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About The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1897)
Feb. 25. 1897 THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT. D Nebraska Jnbepenfctn! tSM WEALTH MAKERS mmd UtfCOLH MDEPENBENT, tUSUSBD EVERY THURSDAY fedspxqdsqt Publifhiijg So. At HMO K street, LINCOLN, - NEBRASKA. TELEPHONE 638. 9L00 per Year in Advance. AUm all oamulMtloM to. ud ak U ralta, araart. tto, pjbl to noxrcNDt NT PDB. CO, Uiools, NIB, Well, who elM is a defaulter? Let us know the whole truth. 'Really, how long does it take an ex. tat official to settle up7 And Russell held up hie employee tor part of their salaries. For shame! If this thing keeps on the whole repub lican party in Nebraska will turn up "short in its accounts." A bill prohibiting the printing of the same names on any two tickets has passed both houses of tue Idaho legisla ture. , Major MoKinley has been sick the past week. A combination of grip, office peeking and "good times" was too much for the old man. A referendum bill has passed the Kan sas state senate. That reminds us that there is a similar bill before the Nebras ka legislature that might well become a law. The legislature has appointed a com mittee of five to investigate the reports of mis-management at the school for deaf and dumb at Omaba and ascertain the facts, and make report to the legis lature. Hon. II. M. Sullivan of .Broken Bow has been appointed district judge in iplace of Judge Greene, resigned. Sulli van, up to last fall, was a republican, but has since been a populist. He is con sidered one of the best lawyers in the district. ' In the letter from Chief Justice Doster, of Kansas, in last week's Independent there was a mistake. He was made to ay "I am unalterably opposed to adan doning the issue of silver redemption" when it should have read "silver remone tization." ; The grand old party which prated so much about "repudiation" in the last campaign had better help its ex-state officials to settle up, or it is liable to be struck by a wave of repudiation that will leave it palsied and helpless for twenty-five years. The Hawaiian government has sent two lobbyists to Washington to work in the interest of annexation. Shall we extend beyond the borders of the Amer ican continent? We believe not. A gov ernment at home is expensive enough. What would it cost to conduct another on in the mid'Hd of the Pacific? The firing of Evans (rep.) out of the state senate and the seating of Jeficoat (pop.) in his stead ends the .contests of this session. The same evidence was ad duced as in the Douglas county contests in the house, Mr. JeScoat is an old-time populist and one of the best informed men on the money question in the state. Brooklyn bridge is owned by the city of New York. It has earned $3,000,000 net profit for that city since its construc tion. . Its employes work eight hours a day and are the best paid of any in the state. The service for the public is the finest in the world. No better argument is needed in favor of municipal owner ship of public utilities. Applying the principle of the Monroe doctrine, this government should spare no efforts to secure the absolute owner ship of the Nicauguran canal. If owned by individuals it would be the greatest private monopoly in the world. If owned by foreign governments it would be a constant and continual danger and menace to American commerce. The Savings bank report for the state of New York shows more money with drawn than deposited, shows a less number of depositors than a year ago, it shows that a few individuals already heavy depositors increased the amount of their deposits, in other language it hows that in New York state the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Hon. W. J. Bryan's address before the state legislature last Wednesday evening was eminently fair, discreet and master ly. He took high grounds and talked to the legislators from the standpoint of a statesman. He was especially bit ter against the lobby, advised anti-corporation legislation, and reminded the legislators that they must live up to their promises. It is rapidly dawning oo the people that Mr. Bryan is more than a mere orator. WH EKE -POPULISTS WI1X GAIN. There Is a very large and growing free silver republican element in this couttry. This element is practically without a party. It cannot remain so long. Where will it go? Not back to the republican party, for its opposition to silver is a barrier; not to the democratic party, for the hostility and prejudice of a lifetime bars the way. Then this element must either farm into a party of, its own, or come to the people's party. Which it does depends largely on the attitude of the people's party itself. If we go forward as the zealous cham pion of free silver, adopt a sensible, broad-minded course, stand true to all our principles, and assume a friendly at titude toward this element, it is certain to come to us. The free silver republicans left their party because it abandoned the princip les in wnicn tbey believed. I ney win go to that party which tbey believe is giv ing the issue tbey love the most effective support. Free silver is the magnet which will draw these men. They will not long be without a party. That is unnatural. Tbey believe in the remonetuation of the white metal and they will go to the party that is the most consistent advocate of this policy. They are not democrats. Their natural home is in the people's party. . ' The number of fre silver republicans in all parts of the country will rapidly increase duriug the coming fonr years. They were cheated into supporting Mo Kinley by the promise of good times and international bimetallism. McKinley will bring neither; and when these men learn this they will break away by the thousands. The party that gains these recruits will be the party of the future. Will that party be the people's party? That remains for the populists them selves to determine. Here is a policy on which populists north and south can unite. Taubeneck saw it tnree years ago. lie realized then that this would be the future field of recruits for populism. There is only one way for populists to win the free silver republicans that is by adopting a common sense course and standing firm for free silver as the fight ing issue. Wharton Barker is one of the brainiest free-silver republicans in the United States. He is editor of the Philadelphia American, the leading free silver republi can paper ol the country. Lately be came out for three things: 1. Free coinage of silver. 2. The issue of paper money and the regulation of the volume thereof by the national government. 3. Government ownership of railroads and telegraphs. And he aays: "These are paramount to all other questions and I believe a large majority of the people will support in 1900 any political party that pro claims them honestly." There is only one party that can do this. That is the people's party. Never was such a glorious prospect before any new political organization as this. We assumed a high-minded, unselfish atti tude in the last campaign. Let us con tinue to stand firm and true, and ours is the coming party in American politics. MORE UCrHT. A friend has just sent us a copy of the Boston Herald containing Washburn's appeal, comments, and along interview from the gentleman himself. 'Quite a number of side-lights are thrown. Here are the first two of the flaming headlines announcing the thing: "POPULISTS TO GO IT ALONE." "WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN AND FREE SILVER . ABANDON ED." Here is a continent on the matter "The united silver forces of the demo cratic. populist and republican parties, which together cast $,500,000; rotes at the last election have been split, and the leaders of the populist army of 2,000, 000 have determined to abandon the cause of Bryan and free silver and strike out on new issues, under other leader ship," Here is a comment prefacing Wash burns interview: "It means that they (the populists deliberately sidetrack the issue of free silver, which Bryan has selected for his battle cry for the next four years, and select new issues." In his interview Washburn says: "The democratic organization with Mr. Bryan at its head, has already an nounced its position, and has declared that the campaigns of the next four years shall be fought on the issue of free silver. While that may be a perfectly proper position for them, it would be unwise for us to continue on that same line, as our main issues, to which we stand pledged, will soon be fully before the voters of the country." O, it would be unwise for us to "con tinue on the line," "the issue of free silver." And free silver is not one of our "main issues." That language is plain, isn't it? At the bottom of the Washburn inter view, we find: "It is already assured that the meet ing of the reform press association at Memphis will endorse it ) Washburn's plan.) "Letters received from Paul Vau der Voort, president of the press association have indicated this action." Bear in mind that ibis was published at the same time the appeal first saw the light. How did Van der Voort know that such an appeal was to be issued, so that he could write these letters? Evi dently in but one way: Washburn must have written hiai about it. And there were letters. Evidently this corresoond ence must have been going on for some time. And he pledged the approval of the reform press association in advance. WHERE WILL IT END t More republican rottenness is coming to light. The committee which has vis ited the several state institutions has nneartbed some peculiar transactions at the soldiers' home at Grand Island and at the industrial school at Milford. , The result of the disco verbs will lead to ab investigation of the peculiar transactions of the board of public lands and build ings under the last administration. At the soldiers' home at Grand Island a new building for which the state two years ago appropriated f 12,000 ' has been erected and accepted. The commit tee ascertained that the building cost about $2,000 more than the appropria tion warranted and that the excess was drawn from another fund. The building itself was constructed in the most care less manner. Already over half of the plastering has fallen from the wails. One large room on the first floor has never been plastered at all. although the con tract clearly called for plastering. It is charged that the board of public lands and buildings accepted the building with a full knowledge of all its defects', and over the protest of the commandant and the visiting board. For the Milford industrial school the legislature of two years ago appropri ated a sum of money necessary to instal' a new boiler plant. Three boilers were set under contract.' Last week two of these boilers fell in. As fortune bad it, no steam bad been generated in the boil ers at the time, otherwise an explosion must inevitably have accompanied the accident and the lives of 100 persons would have been jeopardized. The visit ing committee discovered that the boil ers, instead of being mounted on solid foundations of brick and mortar, had been placed upon the flimsiest kind of a base. A single layer of veneer of brick had been built and the cavity filled with broken brick and loose dry mortar. No arch had been constructed , beneath the boilers. As a result of these discoveries an in vestigating committee will be appointed and the responsibility located in the proper place. - THE REFORM PRESS MEETING. By a mistake of the printers, all men tion of the reform press meeting at Grand Island last week was pmitted. It was a splendid meeting. About twenty editors were present. Resolu tions were adopted denouncing any con ference not called by the regularly con stituted authorities of the party; roast ing Paul Van der Voort; opposing the scaling down of printer's fees and favor ing u law against the rake-off system now in vogue among many county offi cials and attorneys, favoring a liberal appropriation for the trans-Missippi ex position, provided that half of it is fur nished by warrants issued on the plan of the Soderman bill, and it s all under a board of managers appointed by the governor. A resolution was also adop ted favoring the organization of an as sociation, or rather the enlarging of the present association, so as to include all the free silver editors iu the state.and a meeting was called at the Lincoln ho tel, Lineoln, March 2, of the free silver editors, to perfect such an organization. MUST KEEP OUR PROMI8E8. The populists in the present legislature must remain true to our only principles. There must be some legislation for the relief of the people. Corporation rates must be cut down. Freight charges must be reduced. Telephone, telegraph, and stock yards prices, are exorbitaht. They must be made lower. The aggre gations of capital should be made to bear their just portios of taxation. There should be no delay about this matter. We have the majority, and are responsible. We must act. This legisla ture has it in its power to retire the re publican party for twenty years in this state, or to retire our own. Which shall it be? There are plenty of good bills. The only thing lacking is to press them forward and enact them into law. There should be less cheese-paring, less quib bling over non-essentials, and more ef fort to enact some legislation of real benefit to the people of the state. All that is required of us is that we stand to I our promises, that we be honest with the people. GENERAL GRANT'S HON. Jesse R. Grant, the youngest son of Gen. U. S. Grant is to be the populist candidate for mayor of the city of San Diego, California at the coming election. Kyle's re-election decides the number of populists in the next senate. There will be eight as follows: Win. V. Allen, of Nebraska, Marion Butler, of North Carolina; Wm. A. Harris, of Kansas; Wm. M. Stewart and John H. Jones of Nevada; J. H. Kyle, of South Dakota; Henry Heitfeld, of Idaho and George F. Turner of Washington. There are four senators independent of any party: Henry M. Teller of Colorado; Frank J. Cannon, of Utah; Lee Mantle, of Mon tana and R. F. Pettigrew of South Dakota. THOSE SHORTAGES. Ex-Treasurer Bartley is short over a half million in bis accounts. Ex-Auditor Moore is short $25,000. And now it transpires that Ex-Land Commissioner Russell is short, but it cannot be deter mined how much, as the books of origin. al entry are gone. A committee, has al so reported that clerks in his office were required to sign vouchers Jor much larger sums than they received. The state superintendent's and attorney gen eral's offices have not yet been investi gated. It also transpires that the two republican members of the board ap proved a number of depository bonds on the last day the republicans were in office, over Gov. Holcorab's protest; and this was for the purpose probably of covering np more rottenness. This is the dishonesty of the great party of "honest money" slowly coming to light POPULISM IN DULUTH, In the recent election in the city of Du luth, Minnesota, the peoples party elect ed the city treasurer, collector, and "six out of eight aldermen. The accessions to the populist ranks came from the re publicans and were due to the failure to keep promises made to the working men in the great coal regions near that city. They voted solidly for McKinley with the promise, of more work and better wages. Since election the works have closed down or wages have been reduced until destitution and suffering is greater than ever before. These men showed their resentment in the city election, and openly declared that the McKinley cam paiun was a fraud. TAKING A TUMBLE. We clip the following old telegram from Coxey's paper. Washington, Feb. 8. Populist mem bee of congress do not as a rule take kindly to the proposition of National Committeeman Washburn of Massa chusetts that the party abandon the silver question and fall bak upon the two questions of government issue of paper money and government control of railroads Chairman Butler said today that the. populist party is committed to free silver as the main issue until that issue is disposed of. "The logic of the situation will not permit the party to cut adrift from the silver question," said Repreeentative Kem of Nebraska, Sen ator Allen is emphatic in all of the above. Well, how is this? On January 25 Washburn in the Boston Herald headed his "symposium" with letters from Allen and Butler. Something must have hap pened between Jauuary 25th and Febru ary 3d to cause these gentlemen to change their minds. Wonder what it was? HAS IT COME TO THIS? Free silver is only one of the planks of the populist creed and, though impor tant, about the least important of the whole creed. Missouri World. Has Washburn's appeal borne such fruit as this, and so soon? One of the most frequent objections urged against government ownership of railroads is that the employes would be compelled to support the party in power and thus a change could not be brought about. It could not be worse than under the present arrangement. The railroad kings are organized and their power and influence is tremendous, and is always cast for one political party. It was railroad influence that defeated Alt- geld. Where was co-ercion most practi ced among the postal clerks and mail carriers or clerks and employes of rail way companies? A little investigation will show that government employes under civil service vote thir convictions with much greater safety than the em ployes of our great corporations. The report of United States consul to New Zealand, John D. Connolly shows the great progress of that new country. They have some good laws there, popu list in principle. He says, "by law the government advances money to the farmers at 4 per cent interest and has no direct system of taxation except for local purposes, and even in such cases no taxes are collected from persons who are worth less thn $2500. No ill effects are yet apparent, the country is more pros perous than it was under the old regime, and the government is honestly and economically administered." This is evidence written by the enemy in sup port of populist doctrine.. Prices are low on account of under consumption rather than over-production. Millions of people are living on the verge of starvation. Parsimony is prac ticed by all. Increase the money volume; furnish the means with which to trans act business. This will cheapen the dol lar until men would rather own property than dollars. They will convert their dollars into property, either real estate or manufactured articles, business will revive, labor will be employed, suffering will be less, and we will ship the products of American labor to all parts of the world. Small Fruit PLANT8 and NURSERY 8100K, Millions of Strawberry Plants. Larg est stock in the state. Have the best standard varieties for the west, and many of the newest sorts. Our plants have been irrigated, are unusually thrifty well rooted and more valuable for plant ing than those stunted by drouth. A full line of nursery stock at hard times prices. Get the best near home and save freight or express. Send for price ltat to .NORTH BEND NURSERIES, North Bend, Neb. Every spring in this state large quan tities of water run to waste. Rains are plentiful in the springand early summer. How many ponds containing from one to flveacres of water could be construct ed in this state at very little expense? It will be dry at times next summer. If the breezes and hot south winds floated over lakes and ponds instead of dry land, they would not be nearly so de structive. Every farmer with a suitable location should construct a lake. A few well selected fish would soon multiply into a valuable "product of the farm." The Nebhaska Independent believes in mutual insurance. It is anxious to see mutual companies flourish, but there are certain methods of doing business in some of them that we think ought not to prevail. All members of a mutual company should be treated alike, The practice of taking promieory notes in payment for insurance should be aban doned. In these times no man's note is as good as cash. If it is practiced to any extent losses are certain to occur. Some men would then have secured in surance for nothing, lor as long as the company holds the notes, it is liable for losses covered by the policies. In the business of the state, we object to the state treasurer accepting the promissory notes of banks (certificates of deposit) as a part of the state's funds in settlement with his predecessor but insist that he should have the cash. The same thing should be required of the treasurers and officers of mutual insur ance companies. It is the only way that members can protect themselves from imposition and loss. HARDY'S COLUMN. Ptison Reform. Credit of the State Ar bitration Tieaty. War Cloud. Cheap Iron Duello and Foot Ball. Fast Train. The penitentiary needs a little atten tion. The contract system should be done away with and a more complete sanitary system adopted. We do not put men in prison so much to punish them for what they have done, as to prevent them from doing the same things over again. We hang tor the same reason, so they can never murder again. Prisoners should work or they get sick and crazy. They have to be fed, clothed and sheltered. Tbey can and should be allowed to pay all .their expenses by their labor. I much rather they would earn their own living than for me to earn mine and theirs too. Labor is a bless ing and not a punishment. They should work for the state and not for a con tractor. Let them make articles such as com mon laboring people use, brooms, shoes, clothing, harness, farm implements and so on. Instruct them to make the goods so well that the prison stamp will be a reccommendation. If they work faithfully eight hours a day give tbem a small bounty, each day.tostart business with when they go out. It is objected that prisou goods are sold under price. The laboring classes will get them that much cheaper then. It is better to pay five ceuts less for a broom than to be taxed one cent for the support of the prisoners. Again it is urged that criminals do the work that honest men ought to nave, iney ao no more work inside than tbey ought to do outside, so the relation of labor to la borers is not disturbed. Give them ma chinery to do all they can. Cheap goods to those who buy is no detriment to the laboring class, there is enough else, for all to do. that prisoners cannot ao, The number of prisoners is only one to five hundred voters. The five hundred do not do much, if one can do work enough to throw very many of them out, Many prisoners learn trades in prison and lead honest lives after they are dis charged. This should be one of the chief aims of prison disipline. We now can see clearly why the repub licans thought the credit of the state was ruined as soon as it was known that the populi6ts had carried everything from top to bottom. iney Knew tnat their dark deeds would be brought to light. And sure enough the credit of the state has never received sucn a snocK If the republicans had carried the state evervthinir would have gone on lovely. Taxes would have been collected, state debts doubled up and millions would have gone to enrich the ring. Iney called us repudiators because they knew we would repudiate republican robbery. The arbitration treaty, with England, seems to hang in the senate. There don't seem to be very much objection to the treaty but if its ratification is postponed til after the 4th of March then it wilf be called a republican or McKinley measure. The republicans, seemingly, have aban doned all hope of doing anything meri torious themselves and are seeking to steal what little glory Cleveland has left. The treatv arose out of the Venezuela boundry diplomacy. It was agreed to leave that question to disinterested arb iters. Then it followed England and the United States would hereafter settle all questions of disagreement by arbitration of men rather than to that of the sword. The treaty is only an advanced step of modern civilization. A small war cloud hangs over the is land of Crete, in the Mediteranean Sea. Greece on one side and Turkey on the other manifest an interest. The island is a Turkish province though a large pro. portion of the inhabitants are christians. There has been no little uneasiness man ifest all through the island ever since the Turkish massacre of the Armenians com menced. A few days ago the christians of the island took the initiative and murdered about two thousand Turks, men, women and children. They next declared themselves independent of Tur key and annexed themselves to Greece. Greece sent over soldiers and took pos session of the island. See Europe now standing to help the Turk. The iron and steel trust has busted. The time came when some iron and steel must be sold at some price. The mem bers of the trust had a quarrel and every man went to selling at his own price all be could. Filteen dollars a ton was the lowest point reached. Sseveral bund red thousand ton were sold to be delivered within the year. Uhe price is about half the average for the last ten years. How much revenue will McKinley get should be put the old seventeen dollar tariff on again: There is a reason for cheap iron. With in the lust fewyears they have discovered an iron ore bed in Minnesota, a few miles north of Dulutli, which beats any thing of the kind any where in the world. It spreads over several tnousana acres and goes down fifty to seventy feet in thickness. It is mined with a steam shovel and loaded to flat cars as cheap as gravel or sand. It is bauled to Dulutb, there dumped into steamboats and taken to Chicago and Cleveland, where it meets the coal and is reduced to the best of iron and steel. It is esti mated by one writer that with the pre sent price of labor ali that is received above ten dollars a ton is clear profit. It seems to be a war of the giants, Car negie on one side and Rockefeller on the other. Already the Chicago giant has underbid the Pennsylvania giant a hun dred dollars a ton for armor plate to the government. Dueling and fist fighting were popular years ago. The old duel grounds in the suburbs of New Orleans are as plain to be seen today as the foot-ball ground in Lincoln. More pains were taken to fit it up. Two rows of trees were planted about thirty feet apart and the trees in the rows ten feet apart. Between the center trees of each row is where the due lists met, shook bands, turned their backs together, marched out to the dead line, turned at the word and fired. Then if no harm was done, the most approved ending was to come together and finish the entertainment with swords. Sur geons and ambulances were in waiting just as at our foot ball games. So pop ular was the sport that our vice-president went out shot his man and still held ' bis seat, president of the United States senate, without objection. Congress men, judges, preachers, and all classes came out to witness the contest. We once elected a president who bad fought six or eight duels and killed six or eight men. - At length, as Skiles would sa, "a lot of 'old women' got into congress and the legislatures of the different states and dueling was outlawed." Then followed the first fight test of strength and endurance. Men would come into the ring, close shaven and shorn, after beingfed, rubed and greased for a month. This was called training. When the hour arrived ihey would shake hands and then pound each other till one was dead or laid up for repairs. The "rough features of the game were elimi nated". Contestants were forbidden to hit below the belt or to strike a pros trate foe. But after a while this fist game become unpopular and it was out lawed. The state of Texas called her old worren together in special session to out law the game in that state. In Nevada alone the manly sport can go on. Football is more hazardous to health, limb and life than pugulisra and why not stop it by the strong arm of the law. It is not a healthy exercise. Who has not heard of the fast train from Chicago to Denver? 1026 miles in less than nineteen hours. Henry J.. Mayhan, of Denver, while in New York received a dispatch that his only sow was at the point of death. He at once started on the Pennsylvania limited but the regular train was too slow. At" Pittsburg he bargained with the Bur- ungion, oy leiegrapn, to carry him from Chicago to Denver in twenty-four hours for one thousand dollars. But death was to fast for the fast train. The boy died while his father was sailing through west Nebraska and had been dead three hours when his father arrived in Denver. TAXES PAID BY THE SUGAR TRUST Sworn Statement by H. O Havemeyet of the Amount Paid in New York State. The committee secured a statement of the taxes paid by this great monopoly to the state of New York and handed it to Mr. H. O. Havemeyer when on the witness stand. He swore that it as correct. Most of all of the real estate and actual property, raw and refined sugar is located in the cities of Brooklyn and New York, and is in the most valu able locations. .The taxes paid wero as follows: New York Citv. 1891 $ 563.73 1892 4,529.73 1893....... 4,326.30 1 894..., 8.353 39 Brooklyn 78,157.90 72,717.00 1895 7,629.76 10,212.70 Total. .... $33,615.54 $457,260.65 Think 01 that for a m,.. .l.. pays average dividends on $75,000 000 capital of 9 per cent as well as occasion al cash dividends and accumulates a great surplus, and which does more than half of all of its business in the state of New York. Of course the trust Hn " , -3 ujt wear woomn clothes, or pat, oiin-o. j , - uur uoes it use tobacco or d avino- MrHt. ;i . . " o u cuu an an income tax is unconstitutional it there- .y.rpajauo ia wnatever to the na tional government. Are the Telegraph System of the body, extendlne from the brain to every part of the system Nerves are fed by the blood, and are there fore, like It-weak and tired'if the" blood is thin, pale, impure - Nerves are strong and steady, there is no neuralgia, brain is unclouded-if th blood Is rich, red and pure Nerves find a true friend in Hood's SarsaDa rllla, because it makes rich, red blood gives good appetite and digestion. Kloodj sarsaparilla Is the One True Blood Purifier. All druggist,, u. HoOd'S MllsSKSL'insano:. vm cuacnA. OR ... WVVU