TEST OF BANK L
3 mq p
DILL IN EQUITY FILED IN FED
ERAL COURT.
RESTRAINING ORDER SOUGHT
Flfty-Two Banks Claim That Law
Violates Both Federal and State
Constitutions.
A bill In equity was filed In tho fed
eral court by flfty-two stato banks In
tho state against Oovornor Shnllen
berger, State Auditor Barton, State
Treasuror L. Q. Brian, Attorney Gen
eral W. T. Thompson, Ed. Hoyae,
secretary of tho banking board, and
Snm Patterson. Unless preventive
action is taken by the court tho
guaranty law will go Into effect on
July a, and the complalnnuts pray for
an lmuicdato restraining order en
joining tho defendants from ncttng as
n banking board and from taking pos
session of the books and papers of tho
present banking board, from Interior
lug with the plaintiffs or enforcing
any of the provisions of the guaranty
law, and also that at the llnnl hearing
tho law bo declared unconstitutional.
The bill Is signed by William V. Al
len and John Leo Webster ns counsel
for tho banks,
Tho bill claims that tho guaranty
law doprlvos tho private banks of tho
natural and inherent right to conduct
a banking business, and deprives
them of the property Invested in their,
banking business without due process
of law, and without compensation,'
therofore being in violation of section
1, article 14 of the amendments to tho
federal constitution, and deprives thorn
of their contract right under the char
ters granted to them sovcrally by tho
existing banking board, thereby im
pairing the obligation of the contract
existing between tho banks and the
stato of Nebraska.
The bill states tkat the state Is
without right or authority to require
tho private bankers to transfer their
banking biwlness to a corporation, and
that to require tho private bankers
to discontinue their business, or to
have their affairs wound up by a re
eelver would result in loss and dam
ago to each of tho banks. And that
at tho tlmo the charters were Issued
thero was no provision In them or in
the banking act of 1895, or in the
stato constitution or in any act of the
legislature In existence at that tlmo,
reserving to the state the right to can
col or terminate the contracts of the
banks to continue tho transferring of
a banking business.
. With regard to tho constitutional
provisions tho bill states that tho
guarantee law is in conflict with both
the constitution of tho United States
and tho constitution of Nebraska. It
is claimed that it violates tke federal
provision which provides that "no
stato shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or
Immunities of citizens of tho United
States, nor shall any state deprive
any person of life, liberty or property
without due process of law, nor deny
to any person within Its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws," It
is also declared to be in violation of
sections 1 and 3 of article 1 of tho
Nebraska constitution which provides
that, "all persons nro by nature free
and independent, nnd have certain In
lieront and Inalienable rights, among
thee nre life, liberty and tho persult
of happiness," and that "no person
shall bo deprived of life, liberty or
property without duo process of law."
Banking Law Suit.
.Tiidco Vnndoventor of the circuit
court of appeals has notified Judgo
T. C. Mungor that ho will be hero this
weak to listen to tho nrcument In tho
enso wherein tho new state banking
law Is to bo attacked.
Report on Manufacturers.
Labor Commlsssloner Mnupin has
corapilod the reports of the mnnufnc'
turors of the stato and tho complin
tion shows that the, value of all tho
products of all tho manufacturing
plants In Nebraska for tho last year
amounted to $100,232,792, against a
total of $151,280,920 for tho year prov
lous. Wages paid for tho last year
amounted to $10,157,950, against a
total of $8,371,174 for tho year provl
ous. Material used last year amounted
to $97,225,101, ugnlnst $81,41fl,998 for
tho year boforo.
Tho products of the smelting nnd
refining plants fpr this year amounted
to $34,912,300, against $47,410,000 for
the year before. No reason la given
for this decrease.
Tho slaughter and meat packing
products amounted to $82,243,725 this
year, against $74,277,800 the year pre
vious.
Tho number of manufacturing plants
increased in tho year from 494 to 843
This is bolloved to bo duo to the fact
that many of tho manufacturing plants
failed to make a raport last year
rather than to actual Increase In the
number of plants.
Nebraska Out of Debt.
Nebraska has no state debt. Deputy
Stato Treasuror Frank Brian lust
week paid off tho last cent of tho debt
running against tho general fund
when ho took up warrants to tho
amount f $70,911.93. This Is tho first
tlmo tho books of the treasurer havo
been In tho clear since any one around
the state house can remember, though
on several occasions bonds have been
Issued and paid,' But thero has been
a stato debt practically over since tho
state was organized. In 1907 tu
Btate debt was about $2,000,000.
ASH1NGTON. Thero
was unveiled In the nn
lion's cnpltnl recently a
stntuo of tho Rev. John
Wltherspoon, one of
tho signers of tho Dec
laration of Indepen
dence. More and more
attention Is being given
throughout tho country
to tho memories of the
men who signed tho
liberty document. Not
long ago thero was held tu Wash
ington a convention of the descend
ants of tho signers. It Is expected
inui as wio result of tho labors of
this hereditary organization there
win ue gnthered together for nres-
ervatlon In ono safe place all the
mings mat nro nttnlnnhln whM,
had intimate association with tho
men who on tho 4th of July, 1770,
took their lives and their pens in
hand.
In tho year 177C llvml n wnmnn
who was fond of giving curtain
lectures to hor husband. Sho was
tho original Mrs. Cnudlo, though
her namo wns Mrs. Dickenson, tho
oi jonn Dickenson of Penn
sylvnnln, whoso "Letters of a
Pennsylvania Farm nr" lin,1 ilmw.
much to arouse a spirit of liberty
among tho people. Ono night sov-
iai weoKs ueroro tho mooting of
tho continental congress, of which
was a member. Ma
spouse, speaking from beneath tho
; a uw 01 er nightcap, said:
Johnny, if you havo nnvM.i.,., f
do with this Independence business
you 11 bo hnngod, and leave n most
vaiuuwu wiuow." John Dlckouson
spoke against the resolution do
claring tho colonies to be freo and
independent.
Tho
i tBf m asunHHTiTV i u - i u nuii iu nwtun III lk mm I
whh uoiu within closed doors, and ' W tt Jra3Sy Jl
no record of tho speeches was kept. J mMST7 1
becauso it was felt thnt t . ' , v VIJc'tfl J (VSM
WHERE THE ORWMAL DRAFf OF THE DECLARATtON
Y?EPYC A3 PRESERVED
ctate" oEPAJmmnr
BULDINGAT
OF -py0ffcr
the capture of any ono of the members of tho
body that King Qeorge would have him strung
up speedily should there be written evidence
that ho had spoken against tho supremacy of
tho crown. When tho Brunswick monarch,
however, had been forced to relinquish his grip
on the united colonies, some of tho delegates
told what they had Bald or what others had
said. These fragmentary speeches had never
before been gnthered together, it is believed.
Bits of them appear hero and thero in revolu
tionary-day stories. Others are to bo found In
tho 'correspondence of somo of tho fathers of
tho republic, and two others havo had their
spirit, but not their letter, preserved through
one of tho almost matchless orations of Webster.
It is a well-known fact that the declaring of
tho colonics independent wns not thought of
sorlously beforo tho convening of tho memor
nblo congress of the spring of 1770. Washing
ton was bitterly opposed to any such declara
tion until It became a military and civil neces
sity. Patrick Henry was perhaps tho only out
spoken advocate of the year when tho cutting
was actually accomplished, though Benjamin
Franklin and Timothy Dwlght thought, nnd
sometimes said, that tho yoko should bo re
moved. Henry, by tho "way, In ono of his
speeches, undoubtedly gavo tho koynoto to
which Robert Emmet afterward attuned tho
last sentenco of his speech when condemned
to die. As early bb 1773 Patrick Henry de
clared that tho colonies should strike for Inde
pendence, nnd prophesied that Franco would
not.be backward in coming to their aid. Tho
lust words of his speech wore almost literally
a pari of the concluding words of Robert
Emma's speech: "Then our country shall
tako hir place among tho nations of tho
earth."
Tho original declaration of Independence,
was a local affair. Mecklenberg county, North
Carolina, at a public meeting held in the town
of Charlotte, In August, 1775, declared that
"it throw oft forever all allegiance to tho Brit
ish crown." It was not long after this that
North Carolina Instructed Its delegates to tho
continental congress to voto "first, Inst and
always" for tho Independence of tho united
colonies. It must bo Bald that mnny historians
doubt tho authenticity of tb Mecklenberg
declaration.
Tho congress that was to dcclaro Amorlca
freo convened In Philadelphia, and in a general
way discussed tho matter of throwing off tho
yoko. Richard Henry Leo of Virginia Intro
douced this resolution: "Moved, Thnt these
united colonies are, and of right ought to bo,
freo and independent states, and thnt all po
litical connection between us and Great Brit
ain la, and ought to be, dissolved."
John Adams of Massachusetts seconded the
motion, but tho names of both mover and sec
onder wore omitted from the record, becauso
It wnB tho belief thut if tho British authorities
got .hold or them us prisoners they would
stretch homp without a trial. Beforo tho dis
cussion of tho resolution congress ndjourned
and enmo .together again In June, whon began
tho debato, perhaps tho most momentous In
, history, thu i.elalls of which, save In detachnd
lb i
wrsrm -
form, wero never pro
served. During a part
of the proceedings Ben
jamin Franklin pre
sided. In a letter written 20
years after tho debato
ono of tho dolegates
said that when Benja
min Franklin, after tho
signing, said: "Now,
we must all hang togother or we'll nil hang
sopnrately," Harrison, who had a ready wit,
looking nt his ample proportions, said: "If
they drop us off at a rope's end Bomo of you
lightweights will ho kicking nnd suffering long
after I'm dono for."
During tho time of tho adjournment, the
committee which had been appointed to pro
paro tho- declaration of lndepeudenuo choso
Jefferson, tho youngest of their members, to
write tho document, on.tho ground that ho was
"tho best penman" In tho lot. Now, tho word
penman in those days wns sometimes used to
denote a man who expressed himself well on
paper, and not necessarily a man who. wrote a
good hand. Tho English of the declaration
perhaps shows that the word was used with
tho former significance, though some of Jeffer
son's detractors havo insisted that Tom Palno
wroto tho fnmous document.
Tho Declaration of Independence was read
paragraph by paragraph to tho assembled
members. As a matter of fnct, tho moat bril
liant speakers were opposed to tho resolution.
Among thoso so opposed wero Dickenson, Rob
ert R. Livingston, James Wilson nnd Edward
Rutjcdge, It leaked out aftorward that most
of these men inado speeches opposing tho sov
erlng of tho British bonds. Of three of thoso
who spoko In favor of fndopondonco it wns
aftorward said: "Jefferson was no speaker;
George Wyoth was sensible, but not clear, and
Wltherspoon wns clear, hut heavy."
It has always been bellovcd that Richard
Henry Leo said, in standing for the nbsoluto
Independence of his country: "Why still delib
erate? Why, sir, do you longer delay? Lot
this lvippy day glvo birth to an American re
public, Let her arise, not to devnstnto and
conquer, but to ro-estnbllsh tho reign of peaco
and law. Tho eyes of Europo aro llxcd upon
us; Bho demands of us n living examplo of
freedom that mny exhibit a contrast in tho
felicity of tho citizen to tho over-lncreaalng
tyranny which desolates her polluted shores.
If we nro not this day wanting In our duty to
our country tho names of tho American leglsla
tors of 177G will bo placed by posterity at tho
side of Theseus, of Lycurgus, of Romulus, of
Numn, of tho thrco Williams of Nnssau, and of
all thoso whoso memories hnvo been nnd for
over will bo dear to vlituous men and good
citizens."
Just how Leo's speech leaked out was not
known, but It led to a somowhnt remarkable
scene In tho English school or St. Dees. Loo
had a son, n inero boy, a pupji-ln St. Bees.
A member of a board of visitors to tho Institu
tion asked tho bond master who tho boy was,
"He Is the son of Richard Hciry Lee of
America," wns tho answer.
STEL tSAFF NWtfJCH THE DFCLARATiOtj
OF MOPEtfDrtCC AS PRESERVED
" C o m o
hero, young
man," b a l d
t h o lnqulsl
tor, and
w lion Loo
npproached
tho English
man said to
htm: "Do
you kno w
wo will soon
have your
father's head
on T o w o r
hill?"
"You mny
have It whon
you can get
It," was tho
boy's spirit
ed answer.
John Dick
on s o n of
P o n n s y 1
v n n 1 n , al
though ho
had been ono
or tho fore
most advo
cates of resistance to tyranny, spoko forcibly
against the adoption or tho declaration. It
may bo that his wlfo's, "Johnny, you'll bo
hanged," was still on his mind. Ho wns ono
of tho best speakers In tho congress, nnd the
friends of liberty feared tho effect of his argu
ments. Tho gist of what ho said was years
afterwards mndo public, nnd, while Dickonson
feared simply that the tlmo had not yet come
for tho declaring of tho country's indopon
donce, nnd was in reality a patriot at heart,
his moniory has suffered-for tho stand ho then
took.
When Daniel Webster delivered his pane
gyric of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
ho drew a verbal picture of that scene In the
continental congress when tho Declaration of
Independence wns under discussion. Ho know
tho thread of Dickenson's dlscourso us It had
boon Imputed to him, nnd though Webster
mentioned no name, his amplification of Dick
enson's words will probnbly stand forovor ns
contnlnlng the jissonco of tho opposition of tho
colonial legislator to the taking of at firm stand
for his country's freedom.
Dickenson's speech, ns It has come down,
runs In part ns follows: "Let us pause. This
Btop, onco tnken, cannot bo retraced, This
resolution, onco pnsBed, will cut off all hopo
of reconciliation, ir success nttynd tho arms
of England wo shall thon bo no longor colo
nics, with charters and with privileges; thoso
will nil 1)6 forfeited by this act, and wo shall
be In tho condition of other conquered people
at tho inorcy of tho conquerors. For our
selves, wo mny bo ready to run tho hazard,
but aro wo ready to carry tho country to that
length? Is success so probable as to justify us?
Whoro Is tho military, where tho naval power,
by which wo nro to resist tho whole strongth
of tho nrms of England, for sho will oxort that
strength to tho utmost? Cun wo roly on tho
constancy unci porsovomnco of tho people, or
will they not act us tho peoplo or other coun
tries hnvo acted, nnd, wearied with a Jong
war, submit In thu end to a worse oppression?
"Whllo wo Btnnd on our old ground and In
sist on redrosB or grievances we know wo nro
right, and aro not nnswernblo for conse
quences. Nothing, then, can bo Imputed to us,
But if wo now chnugo our object, carry our
pretensions farther and set up for nbsoluto In
dependence, wo shnll lose tho sympathy of
mankind. Wo shall no longor bo dofondlng
what wo possess, and which we havo solomnly
nnd uniformly disclaimed all Intention or pur
suing from tho very outset of tho troubles.
Abaudolng thus our old grounds of resistance
oply to arbitrary ucts of oppression, tho na
tions will believe tho whole to have been moro
proteose, and they will look on us not us In-
MUtA1 MtJR, CUSTODIAN
Jured, but ns nmbltlous, subjects.
"I shudder before this responsibility. It
will bo on us If, rollnqulnhlng tho ground
on which wo Jinyo Btood do long, nnd stood
so safely, wo now proclaim lndopondonc
and carry on war for that objoct, while
theso cities bum, thoso pleasant floldi
whiten nnd bleach with tho bones of tholi
owners, nnd thoso streams run blood. 11
will bo upon us; It will bo upon us if, falllno
to maintain this unrenBonablo and 111-Judgod
declnrntlon, n stcrnor despotism, maintained
by military power, shall bo established ovoi
our posterity, whon wo oursolvoB, given up b)
nn oxhnusled, u harassed and misled people
shall havo expiated our rashness nnd ntone6
for our presumption on tho scnftold."
It Is a fairly well established fact that oni
of tho dolegates, lacking n prepared Bpoech oi
his own, quoted from Tom Pnlno's pamphlet,
"Common SeiiBo," which some months bofor
hnd created a sensntlon., Tom Pnlno, as li
well known, wns nn athoist, but that made
little dlffercnco to tho dolegnto, who was said
to bo a pious Puritan, when ho had n chance
to lot his feelings go ripping through sentence!
llko theso: "It matters vpry Uttlo now what
tho king of Englnnd olthor says or does; he
hath wickedly brokon through ovory moral nni
human obligation, trampled nature and con.
scionco beneath Ills foot, and by a steady and
constitutional spirit of InBoleuco and cruotly
procured for hlniBolf a universal hatred.
It has boon reported that John Wlthorspoon
of Prlncoton, Btnnch orthodox Presbyterian,
was tho man who quoted thus liberally from
Tom Pnlno, ntholst. Some years nfterwnrd tho
Scotch domlnlo, It is snld, was takon to taslt
for quoting Palno, nnd rovorend John said, it
tradition mny bo bellovcd, that the dovil'i
pitchfork was nono too bad a weapon to uss
In prodding John Bull out of tho country.
It wns loft, however, for John Adams to
mnko tho grout speech that brought to tin
sldo of thoso favoring Indopcndcnco all the
wavering ones, and strengthened In their post
tion thoso who stood for tho signing of tho
declaration. What Adums said was given Is
Biibstanco to tho world when there wns na
longor nny danger or his being hanged for hit
uttornncefl. Daniel Webster lent his own olo
quenco nnd something or his diction to his In
terprctntlon ot Adams' discourse, which, on
tho ovontful dny, It may bo truly said won
for tho country tho declaration of lndepon
dence.
Adams' poworful and electrifying speech "
was In part as follows: "It Is true, Indeed,
thnt In tho beginning wo ntmod not nt inde
pendence. But there's u divinity which shnpet
our ends, Tho Injustice of Englnnd has driven
us to nrms, and, blinded to her own interest
for our good, she hna obstinately persisted till
Independence Is now within our grasp. Wa
have but to reach forth to it nnd it is ours.
'Why, then, should wo defer tho declaration?
is any mnu bo wenk as now to hopo for a
reconcllntlon with England, which shall leavo
elthor safety to tho country nnd Its llbortlos or
safety to his own life and his own honor?
"I know thero is not a man hero who would
not rather see a general conflngratlon sweep
over tho land or nn earthquake sink It than
ono Jot or tittlo of that plighted faith fall to
tho ground. For mysoir, having 12 montliB
ugo In this plnce moved "you that George
Washington bo nppointed commnndor or tho
forces raised or to bo raised for dofonso ot
American liberty, may my right hand forgot
her cunning and my tongue cleavo to the roof
of my mouth If I hesltato or waver In th
support I glo him.
"My Judgmont npprovos this measure and
my wholo heart Is In It. All that I havo and
all that I am, and nil that I hopo In this life,
1 urn now ready horo to Btako upon It.
I am for the declaration. It Is my Jiving sen
timent, and, by tho grace of God, 1'. shall bo
my dying sontimcnt, independence now and
Independence forovor."
Tho 2d or July Is In reality Independence
duy, for on this duto In tho year 177C u ma
jority of tho delegates from cuch colony votod
for tho declaration, Two days later the docu-
tnont was signed nnd went into effect, and
from thnt dny to this, In fulfillment of John
Adams' prophecy, the day has been celebrated
"with pomp, pnrado, games, sports, guns, bolls,
bonfires, and Illumination from ono end of tho
continent to the other,"
