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THE COURIER
M it may be, we bow unhesitatingly admit the truth of the major's
statement We are Hot rich. The. income tax would not effect us
personally. The depth of the humiliation which we suffer in making
this admission may be understood when we recall, for the benefit of
the public, the fact that newspaper men are so generally opulent.
With very rare exceptions they wear diamonds, dine on truffles and
live in luxurious ease. The major himself is' an illustration of the
affluence that obtains among the gentlemen of the press. His re
tinue of liveried servants and magnificent equipages and palatial
establishments, to say nothing of the exquisite sartorial appearance
of the handsome and rosy-cheeked major, convey but a slight and
inadequate idea of the extent of his enormous income. Before such
dazzling splendor we stand abashed. We can understand how vitally
the major is interested in the proposed income tax, and taking into
consideration his large interests and the immense drain that such a
measure would subject him to, we arc disposed to be indulgent, and
regard but lightly his cruel exposure of our true financial condition.
The action of the excise board relating to wine rooms is commend
able so far as it goes. We are of the opinion that the rule adopted
k not sufficiently clear and decisive. The "wine room" attach m en
to the modern saloon may be likened to the vestibule that opens into
hell. It is one of the most vicious of the lewd institutions that ac
company city life, and if the excise-board is really in earnest it will
top at nothing that will exterminate the "wine room" nuisance.
The admirers of Mr. Sam D. Cox, and we are convinced that thiB
class is numerous, are under obligations to Mr. , Rosewater. They
ought to thank that gentleman for living. If there had been no
Rosewater the fire and unctuous wrath that are hidden away in Mr.
Cox's interior, would doubtless never have been called forth, and
the public would have lost much entertainment. This week the
editor of the Call has been calling Mr. Rosewater an "insufferable
egotist" "professional slanderer" an "ass and a brutal liar" and a
"craven." There is only one thing that we know of in this parti,
cakw line that is more interesting than Mr. Cox's tributes to Mr
Rosewater. and that is Mr. Rosewater's occassional onslaughts on
the "jackass .batteries," among which we believe the Call is proud
to be enrolled.
Our contemporary, the News, which, by the way, is the only daily
paper in the city that has had the courage to handle the Capital
National bank matter from an independent standpoint, said last
sight: "Either the bank examiner who had supervision of it the
Capital National knew nothing about his business, or he is as big a
knave as the bank looters. If the former be the excuse, the use
fulness of the law authorizing his salary is conclusively impeached:
If the latter, both the law and its creature are impeached. For of
what benefit is a law that puts a dishonest official in a position of
trust and enables him to continue in that position after it has be
come apparent to everyone that he is either grossly incompetent or
has grossly violated his trust? "
The News takes the position that the present system of examining
national banks is of very little value, so far as the interests of the
public are concerned. The law is necessarily libera!, the banking
business being such that some consideration is essential, and the
examiners are given a great deal of lee way. In most cases, how
ever, it is believed that an honest and intellligent attempt is made
to protect the interests of the public. In the case of the Capital
National bank the fault was with the examiner, not the law.
x
Lincoln is in imminent danger of being visited by a terrible cala
. mity. The time.f or the annual publication of applications for saloon
licensee in the daily newspaper haying the largest circulation is
Bear at hand, and there is .some prospect that a circulation war of
great intensity will ensue. It may be as bad as the annual Rose-water-Hitchcock
holocaust in Omaha. Rather than experience ihe
torment tlie reading public in Omaha has to undergo every Ss2j
., 1J :.. . ulnnm at oil VaMl rtf flip. fVlWJl
. daily papers in this city has been keeping its circulation figures
under strong magnifying cases lor tae last lew montng.
Are Tea Xerromn,
JLre you all tired out, do you have that tired feeling or sick head
ache? You can be relieved of all these symptoms by taking Hood's
Saraaporilia, which gives nerve, mental and bodily strength and
thoroughly purifies the blood. It also creates a good appetite, cures
indigestion,. heartburn and dyspepsia.
CHARACTER SKETCHES.
NO. &
SOMETIMES when we can't think of anything else to say about
a person we say, "Well, he is good hearted,-any way." Occa
sionally we change it a little and say good natured. This re
mark heads the list of doubtful compliments. In fact, I think it is
almost an insult It is only another way of saying that the person
is a ninny or a chump or a piece of putty. It is the last thing we
say of anybody we care for. With the "good hearted" man as we
hear him referred to in a casual manner are associated visions of an
insipid, callow, characterless sort of person, one in whom we have no
interest whatever, a kind of harmless nuisance. If you think any
thing at all of a.person and can't think of anything else to say, don't
damn his reputation forever by saying that he is "good hearted, any
way."
Every community, Lincoln among the number, has its share of
people who are always described by their acquaintances, in an apolo
getic way, as being good hearted or good natured, and in most cases
those persons who are so entirely lacking in character as to leave it
next to impossible to say anything else about them deserve the stig
ma that has gradually become attached-to this phrase. They are
about as interesting as a very dull block of wood, or a clothing mer
chant's dummy.
One of these "good hearted' men once honored me with his friend
ship. It was worse than the measles or whooping cough. He made
me nervous, and there is no telling what, the nervousness might have
developed into if something hadn't happened to divert the attention
of my friend to some other quarter. People used to say of him that
not a wrong idea ever entered his head. It didn't take me long to
discover that ideas of any kind whatsoever refused to enter there.
He had just about as much individuality as a mop handle. Yet he
was, so people said, a nice kind of a man. You could trust him. He
didn't swear or chew tobacco or stay out till three o'clock in the
morning. He would willingly hold a baby or tramp a mile for- al
most anybody that asked him. Companionship was about all that
he had, and this he bestowed freely.
I will never forget how this man laughed. He smiled nearly all
the time,-and- when there was the slightest provocation for it, he
laughed, and his laugh was as unique as a watermelon in December.
It was remarkable. His mouth flew open and a gurgle like the rat
tle in a water drain came forth. It usually kept up for an inordi
nate length of time.
This good 1 earted friend of mine was a member of a fine family
and his place in the social world was fixed by his ancestry. He was
tolerated everywhere, because, "well, he was so good natured, you
know." He would do anything you asked him. He was, perhaps, an
exaggerated type; but you are all familiar with the species. With
out sufficient force to be anything in particular they are just nothing
at all, sliding along in a quiet kind of way, keeping out of trouble
and avoiding complications of any sort They will sympathize with
you or laugh with you or take a drink with you or trade dogs with
you with equal facility. They come and go without anybody giving,
them any particular heed, and having no ideas of their own they
leave no impression on those they meet.
It is a splendid thing to have a big heart, and to possess the fac
ulty of pleasing those around you, or of avoiding offense; but I
would hate to hare my reputation rest on such a footing. It is bet:
ter to be querulous and a virago and have a mind of your own than
to be good natured and a fool. There is always some hope for the
iformer. Teyn.
FAMOUS OPENING.
The "Famous" is located in its new quarters, 1029-31 O street,
filling two of the largest floors in the city, the first being devoted to
retail millinery and the second, reached by an elevator, to whole,
sale. The store is elegantly appointed in evtry particular, and is a
palatial establishment, the show cases glowing with beauty. Next
Tuesday and Wednesday there will be a grand 'opening to which
the ladies of Lincoln are cordially invited, The stock of millinery
is entirely new, not a single piece of old goods in the store. And
the exhibit next Tuesday and Wednesday will be a most attractive
one. ...
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