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The Wealth Malters and Lincoln Independent Consolidated.
VOL,. VIII.
LINCOLN, NEBR., THURSDAY Oct. 8, 1896.
NO. .18.
mm n mn rn n ran
C0RRUPTI0N1ST PIPER
He Creates a Big Bow Among the
Republican Editors of the
State..
EACH PAPER TO BK TAXED $100.
To Assist in Ee-electing that Official
as Secretary of
State.
A Pretty How Do You Do.
. A well kuowQ citizen of Norfolk, Neb.,
a man thoroughly reliable and who is
generally given the credit for knowing
what he is talking about sends us the
following communication. He assures
us that every statement contained there
in can be verified.
The populist and democratic papers
of Nebraska have frequently alluded to
the $80,000 which will be paid to the re
publicans newspapers as a republican
campaign fund, and now the startling
revelation has leaked out that this f 30,
000, or a part of it, is actually and truly
a genuine republican campaign fund
being used to boost our present secre
tary "of state, J. A. Piper, into a second
term of office. This is a glaring accusa
tion to make against a state official
who-h'as taken a solemn oath to uphold
the dignity and honor of our great com
monwealth, but what makes the accusa
tion more glaring is the fact that we
have pretty good proof that it is true.
The next day after the meeting of the
Northeastern Nebraska Press associa
tion, held at Wayne, Neb., not long
since, I overheard two editors talking
on the streets of Norfolk. I was just out
01 tneir view at an open : winnow ana
could hear every word they said, which
U - . 1. - i- Unl nM
?U BUUSLUUUO WO.D lUtb IUO IIIOiUIici ui
printing the proposed constitutional
amendments was brought up before the
association at Wayne, and one republi
can came right "ent oppnly and
above board and stated that Mr. Piper
bad made him promise to give $ 100 of
the printing money to his campaign fund
before he would designate his paper as
one in which the amendments should be
published. Others gave them to under
stand that it was the same in their
counties and that it was pretty much
the same all over the state. What do
you think of this, "free born Americans?"
Is such a man as that a proper person
to fill the honored and responsible office
of secretary of state? Since I heard that
conversation I have been told that a
secret organization of many republican
editors in all parts of Nebraska has been
perfected, each member of which has
tnken a solemn oath or obligation to do
all in their power to send Piper up "Salt
creek" on the 3d of November.and if they
are as sincere and earnest as . I have
beard they are, he will be defeated by an
overwhelming majority, as any man
should be who would use such ignoble
means to force himself into office. A
man who would rob thestarviDgprinters
of their . just earnings in order to ride
ttto office would doubtless do more un-
'1
scrupulous things after he is in. We be
lieve it the solemn duty of every law-
1
1
biding citizen of Nebraska to rise up
nd invite Mr. Piner to stay at home,
by their ballots on the 3d day of Novem-
... The Middle of the Koaders.
A remarkable political convention was
held in this city this morning. It was a
state convention of the middle-of-the-road
republican hosts, a conven
tion of those republicans that still adhere
to the principles of that party as advo
cated by Lincoln, Grant, Blaine and the
martyred Garfield. It was a convention
of those republicans who are unwilling
to give up the faith of a life time for the
new faith of Marcus A. Hanna. They
met that they might still preserve that
party which boasts of its grand record
in the past from the disgrace that now
threatens it. '
The middle-of-the-road republican con
vention met this morning at the Lincoln
hotel. Every county in the state was
represented. ; :.''
The first order of business to come up
was the nomination of a governor.
Hon. Robert Armstrong of York
county and C. 0. Lobacke of Douglass
county were placed in nomination. As
a result of the ballot Armstrong re
ceived one hundred and fifty-six and
Labacke fifty-four. Armstrong was de
dared the nominee. The following were
placed in nomination for lieutenent
governor Hon. C. A. Peters Lancaster,
and Hon. W. T. Leonhoft of Douglass
county. The ballot resulted in the
nomination of Peters.
The rules were suspended and T. S.
Perry of Saunders county was nomin
ated by acclamateon for secretary of
state. ,J
Under a similar motion the following
were nominated for the offices indicated:
James R. Harris, Lancaster county,
auditor of public accounts.
Samuel A.' Bryant, Dawes county,
state treasurer. t v
J. L. McNinno, superintendent of pub
lic instruction. v
James D. Pattison, Dawes county,
commissioner of public lands and build
ings. John M. Lynda, Cass county, attorney
general.
The following were nominated for presi
dential electors: W. F. Leonhardt,
Douglas; Michael Morrissy, Cass county,
electors at large, and A. Behnke, R. A.
Williams, J.'E. Lamb, H. Henry, Daw
son county, were named as district dele
gates. .
F. L. Rose was elected chairman of the
state committee and R. A. Williams sec
retary. K
Ringing resolutions were adopted con
demning the new leadership of Marcus
A. Hanna which aspired to control the
destinies of this grand nation, and de
clared emphatically . for the free and un
limited coinage of silver.
Stirring speeches were made by a num
ber of the delegates present in support
of the platform and tickets.
The secretary of state refused to file.
the certificate of nomination of the middle-of-the-road
republicans. The matter
will be carried into the supreme court and
an attempt will be made to compel him
to recognize the new ticket. While the
convention as called by Mr. Rose was
in session a number of McKinleyites met
and held what they thought was a
convention under the call of Mr. Rose
and nominated a regular ticket dupli
cating the nominations of the state re
publican convention two months previ
ous. They rushed up to the secretary
of state's office with their certificate and
had the same filed.
What the Traitors Did.
. Effort has been made to secure fusion
of democrats and populists in Indiana.
But this failed, and the populists have
put up separate electors. The demo
crats were willing to poncede the popu
lists three or four electors; the special
committee "middle-of-the-road" de
manded seven and all JtiskMMwntjflgunt
on the withdrawal of Mr. Sewall by the
national committee. The demands were
made so exhorbitant purposely to be im
possible . of fulfillment, Paul VanDer
voort of Omaha, a co-worker with Sen
ator Thurston, was at Indianapolis
working against fusion.
': Indiana is close and VanDervoort and
that ex-rebel Charles X. Mathews, think
they have Bryan beaten in that state,
but instead of that, they will find that
they will have only wrecked the popu
list party in Indiana.
THE LAST CHANCE
If Plutocracy wins in four years there
will be no free ballot.
Workingmen, this is the last chance
you will have to assert your privieges as
freemen, unless you elect W. J. Bryan
to the presidency. If he is not elected,
you may as well bid a long farewell to
your boasted freedom, for before anoth
er national election you will be deprived
of all the rights of citizenship. Your
elections will be uuder the control of
United States marshals, and no matter
how you vote, the count will be made to
suit those in charge of the machine.
These are no idle words, but they are
truths that it will be unsafe even to
print in a few more years, should the
tory gang get another grip on the
country at the November election. Men,
be worthy of the name and strike one
decisive blow now, for your liberty, be
fore it is everlastingly too late. Vote
for Bryan and prepetnate your indepen
dencefor if you vote'for another candi
date you simply throw away your rights
as men. South Omaha Sun.
Please Bead This.
We have for some time presented in
our columns the announcement of the
Oxford Merchandisecompany of Chicago.
We have it on the autonty of our Chica
go representative that this firm is a
most worthy one, honorable in its busi
ness methods, with a long standing rec
ord for fair dealing. Now that the sea
son is approaching for laying in sup
plies of merchandise, etc., we auk those
of our readers who intend making pur
chases to write to the Oxford Merchan
dise company for their catalogue of
prices, and to be particular to mention
this paper. We make this request as in
all cases where concerns like the Oxford
are liberal advertisers in our paper. It
helps our paper, and we believe our peo
ple should patronize those advertisers
who are friendly to their journals,, and
not those who boycott them and only
advertise in papers that are against us.
Best Work on Finance. ,
Holdrege, Neb.,0ct., 3, 1896
To The Editor: Will you please in
form me in your next paper where I can
obtain a standard work on finance em
bodying the financial legislation of this
country from- 1892 to the present time.
I like your papar first rate.
Au old green backer for 28 years.
E. Y. Coknell,
The best work on finance ever printed
is the speech of J. P. Jones delivered
in 1893. Send 25 cents to Bimetallic
League, Sun Building Washington, D. C.
and get it. Ed.
GENERALS
The Grandest Political Demonstra
tion Thvs far Held in the pity
of Lincoln This Campaign.
GENERALS' ORDERS IGNORED.
Speaker of the Evening, J. Burrows
Hurls an Avalanche of Argu
ment Against Ooldbugs.
Privates Now Give Orders.
The largest crowd that has assembled
in Bohanan's ball for any political meet
ing during the campaign was that of
last Saturday night to hear the privates
answer the generals. Ever since the dis
tinguised military gentlemen visited Lin
coln to tell the Nebraska veterans how
to vote there has been no little indigna
tion on the part of thejatter at the pre
sumption of the former. The meeting of
last Saturday night was arranged to
give the old soldiers of Nebraska an op
portunity to present their side of the
case and protest against the action of
those who commanded in war calling
them repudiationists ; and anarchists
because thej do not now propose to fol
low their leadership. ;
There were over one hundred veterans
present, all members of the Bryan's Vet
eran club. They were loudly cheered as
they entered the hall. Two hundred
university students entered the building
in a body end made the ball ring with
their yells for Bryan and free silver yells
such as only college boys know how to
give. , ' ' r r
Attorney General Leese presided, In.
stating the object of the meeting, be said:
We meet here tonight in behalf of "the
old veterans of the Bryan dub. Last
Tuesday be heard the generals call us
anarachists and repudiationtela. To
night we meet and shall hurl their declar-
We will first listen to a song by a.
chorus of 100 University students. The
boys sang well and it is to be hoped the
people of Lincoln will have an op
portunity to hear them often during the
campaign.
General Lease then introduced Com
rade S&y Burrows who ably answered
the arguments of the generals.
Mr. Burrows expressed his regret that
there was a republican meeting in town
"otherwise we might have had a larger
crowd." The audience was not slow in
catching the irony of the remark..
Mr. Burrows said he did not hear any
arguments from the generals nothing
but assertions. It was a new custom
for these generals to come out here to
instruct us how to vote. . - . "
I have no disrespect for them, we
know by history that they are all brave
men. I reported to one of them personally
after the battle of Bull Run. As soldiers
and citizens I bold them iu the highest
respect aud esteem.
The only thing the speaker heard in
the entire speech of General Alger was
his assertion that the siiver men were
repudiationists. The speaker here read
from a little book published in Washing
ton in which Sherman said that the bond
bolder is a repudiater and dishonest in
refusing to take the same kind of money
as was borrowed. That is John Sher
man on repudiation.
These men are great on patriotism.
They are great on waving the bloody
shirt. Gen. Stewart said cheap money
meant cheap men. If this be true why
was the country so prosperous during
the years of the war when money was so
cheap. People do not know what cheap
money means. When the use that
term they refer to the intrinsic value of
the meterial. That has nothing to do
with the value of money.
General Stewart had referred to the
condition of England to show the pros
perity of a country under the gold stand
ard. Mr. Burrows then read from English
statistics showing the concentration of
wealth in that country, how the proper
ty, the land and everything was going
into the hands of the few and making
paupers of the many.
He also quoted from Robert P. Parker
to the same effect, depicting a life of
slavery of the working classes. This is
the condition of-England, the country
which is alluded to as being so prosper
ous. General Booth, when he started
out in his great and noble work, did it
with the intention of bringing these peo
ple up to the standard of the cab horse.
Tbat was his standard. Would you call
this a condition of prosperity?
In regard to Corporal Tanner's criti
cism of Bryan Mr. Burrows said that
there are a certain class of men in
this country who are enemies to the
the country. They are enemies to man
kind. They are attempting to fasten
gold standard on this country. The ob
ject is to reduce the common people to a
condition of servitude. , I believe this is
their intention. However, I do not
think Mr. Bryan intended using the word
in this sense, he merely meant his politi
cal enemies. 1
They say that Mr. Bryau is losing his
mind. He might lose part ofit. He
might have part of his great brain re
moved but he would still be more than a
match for the champions of Haniiaism.
(This remark was greeted with cheers
lasting several minutes. Men got on
chairs and waved their hats, ladies
waved their handkerchiefs and paude
monium reigned for a few minutes.)
Corporal Tanner said that thus far
we have paid dollar for dollar on our
debt, The speaker quoted from Joh nCla rk
Ridpath showing the dishonest manner
in which the bondholders have manipu
lated the sale of bonds.
He, showed the fallacy of the 50 cent
dollar argument of the generals. He
said the only value of money is value in
exchange. There is no such a thing as
intrinsic value. Intrinsic value adheres
ia the thing. "I do not care what the
dollar is made out of" said the speaker.
"If the government stamps it and gives
it the legal tender power it isa dollar and
is worth 100 cents.
There was nothing in the 50-cent dol
lar argument. Every man knows that
uuder free coinage the silver bullion
would be worth as much as the'eoined
product.
, He said there was one thing tbat
amused him and that was the statement
of General Sickles ' about the pleased
smiles Mr. Bryan always wore. Certainly
no man had a better right to wear a
pleased smile than he.
; He referred to the crises of American
history. The first was in 1776, when the
Mssue was the right of the people to free
tnd independent government. The issue
iu the second crisis was the right of the
black men to their' liberty. The third
crisis iB the present one, in which the
yoke of the white slaves is about to be
thrown off and the leader in this crisis,
-..-,., tie of truth, the central flizara of.
Bryan. Great applause followed this
tribute to Mr. Bryan.
The university glee club was Ithen an
nounced and sang in characteristic
style, "There Is a Man in Our Town and
His Name Is Bryan."
Col. L. C. Pace was the next speaker.
He said "The constitution of the United
States while ; it provides that there
should be no tilted lords in this country
did not provide tbat there should be
money lords. . , f ''
Generals wereused togivingcommand.
After receiving big salaries all their lives,
they come out here to make broad and
general declarations. They say we want
honest money. So do the boys in blue
who were under you. Corporal Tanner
said if there is a man who, after en
during the horrors of Andersonville,
wishes to vote for McKraley, don't say
aught to offend him. To turn the
figure if there is a patriot who, after
years of hardship and, suffering the
horrors of civil war in defense of human
liberty, if be would now forget bis post
and vote for the money power, and
could vote to reduce the American peo
ple to a condition of .serfdom don't say
aught to mar his fellings.
Mr. Bryan may be poor in money but
he is rich in principle, rich in right and
rich is his devotion to the people. : Is not
that the kind of man we want for presi
dent? In speaking of the attempted dictation
of thegcnerals he said: "You wish to
dictate to ns to vote for the money
poweri But this impulse to vote as we
please, this impulse to determine for our
selves our opinions will not be given up,
not even at the command of generals.
Trying to Bribe.
There is abundant evidence that re
publican money is being used in Kansas,
Nebraska, Missouri and several other
close states, to prevent a fusion on elec
tors between the populists and demo
crats. It is very probable that some
sensational deYelopements will soon be
made in all these states and the most
gigantic plot discloxed to divide the
silver forces and perpetuate the infam
ous reign of the gold power.
WATSON'S SPEECH FOR SALE.
Copies of the supplement to this paper
containing Tom Watson's entire speech
for sale at 2 cents per copy or $1.50 per
100. Cash must accompany all orders.
Address Nebraska Independent, Lin
coln, Nebraska. ,
Reformers Uniting:.
The populists and democrats of Salt
Lake county, Utah, have united on a
county ticket. The populists, take four
of the candidates and the democrats get
the rest. The populists in , that section
have heretotore been among the strong
est middle-of-the roadersfn the country.
The logic of events is doing more to
unite reformers than everything else.
CALIFORNIA IS SAFE
Hundreds of Republicans Stumping
the State for Bryan.
ALL JOIN HANDS OUT THEH2.
One Republican Club Two Thousand
Five Hundred Strong.
' Another rree Mlver senator,,
Some time ago an item was printed in
this paper to the effect that there was a
republican Bryan club at Los Angeles,
California, having a membership of 2,
000. Mr. Charles A Cook thought he
would write out there and see if the
story was true. He received i the follow
ing answer:
Los Angeles, Sept., 23, 189Gl
I have just come from the republican
silver club. Their pledge is only to vote
for silver and they nnmber tonight 2250.
All are republicans.' ;-iT-;fV-p'-v.-?"
When the democrats in the convention
nominated a man for , congressman he
came on the stage and thanked the con
vention for the honor and. then said:
"Gentlemen of this convention, any. time
you want me to step out ol the way and
work for any good silver man,' I am
ready. Anything for Hryou and silver.
He was taken down and a populist
fused on. In this state they have fused
in every district for congressman.
We expect to have the state legisla
ture so as to send a silver senator this
winter. -. V
The Bryan silver club, another club
that takes in any one that is for Bryan
has between three and four thousand.
The majority of the free silver speakers
on the slump here are old line republi
cans. California is all safe. List Sat
urday night we opened the wigwam 4ad
shall holii meetings in it from now on.
The night the republicans came down
here from San Francisco, the speaker
wns talking in a hall holding abont 3,
500 and all sat and listened for a tew
minutes and they had cheewni him a few
times aud he began to feel iA-od and was
.makjMcKiiilev !5hi,
Then he spoke isry all 11 ii trie, atia niyT6
GodI Didn't you bear the yell in Lin
coln? The yell drove him to a stand still
for fifteen minutes. ,
Cxn you swear that Nebraska is safe
for Bryan? We shall carry Ohio by 20,
000. Write me abont Nebraska and tell me
how the populists are going to stay by
Bryan. Thomas Jordan.
Well, all the populists iu Nebraska
about 70,000 in number will stay by
isryan except tnree. J ueir names are
VanDervoort, DecF, and Clark, and these
three deserters will cost Hanna a pile be
fore he gets rid of them Ed.
The Court 8utalned Them,
There is just now a wonderful amount
of interest being taken by the republican
politicians in the probable outcome of
the contests which will be precipitated
by the filing of the certificates of nomina
tion by the bolting democrats. Matters
affecting that organization of the demo
cratic party for the time being seem to
more thoroughly engross the attention
of republicans than their own party or
ganization. '
Each year almost, since the adoption
of the present ballot law, has brought
up questions under it for the decision of
the courts. In the present juncture the
history of some of those cases', and the
declaration of the courts, are of interest.
In 1894, when the thirty-six bolted
from the Omaha democratic state con
vention and gathered around the punch
bowl in the Paxton hotel cafe, they
named candidates for offices to be voted
for at the ensuing election. These bolters
called themselves democrats, and filed
with the secretary of state what they
called a certificate of nomination made
by the "convention of delegates repre
senting the democratic party in Nebras
ka." The certificate of the regular con
vention office; was also filed, and the
secretary of atate decided that the bolt
ers were not entitled to use the name of
democrat, and must go on the ticket, if
at all, merely by petition. The supreme
court sustained this ruling of the secre
tary. The bolters' candidate went on by
petition, and last year they again came
np with their petition. The regulars
asked the supreme court to issue its writ
to prevent the secretary of state from
putting the nominees of the bolter's con
vention on the official ballot as demo
crats. The regulars and the bolters
were all put on the ballots, with the de
signation of democrats.
During the progress of these cases,
both before the secretary of state and
before the supreme court, there was a
strong point made by the attorneys for
the bolters that the gatherings were the
true democratic conventions, because
tbey represented the principles of the
democratic party. To show that they
did epreannt the principles of that party
the platform of the democratic national
convention of 1894 was read and inter
preted according to their, understand-
ng. The national convention was cited
as the supreme arbiter in matters
political. ; . v
THE OOCBT'S DECISION. '
In the case last cited, which was dock
eted as Phelps against Piper, the court
seemed to be proceeding on this theory
when in the opinion in the case it waa
said: ; . v ;.;,.:
"Political parties are voluntary asso
ciations for political purposes. They es
tablish their own rules. They are gov
etued by their own usages. Voters may
form them, reorganize them and dissolve
them at their will. Thij voters ultimately
must determine every such question.
The voters constituting a party art ia
deed tho onlyoiy who can deterclae
between contending factions and con
tending organizations! The question ia
one essentially political and not Judicial
in its character. It would be alike dan
gerous to the freedom of elections, the
liberty of voters and to the dignity and
respect which should be entertained for
judicial tribunals for the courts to un
dertake in any case to Investigate either
the government, usages or docttinjw til
political parties and to exclude from the
official ballots the names of candidates
placed in nomination by au organiza
tion which a portion of, or perhaps, a
large majority of the voters professing
allegiance to tbe particular party be
lieved to be the representave of its poli
tical doctrines and its party govern
ment. We doubt even whether the legis
lature has power to confer upon the
courts any such authority. It is certain,
however; that the legislature has not un
dertaken to confer it.
In the syll .bus tbe court said: "The
question as to which one of two factions
of a political party is tbe true represen
tative of such political party, is rather a
political than a judicial question." ,
There was a seeming coofttct laws'
opinion with the doctrine, that the secret
tary of state should determine from ex
traneous evidence whether the certificate
was what it purported to be or not
whether the parties presenting it were
representatives of the (political party
From the arguments pf the attorneys
lor the bolters and tbe apparent theory
of the court in declining to take juris
diction it is construed by the democrats
that there waa a transferring of these
political questions, the proper deter
mination of which depends npon rules of
party usage, to the party tribunals.
They also contend that there was a
transfer to such party tribunal, the
highest in the land, the one cited by the
attorneys of the bolters, the democratic
national convention which met at Chica
go last July.
The decision of that supreme tribunal
in party matters the democrats claim
was against the "bolters" when the con
vention, unseated their delegates and
seated the drilegattni sent by the regular
democratic convention. 7
To decide differently now would be to
say that there can be more than one
party in the state all claiming the right
to use the same party designation, and
that neither the secretary of state, the
courts nor the party national conven
tion can decide as to the regularity of
contending factions.
Broken Promise.
Several speakers after agreeing with
the state central committee to fill ap
pointments have failed to keep their
promises and many complaints from the
localities where they were billed have
been filed with the editor of this paper
and the state committee. Chief among
these sinners has been Mr. Harington.
A correspondent at Long Pine writes as
follows: '
"Will yon kindly investigate and let
the people know what is the matter with
Mr. Harington, he was billed for three
points on this road and up to this time
has failed to keep two of the appoint
ments. , He was to have been at New
port the 28th, Long Pine the 29th and
Ainsworth the 30th. We have under
stood . that Mr. Harington was billed
for these points by the free silver central
committee. Now we would certainly like
to know why he failed us. There was
the largest crowd in Long Pine the 29th
inst., that has ever gathered there on
any occasion, and there was con
siderable disappointment and I am
afraid that we have lost several votes
thereby. Please give us some explana
tion if you possibly can.
Growing Desperate.
The depth of desperation to which the
goldbugs are driven in their fight on
silver is shown by their action in the
Seventh Kentucky congressional district
where the republicans and gold demo
crats have united and will support
"Billy" Madeline Pollard Breckenridge
for congress.
. Wataonln Nebraska.
The New Era wants to extend its per
sonal thanks to our esteemed Populist
friend, Hon, T. Tibbies, for his beautiful
t-ditorial tribute to Tom Watson in this
week's Nebraska Independent. We have
read many pretty things of Mr. Bryan,
but none that pays a higher tribute
than Mr. Tibbie s eulogy of Watson.
Mr, Tibbies is a populist, and that
means a great deal. Wahoo New Era.
r
-X.
J
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