f yf 4 October 12, 1899. THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT. c ACADEMIC FREEDOM. .AN IMPOSSIBILITY IN THE ENDOWED -V COLLEGES OF TODAY. Tk Heavy Band of the Hew Despo tism That Crashes the Truth Capi talism Dictates What tha Youth of ' the Land Shall Be Taught. ' Willis J. Abbot has an article la the October Arena on the "Necessity of .an Independent School of Economics" -and In support of the academic free- dom movement which took tangible form, at the' Buffalo conference during the summer. Mr. Abbot's Indictment of the present method of conducting the big colleges of the country Js unan swerable. That portion of his article follows: I r ; , The history of the world may be searched In vain for any Instance of Larm to humanity or to any people re ' suiting from the exercise of the fullest Intellectual liberty.' Freedom of speech never yet wrecked a nation, although attempts to suppress U have more than once resulted in disaster. 1 Freedom of thought has" never yet put right In . Jeopardy, nor has the fullest liberty of the press been anything but an aid to the orderly and progressive develop ment of man In all that pertains to so: lal and individual welfare. A cause that Is essentially unsound cannot be more certainly destroyed than by In viting Its advocates to the arena of pular discussion. 1 By their own ut totances they then will be destroyed, - IThile under suppression of discussion their error would thrive In the atmos phere of secret conspiracy.4' The men who continually strive for the repres- Ion of Intellectual liberty In the press, the pulpit and the colleges mast either - be cognizant of these facts for they are readily deduclble from hlstoryr-or they must be Ignorant of them. If the latter, their Ignorance Is so crass that . their pretension to authority over the thoughts and utterances of Intelligent ; men can only "be regarded as an ex ample of . the brutal and stupid Inso lence of Irresponsible wealth. But If they have read the lessons of history aright they know that the fullest Intel lectual liberty In college classrooms, In the pulpit and In editorial rooms means the certain triumph of right and the assured overthrow of wrong. If, then, they stUL. systematically and relent lessly, apply the gag, It is a confession that they profit by vested wrongs, that their fortunes-and their power are - founded upon Injustice and that they fear the truth because It would de throne them. '' - ' - In 1781 King Louis XVI of France was sitting with bis queen and Mme. Cam pan attentively reading the manu script o a new comedy, "The Marriage of FIgi'.o." Authority In France, had '.....'never seemed more firmly fixed, nor ' had the Bastille ever been more popu- lous. It was a day of the most perfect legal jrovlslond for suppressing, the ex pression of thought Plays, pamphlets, songs and books were all subject to the censorship, and behind the censor stood open the door of the dungeon. Yet never has such a volume of "sedi tious" literature been Issued, nor has ver the attack upon the 6tatus quo equaled in vigor or In generalship that led by the men who then had impris onment or exile staring thorn In the face: Beaumarcbais' comedy Was brim ful of Insidious thrusts at the govern mental evils of the "day: One para graph especially, Mme. Cain pan tells us, excited the Ire of the king. "A question arises concerning the na ture of riches,'" says Figaro, "and as fou do not need to have a thing In or Jor to talk about It 1, who have not a penny, write on the value of money and Its net product. Presently fr6m " the Inside 'of a cab I see the draw bridge of a prison let down for me and leave as I go, in both hype and liberty behind."., .... ., .. . . jHearlng these words,- Louis XVI bounded to his feet, white with rage, v To sendfor his minister of Justice aud make Inqyjrjwbetber.lt. were really true that. ,so. wanton and, unjust an abuse of the power summarily" to Im prison Frenchmen was common? Not at all. Ills thought was not to open the Bastille, but to close the theater. "It is detestable; It shall never be played," he cried. "Not to have the f production of 'this plny a. dangerous piece of Inconsistency we should have to destroy the Bastille. This man makes sport of everything Jhat should be re- sported In a government." ' IIow natural It sounds, ' even after more than a centuryl "This man makes snort of everything that should be re spected." Silence him."' So he was si lenced for the time; but the Bastille came down nevertheless. Today, In our own land, some men n college classrooms have attacked cer- tain things, which the. oligarchs of monopoly declare should be respected. Again the cry comes from those who wield despotic power, "Silence themT Hoards of college trustees have been compliant too often. - The Irritating critics are silenced. But for bow long? Will the command of capitalism prove more enduring than the decree of the French king? Can the structure of monopoly endure assaults that shatter ed the Bastille? Frlests and princes, emperors, kings, dictators, sultans the possessors of ' power, under whatever name and In ad Bges bare striven to repress free dom of thought and of speech. They have , established their Inquisitions, tbelr star chambers and their censor ships and then, arrogantly elate wltb tbelr success In resisting the trreststl- ble, have died and been forgotten themselves, their dynasties and their beliefs while the Ideas they thought : to kill and the teachings tbey thought suppressed have risen Immortal bavs - affected men's thoughts and dally ac- tions In all parts of the world and bavs won acceptance on every hand, so that men now wonder that any reasoning being in the shape of man should ever : have thought them revolutionary. The radicalism of one age Is the conserva tism of the ensuing generation. Today teachers are being disciplined for giv ing expression to that which the pro fessor of 20 years hence will be re garded as Imbecile to deny. Look back but a scant half century. In 1853 the college professor iwho dared to teach the Inherent right of all men, regard less of race or color, to be free had short shrift In most colleges, south or north. Of such a one, supposing he In sisted on his "academic freedom," It would have been speedily discovered that be really did not attract quite as many students as the trustees had ex pected, or that the financial state of the college compelled retrenchment by the abolition of his department, or he might be looked upon as a political professor, obviously working In the in terests of a new and revolutionary par ty given over to abolition and Llncoln lsm, and his discharge would then be pointed to proudly as evidence of the determination of the trustees to take the college out pf, politics. In some way of other, be sure, be would have been dismissed, and for some plausible reason. Academic freedom? Oh, that would not have been In Issue at all, the faculty and most of the professors who remained would assure the pub lic. The difficulty would hae been that the offending professor was an "intellectual sans culotte," an "eco nomlc free lance" and an J'irresppnsl: ble." ' Doubtless there were In , that day college professors qjjite as certain that there was no Interference with the right of their colleagues to teach what they would on the slavery, sub ject, as Professor Small Is sure today there is no Interference with the free dom of the teacher of economics and SOClolOgy. ., : . j;.-' ,. i ! Nevertheless the antislavery) pro fessor In 1S58 encountered the same antagonism that confronts the pro fessor of economics who today preaches emancipation from the new slavery of corrupt capitalism and corporate ag gression. And then as now, no doubt, out of the institution jnost distrusted for, Its subservience to the forces of corrupt wealth would have come a pro fessor ready to say that to touch on such a subject as slavery was to vio late "a conventionality In the republic of letters which be bas no right to dis regard." .. ' ' ":. '' ' ' To the priests, princes, dictators, sul tans, kings and what not of vanished ages and of other, lands has succeeded now, In this nation, a new power not less arrogant, oppressive or wanton than ; they. ;, Capitalism, operating through the corporation and the trust. Buttressed by special privileges fraud ulently gained and corruptly held, has created and maintains among a ma jority, of our , people a wage, slavery more brutal In some of Its manifesta tions than the old chattel slavery and among a smaller and more comfortable class a. condition' .'of Industrial and financial dependence further removed from true freedom than was the rela tion of the feudal vassal to his lord.. , Is this assertion untrue? , -, ."Execrably so," respond the spokes men of the new despotism.., "Let us argue It fairly then," say the assailants. "We are ready to meet your arguments in the press, In the pulpit and. above all, in the college classroom, where the youth of the land the generation that must In the end see Justice done between us may hear and learn the trgth. All we ask Is that the truth be discovered and preached. Come, let us argue "together." "What! Argue with a beggarly lot of intellectual sans culottes!" exclaims the new despotism. "I know a better plan than. that. Get out of my col leges. I endow them, and I shall se lect the conventions of letters,. that may not be disregarded. Get out of . my newspaper ollices. Don't I control ad ve'rtislng? You, fellow," there In the pulpit, prCnclilug about the ' Golden Utile in business! Who pays the pew rent here, I'd like to know? What this church needs is more gospel and less politics in Uie pulpit. Argue with you? Not much. Get off the earth!" Thus, colloquially and not courteous ly like Professor Small does' the new despotism meet the appeal for free speech and Intellectual liberty. Some of the attributes of the old despotism are lacking, it Is true. , The rack and the dungeon have gone out of, vogue, but discipline by starvation Is still within the power of the despot If ir reverent critics cannot be exiled, they can at least have all opportunities for the pursuit of their professions closed against them. It Is that method which bas been applied to the college teach ers who have offended the ruling pow ers. It Is that weapon which has been raised against Professor Edward W. lie mis, who mortally offended the Standard Oil conspirators; against Pro fessor Commons, who justly earned the hostility of the trusts and monopolistic corporations, and against President Will and Professors Parsons and Ward, who In the State Agricultural College of Kansas were filling the minds and hearts of their students wltb hope of a new ana higher order of society. In which there should be more of justice and less of special privilege, more of Christ and less of Cain. The heavy band of the new despotism fell on all these as It bad fallen on others before them. , There Is seldom a place In an Amerl can college for a teacher who takes advanced ground on any question re lating to the distribution of wealtb or the destruction of monopoly. Such a leader and teacher of men as the late Henry George might have been able to Influence thought In a score of lands and to count bis followers by hundreds of thousands, yet do American college would have dared to give him a class room and freedom td teach, even though at the same time an "orthodox" econo mistnot a sans culotte might be In stalled In an adjacent room to contro vert bis doctrines. In the vast major ity of our privately endowed Institu tions the teachings upon controverted questions of public Interest must be subjected to some such test as this: Colleges are supported by endow ments; , . . Endowments proceed from the capi talistic class; Therefore nothing obnoxious to the capitalistic class shall be taught lu this college. t Of course bo bald and frank a state ment of motive cannot be expected from those wboe dutj It becomes to warn the teachers themselves against plain speaking. A recent letter from the secretary of the University of Chi cago to the members of the faculty will furnish for other college officials seeking to shackle their professors an admirable literary model. I venture to quote two paragraphs of It, thinking that It has peculiar pertinence as ema nating from the constituted authorities of that college, which employs Fro fessor Small and his optimism! "While It Is the privilege of every member of the university to entertain whatsoever opinion be may choose con cerning controverted questions of pub lic Interest and to express that opinion in any proper way and on any proper occasion, it la nevertheless desirable that great care" should be' taken to avoid lnvolvlng'th'e university even by implication in such controverted mat ters. ;' !'"' v-' :-:;';. . y "AH actions and expressions of opln Ions on such subjects should be scru? pnjously disassociated from all univer sity relations so iar as possiDie, mat by such scrupulous regard for the good standing of the university In the opin ion of all classes real freedom of speech and of action will be promoted." If this Is not equivalent, to a com mand to, all professors that .they ignore In their classes matters, of vital politi cal and economic Importance.' then It has bo meaning whatsoever. i GOLD CERTIFICATES. , . Issued "by the Haters of Greenbacks. ' The Right Kind of Paper Money. Tbe banking Interests have complain ed long and bitterly that tbe green backs were an "endless chain" to take gold out of the treasury In times of panic. However, these same Interests have finally brought strong enough pressure upon the administration to se cure the issue (the legal authority for which Is doubtful) of gold certiflcafes. They want to kill tbe "soldier's mon ey," the'money that saved the nation; but they want god certificates. They said that tbe greenbacks are a danger to the gold reserve In times of famine. How about gold certificates? 'The fact is that they need' paper money, and they know that the people prefer paper money, but they oppose the paper mon ey which stays at home and fights the country's battles In time of need.- ' Gold certificates are not money prop er, but only receipts for goods. , They enable tbe bankers to store their gold In the government vaults Mvittjput charge and use the certificates as mon ey, saving the express charges on the gold, by sending the certificates on missions of trade to "move the crops" Instead of sending the gold Itself." The government does that for the banker; then why should It not store lead, zinc, copper, wheat, etc.. for the qwiiers of the same on the same terms? But all must agree that It would be much bet ter for the government to Issue, not certificates for gold, load, wheat or any other kind of product,' but It should Issue paper money, Jjased on all the leading products of the country, or a general average of, say, 100 of the lead lug products ef the country as a stand ard value. , , . .. , r This Is the only way to finally and permanently settle , the gold question and the silver question. vWhen money so based Is Issued by the general gov ernment In quantities to maintain a normal average of prices, panics will cease, for falling prices and panics go together, aud If a normal average of prices Is maintained, a panic Is Impossi ble., This weuld be a definite, perma nent and safe basis for all business. It does seem that we ought to reach such a basis some time. Are we not tired of panics and uncertain business condi tions? Is not a permanently safe basis worth studying for and working for? Medical World. - " True National Greatness. Many of the eminent ones seem to think that a nation with a big acreage, a big fleet a big trade and a big ar my Is a great nation. I say It Is no more a great nation than a great bully is a great nian. I say that a nation may have all those things and not pos sess a single element of greatness. The greatness of a nation consists surely In the greatness of Its people; tbe great ness of a people consists as surejy In their great goodness, nobility and gen ius. That Is my theory. I cannot Imag ine greatness without justice, sincerity and purity. I cannot admit that we are a great nation; because we are not noble, nor pure, nor Just nor sincere. I cannot Imagine a great nation wltb crowds of paupers and thieves, with miles and miles of slums, wltb fearful prevalence of Ignorance, of brutality, of vice, of ' gambling, drunkenness, roguery and licentiousness. I cannot Im agine a great nation wltb 30,000 prosti tutes In the streets of Its capital. I can not Imagine a great nation which breeds hordes of rogues, harlots, tramps and hypocrites; which allows the spread of Its greatness to be her alded by an advance guard of politi cal sharpers, bloodthirsty filibusters. Perhaps I am a fool, as so many clever people bave said so, but I cannot call our nation great It Is not great to me. It Is, to me, a base, barbarous and unspeakably vulgar nation, wltb only Just enough leaven of honesty and vlr tue In It to keep It from moral decay. It Blatcbford In London Clarion. PUBLIC OWNERS!!!?. SOME OF THE PRACTICAL POINTS BROUGHT OUT BY MAYOR JOHNSON. The Waterworks Lesson Taught by Denver How Private Gas and 'Elec tric Companies Hob the People The Telephone Hold Up. . , At the convention of tbe League of American Municipalities, held recently In Syracuse, Mayor lieury V, Johnson of Denver, said: 5 , , ; t Water stands pre-eminently at the head. It Is not, only , nature's : great cleanser and puriSur, but It Is an ab solute necessity to the human system. In the United States at the beginning of this century only one city owued Its own water supply. In 1879 3,300 towus and cities had waterworks, 04 per cent of which were owned by the muulcl polity. ., ..'., - ...i,; ; That the handling and furnishing of this great human necessity Is a source of enormous profit , to private enter prise Is proved by the avidity with which the franchise to furnish, It Is gobbled up and the ; extent to which the private company Is capitalized and boudeil. Take, for Instance, the water company of Denver, bonded for $7,000, 000 and stocked for $7,000,000 or 000,000 imore. When we contemplate this fact and realize that .competent engineers declare its plant can bo reproduced for $5,000,000 or less, we are led to ask the question whether there Is as much water In Its reservoirs as there Is In its stocks and bonds. '. , ' The question of light Is as Interesting nd almost as useful to a city as that of water. We find that the struggle' on the part of the- private gas com panies to retain control of the business and to prevent city ownership bas been equally as bard and as protracted In the matter of gas as It was In that of water. " '. ':'"'. .''". ;.' '. " The price of gas Is exorbitant when furnished by private companies, and the quality is usually in Inverse ratio to tbe price the higher the price the meaner the light Tbe cost of manu facture and supply is variously esti mated at from 17 cents to 35 cents per 1,000 feet owing to peculiar condi tions. But there Is no doubt that tbe greater tbe amount consumed the less the cost per 1,000 feet In Denver the price of gas Is $1.33 for Illuminating and $1 for fuel per thousand. Another company Is anx ious to form and secure a franchise and will agree to furnish gas for 80 cents, per 1.000 feet for either Illumi nating or fuel purposes. This Is a fit Illustration of the enormous profit the people are forced to pay for this neces sity to that modern octopus the gas combine. - ; v Tbe electric light Is by far the clean est most convenient-and most easily connected of all methods of lighting. Owing to Its brilliancy and tbe ease with which it can be turned on and off, both for streets and for bouses, It Is the best method of Illumination. ", To give an Idea of cost' the city of Den ver now pays a private company $100, 000 for lighting her streets with 1,000 arc lights of 2.000 candle power each. Uppn carefully drawn plans and speci fications already, made Denver can build her plant complete jfor $250,000 and can furnlsji her streets with the same number and power of lights' for $50,000, thereby saving $50,000 a year and paylnj for her plant In five years.. A city owning and operating its eleq tric lighting plant is more iearly ready to operate. Its street ear lines.. The same plant has only to be, enlarged to furnish more nower. and the same noles carry many wires for both pur poses. From this Joint electric power house ' there' comes a byproduct of steam beat that is' free of extra cost and which. If properly used. Is capable of heating all buildings In a radius of one-half mile, . From its use Immense public boths might be heated or great public wasbhouses furnished at small cost to the laboring classes, where, as In Glasgow, the poor woman could take her laundry and for a few cents secure soap and hot water and tubs for wash Ing and mangles for Ironing . ber clothes.. , , i .- Is the tgkpbone of such value and usefulness that ' the , municipality should own It? We think It is; so much so that we believe It not only well for the city to own and control It for its people, but It would be cheaper If the state owned It, and It would be far best If the national goverument con trolled and operated It for the benefit of the whole in-ople. , A private tele phone company In a city at this, day. even, wltb high and exorbitant cnarges, is far bettter than no telephone system, The company goes on the principle that It Js better to receive $120 for a phone per annum from 1,000 subscrib ers than $40 a phone per annum from 3,000 subscribers. It costs less to oper ate, less office room Is needed, smaller switchboards, fewer employees, less number of telephones to keep In repair, fewer lines to look- after. Tbelr motto Is, "Fewer patrons and higher charges make os more clear money." From their standpoint they are all right; from the people' standpoint they are all wrong. In Denver 2.500 telephones are In use. Foran unlimited service tbe charge of a telephone for a year Is $120. Indianap olis, wltb about the same population, has two systems. The new telephone company, with a better system than Denver, charges only $40 a phone per year In a business house and only $24 per year for residences. Both are full, unlimited, up to date systems, as good as can be bad. This new company Is doing a fine business and making a handsome profit If this Is true, by what name shall w'- style the company which chargesCue people of Its own city three times as much as Is neces sary to make a handsome profit? A Remedy That Cures Paralysis IN THtt SHALLOWS. If 7 leet are la tbe ahillows, I The betdi'of ylfoW sunshine ' li'-l-.Vr Drip laly from my tunas. : ' .V" (r I watch tbe crimson soe dulse, , "' C.n The dimpling eddies Deck, And gather shells bright tinted a : To circle brow and neck. . ' I Witch wlfite, polished pebbles, , And laugh, to catch a glsnce Laugh back (ram gurgling ripplet, ' As to their time I dance. , Afar the winds are hasting, ' j The billow leap and rosri They press in mighty transport To clasp the sunset shore 1 , Afar the ships ere sailing , 'i , , Across the trackless blue, - i 'Neath skies whose atari are strangers ' To lands I ever knew. . ' O depths stirred strong fn pssstonl ' ' ' O waves that toes and shine! v -, . My feet are in the shallows j " " : " Would God tli era were mfnot Elizabeth Worthingtoa Flake la Washington BUT. . - .' :v,- HIS OWN PORTRAIT. How an Artist PsJsjis a Plctnrw of ,, ., HlmsclK , .. V-.-'"- It has been a couiuion practice With artists of all ages aud countries to paint their own pictures, ant at the Ufflzl irallerv In Florence can be seen a rrjat'niBcent collection of portraits of tho world's ereat painters' done , by themselves. It Is a coveted honor tQ ue, Invited to contribute one's own portrait to this collection, for one must be emi nent before tniacomplitutnt is paid. As mav be easily understood, pumung one's own portrait Isi somewhat trou blesome task, for tue painter must uo a good deal from memory, especially If he puts nlmself In an attitude which It Is difficult to reflect In a-mirror. A Straightforward portrait looking out of tho nicture Is obviously the easiest to manage, for tbe painter bas only to place the mirror in front of Mm to see his model. , , Trlnla'and ouadrunle mirrors must be employed when the attitude is In any way removed from full face. A nmfflo nrnnlrt ha more difficult to See for oneself,-but a three-quarter face would be no 1chs so, as hv.botu cases the artist would be working from a re flation of a reflection, which, to say the least of If, U a bothering condition. Thr? looking at oneself, for a long Job ma New Presses, New Type. 1 i ., We are prepared to do Job Print ing of the best quality. Our entire plant was destroyed by fire, but we have replaced it with a new outfit complete in every particular. Best Work, Reasonable Prices, Prompt Delivery. Before placing your order for Circulars,, Catalogues, Stationery, Briefs, Legal Blanks, Blank Books, Give us an opportunity to quote prices. INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING COMPANY, Telephone 538. .' V ' 12th & P Streets Mr. II. N. Warner, of Kearney, Neb., says: -.' ' "In 1894 I was attacked with paralysis in my left side. You might stick a pin to the head into my left hip and I would not feel it., I was unable to do' any kind of work, and had to be turned in bed. I fully made up my mind that I could not be cured, as I bad used all kinds of medicine and had tried many doctors. At last I was advised to try. Dr, Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People, and I very reluctantly commenced their use last September. Before I had finished my first box I began to feel much better, and by the time I had used 6ix boxes the paralysis disappeared; and although two months have passed since I finished ' my last box, there has been no re currence of the disease." , From Ih Advertiter, Atlttl, JV6. Dr. Williams' Pink Pills tot Pale People contain, in a condensed form, all the ele ment necessary to give new life and richness to the blood and rmtoro shattered nerves. They are an unfailing upeiflfio for such dis ease at locomotor ataxia, partial paralysii, St. Vital dance, sciatica, neuralgia rheu matism, nervous headache, the after-effects of la grippe, palpitation of the heart, pale and allow complexions, all forma of weakness either in male or female. ; . v , ;, ; Or. Willlimi' Pink Mltler Pats Ptssls sr never sold bth doitn er hundred, but always In pack ago. At all ruMltta, or dlrot htm lae Of. Wil liams Medietas Costtanr, Schenectady. N. V., N cents per box, beast 12.10. time Is one of the strange and trylnri conditions of painting one's own por-! trait, for difficulties and complexlttest! appear to grow the more one trlea to grapple wltb them. Like the road to 1 hlh 'aoomai tal uiu ureu , --. lengthen as be goes, so the dlfflcoUe of painting oneseir appear 10 iucres rather than diminish the more one looks at oneself. ' 5 . . .1 . ..Ma. niu'a Ana nnst. Apari li ulu yuiuiiuB - - . trait artists largely draw from them-( selves, for a man can more easily atH some a particular attitude than getl another person to ao so. , men mr um tails, such as a hand, arm, nose, eye, the artist and a mirror supply all that Is required. Another of the many oseal nf a mirror is to reversc'tbe work dur-i Ing Its progress, as reversing a drawr-) Ing will often reveal an awKwaninena, want of balance or rauuy arawing, which might otherwise go undetected. Chicago News. . , . ,',,. , Tho Pars-sot Tarwod Brows. T.nn had the wife of a Doer WasbJ Ington clerk been yearning for the pos-l session of a green parrot. , . 1 At last a fine specimen was obtalne for $10. It was delivered In the mornt incr. and It came to pass that a newl servant from the depths of the coun try opened, the door; to the delivery boy. Iler mistress was out; there was not a soul to Instruct her in tue coae of ethics as applied to parrots. "Is It for the table?" she asked. "Without doubt, was the wicked re ply. - . -..-, .Whereupon the parrot was dispatch ed, at opce, plucked, trussed and put' Into the oven, lie was Just turning a beautiful brown when the mistress of the establishment returned, and that! same e veujng, the Jlttle servant frora the country was back among the ducks and drakes of heti own' village green aj wiser and sadder girl Washington1 Times. '" ; ' 1 4 . '. . . '" - The colors that will be most popular in fall millinery are the pinkish shades of manve, the deepest shades of violet, red and the various shades of brown. 1 Being a titled editor pays. Lady Ran dolph Churchill has 8,000" subscribera who paid $20 a year in advance for her quarterly, The Anglo-Saxon. ', " -TB VaSSVBB BMBBB. BBSS1 BS LsBSSk f .VSSBT Bf Jjr - jt ' .t. Jf 1 JasjsSw . , ..,!...( ,,..',(.. , i - - ' - assess' ' i enssSaar ' '' "T " M -"