louis, Mo., writes: "Here
with find names of fifteen men who would like
pay for same."
A New York reader writes: "Enclosed you
will please find names of nineteen subscribers."
J. F. Walker, Belleville, Kans., w.rites: "Here-
with, find names of fifteen men who would like
The Commoner for one year at your 60 cent rate."
J. H. Houlton, Grady, Ala., sends seven sub
scriptions with money order to cover same.
J. E. Plattner, MexicojOMo., writes: "I here
with send another batch of names for The Com
moner, also remittance for the same. Hope to bo
able to add others as the days come and go.
- W. H. Burke, M. D., Weleetka, I. T., writes:
"Enclosed my check for $10.80 in lieu of sub
scription for nineteen subscribers, procured in one
hour in the 'wilds' of the Creek nation."
E. J. Fisk, Grand Forks, N. D., writes: "En
closed find postoffice money orders for $3.00 and
$5.40 to pay for fourteen subscriptions."
According to the terms of the special sub
scription offer, cards, each good for one year's
subscription to The Commoner, will be furnished
in lots of five, at the rate of $3 per lot. This
places the yearly subscription rate at 60 cents.
Anyone ordering these cards may sell them
for $1 each, thus earning a commission of $2
on each lot sold, or he may sell them at the cost
price and find compensation in the fact that he
has contributed to the educational campaign.
These cards may be paid for when ordered, or
they may be ordered and remittance made after
they have been sold. A coupon is printed below
for the convenience of those who desire to par
ticipate in this effort to increase The Commoner's
circulation.
THE COMMONER'S SPECIAL OFFER
' Application for Subscription Cards
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Publisher Commoner; I am Interested In !
creasing The Cemmener's circulation, and de
elro you to aend me supply of subscription
cards. I agree to uaejny utmost endeavor to sell
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Box, or Street No, . ,,J1L
P O. BtateJL .
Indicate the number of cards wanted bymark
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end of this blank.
Jf you btllevtihe japerU doing a work (hat merits
encouragement, fin out th dbovt eottpon and maUit
to The Commoner, Lincoln, Nb.
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