The Plattsmouth Journal
: Published Semi-Weekly at Plattsmouth, Neb.:
1. A. HATICH, I'illlliei
Entered at the I'ostoflice at Plattsmouth, Nebraska as second-class matter
$1.50 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE
THOUGHT FOR TODAY.
4. It. requires a sterner vir
J ttio than good nature lo hold
4. fast the truth, that it is
J. nobler t be shabby and
honest than to do things
J. handsomely in t'ebt. Julian !
fr II. Evving.
Lincoln went "wet" by a good
big majority Tuesday. The peo
ple of the capital city evidently
prefer open saloons to a system
of boot-legging. Hypocricy and
hoot-legging go hand in hand.
:o:
The Burlington has ih;ided to
eri'Ct a $ 40,00.1 depot 'it I'.i'
City, a U.wn thai furnishes a' ml
half the business that Plalts
inoulh does.
:o:
The Jap troubles in California
are still "hanging fire." And now
Arizona has caught I be anli-alien
disease, and I lie Japs are ruled
out in that slate.
. :o :
(lovernor Sul.er of New York
must be a better governor than
he was given credit, for being.
The .New York legislature is at
loggerheads with him.
Weather and crop bureaus of
Nebraska railroads report no
frosts through tin state during
the recent cold spell. At least, no
damage is reported.
:o:
Some fellows up around Lincoln
aro perhaps wiser than they were
before the election last Tuesday
There are times when some people
bile off more tha i they can chew.
A large increase in the acreage
of spring and winter wheal is re
ported from western and south
western Nebraska, and it is in ex
cellent condition, according lo re
ports received by I lie slate board
of agriculture.
Uncle Sam is daily called upon
lo take care of 11 lot of refugees
from various points in Mexico,
and the treatment they receive is
quite different from that accorded
to the Americans who are at
tempting to reside in the Mexican
republic.
:o :
Nearly everybody seems to
think it was just a frame-up, and
that the facts will come out in
time. Until I hen "mum" is the
order.
:o: -
People who have incomes over
$4,000 a year aro worrying be
cause they will have to pay a gov
ernment tax, while those whose
incomes are umi'U' that amount
are worrying because they would
like to pay a government tax if
they only had that kind of an in
come. Hut you can't please all
people all the time.
:o:
In defending the free wool
dnvernor Morehead has desig
nated Saturday, May 17, as a gen-1 in its way
cral clean-tip day for the entire
slate. Mayors of all the cilies
should join the governor in the
movement, for with the hourly co
operation of local officials some
thing tangible will be accomplished.
clause of the democratic tariff
bill Representative Harrison of
New York said: "After this bill
is enacted into law, when a man
buys an $8 or $10 suit of clothes
he will be sure there is some wool
in it, and the first time he goes
out. in the rain it won't stiffen up
like a stovepipe. Tree raw wool
means cheaper r'.oUiing to the
American consumer.
:o:
The suffragette- in Nebraska
iloa'l seem to be quite so frisky
as 1 hey were last fall. They were
taken down a noted or (wo after
the legislature handled them so
lightly and without, gloves. Now
they want Nebraska lo vole on the
suiirage question, ami we are in
favor of it. Not because we be
lieve in their can", but simply to
see bow many of ihe old hens will
find resting places under snow
drirts.
:o:
Kver since William Jennings
Mryan treated (he diplomatic
corps to grape jti'ce, it has fig
tired as one of the main bever
ages in Washington barrooms.
They now sell what is called a
"Mryan llickey." "Pour hair a
glass of grape juice over cracked
ice, add a dish of nnion juice and
some carbonated water," and
there you are. Warranted not to
intoxicate, even If it does not
cheer.
:o:
If the dandelion was a modest
flower, it, would be r joy forever.
A few dandelions, scattered here
and there over a soft green lawn
might add to the charm of the
lawn, but the dandelion is an ag
grcssive little beast of a flower.
It not only spreads itself over the
lawn, as prolific as t lie proverbial
fly, and as disreputable, but it de
vours all the verdure that conies
It should be extermi
nated. Most of the lawns in
Plattsmouth have become infested
with the pest which makes life
miserable by the insistence with
which it insolent tv persists in
blooming after numerous decapitations.
I Mr. Hryau's trip to California
was not a failure l.v any means,
jaud the people of these United
States will soon learn that it was
not. Some newspapers are too
anxious to write failure to any
thing in which Mr. Bryan is eu
gaged. Hut saying so doesn't
make it hi by a long shot.
:o:
(ireat credit is due those noble
women who have the courage to
organize in opposition to those
women who have organized sel
fishly for their own political pref
erment. And the men who en
courage them have also an eye to
office-holding, in case they suc
ceed. It is not a matter of prin
ciple wifh them, hut solely a sel
fish interest.
:o
There is a young man over in
the west part of the county who
will probably be induced by his
friends lo make the race for
county clerk on the democratic
ticket next year. We are re
quested to withhold his name for
the present, but we can assure the
readers of the Journal that he is
one of the most popular young
men in Gass county, and wel
qualified for the position in every
particular.
1
:o:
We raise an awful row when
there
again
well coili. m ieii !i many a boy
11 leaving homo. No boy evir
went a.-lrav who heeded tins ad
vice 1 n m 1 nis dear oiu nioiner -the
dearest friend he ever pns-
ses sen.
:o:
All the clerks in the stores in
Kat Liverpool, ()., struck, and
thereupon the proprietors told the
customers to wait, upon them
selves and pay fur what goods
they took. The scheme has
worked well. Although in the
dry goods stores whore women
customers measured their own
fabrics and selected their own
drosses, there were often brought
about some amusing complica
tions, but the inereiianls declare
that they have lost very Iittlo
from the dishonesty of the buy
ers. They have saved the cost of
the clerks, there has been no pick
eting, no disturbance and the
striking clerks are walking around
with their hands In their pockets
uncertain what to do.
:o:-
are lax quarantine laws
si smallpox, cholera or bu
bonic plague. Tb health officers
are doing very wel', considering
what they have to deal with. But
Hie fy the dirlv, deadly fly, that
kills its thousand'' every year
what do we do about thai? Noth
ing, you might say. Hut we should
begin now, and s.vat cry one
that makes his appearance. Have
your swatters in readiness.
:o:
Some of the latist, songs are:
Is Mv Hat on Straight?" "Shall
Put the Buttons 011 the Back or
Front of My Dress?" "Dad and
Mam aro Back Numbers," "Mi
crobes That Make it Pathway
Down Your Spine." There are a
number of other meaningless
songs innt would mane a mny
goat chew the neck off of a dis
carded beer bottle mi the back al
loy, but they will be sung just the
same.
:o:
The passage of the anli-alien
act by the California legislature
will not .settle the mailer. It
would be only a slop. There may
first come the referendum if the
bill is passed by both houses and
signed. There may then follow
the courts with President Wilson
and Secretary Bryan as intorvon
ing friends of the court ropre
senlalive, of course, of the federal
government. And after that may
come congress. There are, indeed,
plenty of possibilities
"My son, nevor go anywhere
von would be ashamed to lake
vour mother never associate
with anyone you would not wish
lo introduce to your mother
never say anything you would be
ashamed to say to your mother,
nor listen to stories you would
not wish her to hoar," is the fare-
Next Sunday has been set apart
as a day in which we honor the
mothers, not only one's own
mother but all mothers. We pay
tribute to our military, naval and
political heroes this compara
tively new holiday is designed to
pay tribute to motherhood. Tbo
observance of Mothers' day is in
dicated by wearing a white carna
tion for the mother who is living.
Other while flowers are used to
mark the day, but the white car
nal ion is the Mothers' day cm-
Mem. A good inoil'er's influence
is i;u for one day only, it is for
tvrr. Children may disregard her
wishes while she lives, bill when
he is gone, when nef loving heart
no longer finds exetises for their
i r;t a s j; re s s ion s, tiled her influence
1. 1 1. ni'.es stronger, reaching out
iiui'i the grave to purify and up-
I. lo strengthen the weak inu
puises and hroadivi the life.
We refer lite leaders of the
Joiir.ial to an article printed else
where i:i I hi iss:ie beaded
'Please Do Not Publish." It is
well worth peru-in'-, a:id there
are several reasons v.hy we de-ire
lo have il 1 rad. hi the lirst place
the article is not our own, and
greater their m I of satisfaction.
Clearly, then, it betonies the duty
of a newspaper not alone to as
sume the responsibility of its ut
terances, but to us,., its own im
partial judgment in the matter of
what to print and what not to
print. Ail manner of news, ru
mor and gossip, reach the editor's
desk, and there must be constant
process of weeding out the doubt
ful, the objectionable and the ma
liciously intended, and the preser
vation of the legitimate. This
done, the newspaper cannot draw
the line because of a difference in
social or business relations. So
cial .standing is too often a mere
matter of dollars and affectation
rather than any monopoly of the
virtues. There are just as many
sensitive hearts beating under the
homespun of the poor as the
tailor-made suit of the rich, and
it is not fair for a newspaper, in
writing up the news, to make the
distinction. No judge in a court
of justice finds pleasure in pro
nouncing the penalties of the law
it is a duty which is required of
him. No true newspaper man
finds pleasure in recording, the
misdeeds of bis fellow men, but
in a spirit of fairness and with a
duly to perform no less important
than that of tribunals where men
go upon equal footing with jus
lice. In the performance of this,
the newspaper should not know
rank or station, prince or peasant.
as so en
arly
yet expresses our 1
in many respects Jhal we would
like to have all the readers of the
Journal familiar v. ill: its senti
ment. There are so many truths
touched upon and so many condi
tions dealt with -hat the entire
article is of value lo all. Another
reason for want inn it, read is be
cause the editor a newspaper
is constantly hci.ig confronted
with those very problems from
day to, day, from week lo week,
and the facts sot oul Iy this writer
may give the reader a clearer view
of the responsibilities that attach
to the publication of a newspaper.
In the nature of things men love
to have their virtue? extolled un
der headlines, and their short
comings printed among the medi
cine ads, or not at all preferably
the latter. But those same men
and women love to read of their
neighbors' entanglements and the
more exhaustive the details the
A matter in which the people of
Nebraska are considerably inter
est ell is being quite freely dis
cussed, is that .if the proposed
reduction of members of the leg
islature. Of eourw" there is a di
vided sentiment on the proposi
tion. Out of I he discussion of
the fact is easily gleaned that the
number of bills introduced is too
large the subjects of legislation
loo varied and trivial. II would
seem, therefore, that the number
of bills should bo limited, or that
an arrangement, for the publica
tion and greater digest ion, before
I hey are acted upon by the legis-
1 . . 1 1 .... 1 1 . . : 1 .. 1 : . . it. n
iiaiors, ami iioi n nonunion 01 me
judgments passing upon them,
would be to Ihe point. If the mem
bership cannot be reduced there
should be some system by which
a limit at ion to Ihe number of bills
iul rodiiced could be made and til
number that each one is allowed
to present for consideration.
:o:
Thai every employe of their
every
dining car service must show a
perfect bill of health at a physi
cal examination held four times a
year is a new ruing just estab
lished by the Pennsylvania rail
road system. Indications of any
infectious disease 112 any employe
will mean immediate discharge
from the service. The provision
is made, it is slated, for the pur
pose of further safeguarding the
health of the patrons of the rail
road dining car system. Yet such
a measure may have another sig
nificance and work a reform in
other directions worthy of being
sought by like lequircments in
other lines of business. Certain
infectious diseases by which the
innocent public is constantly
menaced are very closely allied
with evils which society is at
tempting to combat in other ways.
The ravages of these diseases are
far greater than any except those
who have investigated the matter
know or realize. It is not prob
able that any sort of legislation
or regulation will over fully check
these evils, or stamp out the at
tendant diseases. But if an em
ploye knows that contracting such
a disease will probably mean his
discharge from his position, the
knowledge will certainly tend to
restrain rather than encourage
taking further chances. It is of
vital importance that public
health be as fully safeguarded as
it is possible to do. It is likewise
just as important that some
means be found if possible to
check these diseases Apparently
the Pennsylvania railroad has
found an effectivo method of ac
complishing something in both
directions. The idea is worthy of
general consideration.
:o:
So much unfavorable comment
has been made because William
Jennings Bryan treated the diplo
matic corps to grape juice that,
he has been compelled to defend
his action. He says that he is a
teetotaller. So is his wife. So
were their parents beforo them.
They have never erved liquor at
their table, and they aro not go
ing to pegin it now. When tno
diplomatic corps gathered he ex
plained to them his position on
the subject, and when President
Wilson tendered him the post of
secretary of slate bo told Wilson
that it might be awkward at the
diplomatic dinners to find wine
excluded. He feels sorry that he
is obliged to abrogate a tradi
tional custom, but it is a matter
of principle witii him, and ho
doesn't propose lo alter his way
of living to suit Ihe notion of
other people. Lucy Hayes, when
mistress of the White House,
vent oven farther than Bryan,
she gave her guests ice water, but
PuHierford, her husband, was not
i'vorse to taking a drink occa
sionally, although bis fnonda
complained that he confined him
self to a bottle or gin behind tiio
kitchen door. Thr old fathers of
the republic inaugurated the dip
lomatic dinners in accordance
with the customs of that day.
During the revolutionary war
Washington addressed his staff,
saying "Gentlemen, we must all
make some sacrifices in the pres
ent condition of affairs, and here
after you will find no Maderia
upon the mess tables. You must
be contented with plain New Eng
land rum." Jefferson was the
best judge of wine in America, and
he imported a Swiss who planted
a vineyard at Mouticello. It ex
ists to this day. The only restric
tion that Jefferson made was that
no liquor should bi sold at retail
within ten miles of the University
of Virginia, and out of respect to
his memory, and villi no law on
the subject, the rule holds good
to this day. Then why should Mr.
Bryan be criticized for enjoying
the same privileges as other great
men?
I MR. HENRY PECK AND HIS FAMILY AFFAIRS - . By Gross
JEfjh f " x 'GOODNlSHT cJuRSeU ' '"eyi-syj Pont ,H0yr) "re So MoctTX f
Ht P'Nt MJh) fZt f HOUSE HI 7(g F l 7NO THPp wT'eTn0 CfP
S: 4i Ifn ft I', pKi ZS thump L; p-p np.vth.nJ ll.