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About The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902 | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1896)
mbMilu The Wealth Makers and Lincoln Independent Consolidated. VOL. VII. LINCOLN, NEBR., THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1896. NO. 40. f J f r HEAD BOODLER. He Visits the Omaha Corporations And Goes for More Boodle. THE FABMEBS TO BE BOBBED Churchill Joins the Eastern Extor tionists to Down Nebraska. Twelve Thousand Farmers Hot on His ' Trail. Churchill and his gang of thieves hav ing been prevented by Got. Holcomb -and Warden Leidigh from farther rob bery of the penitentiary looked for other opportunities to fill their pockets. They concluded thatithey would go in with the ricli insurance companies of the east and down the farmers mutual insurance or ganizatiou. They see a big haul in that game. But that sort of thing is a little too rank for the average republican edi tor to endure, especially in the beginning of a presidential campaign, consequently the Evening News has some remarks to make on that subject, and makes them as follows: When attorney General Churchill re turns from his pilgrimage to Washington lie is very liable to bear something drop in the immediate vicinity of his flam boyant boom for re-election. It is re corded that the attorney general, just prior to leaving for Washington, ren dered an oral opinion on the points in volved in the controversy between the old line companies and Farmers' Mutual Insurance company, and that opinion was to the effect that the Mutuala could do business in Nebraska and were doing so strictly within the law. Hut, lo, upon arriving in Omaha, the general's mind underwent a sudden change. In fact, it was a case of lightning like transmagri flcation that occurred within the portals of the attorney generals dome of thought 'Jolouel Churchill is generally regarded 4.8 a weak sister in the sacred temple of politics, and it is figured out down here by thoafwbo love him not, that when the einljaries of the old line companies, Harry Broine and others, came at him with the proposition that if he expected to get the Douglas county delegation for reuomination he had better decide against the k armers Mutual, he promptly got in line and reversed bis former decision Colonel Churchill knew that Mayor itroatch desires to be governor and wants the Douglas county delegation to be all his own, and knowing this, his gelatin vertebrae -at once assumed the rigidity of molasses, and he gave expres sion to the decision against the farm era' Mutual. In placating the old line sharks, how ever, Attorney General Churchill aroused the animosities of the twelve thousand and some odd farmers who hold policies in the farmers Mutual and other mutu als and they are now mounting his frame and tearing down bis political fences with that cheerful abandon that marks the acts of the Nebraska farmer when florae venal corporation treads on his poms. If the attorney general, when he returns, will put his ear to the ground, he may hear the rumble and grumble and roar of the approaching storm. 'j Auditor Eugene Moore has granted a certificate to the Nebraska Farmers' Mutual Insurance company, giving it permission to continue business until the supreme court passes upon the questions raised in the recent suit brought by a representative of the old linecompanies to prevent the r armers Mutual from issu- ing policies in this state. Consequently, Attorney General Churchill's recent de cision agaiust the Farmers' Mutual will not preclude the company from doing business at the old stand until the su preme court passes upon the points in volved in the controversy. President Woods stated today that the suit was instituted at the instigation of the old line companies, who are envious of the Farmers' Mutual, because the latter is doing a greater amount of business in Nebraska. lie believes that the supreme court will decide that the company has kept strictly within the requirements of the Nebraska insurance law and can con tinue to do business "as heretofore. MONEY IN CIRCULATION. What the Great Republican Senator ' Plumb said About It. Let us see therefore, how much money ip available for actual use among the people. From the total of $1,560,000, 000 arrived at as above, must be first deducted an average of $260,000,000 which the treasury always keeps on hand, and about which something has hereto fore been said in the debate on this bill. That leaves as the maximum which by any possibility can be used $1,300,000, 000, There ought, in fairness to be deducted from this $150,000,000, error in esti mate of gold in the country, which would reduce the money outside the treasury to $1, 150,000,000. From this is to be evJbtracted the $700,000,000 kept as a reserve (in the banks,) as before compu ted. Leaving a balance of but $550, 1 000,000 which is available for delivery ' or other use in the transactions of the business of all the people, or a trifle over $8 per capita. But the force of my ar gument is not materially weakened by conceding the gold coin to be as estima ted by the treasury department, which would leave in actual circulation $700, 000,000. In order to make Up this amount all doubt must be esdjved ir favor of the treasury and again people, both the doubt as to the lost and destroyed notes and that as to the gold supply. If I were deciding this case up on what I consider the best evidence, would be bound to say that I believed the money in actual circulation did not much, if at all, exceed $500,000,000. As quoted in apendix to Congressional Re cord, page 3U4 voiumn 20 part a. spec ial session 189o. WHAT IS THE MATTES? Something Wrong Somewhere What is it? Editor Nebraska Independent: Midst the growls and kicks of the people at the present time, it is amusing to hear the re marks made by first one and then an other. "Hard times" says one? "Yep, can't be any better times until McKinlev iselected president." Another says, "not until Cleveland brings on a war with England over Cuba and Venzuela." An other says: "Hard times is an epidemic disease similar to smallpox. It comes and it goes and no man knoweth whither it cometh or whither it goeth. Yet it leaves a scar." Another hayseed says, "it is a failure of crops. When you have nothing to sell you have no money. An other hayseed says, "it don't seem to make any difference how much you have to sell you get no money for all you may have, and to sell, it wears yourself out to get it to market." Eve says, "its. Adam drinking too much beer." A politician savs."its a cold basis." Another says "its the dishonest dollar." Another says, "lack of confidence." Another "its too much confldnece in the banks. So much so that uanada ana boutn America is being glutted with bankers and United States gold." A banker sa.vs. "the basisis not broad enough, give us more bonds." The bor rower says, "its too muoh usury," The real estate man says, "its because of the calamity 4howlers. Stand up for Ne braska." The homesteader says, "its the cut throat mortgage, down with the land sharks." Others say,"for God's sake whatever it is give us a change. W. F. Wright. . An Open Note to Luther P. Ludden. Veedon, Neb., March 2, 1896. Editor Nebraska Independent: Will you please let me have room enough in your paper fo enquire of Luther P. Lud den what he means by saying In the Semi- Weekly State Journal of February 28, that the number of farms mortgaged (as shown by the census of 1890) in Ohio was 53,830 and the amount was $70,- 744.771 and that Nebraska baa43,wai farms that carry an encumbrance and are encumbeied for $47,678,182. ' Neither statement is correct. The number of mortgages on Ohio farms was 119.730 and the amount $134,107,706, while the number on farms in Nebraska was 107,175 and the amount was $90, 506,958. Perhaps you can explain what you mean and make it plain even to a populist. 1 am a buckeye by birtn, due a tree planter by acclimation and am ready to stand up for Nebraska at all times and under all circumstances if I do not have to do violence to the map of veracity. I have before me an abstract of the eleventh census and I see so far as lots are concerned you are very nearly correct in regard to Nebraska. But there are four things you left out and I will men tion only one; that is the per cent of in crease for the decade' 1880 to 1890. In Ohio it was 43.48 percent. In Nebraska it was 381.01 per cent If this meets your eye and you will kindly explain through The Independent or Journal or both, you will oblige, Yours for more light. Geo. Watkins. Our Hebrew Brother. The Jews of America, backed as a race by their foreign money power, as well as by their genius, are rapidly under the gold-standard, absorbing trade and, in a growing degree, dominating or intimi dating the metropolitan press. The Jew in Europe is said to command the bourse, the press, and the telegraph. With these three factors, plus the major part of the gold, as a basis of western credit and mortgage, they more and more rule the carnal universe. This country ,since silver demonetization, whereby the Jew and his 'Christian" allies can corner one metal, is the biggest and fattest goose left for Hebrew plucking, and it must make the Jew laugh to see how the President, po litical parties, newspapers and large communities, punctuated by chambers of commerce and boards of trade, are de livering thespoilof the Gentile to the chil dren Israel and making fierce war on all men who would save their fellow-citizens and their government from the yoke. James H. Randall in the Catholic Mirror, Baltimore, A Two Edged Sword. The Nebraska Independent, editorially speaking, is a great improvement over anything the Populists have yet had to represent them at the state capital. Mr. Tibbies' editorial paragraphs are bril- iant and pointed, and some of them cut ike a two-edged sword. The Indepen dent tills a broad field, strikes hard, and with proper management and sup port there is no reason why it should not soon become the leading populist paper of the west. Weekly Tribune. Lincoln'! Idea. I hold that if the 'Almighty had ever made a set of men that should do all the eating and none of the work, He would have made them with mouths only, and no bends; and if He had ever made an other class that He had intended should do all the work and none of the eating, lie wouia have made tl.era without mouths And with all hands. Abraham vincqUS FAKE INTERVIEWS. POPULIST EDITOBS INSIST ON BELIEVING. THEM AND IT MAKES TROUBLE. Chairman Taubeneck a Badical of I the Radicals. The proposed consolidation of the reform forces at St Louis in July baa been caus ing some uneasiness among the reform editors. Some felt that leaders in the movement were negotiating with the sil ver men with the view of throwing all the Omaha platform overboard except the financial plank. Others still more alarmed, feared everything was to go overboard except the silver plank. On the other hand there were those who be lieved the stalwarts in the party were in clined to be altogether too stalwart Tor the good of the movement. The matter was very generally and most thoroughly discussed at the Dallas meeting and on the Galveston excursion of the populist editors, and when a full un derstanding was reached it was found there was very little difference of opinion between the so-called extremes. Fake interviews were in reality at the bottom of. this misunderstanding and uneasiness Chairman Taubeneck attended the meeting, and went with the editors on a little excursion to the salt water. They bad a round up in a hotel one evening and a talk over matters in general Upon this occasion Chairman Taube neck of the national committe was pres ent, and he joined m with: "there is cause for this contention going fur- tber, as it has been well talked over on this trip and should now be thoroughly understood. All admit we need a union of forces to win this fight, and the thing for us to do from this timeout is to train our guns on the enemy, not on each other. The first thing to do is to select delegates lor the bt. louis con- vnntion of well established integrUjs, thoroughly honest, conservative and well balanced men What is your idea as to the plat form? " was asked. It is not just the proper thing, think." he replied "for a member of the committee to influence the coming con vention or to attempt to shape the plat form, and what I say now is merely my private opinion as between us here, I. think we should adopt the essential fea tures of the Omaha platform. Some have thought, I believe, differently. I on may have thought so. But if I had my own say in the the matter l wouia nrst iook out for the financial question, then the discontinuance of those bond issues, then the income tax, then for direct legisla tion and some other planks I do not now recall. 'This plank for direct legislation is an exceedingly important feature of reform work, ' he continued. "It is the ouly plan I know of whereby the government may be brought near the people. My own definition would be that 20 per cent of the legal voters of the nation on na tional matters, and the same per cent in the legal suoai visions oi tne govern ment on local matters, by petition should have their measure submitted to a vote of all the people. This plan would in my opinion, abolish the third house the pestiferous lobby, and it would destroy government by political parties." "Do you obiect to my reporting your words?" asked the writer. No, I think of no objections now," re plied Mr. Taubeneck, "if you state that these are merely my personal opinions. The convention, not the committee should attend to the platform making. Further," he added, "as to the St. Louis convention at our committee meeting January 17, we were confronted with this condition, a prospect of two conventions at different places and at different times for practically the same purpose. To avoid this scattering of strength, we sent a sub-committee to Washington to nvite the silver people to hold their con vention at the same time and place that we held ours. In this the committee had gone to its outside limit and cannot go further. I think we did our duty when we gave the twoconventiops an opportu nity to meet each other face to face. "So far as the two conventions getting together is concerned, that is a question for the delegates who are selected by the people. The committee has nothing to do with that, whatever. We discharged our duty when we gave the two conven tions the opportunity to meet each other the same city and on the same date. The balance must be done by the dele gates representing the two parties. The committe is not representing the two parties. The committee is not responsi ble for what either of the conventions may do. "The committee, furthermore, has no plans for the two conventions to pursue in effecting a consolidation. That has ever been discussed in the remotest de gree by the national committee or any member of the committee so far as I now. The question of coming together devolves entirely upon the two conven tions and not upon our committee." News, Joliet, III. Unsubsidized Editor. The corruption of the commercial press has not entirely deprived the people of the blessings which a tree press bestows. The annual meeting of the Natioual Re form Press Association held Id Dallas, Texas, on February 22, brings to light the glorious news that there are in the United States editors who have not been subsidized; they have not the backing of the combined wealth of two continents, they have not the patronage of the hunk wnrt Hai wwjtlent boards o trade they are excluded from all partic ipation in the patronage of the govern mentjthey are ostracised by the cuckoo and magpie politicians; in short, the en tire power of the Rothschild organiza tion is arrayed against them. But they have more than all these. They have manhood, they have courage, they have patriotism. They love the American people and are devoted to theircouutry and when such men speak the power ol the truths they utter sends terror to the ranks of monopoly no matter how thor oughly entrenched. The unsubsidized independent press association is the salt of American journalism, and from it will spring in tne near luture a press more powerful and influential than all the mouey of two continents can buy. Sen acor tstewart in silver Knight. , OWNED IN ENGLAND. Eight Thousand Millions of Ameri can Property Pays Interest to Foreigners. All the Armies of the World Could Not Harm Us ao Much. Sixty per cent of the stocks and bonds of. the vast Pennsylvania railroad system is said to be owned in Europe. Nearly all the Illinois Central railroad, extending from Chicago to New Orleans, with great city properties and branches and laterals, is owned in Holland. j Great ownership in the immense prop erties of the New York Central Railroad Co., and all its vast railroad connec tions, is held in Europe. A controlling interest in the Great Northern railroad, running from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean, is owned in England. A controlling interest in the Northern Pacific railroad, lying south of, and as extensive as the last named railroad, is owned in Germany. Large, if not controlling, interests in every other important railroad in the United. States, are owned by European investors. The immense Carnegie iron works at Homestead, Pa'are owned principally in Scotland. The controlling interest in the famous Pillsbury flouring mills at Minneapolis, the largest in the world, is owned in England. The great iron mills of the Lake Su perior region,, said to produce 10,000, 000 tons of iron ore a year, are largely neia Dy nngiisa investors. A controlling interest in the Grant smelters in Denver and Omaha, the larg est in the world, is owned by English men. Foreigners own immense interests in the breweries of the country, largely if not controllingly. 1 he largest bankers of New York are foreigners, or representatives of foreign banking houses. These are the great gold shippers. A large percentage of our fire and ma rine insurance is in foreign insurance companies. i lve-sixths of all our freightage of our foreign commerce is carried in foreign vessels. Foreigners own millions of acres of our farming lands. They own many millions of dollars in value of our city properties. 1 heir mortgage loans overspread the face.of the country. foreign capitalists own hundreds o millions of United States bonds, and state bonds; and they own untold mill ions of city bonds, and other municipal obligations in the United States, and vast amounts of other properties not here specially stated. So great has become the aggregate of all these ownerships in United States properties, by foreigners living in foreign countries, that the aggregate cannot be less than S 7.000.000.000 or S8.000.- 000,000. with an average of earnings of not less than five per cent per annum. Uesides, there are great numbers of wealthy people who are annual tourists to foreign countries; tourists who live expensively, and invest large sums of American money in European luxuries and costly productions. The sums so expended have been estimated at $100.- 000,000 yearly. This is probably ex cessive, but the amounts are known to be very great. 1 be aggregate of all these European dues on investments in this country, and expenditures by our tourist classes, may with tairness and moderation be placed at 1100,000,000 each year. This is Europe's annual money demand upon the United State, to be responded to. in gold, or gold values, in new railroads or other investments, or trade balances. All the nations of the earth in armed conflict against us could not financially and industriously harm us as much as, by unwise legislation, we have harmed ourselves. Let, then, Americans protect American rights, and all equitable Amer ican interests, against the world. Thus will freedom preserve her glorious inher- tance and the highest results of civiliza tion will be continued to future genera tions in America. Anson Walcott in National Bimetallism Keep Cool. Keep your heads cool. Be true to principle; but determined that all men who hate plutocracy shall vote together at the ballot box; and that the monstrous despoilers and bloodsuckers of humanity shall be dragged away from their bleed ing prey. What is the use of pickinir flaws in each other while the common enemy is picking your pockets? United we win divided we fall. The Representative. TIE BESOTTED TYRANT Who Evolves his Socalled Policy in the Dizzy Maze of a Duck Shoot, OR IN A BANKERS YACHT, As he Goes Floating to Buzzards Bay. what the Massachusetts People's Party Have to Say. The action of the Massachusetts state convention of the peoples party Satur day merits a few words relative to the "irrepressible" conflict and impeudiug crisis. The Cincinnati conference of 1891 was the greatest political uprising of the com mon people in this country. All Bhades of reform were there. It adopted what was substantially the Ocala platform; and as every reformer knows what that is, it is not necessary to outline it. A national committee, representing this Cincinnati conference, was instructed to attend the national labor conference, which had previously been called to meet at St. Louis, February 22, 1892, and if the St. Louis conference did not call a national nominating convention the Cin cinnati committee was to do so. At St Louis the farmers' alliance, which, by its representation according to its roll of membership, was a practical majority in that conference, demanded the sub- treasury and the $50 per capita and government CONTROL of railroads, which was the Uincinnati-Ocala plank. The Knights of Labor and others de- demanded government OWNERSHIP and a more radical land plank, but did not favor the sub-treasury. The compro miseand the history of all great move- meats is a temporary compromise Until theend desired can be obtained was that each accepted the extremes of the other, and that made the St. Louis platform which Was adopted at Omaha with out change, because it was the po litical demand of the farmers' alliance and others in the conference. This is the history of theOmaha platform, and has a bearing at this time because the farmers' alliance, which was and is a controlling factor in the people's party organization in a number of strong states, has, at its February (1HUO) national session dropped the sub-treasury plank, the f i0 per capita, and placed itself upon the Ci-rnnati-Ocala planks of government C TROL of railroads and against alien ownership of land. It is significant, be cause the great force that made the plat form for Omaha, as representing its po litical demands, now changes and re writes them. Will the people's party continue to voice the political demands of this great organization? We have come to the point where, instead of look ing backward to the Omaha platform, we must look forward to St. Louis in July. It is a waste of space to discuss what Mr. Taubeneck is saying or is ac cused of saying, or to Bet up the man of straw that the silver men are to swallow the people's party, or to be swallowed by it, or to be at cross-purposes over that indefinite syllable "isms" which nobody has defined. The real issue of the hour presents itself in this recent action of this great national body of the farmers' alliance, and can be concentrated in this question "Will the people's party accept what is substantially the Ocaia-Cincin-nati platform as a common ground of union of all forces for 1896? No princi ple is sacrificed. Death to monopoly is our war cry, and government ownership can be attained more speedily with gov ernment control in the platform, because it ensures the victory to the friends of that measure. The "man of the hour," with his pitch fork at Washington, has both feet on the Ocala platform, and he represents many in the old parties, and ic made the very substantial ground from which he pitch forked the Wall street tools that control both the old parties, and the democratic renegades, the "Judas from; Kentucky," and the "besotted tyrant" who evolves his so-called American policy in the dizzy maze of a duck shoot or in a banker's yacht floating in a champagne breeze to Buzzards Bay. 1 he writer has attended every conference and convention, and all the meetings of the national committee down to and including the recent Wash ington conference. Although but an edi tor of the reform paper in the dismal swamp of Massachusetts, we appeal to brother editors in the common cause to so shape the discussions as to take them out of personalities regarding men or movements. No one at St. Louis in July would be heard in a request for a platform with but a single plank. There will be planks on finance' transportation, land, Munroe doctrine, American national poli cy, the supreme court, graduated income tax, etc., but the real contest will come on sti answer to this "Will you take the shibboleth of the people's party 'govern ment Ownership, which some coming op t of the old parties cannot pronounce, er ill- you modify it to "government COKToL," which the whole army can proclaim in one glad voice, and tbusunited march to Victory? This is the question why Ugnoteit? The cause of humanity is invoiced i,it the decision. Which side are you o i? Brockton, (Mass.) Diamond. i i ' J Brightest and best TmNR'0 iaska Indkdependent is one of the brightest weekly papers published in the Uriite.l States and is deserving of a large circulation. THAT GREAT WAVE. Failues Continue to looms in the United States and Canada. Gold Bonds Afford No Belief. The report covering the failure for one week will be found below: B. 0. Dun & Co., in their weekly review of trade say: Failures for the week have been 285 in the United States against 234 last year, and 68 in Canada against 58 last year. This showing makes an increase of 51 more failures for last week than for the same week last year in this country and 10 more in Canada. When, ob, when, will that boom in business commence that Senator Thurston predicted would go rolling over this country as a result of the 1100,000,000 bond sale. This prediction is the worst one of the four bad breaks he has made since he took his seat in the senate. A man living west of the Mississippi river would not make any such a prediction who had any re gard for the truth. I presume Mr. Thurston thinks that his bill to pension the ex-slaves would boom the business of the country. It will take something more than $100, 000,000 bond sales or a bill to pension all the ex-slaves to bring back prosperity to our country. There will have to be a large increase in the money volume be fore there can be any prosperity west of the Mississippi river. The State Journal would have criticized and ridiculed Sena tor Allen for days if he had introduced a bill to pension all thecolored people that hand been slaves. The Journal will never mention Thurston in connection with that pension bill. The Boodllng State Journal. The Independent has been calling the State Jonrnal company boodlers and the paper a boodling sheet. We do not like to apply such terms to individuals or corporations without proving beyond a doubt that such person or corporation has been connected with sohemers to put dishonest men in office, or to defraud the public by conspiring to rob them of their public money. We do not have to go far to prove that the State Journal com pany is guilty and for years has been charging exorbitant bills to the city, county and state for supplies and using all their influence to elect men to office that would help on their steals. One of the most bare-faced conspiracies that was ever attempted on the state treasury was attempted in 1893, by the State Journal company. The object of the conspiracy was to rob the state of about $16,000. Iu order to show that we have evidence enough to back up our state ment, we. print below the comparative charges for 1891 when the state printing was done at a reasonable price, and the prices that the State Journal bid in 1893 and was accepted by the board. The comparisons are as follows: 1881 isos l,f00 assessment books... ....... ... IKK) 14.8(H) 225 tax books 258 2,880 400,000 schedule ot assessments 424 1,000 80,000 treasurer's tax receipts 88 614 2ft0 school laud receipt books 50 600 300 teachers' second grade certlS- cates, SO 1,600 150 teachers' third (trade certificates, IS 760 10,000 copies school laws 376 937 6,000 courses ol study 2 228 8,000 Institute manuals 603 1,308 1,000 educational directories 37 126 600 Institute directories 16 68 Blanks lor superintendent 1,308 5,708 Blanks (or land commissioner....... 170 720 94,328 $21,117 The board that accepted this bill was composed of the following state officers: secretary of state, auditor and treasurer. After the contract had been practically awarded to the State Journal company, the typographical union of Lincoln, No. 209 got onto the facts in the case and the matter was so thoroughly exposed that the board was forced to advertise for new bids. Every line in the bid showed conclusively that there was collusion be tween the State Journal company and the board. Cut this list out and show it to your neighbors. The people have been, and are yet being robbed by the republican gang of politicians. During the last twenty years the state house ring and penitentiary boodlers have robbed the people of this state of more than f 1,000,- 000 in connection with the penitentiary alone. Does the State Journal ever ex pose any of the steals that are being per petrated by any of the republican gang? Allen Can be Elected. The assertion at the head of this ar ticle doubtless strikes as a startling an nouncement, yet after careful thought we believe it is as true as gospel. Sena tor Allen today stands as the leading man in American politics. His tenacity, his clear, bright, able mind and his hon esty of purpose has commanded for him, his party and his state the respect and admiration of the world. The populist party of the United States, comprising nearly two million votes will support him to a man. The so called free silver party money reform democrats and republi cans will be found in line for him, the old soldier boys, of whom be is one and for whom he has made such a gallant fight, will give him their work and their votes, and the laboring element that portion of it that canaot be purchased with whiskey and boodle will vote for him, Allen is the Lincoln of this new emancipation crusade. He has the abil ity and integrity to lift the people from the mire and deliver them from the hands of our British oppressors. The New Era Delinquent subscribers must pay up, s least in part. i i 1