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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1901)
- VOL. XVI., NO. XIII ESTABLISHED IN 1886 PRICE FIVE CENTS LINCOLN. NEBR., SATURDAY, MARCH 30. 1901. THE COURIER, m trb rosromcs at lincolx MCOMD CLAM MATTES. AS PUBLISHED EVERY 8ATOBDAY 1 I -BT- (Mice 1132 N afreet, Up Stain. Telephone 384. 6ARAHB. HARMS. Editor Subscription Rata. Per annum f 1 50 8IrnoBtlM 100 Rebate of fifty cents on cash payments. Single copies 05 a deficit of many millions. And of course the people make up the deficit. All the railways in the United States, may not have been successful, but under private management freight rates have declined steadily for a numberof years and in this country thgy,are now cheaper than in any other. The quality of light now and for years past furnished the city is poor. Homo of the lights burn the specified time and others, do not. The inter mittent character of the lights is due to outworn machinery. A five years' contract with the city would encour- spoken wherever trade and the Eng lish commercial system has broken the way. It is not a matter of choice, but of law which tenacious clinging to old customs can not affect. j J The Czar. Having repeatedly expressed a de sire for universal peace, nevertheless, the Czar seems less likely to enjoy it, than any other man in the world. His bedroom and study are lined with steel and the latter room has live writing desks in it and the Czar sits first at one, then at another. So that hone of the servants who may also be him from the ncft r,h nnmnanv tji nut. In miirliinprv ranahlft of lining f.ho wrirk- ssiHafsw- assassins may aim at torily. Fifty-five thousand dolIars"is-"utsideT,with any PI!J!pect ,of h!",n Tzz Coram will not be responsible for rol unfair communications unless accompanied by retain Boatace. Communications, to receive attention, must bo aimed by the full same of the writer, not merely as a guarantee of rood faith, but for publication if adritable, r OBSERVATIONS. OBSBRVAT The School Bonds. The women of Lincoln must regis ter if they would vote on school mat ters on Tuesday. The bonds asked for by the school board are required for the new buildings which must be built to accommodate the increasing number of children. At the present time the youngest pupils are crowded into damp basements where the sani tary arrangements are very imperfect and unheal thfui. The necessity for new buildings is imperative. If the bonds are not voted this year the need will be greater next year. To save this money is out of the question. The natural growth of the school pop ulation must be met by new school buildings. The voters might just as well authorize the bond issue on Tues day and hasten the time when the children can be moved into suitable quarters as vote against the issue and leave the children in discomfort and unsanitary surroundings for another year. The buildings must be erected, and the sooner the better. J J The Electric Light Bonds. Voters who believe in a. paternal form of government-will vote for the electric light bonds next Tuesday, in spite of the history of municipal con duct of manufacturing plants. Just as soon as Llnco'n or any other city becomes the dispenser of a large patronage, government by the people and for the people becomes a matter of profit to ward poli ticians who will control the city as absolutely as New York is con trolled by Tammany. The latter or ganization is not in politics for glory but for the money there is in it. The post-office department is often cited as a successful business conducted by the government. Every year there is not much but'it is enough for the be ginning of what may prove a very ex pensive experiment. The postoffice, and the government printing estab lishment shows what a bad manager the government is. As a customer the city can get better service than as a proprietor, if the mayor and council are allowed a free hand in making the contract. The Suffrage. It is difficult enough to get the vote out in a regular election where the mayor, councilmen and other impor tant officers of the city are to be voted for. How many men would vote, were they allowed only to cast their ballot for members of a school board composed exclusively of women? That women vote at, all under such circumstances indicates their genu ine interest in the schools. The vote polled at a special election is usually so light that the measure the election was held to sanction is lost. Therefore the school-board vote of women Is no indication of their opinion about and desire for the suffrage. Language. Since the days of the most ancient speech one language after another has been popular. There was a time when Latin was spoken in all of the Mediterranean countries. Then Pro vencal, Italian, Spanish and the Teu tonic tongues superceded the language of imperial Rome. We speak English in America now because the people of a small part of England, Northum bria, were able to overpower their neighbors and not because there was an Inherent superiority in the guage the Northumbrians used. dents of language say that Provencal is a more beautiful language than French. But all France talks French and the lovely Provencal is dying out him. Emperor William is said to blame popular discontent for the act of the epileptic who threw a missile at him recently. The Czar's precau tions and the Emperor's accusations are well founded. Absolutism is doomed in Russia and Germany. The spirit of the age is indefinable, disem bodied, inchoate, but it is first and last democratic and will not suffer tyranny. The Czar and the Emperor are archaic survivals of an earlier period in the developement of man. If individuals of the stone age could have been miraculodsly preserved, they would move about in a curious frame of mind, regarded by the people of today as very interesting museum specimens, but no more. The ided that one man has a prescriptive right over the life and fortune of another is no longer held even in Russia or Ger many. Yet the Czar and the Em peror reign on account of the inertia of institutions, the force of habit and the difficulty of reorganizing institu tions. Men's minds are thoroughly reorganized and that is why the Car travels, sleeps and studies in a bomb proof compartment and why the Em peror is surrounded by a cordon of soldiers. The president of the United States needs only to be protected against cranks who threaten the life of eirery distinguished man. There are so many more sane people than cranks that when it is necessary to protect the head of the state from their revolvers, there is something the matter with the government. Beggars. One of the most disagreeable con sequences of benevolence is the beg- lan- giqg constantly addressed to one who Stu- has demonstrated ardesire to give. Poor Andrew Carnegie's ship was waited for on the other side of the ocean by an innumerable company of beggars. All softs ofpetitions. for all because the people on the little Isle "Kinds of institutions and individuals de France overpowered their neigh- were prepared for him, but appalled, bors. Bishop Scannell who delivered he eluded them and his agent in the St. Patrick's day address at Oma- formed the newspapers that Mr. ha believes apparently that the dying Carnegie was not easily influenced to Gaelic can be preserved by the people give to anything but libraries. This if they will but resolve to speak: it. -penalty of distinction is one of the But the language follows the flag, -severest. To be everlastingly followed English is the tongue of the domi- by an.army of invertebrates who know nant people and English will be no other way of accomplishing their desires than to tease some one else to donate the money fur there, must be maddening. This is one of the ex periences of the Deity which only divine patience.and goodness can endure- Think of it! if all the prayers are audible, what a babel of request fortveogeance against enemies or de li veranxe.:f rum, theni, like some of the psalms, of prayers for curesof prayer from intolerable situations and from disgrace must clog communication between here and there. Men who have acquired a reputa tion tor giving soon realize the futil ity a.s well as the poor policy of giving to individuals. The very poorest way of getting anything is by way of gift. To earn it, to make it, to attain it by effort strengthens the character to attain.something still more difficult. Mr. Carnegie doubtless understands and he will not pauperize individuals by making them gifts. All those who have determined to write him for assistance might as well save their postage stamps, for disgust has seized upon him and he flees ttieir kind in Europe. To give a community a library does not foster selfishness, be cause the ownership is in common. A Club Number. Next week's issue of The Courier will be devoted to clubs. It will con tain reports and messages from the officers of "t'he"N.F.W.Ci"to the club of the state, a story by Mrs. McKillip and other matters especially interest ing to club-women. Miss Harwood, the editor of the club department. Is responsible for the edition and it promises to be a notable number. Readers who desire extra numbers of The Courier should send in their or ders early. Mrs. Gilbert's Reminiscences. No biographies published in late years have been better than those published by actresses and actors. Although there is an attraction about everything behind the scenes, it is not stage glamour, but the simplicity of style and the evidences of kindly human feeling that makes the biog raphies of Joseph Jefferson and Mrs. Gilbert such pleasant and profitable reading. Mrs. Gilbert's reminiscence have been printed in Scribner's Monthly. She was born In 1821 and In her long and very useful life she has met many of the men and women who have made the" h'istory of the American drama. Beloved by them all, she has almost reached the end of her professional career. As a" member of Mr. Daly's company for many years Mrs. Gilbert got very well acquainted with that great manager and her stories' about him, hi? management of and Intercourse with his players are very interesting. That Mrs. Gil bert should be able after a life spent not with books or with literary people but upon the stage, to write such simple, direct English is a tribute to the stage, its work and its people. m n II ,i I n :