The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902, January 23, 1896, Page 4, Image 4
4 THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT January 23, 1896. 535 Nebraska Snucpcnbcnt ContoiiJatiam f THE WEALTH MAKERS 4 LINCOLN , INDEPENDENT, PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY TH IndEpeidEt Pubitehiijg Go. At 1120 M Street, LINCOLN, - NEBRASKA. TELEPHONE 538. $1.00 per Year in Advance. Address all communications to, and make all drafts, man? order, etc., pay nble to THE INDEPENDENT PUB, CO., Lincoln, Nb. HarrahI for Meiklejohn and the sugar trust. Thatistbe basis af Meik's can didacy. ' ' -'. ' The Philadelphia American says that the great banks are laying plans lor the renominatiou of Cleveland. Have nations the inalieuable right to work out their own destiny? If they have the Monroe doctrine is right. Let us do right and trust providence for the consequences. To oppress the people as they are now oppressed is not right. The retiring county treasurer of Platte county is f 29,000 short in his official accounts. Another good republican gone wrong. Tim most debasing thing in the world Is not a fifty-cent dollar as the Chicago Times-Herald says but a: one hundred and fifty-cent dollar. Mr. J. Sterling Mojitos isdoubtlessly dead and buried, for he hasn't given out a letter or interview for publication for six and one-half days' Will Col. Bixby please give us a song on Al. Beemer. It will be easy to do. A. D. Boomer will rhyme so nicely with Ne braska redeemer, and he's one of them sure. Republican thievery is driving men from the state. They don't want to raise children in a state where the higher public offices are held by notorious thieves.. ' Senator Jones has given it tout point blank this week that there can be no legislation of any sort that does not in clude monetary reform. The pops will have that or nothings In the senate when one of them gives notice that he is going to talk awhile, he don't say he is going to make a speech. That would be very bad form indeed. He says, "I wish to submit some re. marks." Two to one that the editor of the Benaca (Kansas) News was oue of the original Jayhawkers. We Judge so be cause the facility with which he reprints large amounts of matter from the Inde pendent without credit. Senator Allen got after Hale, of Maine, on the question of whether the government should build a cable to Hawaii or subsidize a company to do it, and soon had him in a corner so tightly jammed, up that Hale did not know what to say. ' " Senator Allen's bill to prevent United States citizens from accepting titles of nobility from foreign governments was defeated in the Senate. We will have to waituntil the pops gethold of that body before anything truly American will be done there. Johnny Thurston has evidently heard something drop. He now goes back on the record of his colleagues in the House, who all voted for bonds, and says that personally he is opposed to all bond issue and thinks our difficulties may be met in other ways. It appears that the people's party has got beyond the stage when ridicule is an effective weapon against it. Its persis tent advocacy of economic truth has given it dignity. The "wild eyed erank' paragraph has been relegated to innocu ous desuetude. The House Committee on Banking and Currency has before it no less than twenty-eight bills, and it expects to evoke a new banking law out of some one or more of them. Senator Chandler is especially zealous fortheeetablishment of a Postal Savings Bank System as a branch of the Post office. That the Associated Press is simply an agent of the Wall street ring of Roths child banks is shown by the fake war dispatches sent out during the week. At one time they announced that the militia of the southern states bad been called out, and gold bug dailies, like the Jour nal, put up big scare heads and doable leaded the lines to make them go. 8T. L0U13 MEETING The meeting of the national committee last week iu St. Louis, a graphic account of which can be found in this weeks Inde pendent, was a genuine surprise toevery old worker in the reform cause who was present. The, complete harmony that prevailed was not expected. There were men there from the Pacific and the At lantic coasts, from the region of the lakes and from the gulf, but they all seemed to have oue common purpose. They had all thought over the state of affuirs, and had all come to one conclusion as to what was best to do. Then they went right at it, and did it without any loss of time. It proved that the people's party is a great national party, that thoseengaged in the movement, whether they resided in the north or the south, the east orthe west were all in hearty accord, all believ ing in a few great fundamental principles and all determined to use all honorable means to engraft them upon the legisla tion of this country. There were visitors there whom the old war worn veterans of reform had never met at a populist gathering pefore men who were perceiving for the first time the object and mighty force of this great movement. They had come to enlist in the army of reform and announce their adherence to the principles of the people's party. They were given a hearty wel come and many of them will do valiant service pushing forward our lines on the camps of the enemy. What surprised the wheel horses of the populist movement the most, was the spirited contest between several large cities for the honor of entertaining the next national convention. Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Dallas, Texas, all wanted it. Each of those cities were there with delegations of their most well known citizens. Every argument that the ingenuity of highly trained intellects could invent, and every inducements that their different cities could offer, were repeatedly pressed upon the committee. There were representa tives of commercial clubs, boards of trade, mayors, and prominent and wealthy citizens begging, flattering, ca joling the committee to honor their par ticular city with the populist national convention, promising free halls.free mu sic,profuse decorations and the heartiest welcome a convention ever received if they would only come. There was one point that not one failed to make. The convention should have fair and generous treatment by the press. There would not be a line of ridicule, sarcasm, or iuvection appear in the press of the city, if the convention would only come. Some of them had written guarantees to that effect. The Texans put up such a gallant fight that they won the heart of every populist that was there. The mayor of Dallas how shall he be described? There is no way to do it except to use the western phrase and say, he was a regular brick. He came with twenty delegates prominent busi ness men of different cities of Texas, lie offered free halls, free music, free commit tee rooms, one cent a mile passenger tariff rate in the state, a money bonus, and half rates at all the hotels. Fur thermore he guaranteed that he would camp fifty thousand Texas populists around the city to bid us welcome and cheer us on to victory. But the brave little mayor and his gallant little city could not compete with the great cities of St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee and he lost. But he took with him for him self and his generous and hospitable town the best wishes of the committee and every populist present. No one will forget how often he repeated the sen tence, "There are one hundred and sixty four thousand populists in Texas all live men." The Contest to get the convention was so fierce and so long that at the last the selection of the place was left to the de cision of the executive committee. Late Saturday night St. Louis won. A DONE-FOR GOLD BUG. One of Grovor's cabinet! t officers went to Philadelphia the other day to defend the gold standard and said that: "The most mischievous heresy that ever was mstiiiea into iiih minus oi voters iu this land is tbe idea that Con gress and not commerce controlled the value of Bilver and gold. ' Now if an old pop farmer had a boy seven years old who would talk so much like an idiot as that, he would turn him up and spank him until he yelled like a Sioux Indian. If Congress cannot con trol the value of gold and silver, what are Cleveland, Carlisle and John Sherman howling about? Why do they spend mitlionsof money to coutrol conventions aud to buy elections, if these men, when elected cannot affect the value of gold and silver? Why do all the bankers and money lords band together and attempt legislations, if legislation cannot affect the value of money? No, Mr. Secretary Herbert, that is not a heresy. It is good common sense and sound political economy, and you knew that it was when you 'made that speech In the meantime it has been "instifled into the minds of the nation" that John Sherman, Grover Cleveland and his whole cabinet area set of unconscionable liars everytime they open their mouths on the money question. Congress can't affect tho value of money! Well, if it can't, why don't these money sharks let congress alone? Why are they forever down at Washington with their lobbies? Why do they haunt the White House with their agents and their spies? Why is their chief agent in the White House forever firing annual and special messages at congress, ordering, begging, pleading with congress to legis late concerning gold and silver, if con gress cannot affect the value of gold and silver? You are all a set of idiots or a set of thieving liars, one of the two. Your actions are not on a "parity" with your words. Any clod-hopper, however dull he might be, would know that you, and your banker friends who deal -only in money and credits, would not be fool ing around congress so much, if congress could not affect the value of money. That argument, Mr. Secretary Herbert, is altogether too silly to fool anybody. You will have to in vent something better than that oryou area done-up gold bug. WHERE 18 THE AUTHORITY From the very beginning the populists have asserted that Cleveland's various issues of bonds had no authority in law. But he has continued to issue, until he has increased the public debt $262,009, 000. The only show of authority at all is found in the resumption act of 1875. The clause on which he bases his author ity is as follows: And on and after the lt day of January, A. D. 1879, the Secretary of tbe Treasury shall redeem In coin, the United States legnl-tender notes then outstanding on their presentation for r demo tion at the office of tbe assistant treasurer of the United State in the city of New York in (nine of not less than 9 0, and to enable the Sec retary of the Treasu ry to prepare and provide for the redemption In this act authorized or re quired he te authorized to use any earplug reve nues from time to time in tbe treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to issne, sell, and dispose of at not less than par in coin either of tbe descriptions of bonds of the United States de scribed In the act of Congress approved July 14, IN70. entitled "An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt," with like qualities, privi leges, and eiemptlons, to the exteut necessary to carry this act Into full effect. That is the whole of it. "To enable the Secretary to prepare and provide for redemption" he was authorized to issue bonds. After the Secretary had so pre pared and provided his authority ceased. But where is the authority to bond and our children to buy gold? In 1868, three years after this act on which Cleveland bases his authority to buy gold, John Sherman raised a clamor about gold. Senator Stanley Matthews, one of the brightest lawyers who ever sat in the Senate or who ever adorned the bench, drew a resolution which was passed by more than a two-thirds vole in each House of Cougress after mature debate. It is as follows: Whereas by the act entitled "An act to strengthen the public credit," approved March 18, 1M'., it wns provided find declared that the faith of the Uuited States was thereby solemnly pledged to the payment, in coin or its equivalent, of all the Ititerest-beuaring obligations of the Uuited StateB, except, in cases where the law au thorizing the issue of such obligations had ex prexely provided thnt the same might be paid In lawful money or other currency than gold and silver; and Whereas all the bonds of the United States authorized to be Issued by tbe act entitled "An act to authorize the refunding of the national debt." approved July 14, 1MM), by the tqrms of said art were declared to be redeemable In coin of the then present standard value, bearing Inter est payable semi-annually in such coin; and Whereas all bonds of the United Statesnuthor Ized to be issued under the net entitled "An act to provide for the reeumptlon ot specie payments," approved July 14, 1875, are required to be of the description, of bunds ot the Uuited State de scribeil in the said act of eonnress approved July 14, 1S70, entitled "An act to authorize refunding of the national debt; and Whereas, at the date of the passage of said act of Congress last aloresaid, to-wit, the 14th day of July, 1H70, the coin ot the United States ot tamlard value of that date included silver dol lars ot the weight of 4I2W grins each, declared by the act approved January 18, 1WI7, entitled "An act supplementary to the act entitled 'An act es tablishing a mint and regulating the coins ot the United States,'" to be a Iciral tender ot pay ment according to their nominal value for any urns whatever; therefore, Rmnlred by the Senate ithe Home of Repre sentatives concurring therein). That all the bonds Issued by the United States, issued or an authorlzed to be Issued under the said acts of Congress hereinbefore recited, are payable, prin cipal and Interest, at the option of the govern ment of tbe United States, in silver dollars of tho coinage of the United States, containing 4V2M grians each of standard silver; and that to re store to its coinage such silver coins as a legal tender in payment of said bonds, principal ana Interest, is not in violation of the public falthnor In derogation ot the rlirhts of tbe nubile creditor. Congressional Record, volume?, part 1, Forty- Bth congress, second session, page 664. Again we ask where is the authority to buy gold, or on what basis rests the as sumption that the debts of the United States are payable only in gold? - TOO MUCH SUSPICION We don't believe in too much confid- ence. The lact is tnr people nave been pretty nearly confidenced out of their whole inheritance. On ; the other hand, we don't believe in too much sus picion. Now there are some Populists, the very best of men too, who are in clined to be suspicious of our best and truest men. They have a little too much of suspicion. A few pop editors soem to be affected in that way. Thay imagine that the Populist leaders are all the time on the point of selling out to somebody. They think that the Nebraska Silver League is going to capture the Populist organization. Well the Nebraska Silver league is composed ot all political parties, Republicans, Populists, Demo crats and Prohibitionists, and if tliero is any capturing to be done it is our opinion that the pops will not be tho captives. SOME IRATE F0PULI8T8 Populists should remenber that the old party papers are constantly twisting the uews, writing editorials, printing squibs, and making insinuations for tho express purpose of making discord in the Popu list ranks, and not take what they see iu these papers as gospel truth. Some times they will attack a Populist to in jure the party, very often they will praise one for the same reason, well knowing that complimeuts in a plutocratic paper will cause Populists to look with suspi cion upon a man thus complimented. The Independent has received several letters lately from irate Populists who have had their suspicion aroused gainst some of the truest men iu the party by something said in some of the dailies. One of the best Populists in the state took it for granted that an editorial squib in the World-Herald was a truth, when there was not a word of truth in it, and got exceedingly angry at least we should judge so by his letter. . Tbe World-Herald said it was all fixed that Governor Holcomb was to be the Populist nominee for Congress in the Sixth district. Now that was simply im possible. Who fixed it? The writer did not stop to thiuk that the statement was preposterous. He just believed what he saw in the papers. The Populists of the Sixth district will hold primaries, and elect delegates to a congressional con vention. No one knows, or can know who these delegates will be. When the convention meets they will name the can didate. How rediculous to say that that convention, its delegates and its nominee is already fixed? The moral to this little story is: Don't believe these assaults that you see in the dailies unless you have some slight evidence they are true. THEY SLANDER NEBRASKA. The Wakefield Republican says: "A number of our solid citizens will change localities for the south or west, growing weary of doing business on tbe credit system, paying high interest and rent, and losing a lot of accounts each aud every year." This state is being outrageously slun dered by a lot of republican papers. Af ter the state, and many of the cities and counties have been robbed of hundreds o thousands of dollars by republican office holders, thus necessarily doubling taxa tion, and after republican courts have uniformly refused to convict any of the thieves, there is necessarily hard times, There may be a few businessmen inclined to change their location, hot because Nebraska is not a fertile state, but be cause they can see no safety for the pro tection of public property or prospect ot a reduction in taxutiou under a state government that planued and executed these public robberies, and under a lot of political courts that always refuse to convict the thieves even if they are f caught iu the act. Decent men do not want to bring up children in a state where state officers are notorious thieves, and taxation is made onerous by public robbery. . Our school system and our University have beeu seriously crippled already by these robbers. Men fear that they will finally be ruined by them, aud their chil dren will be deprived of educational fa cilities. It is things such as these that are hurting Nebraska. Populists say to these men: Stay where you are. We shall make a des perate effort to redeem this state and put. the government In the hands uf honest men. The hard times are every where because the gold standard is every where. Nebraska is the best state in the Union. You can't find a spot within the boundaries of the United States where there is good times now, or ever will be while the gold standard exists. There is no better place than Nebraska. Stay where you are. ' ' PLUTOCRATIC FARM PAPERS The Farm and Fireside is talking the same old twaddle. It says, because it can not longer be denied, that: "Argument is not needed to show that for years tbe farmers of Ohio have been growing poor; proof is on every hand. I think it was Governor Foraker who said in one of his messages to the legislature that since the census of 1880 farm lands in Ohio had fallen nearly titty per cent in value. Ohio farms are cheaper because they aro not wanted. I hey are not wanted because money is not being made out of them," The reason that it gives for this state of things are the same old sophistries. Within the period of these forty years, emigrants have settled upon the bound less prairies of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska and in all distant territories. There the rich soil yields grain year after year without being fertilized; there vast herds of cattle, droves of horses and flocks of sheep graze on nutritious grasses, and are ready for market at less than half the cost which is needed to raise them in the middle states Transcontinental railways have been built to these favored regions, no matter how remote, and thus farmers of the dis tant west, can undersell farmers of the middle states in the .large cities on the Atlantic coast, and in the crowded markets of Europe. Here is a perfect illustration of the old addage that a half truth is more dange rous than a lie. Why does not the editor say that farmers of the west are in a worse condition than those of Ohio? Their flocks of sheep, herds of cattle and fields of grain are raised at a greater loss than those of the Ohio farmer. No, the editor will not say that, because more than tweuty years ago the money laid plans to capture the agricultural papers and their plans worked to perfection. CONGRESSIONAL EULOGIES The following amendment to the rules of the House only received 31 affirmative votes'. "Whenever a member of either Hous8 of Comcress dies during the term for which he was elected it shall be in orden in place of special memorial services, for a member to announce the same and to Bend a resolution to the desk briefly stat ins tbe worth and services of the decease ed; which, if adopted by the House, shall be printed in tbe Hecora. In regard to that resolution Mr. Boat nersuid: , "It has come to be the custom to set aside a part of an eveninir for these ser vices by special order, and when the time is reached for the special order, all except iiiosewtio expect to deliver memorial addresses take their hats and cro awav. It is a useless charge uj)on the public; it is a useless consumption of public time, and it is a mockery except in cases where tne aistiuctiou oi the member who died is such as to command audiences on those occasions." The printing of these eulogies for one Congress sometimes costs $100,000. They are bound in morocco and are full of costly portraits and pictures of scenes in the man's lile. LITERARY HIRELINGS If the writers on- the gold standard press would show tbe least fairness or honesty in their discussions one might have some patience with them, But they employ both dishonest and unfair methods, and write, not to arrive at the truth, but to deceive their readers. They will denounce with great vehem ence a depreciated currency, but the converse of that, they avoid and instead of saying an appreciated currency, they say a sound currency or the best cur rency. They will denounce "a fifty cent dollar" as they call it, but never men tion "a hundred and fifty cent dollar." They try to instill iuto the minds of their readers that a currency can depre ciate, but that it cannot appreciate, all of which is dishonest and unfair. They are literary hirelings, who write sophis tries for pay. They sell .their talents. They write what they know are false hoods for money. They sink to the lowest point that an educated mind can sink to a point lower than that of the common burgular and highway man. Such people have always been held in detestation by all honorable men and always will be. ONE HUNDRED MILLION LES3 The total value of our ten principal agricultural exports, cotton, wheat, wheat flour, corn, bacon and hams, lard, pork, beef, tobacco and cheese, is given in the government reports at $510,012, 686 for 1894, and $452,719,941 for 1895, a decrease in the value of these ex ports of $57,292,745, or 11.2 per cent; but this decrease was not due to dimin ished exports but solely to the fall in prices. ; Because of the fall in prices we have received from Europe $99,766,404 less than we woould if prices had remained at even the low level of last year. The consequence is the farmers have nearly $100,000,000 less money to buy goods with than they had last year. Results: Broken banks and "busted" merchants. The farmers shipped a great deal more of these articles this year than last but got $100,000,000 less for them. WHY THEY BEAT BLAINE Why could James G. Blaine never be elected president? "Because on February 7th 1888, he said on the floor of con gress : ' '"On the much-vexed and lonir-mooted question as to a bimetallic or monome tallic srauaara, my own views are suf ficiently indicated in the remarks I have made. I believe the struggle now going on in this country and in other coun tries for a single gold standard would, it uiinnuuafnl .,....,1.,.., A ,1 : ver in and throughout the commercial world." The money power never forgave Blaine for making the speech of which theabove " Is a part. No man can be elected presi dent by either of the old parties who would sign a free coinage bill. The situation in Cuba seems to be about this. The Spaniards are in pos session only of the seaport towns, and even in them the native sentiment, white and black, is on the side of the insur gents. The Spanish troops suffer even more from disease than from the guns of the enemy, and they dare not leave the safety of seaports to find more whole some quarters in the interior. The strength of the insurrection is limited by the want of arms aud of ammunition, yet both are landed continually for their use, in spite of the watch kept along the coast. The interior is as good as im penetrable to those who are not used to cutting their way through a tropical forest, a matter in which the imported troops have no experience. The seventy thousand voters in the Populist party in this statedid not leave the old parties and their bosses to go in to subjection to a new lot of bosses in the Populist party. All this talk about things "being fixed," this far ahead of the convention and the election is the most consummate nonsense. If any man or set of men even undertake to "fix things," they will be knocked so stiff, cold and rigid that it will take an eter nity to thaw them out. No doubt things will be often "fixed" in the plutocratic mind of the editors of the dailies. Don't let that annoy any oue. When the next election is over they will find that they are in a pretty bad "fix," themselves. The Chinese tael, and the Japanese silver yen go just as far as ever, will buy as much labor, pay for the production of as much cotton, or yarn, or cotton cloth, as ever. With the tael, worth 68 cents in gold, or the yen, worth 50 cents the Chinese or Japanese manufacturer can produce as much as when tho tael was worth $1.86 in gold, and theyn $1, and even more, because of the use of improved machinery, but with the gold received iu gold using countries for what he sells to such countries, he can buy ex change for twice as many taels or twice as many yens as he could when silver had not commenced to depreciate as measured by gold. Thus he is enabled to sell at half price in gold. Several distinguished economists from this country attended the recent conference of bimetallists held in Paris of which our gold bug dailies told us nothing. They report that they were equally impressed with the numbers and zeal of the friends of silverin Europe, and the difficulties they have to overcome. Even in France, where the traditional policy of the nation commits it to thfr broader monetary pol'cy, the moneys lending interest has obtained control of the newspapers, and presents a strongly organized resistance to any return to the world's historic basis for coinage. Yet the governing Class and the directors of the Bank of France are for silver. The citizens of Omaha have at .last forced the board of transportation to order the railroads to build a union de pot. It is the first time the namby pamby business men of that city ever showed any spunk. Their boards of trade and commercial clubs have always laid down like whipped spaniels, when ever a railroad president frowned. How ever, they don't dare to antagonize the B. & M. yet, and continue to let it run trains so as to build up the State Jour nal and shut out the Omaha dailies. Cleveland says he don't want any more revenue, but he wants $100,000, 000 of gold to lock up in the vault to sustain the "honor" of the government. That is the first time that it has been announced that honor was based on, gold. That is Cleveland's idea of honor. It is the ownership of gold. To lay down your life for the right is no basis of honor. You must have gold. The curse of God and humanity should rest for ever on the author of such sentiments. A Populist paper has been started at Hardy, Arkansas, called the Arkansaw Kicker, W. S. Morgan editor. The first page is devoted to abusing Nebraska on account of the State Journals assaults on Arkansas. It does not know the character of the Journal and that it is so accustomed to lying that no one pays any attention to what it says. It is hardly Populistic to abuse a whole state in revenge for what one plutocratic newspaper says. Mr. Lacey announced in thelfouse the- other day that he had received a letter from a constituent asking him to send an agricultural report, and also some memorial addresses, because, he said, there was nothing he read with so much pleasure as the obituaries of Congress men. It may be remembered that the whole country is in the same state of mnd. Nebraska's disgraced and retired U. S. Senator aud railroad lobbyist Paddock is uttering dire threats against the Sen ate because it does not pass tbe bond bill. All last winter he used his privi lege to the floors of Congress to go there as a paid railroad lobbyist to try to bulldose members as they sat in their seats. Tho Press gallery unanimously declared that it was the most disgrace ful thing they ever saw. They had a refferendum on the ques tion of woman suffrage in Massachusetts the other day. The total vote for suff rage was 100,204; against it 187,840. The ladies will have to persuade 30,310 more votes to comeoverto their side be fore they can vote. Men and women were both allowed to vote on tbe question, but only a few women went to the polls. Of those who did 6,540 voted for, and 278 against the proposition. Perhaps the most crazy idea that ever entered the head of man, is that it would be a good thing to have the money of the United States circulate iu Europe. If our money could be so made that Euro peans would prefer it to their own and it , should go over there in large quantities what would become of us when we had no money, or but little left. Of all wild eyed lunatics who ever lived these gold bug editors are the craziest. The military board of the National Guards, consisting of Adjutant General P. H. Barry, Brigadier General Colby, Judge Advocate General W. L. Stark. Col. C. J. Bills, 2d Inf., and Col. John P. Bratt, 1st Inf., met at the Adjutant General's office for the purpose of drafting new regulations for the government of the Nebraska National Guard, after a4 short consultation they adjourned to meet Thursday, Jan. 23d. , The citizen, when he looks at Jhe state ments of tbe old party leaders on tho money question, is as badly non-plussed as was the Frenchman when he saw a Kentuckian concoct a driuk. He said: "Vat you mean? Veil, you put in zo whisky to make it strong, ze water to make it weak, ze lemon to make it sour and zo sugar to make it sweet. I do not like ze contradiction of ze tings." The gold standard destroys the home market for our manufactures. We must lurtat? luc jetliners iii umi emuN neiora rnptr .. I. .. . I. .. r , . r can buy liberally manufactured goods!, aud they cannot become prosperous1 while forced to sell their produce iu com petition with silver using peoples and handicapped by the appreciating gold standard.