XL
JadxuKtjsr'l 8, 1 Ooo
at?-.'--'
1
3
r
i
It isn't hv mere chance that we do the largest
clothing and 'shoe business in 'the'" west;' there's
a reason for 'itand that reason is that we are
constantly everlastingly giving the - people
full value foi their money. If you don't know
us it's your own is It. If you can't.-come -to
Omaha, write us. " . 1
Our mail order department is the most
satisfactory one we know of.
Please Mention The Nebraska
TO,
,1 Httj.K .
tion before the people. It is generally
believed that his iufluence was mainly
responsible for Van Wyck's defeat by a
margin of (XXX) votes. Mr. Burrows
would undoubtedly have received the
unanimous support of his party for
United States senator in the legislature
of 1893 if it had not been for his posi
tion during the carfipaign of the preced
ing year.
That Mr. Burrows was thoroughly
--r honest in his convictions as to the policy
that the party ought to pursue no one
- ever doubted, but those convictions
were not in accorf with a majority of the
party. . He stood firmly by his convic
tions and the .leadership of the party
. passed into the control of other men.
But no one will deny that the reform
forces owe as much to the unselfish la
bors of Jay Burrows as to any other
man for the commauding position that
is now occupied. '
As a writer on the subjects which have
most engaged "the attention of the
American people for the last ten years
Mr. Burrows had no superior. Person
ally he was a man of dignified and com
manding appearance. His service in the
army had given him a military bearing
and ho always carried himself as ' a soldier.
The funeral services were held at the
Baptist church. Dr. Ilowlands, the" pas
tor, deliveries: ha oration and reading
the scriptures. After Dr. Rowlands had
finished Gov. Poynter added his tribute
cf praise to the sterling integrity, ability
and worth of Mr. Burrows, as a soldier,
a citizoa. a writer nnd a-Jeader amon
-men. Some beautiful music was ren
3?red by the choir. The services of the
Grand Army followed. The large au
dience then passed by and viewed the
remains. The many large floral tributes
nearly hid the casket from view.
The pall bearers were Gov. Poynter,
Land Commissioner Wolfe. Judge Cor
nish, Dr. King, Col. Pace, and the Editor
of the Independent.
The body was taken to Crab Orchard
and interred in the family burial ground.
Thus passed away a , soldier, a writer,
and a worker in the reform cause known
to almost every man, woman, and child
in the state.
THE BOARD OF TRANSPORTATION
Its
Power. Duties, and Authority Set
Forth by an Able Attorney.
The Independent publishes therewith
a communication from the pen of Hon.
W. F. Bryant, one of the most capable
attorneys in the state and one of the
early organizers of the populist party.
It deserves the careful attention of every
reader of the paper:
Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 17, 1900, Editor
Independent: A few days since the pop
ulist state central committee met in this
c'ty. Responding to a written invita
tion from the chairman (likewise issued
to other populists") to meet the commit
tee in conference,, I was present.
A resolution was introduced calling
upon the board of transportation to re-
3 uire "their secre taries to perform thfir
uties, or resign their offices. The ap-
. pie of discord cast into the banquet of
the Olympians, or the bomb thrown at
lay Market scarcely produced a greater
commotion. Mary populists, the puriiy
of whose moti7es are beyond question,
spoke upon both sides of the motion,
when the resoluaon was tabled by a
vote of twenty one to four.
I had hoped tbat the free masonry
enjoined by the chairmaa would be ob-
wrvea. uut, as it was not, and as ui;
name has appeared in print as an opo
nent of the resolii'ion. I deemed it tny
"uty, through the c lumn-of your va!ua
pape, to speak to ihe populi-, of the
state.
I deprecate newspaper notoriety; and
have had enough to s-atisfv mo foe the
residue of my natural life. I do, how
iver, value- the opinion of mankind.
Unwilling to drag others into the
arena, I shall studiously omit to men
tion names. Let me say that the writer
of this articlo-entertaius the most pro
found reflect- lor tne author of that re
solution and for the perins and jour
nals, who have taken his side of the
question.
It is not my purpose to pick up the
glove as the champion of the state board
of transportation. They are abundantly
able te take care of themselves. I simply
say, as I said before the committee, that
the f, eat populistic party cannot afford
to be unjust to any man. Itisnotmuch
, that I ask for them, only the rights that
would be conceded by a criminal court,
were these j'gentlemh being tried for
"Stealing horses. What would they be
emitted to in such a caser
1 The, presumption of innocenoe..
2 The benefit of their reiutition for
good character, if sueh they had.
a ine right to have this presumption
and reputation, of good character con
Independent when answering
IP"
tinued until their guilt is established
beyond a reasonable doubt.
Passing the presumption of innocence,
which need not bo dwelt upon, let us
consider the character of the accused.
One of these men has been one who
blazed the forest for the pioneers of re
form in this state. He was successively
our candidate for attorney general and
supreme judge; and received several
votes for the position of United States
senator. Another is - a wooden-legged
soldierwho has served Nebraska faith
fully, as . secretary of state, and in the
halls of congress. The third is a demo
crat who got out of the way to give one
of our populists a chance to be elected
on the state picket.
Iam not sufficiently an adept in na
tural science to say . whether the state
ment that the scorpion sometimes stings
itself to death is a" mvth or a scientific
fact. But a party who strikes down on'e
who has been a political leader is in the
way to political suicide. .
It is true that, if the leader has proven
an lscariot or an Arnold it furnishes a
strving clause. . But for one I prefer to
remain a doubting Thomas until the 30
pieces of silver are traced to his posses
sion.and the guilty consideration proven;
until you have shown the interview with
Andre, and found the traitor s hand
writing in his boot. .
" But wo are driven to no such Scotch
verdict in this case, as you will see when
we come to review the evidence.
For long decades eiplorers have tried
in vain to reach the north pole, but who
has ever advocated the abolishing of the
north pole, or declaring the sciences of
geography and astronomy farcical, be
cause explorers could cot find it? Or
who has ever blamed Sir John Franklin,
thsha Kent Kane, David Leg"' Brain
ard and Solomon A. Andree for their re
spective failures? These men are the
noDie martyrs ot science whose very
failures are valued for their supreme
heroism in s' riving to conquer barriers
which j- a ous nature has erected to hide
her secrets.
What had we a right to expect of the
board of transportation?- Let us define
that. Many of their critics have not
even considered this question. They
seem to think this body of. men are to
act at once as a quasi-court, as prosecut
ing attorneys, as witnesses, as detectives
and what not. Many of thee good peo
pie are not aware that the last legislature
only appropriated for this board, outside
of their salaries and the salary of their
stenographer, .the sum of 8100 per an
num. Out of this beggarly pittance
must come postage, stationery, tele
grams, telephone service, maps, travel
ing expenses, and employment of ex
perts to examine dooks. Tie a man s
hands, throw him into the' water, and
command him to swim; and close your
eyes to his condition. It reminds one of
the nursery rhyme:
"Two blind men vrent to see.
Two cripples iuua race."
I will not take upon myself to define
the powers of the secretaries accordin,
to sta'ute. In some cases they, have
been aef u-ed by railroad attorneys of
trani e d n ' tr eir 'i owers.
Le,t me call attention to the case of
Smyth vs. Ames, found in 169 United
States Report, ' pp. 4C6-550, popularly
known as tho Nebraska Bate Case."
Mr. Justice Harlan delivered the opin
ion of the court. In this opinion the
jurisdiction of the board is restricted to
shipments commencing aad ending with
in the state. His language is as follows:
"In our judgment it must be held that
the reasonableness or unreasonableness
of rates pres. .ribed by a state for the
transportation of persons and property
wholly within its limits must be deter
mined without reference to the inter
state business done by the carrier or by
prohts derived from it."
In a case before the United States
Distri:t Court of North Dakota, Judge
Amidon says:
"At the threshold of this inquiry it is
important to define its limits. Much of
the argument of counsel on behalf of
defendants is devoted to an attempt to
show that under existing rates the plain-
TJns are earning from their entire busi-
n ss, both interstate and local, a high
raie oi income on a grossly excessive
capitalization of their property. Con
ceding this to be true, it would be who!
jy immaieriai unless it further appears
t j at the income derived from business
1 li a . 1 . , .-a . .
aone wnony wiinin this state, that is
commencing and ending in the state, is
such as to produce an unreasonable in
income upon a . fair valuation. of .the
property employed in doing that bust
ness. , Excessive income derived from
interstate .traffic can be reduced by cori-
cr rAQ nlnria tit V i rV Vina a .n t n .J
diction of commerce among the states.
Excessive income derived from business
done in other states can only be reduced
oy those states. In ' prescribing rates
the state of ISorth Dakota is limited to
that business which is' done within its
boundaries, and in determining the rea.
6onabJeness of such rates the court can
not take into consideration the carrier's
whole business, both interstate and do:
mestic The question was put to rest by
the supreme court in its decision in the
case of Smyth v. Ames. 196 United
States Reoort. Dace 466. commonly
known as the Nebraska Rate Case,"
It does not require a lawyer; for every
layman who runs may read the decision
of the supreme court and ita interpreta
tion by the district court quoted that
the Nebraska board of transportation in
considering the earnings of a road as a
basis for fixing a reasonable rate can
only consider the state business purely,
or shipments that originate and end
within the bouudanes of such state.
This class of business, according, to sta
tistics, in Nebraska, constitutes only 5
per cent of the volume of business done
within the state, 95 per cent being inter
state commerce, and, consequently, be
yond the jurisdiction of the board of
transportation to control or to consider
as a basis for fixing rates.
Criticise this opinion and
its interpe
' established
tation as you may, it is the
law of the land. I am not
writing for
anarchists, but for law abiding citizens.
Two caes are now before the supreme
court of the United States and have
been argued and submitted, one, from
North Dakota and one from South Da
kota, both seeking for a modificatien of
this rule. Until such modification is
obtained, if it ever is, the law as laid
down must be obeyed.
After the ruling by the supreme court,
the secretaries Fought to prevent an in
crease of rates within their jurisdiction.
A disagreement with the roads as to
what constitutes an increase of rates
led to the celebrated meeting at South
O.i. aha, which took place in 1897, if my
memory of dates serves me, This hear
ing resulted in an order by the board re
storing the old rate. Such order was
obeyed until December 1st of last year.
There is a statntory penalty of not less
than ?300 or more than $5,000 for each
and every violation of an order of the
board by the railroad companies. The
artorney general has commenced actions
to recover this penalty, which actions
are now pending.
The injunction in the .Nebraska Tele
phone Co. v. Cornell is too recent to
need review. It is a significant fact that
it was never found necessary under the
republican regime to question the con
stitutionality of the secretaries. This
decision is finally made in favor of the
board of transportation. Their oppo
nents are not the kind of people who lie
down before the forty days for a rehear
ing are past. The forty days are ended
Jan. 28th, the question of rehearing
cannot be determined before Feb. 6th,
for the supreme court will not be in ses
sion until then. Whatever their dicis
ion is, you and I like good citizens will
obey it; and will make no appeal to
the corner grocery. Give these men,. a
chance to do their duty. Relegate your
actions as a party, it any is necessary,
to tho state convention which nominates
candidates for state officers, which alone
has proper jurisdiction of such matters.
It is so easy to sit back aad criticise
an official! King David sat'at the gate
of Jerusalem, after the manner of an
oriental cadi, to determine between liti
gants. His docket was long and full;
and the day was only t enty-iour hours
in length.
"And Absalom rose uparly, and stood
beside the way of the gate and it was
so, that when any man that had a con
troversy came to the king for judgment
then Absalom called unto him, and said,
Of what city are thou? Ani he said,
Thy servant is of one of the cities of Is
rael. .
And Absalom said unto him, See, thy
matters are good and right; but there is
no man deputed of the king to hear thee.
Absalom said moreover, Oh, that 1
were made judge in the land, that every
man which hath suit or cause might
come unto me, and I would do him jus
tice! "And it was so, tbat when any man
came nigh to do him obeisance, he put
forth his hand, and took him, and kissed
him.
"And on this manner did Absalom to
all Israel that came to the king for judg
ment: so Absalom stole the hearts of
Israel."
In conclusion let me say that the con
troversy in the committee was unsought
by me. I entered the committee room
with thoughts of Barker, Donnelly and
Bateman, but was met by Banquet's
ghost. I might have sat silent. The
secretaries had not asked me to npeak
for them, but for six months I had , oc
cupied an office contiguous to theirs;
and had examined their records; and
knew the facts. To the. commandment:
"Thou shalt not bear false witness
ogsinst thy neighbor," I knew no proviso
that reads, "except when he holds or
runs for office." To sit silent on such
an occasion is tantamount to an amrma-
tion of accusations made. I do not re
gret what I did. It may or may . not
have been impolitic on my part. But it
was right; and my conscience acquits
me.
I have paid all I care to say on this
subject. I shall not take up my pen
again in this controversy. It , is the
right, it is the duty of the people to crit-
lcise.
1 only ask them to be just.
Wilbur F. Bryant.
hufirh for barker
The Presidential Candidate of the Middle
of the Koaders Declares that They
Have Left the Varty.
The Independent is glad to see that
Wharton Barker, the presidential candi
date nominated by the middle-of-the-roaders,
takes the same position taken
in this .paper last week. He aeclares
that that element has left the populist
party and formed a new party. It is to
ba hoped that every one who took part
in that movement will not longer claim
to have a right to appear in its councils.
In last week's American Mr. Barker says:
In a general letter addressed to these
committeemen Senator Butler sets out
by calling attention to the 'Omaha
agre ment,' or resolution, passed by the
national committee at its meeting in
Omaha in June, 1893. directing the all-
ing of the people's party conventionmt
least one month in advance of the meet-
of either the democratic or re
publican conventions. Now, many of
these committeemen will be likely to
make no response at all to this letter of
S-'nHtor Butler, not regarding him as a
chairman to . whom st(a:ght populists
i should give any recognition. For, in-
aeeo, tney severed connections with the I over the family's condition led the
Butler National committee at Omaha int.woman to commit the horrible deed.
June, isus; severed connections with it j
because they regarded- it as a fusion J
co remittee, while they jvere populists,
and by the acts of a committee repre
senting a party to which - they did not
belong they declared they could not
and would not be bound, nor would
they take part in any acts of such com
mittee, for from recognition of such
committee as having : authority over
them they had declared themselves ab
solved. - , . v
"And, as a matter of fact, these popu
lists did not join in passing the "Omaha
agreement. When that so-called agree
ment or resolution was passed they re
fused to vote, for when that committee
turned its face unmistakably towards
fusion they held, aloof; from that mo
ment they regarded their usefulness as
members of that committee as past
THEIR PLACE AS BEING OUTSIDE.
It i3 true these populists did agree to a
form of an agreement that was accepted
by flhe members of a conference com
mittee representing the Butler faction
of the national committee, an agree
ment providing for the calling of a na-ti-Hjal
. convention to meet in March
1899, but when this agreement
was " presented to the committee
the f usionists repudiated this action of
their representatives, struck out the
clause directing the calling of the na
tional convention for early in 1899, and
when the agreement was thus mutilated
these populists refused to have anything
further to do with it, aye, refused to
longer consider themselves as members
of a national committor whose fusion,
anti-populist tendency they could . not
longer doubt, and refused to make them
selves longer a partyto su ;h agreement.
And these populists then joined in issu
ing the address calling the Cincinnati
convention." : r ;
That clears up matters. The men who
havo led the populist party to" success,
wherever it has been successful, will now
be free to continue the policy that has
produced that success,, without the con
stant annoyance to which they have
been subjected, ever since this Philadel
phia ex-banker attempted to take charge
of the party and form its policies. Upon
this point the Independent says, "Ilur-
jail 1U1 lVUa.LlAJU XJUlAda
An Alliance Man
Winside, Neb. Jan 11, 1900,
"Editor Independent: It is just as
true today as it was sixty-five years ago,
when you and I went to the old log
school house and sat on the soft side of
a basswood slab with our goose.quill pen
and tried to duplicate the old copy-
Many men of many minds, etc. You
and I are living witnesses to the fact
that the e are many men of many minds,
even in this age of the world. All over
this boasted land of the free we read of
new organizations all along the lines of
reform, all claiming to be working in the
interest of the masses. It looks to a man
up a tree as is we were going into the
next battle with divided forces. Can we
afford to doit? We have a middle-of
the read populist on the track for presi
dent. Some years asro I was a reader of
his paper. There was a $30,000,000
stetd went through the city council of
Philadelphia, and if he ever made a kick
through his paper I failed to know it.
I fear it. we hve to wait for reform
measures until iwe get them from that
source it will be a long wait. I find we
have a great many reformers, but there
are too many who want to do the reform
ing at so much a reform. I know of a
few good men who feel that they have
been left out in the cold. If they will
look at the election returns they cer
tainly can learn why over 100,000 votes.
Thousands and th-vj a ds-f these voters
h ive done ood work to bring these
changes about. But noue have done so
good "work as the leaders of the repub
lican party. - Their own corruption is
what relegated them to a back seat po
litical suicide.
A word to my old AlHance brothers:
Think of the labor done and' money ex
pended to educate the voters up to the
true principles of reform! Can we afford
to go back and begin anew?" Many of
us are too old to do that. Some of our
good friends had a meeting a short time
; v 'Hatin"-K 4o -?nke a new start
towar J a v 1 1 c ' e o' mation. The
.uc..utr' is to o :,' It 'pon d r et leg-
is!ationf Oi we initiative and- referen
dum. A very good platform. That is
true democracy or true republicanism if
vou please, but how long do you think
it will take to teach the people to know
what the initiative and referendum
means? I venture the assertion that 80
per cent of the voters don't kndw the
meaning of the' term. Ho! my g od
friends, stop calling hard nraes. Let
tis get together. A chance is offered us
now to get almost ail we ever asked for.
There are enough reform voters to go to
a -.Jixiplete victory next fall, but divided
we ;o to. defeat. And if we are to re
v ;"d ' .who harp rone the most to
change the politicr coaiplexion of this
''it e r ,iust go a iter Charlie, Joe,
'uene and others of their ilk. They are
nwh-diri the dirty work. Of
course we had some good watehe s on
t..tn tracK., Anu now a man don't have
to know how to read to know how to
vote in Nebraska. Just get the vote
of
tDouglas and Lancaster counties;
by
their votes you may know they are sat
isfied with the way our folks do busi
ness. Hence, I say, get together and we
wi'.l hitch Col. Bryan and Ci arlieTowne
or some equally good men to ihe reform
u agon, and let every man put his shoul
der to the wheel and never let up until
we land jthem in the White House, where
they belong. Yours for a solid front,
II. B. Miller.
Proofs of Prcspsrity : r
IIouj hton, Mich.. Jan. 10. A woman
known a i Mrs. Bennett was taken in
custody yesterday and found to ,be de
mented. When Maj'or Scott heard of
the matter he repaired to the dilapidated
house where the woman had lived and
there found a baby 18 months old, thinly
clad, with neither food nor fire' in the
house. The mayor is at prtsent caring
for the little waif in his own family.
Mrs Bennett is said to have been a well
known stenographer with cn3 of. the
leading firms of Minneapolis. - The
woman is hopelessly insane, made so by
her troubles and privations. : :
McPherson, Kas., Jan. 10 Mrs. Joseph
Christie, of this city, tonight cut the
fehroats of her trm children, both under
6 years old, then cut her own throat and
set fire to her home. The children died
a - once and Mrs. Christie died soon
auerwara. ii is supposed that worrv
Don't miss Sanderson's sale,
. ;
Vandsrbilt's Blessing '
Several years ago, when, old Vander-
bilt was planning and calculating about
a new freebooter expedition to plunder
the people and some one remarked what
the people would say and do about it the
old freebooter answered, "The people be
damned."
Of this sentence I was reminded.when
a tew days ago l saw in a newspaper
that it is a preconciuded matter by our
dicta rors that the gold standard, which
will place a burden of billions of dollars
on the people mustv be adopted at I the
present session of congress, that the con
spirators even will not confirm their po
sition with arguments, but they will give
the opp jnents all the time they wish to
have for speaking. That's about the
ame thing as old Fritz of Prussia said:
"Believe what you will, but you must
pay the bill." ' ;
Old Vanderbilt would say, "Let the
fools say anything they will, but they
must loot , the bill-" "Now what will
you do about it?
There are now several important ques
tions to be decided in this congress. If
decided wrong they will place a burden
of billions of dollars on the people, there
by even enslaving our posterity and ev
eryone of these measures would have
been rejected . by the people had they a
vote upon them. If this people had the
deciding vote, in twenty-four hours
there would be peace in the Philippine
islands, and the inhabitants would have
their liberty which they are defending
with their blood. The bimetallic stand
ard money of the constitution would be
maintained, all railroads, telegraphs, tel
ephones, etc., would be acquired and
managed by the government for the ben-
ehtof the commonweal. .but this peo
ple may talk itself hoarse about this
matter. Its voice' has no weight at all.
Everything is already preconciuded by
the Mark Hanna crowd. Even the sound
arguments of the few honest representa
t ives of the people amount to nothing.
Every one of tho schemes of our dicta
tors will be sanctioned. The people will
have to foot the bill and will receive
Vanderbilt's blessing as a reward.
Now what's the use to have an admin
istration, courts, and congress, if officers,
j.udges and congressmen are only the
tools and jumping jacks of our ' money
barons for fooling the people?
Under such circumstances it would be
better to entirely abolish this costly ap
paratus which the people has. to main
tain and have a real absolute emperor.
A real absolute monarch would not dare
to scorn the will of the people in such a
contemptible manner because he could
not put the responsibility on some other
men. Feeo ochw eizer.
Woodlawn, Jan. 3, 1000. .
The Stale Board cf Transportation
More than all else railroad passes
extortion led to the formation of
and
tie
farmers' alliance.
he alliance to the
organization of ' opulist party,' as it
is now. ponr ' -designated. In the
first camp .' -f from "railroad . x
tort-ion ba iramount issue, the
populists tv. he state. (The gover
nor is countt- and the attempt ot
the legislaUuv to redeem the pledge
made to th-? p-ople in the platform and
from the stump is thwarted by the
courts.V Acr-'in is their candidate for
governor elected, and this time "success
ful v inaugurated. The railroads, . as
suming the offensive, attemt to advance
rates. The following extract from , the
little book written by Mr. T. H. Tibbies, ,
entitled, "Nebraska Redeemed, well
describes the strategy and how it is met.
"In Jan;ry, -1893, complaints began
to be made in the newspapers that ' the
railr ads by a subterfuge in changing
the tariff on live stock from the car load
rate to a rate per hundred pounds, had
really raised the ra'es about 25 per cent.
The governor made a most thorough
and systematic investigation of the
whole subject. He wrote scores of let
ters to cattle shippers, procured bills of
lading for car loads of cattle before and
after the new rate was proclaimed, and
pressed the matter With such vigor and
persistency that the populist governor
downed the railroads, single handed and
alone. . . -;
"That was a square stand-up fight for
the farmers and live stock men against
the railroad power, aided and abetted as
they were by all the republican state
otlh'ials.
"These officials denied that there had
been any raise in the rates. But the
governor came back at them with the
let' fry m the live stock shippeis like
this tom Diah Woodruff: 'All shippers
thatl have talked to claim a heavy ad
vance . in rates.' Or this from A. E.
Scott: In plain words it costs 810 a car
more to ship cattle or hogs from here.'
Or this from S. P. Delatour: 4It means a
loss of 14,000 or 15,000 on every 1,000
cars shipped out of western Nebraska.'
"The saving to the cattle raisers in
Nebraska by this vigorous work of the
populist governor in preventing their
looting by the railroad corporations, is
estimated to be many hundreds of thous
ands of dollars."
While this audacious move of the
railroads failed to increase the tribute
exacted, there was "method in their
madness," the peoplt were thrown on
the defense and paralyzing inactivity fol
lowed. . - 1 - .
Encouraged by the failures of the
populists to effect the pledged reduction
of rates, in the following year (August
10, 1897) the railroads again attempted
an advance, and by the same identical
subterfuge. ;
This time they are strangely success
ful. ' Moreover, the governor as no longer
opposed by a republican state board of
transportation, a practically populist
board in the meantime having been
elected. -,In
vain do the people appeal to the
nr Incubators?
have all tat latestim utuoiiK.reaold I
Tcry lor prices wi (rnarftn. f
teed to pieatteevervctuuKner.sena c
b real tor cur lou oae ftM. f
whka contains fuUdeocriDtloiis i
"'"'ii cf cor extract line and tells kow Z
to raise nonurr
ncceao
full J. Plans for poultry sad broodstAonaes.
j
iDes Maine Incubator Co., Boi 33 ..Des Molcet, la
EBB HSKfl TREES wrTOffi
hunwwwH ns.s.j t la trees, 3 to i
ft. 7: Clierry trees, 3 to4it..20; Peach tree. 2;
Concord Grape 2.50, per hundred. 1000 ltaseian Mull
berry. l- Locust, Ash and Osage Hedge, at Tery low
price. Catalog free, Jaasen t entry, BozS&Jflisefl,Neb.
The IMPROVED
VECTOR Incubator
batches all the fertile eggs; la
simple, durable and easily oper
ated: ICS taire catalogue contain.
i nginfornxatioii and testimonial
Bentn-ee. 0E0. EITEL CO
1 l?fei&S13k'fe
2
tomcT,iu. y eJ
board of transportation for protection,
to extend what is their lawful duty, and
to their creatures, the board of secre
taries. Does a pop victim- pay his fare
to Lincoln and present his grievance in
person? He is dismissed with an assur
ance of immediate relief. Nothing is
done. "I told you so. "says the republi
can neighbor. Betrayed, mocked, hu
miliated! Surely the cup of bitterness
is full.
This daily looting: of thousands of dol
lars continues, and for more than four
months, not until the following Decem
ber, does the board issue the order re
storing the carload rate. -
The effect: for the railroads, a bnU
liant coup; for the populists, an igno
minious and demoralizing defeat. iN um
bers, in .: disgust and despairing of any
good in politics, sell their support to the
highest bidder. - Others disdaining to
participate further in what they coneie-ve
to be a mockery, refrain from voting,
and, complaining that to have nursed
the movement in its weakness, - is to be
turned down in its strength. That self
seekers i nominate their - councils and
largely occupy the positions of trust
and profit within its power to bestow.
That power, as a magic wand, 'transform
ing opposition into support. The free
pass is not abolished, but is becoming
more general until the prestige (?) of
such railroad recognition qualifies rath
er than disqualifies county delegates to a
convention, nor is railroad extortion
abolished, or yet reduced, but actually
increased. -
That officers elected to effect not af
fect reform are commended in state con
vention for conservatism (professed re
formers, commending anti-reform. v Con
sistency, thou art o jewell.)
That, if to give the people justice, is
to be radical, then be radical.
That, , reform perverted, the term a
misnomer, conveys a distinction without
a difference; others, again, break.; away
to become guerillas, while on every hand
is heard the anxious "query," i;Whither
are we drifting?" Moreover, the en
thusiasm so characterizing the earlier
days cf the movement, giving place to
despondence, the normal strength of
phenomenally rapid earlier growth and
auspicious inaugeration is maintained
only by the most strenuous efforts of the
leaders.
Flushed with success and presuming
on the apathy and indifference of the
authorities, in November last the rail
roadswarn their intended victims of
meditated depredations anew, like the
bold buccaneer of romance, and deliber
ately proceed to put the threat into ex
ecution, beginning the first day of De
cember, since - which date looting is
daily perpetrated and at this writing
continues. It is only fair to state how
ever that there is a rumor to the effect
that the state board of transportation
will eventually do something. Thus far
preserving the ' characteristic masterly
inactivity. J. E. Welch.
Paxton, Neb. January 12, 1900.
iThe above " correspondence is from a
populist of the - old school. It shows
plainly that people are becoming anx
ious to have something done to prevent
the continual "increase in freight rates.
The attorney -general or his deputy
should have gone into court and secured
an injuntion to prevent the putting into
operation of the new freight schedule
So far as the board of transportation is
concerned it is fair to say that it made
an
order two years ago preventing
change in the system of charging for
freight and the increase of freight rates
thereby that was obeyed until the first
of last December, when the railroads
disobeyed the order of the board of trans
portation.- The board is now ; taking
steps to collect the fines from the roads
that have violated the orders. The forty
days allowed by the court in which to
file a motion for a new trial have not
yet elapsed since ' the ' recent decision
and therefore the board cannot proceed
under that- decision. As soon as -this
time expires the board must act and
act vigorously. Ed.
For the Boars
Ji-ditor Independent: it is some six
years since I wrote to the Independent
last, and then it was in response to a
request from ; the Independent for the
voters to express their views in regard
to fusion with the Democrats. :
in your last issue there ap
peared a letter from a pro-Bull
or anti-Boer. That letter caus
ed me to wonder that so claimed re
formers could entertain such ridiculous,
brain-scorched ideas. ; His production
reads like it was from the pen in the
hands ot gentleman raniiing with your
"Harris" letter (See editorials in State
Journal of December 28, 1899). Now
Mr, Gere has perfect right to - use the
words "sovereignty" and "suzerainty" as
synomrms and yet there is quite a dif
f erence between "suzerainty" over the
foreign affairs of the republic and "sov
ereignty. : -
In 1870, while Spain was in the act of
electing a sovereign (King Alfonso the
1st) France claimed the suzerainty over
Spam but not sovereignty.
He writes about the Boers revolting.
The idea of an independent republic re
voiting against England! I guess it
must have been a revolution of the U.
S. against Spain, too, in the American-
Spanish war. Gere tells about the re
volt of the Uitland&rs, and at the, same
time in one breath says there was no
revolution and that the Uitlanders sent
w ord to Dr. Jamieson not to come, so
SURE HATCH fflCU3ATfi
Trne to its nam. It is made
to hatch aad does hatch. Sa 4
n ew heating in renter of If
rtrsrchimher Entirely aoto-
UUIK Hunden ar in ui
(Jbmmoa Sease Kieaderesre
perts.-. Let as mvte too
prices laid town at yoor
station. Oar Catalogna Is
chock fall of practical piml.
trr tnf riraiioo. It!s FREE.
Send fnr it lunr.
SURE HATCH INCUBATOSl COMPANY, Clay Center. Net
S 3 OUR PI AS A BIRD SULK?
Old Billable fiaac '28.40.'
Wo challeni
aay plow for
handling, we uaTataaaaauda
of testimonials from farmers.
rood work.
light draft, asr
sent on trial, saU
iftfaefcion vnaran.
teed. Bend for big frea
catalog and prices
on bnsa-iea.harneas,
sfftBB mnrh i nmm A
1000 other thine, de
livered. Addraaa,
BssgwRl PlswCa,
All fit Altam. TIL
fts mi s fcewty la Us VUH KmsHls alssH nsau7
also did Ceicl Rhodes, and yet those 80C '
Luglish assassins crossed the Transvaal
border like a thief in the night. Every
honest man must admit that Dr. Jamie
son should have been hung to the first
tree in sight This "hog in the parlor,"
Gere, dares to compare this Imperial
Jamieson with the peoplo who sympa
thize with the independent republics of
the Transvaal and the Orango Free
State. This mullet hoad reader, of
course, ddes not think for himself. Th' .
State Journal has not yet been persuad
ed that the Transvaal and. Orange Free
State republics have better governments
than Natal and Cape Cokmj , under the
English crown. Quite to the contrary,
that is no more than one could expect of
an imperialist spitlicklo here or any
where else, x - -
Those "Irish asd Dutch," with their
imaginary cause for hatred, ought to bo
thankful for those English Jaws of and
the equity by which.-they were driven
from house and home, and which en
abled the English lords to get all or very
near all the land into their own hands
through unjust taxation.- '
Yes the English bear minions of dollars
worth, not because they are hungry but
I suppose to please Mr. Harris, of Arap
ahoe. , - -: w-v. "-v
It is something new to', me that ' the .
Boers are indebted for their very exist
ence to England. I never heard that
John Bull created a Boer or a contk
nent. I thought it was the creator of all
things. " " '
Or is England like the worm sunning
itself in the garden who ' thanked the
Lord for making all this beautiful world
and balmy sunshine for its own especial
benefit. And then the farmer came
along and stepped on it. And then it
was a world for some other wornu
Ho says the Boers have no use for
English and American law. No . they
have not. Not any more than the colo
nists had for English law when they
threw their tea into the ocean. And
why should they? Does not every gov
ernment make its own laws? They
acknowledge that England had to recog
nize their independence. But propose
to overrun the Transvaal with British
subjects with their English law, English'
equity in their pockets, to be meted 6"ut
to the Boers the same as'they did to the
T . 1 1- KTT T 1 Tk" I
lrisn. xr. w . i ickjsl. ai vo, i e d.
Aurora Confidence Company
Aurora, Neb., Dec. 8, 1899.
Hon. B. O. Bergerson, Aurora, Neb.
, My Dear Sir: It affords me great
pleasure to publicly answer your ques
tion propounded in the Register of the
issue of .November b. v As 1 gather from
your communication, sundry good peo
ple in your locality fear their capital
will be imperiled if they purchase bonds
or stock in your company, for the reason
that the plant will cost 23,000, and the
stock subscription $63,100, the bond
issue will be 126,200, whicb will leave a
surplus of $96,200 in the hands of this
company.. Believe me when I say that I
do not intend to be Pharisaical or super
cilliouswhen I call your attention to the
fact thajb the stock enterprises heretofore
started in this part of the state havo
nnally passed into the hands of the few.
When the stock subscribers were putting
up their money, the promoters received
them'with the giad hand, but when they
asked for a dividend they received the
frozen face and the marble heart. All
this was brought about because the
policy of the corporation was. not in
strict accord with business principles,
and it is to avoid this unhappy issue
that the present plan has - been sub
mitted. Our plan is not original. It
was developed by study and incubation
ftom the spoken words and written
thoughts of the ablest propagandist of
business methods of the present century.
Permit me to illustrate, For some time
the business affairs of our . nation have
been conducted on the theory that there
should be a gold redemption for all ,
things, and you ought to be a witness to
the fact that we have never had such a
period of prosperity and happiness, and
now that the Pullman Palace Car of
State has changed crews, but will still
run on the same line, it will be but , a
short time when all men shall own a roof
tree, when patriotism will be as eternal
as the milky wav,"when all will be as
untarnished as the reputation of Caesar's
w.ife; when the toif-r hail - come gladly
tripping hon i aoie the fact that his
family is pk-u uly fed, warmly clothed
and sitting in . heir boudoir watching
the effulgent glories of shimmering light
emanating from a sunken sun. Thee
are the prophecies of those unselfish
men that have done so. much for tho
common people, viz: John -Cleveland,
urover Sherman, J . Sterling Carlisle,
John G. Morton, Henry Oabot Thurston,
John M. Lodge, Burke Hanna, Mark
Cochran, and many others. What is
the kerpel of their joint plan? It is to
maintain a gold reserve of one hundred
million ofMollars for the purpose of re- v
demption and to issue bonds at frequent
intervals to sustain the same. . We have
about seventy million of people, which
gives a gold reserve fund per capita of
$1.47. Now it clearly follows that if 1 a
reserve fund will do jthe perfect work
that has been done by that small amount
how much better results will obtain
from a fund of $145 per share in gold. I y
trust you see our plan in its bare bones '
now; that is, we will have funds from
the sale of bonds and stocks of 126,200
in gold of standard weight and fineness:
we will take from that 128,000 to build
and perfectly equip our factory, leaving
a gold reserve fund of 198.000. I do rot
desire to be tedious. Knowing that your
quick wit has followed the general plnn
and grasped the details. Thanking yo
for an opportunity to thus luminously
explain, permit me to wish yon good in
all things.
- Yours respectfully,
Aceor a Nebraska Confidence Co.,
By W. M. Lakin, Secretary.
Big War Birls
Washington D. C, "January 8, TOGO.
Special -correspondence) The house
assembled ' this morning and after an
hour's session adjourned. It is expected
that the big appropriation bills will be
taken up immediately. Several weeks
time will be devoted ..to tho discussion of
"' -W- as
tnese ouis. iiixpense tor war purposes
for the coming fiscal j ear will be enor
mous by far exceeding past years.
Various interests are pressing tho
republicans for a reduction of the war
taxes; but as that special law brings in
more than one hundred million dollars
per year in revenue, the republicans are
loth to permit any'change. Imperialism
is costly; and when burdens are added
to the regular and legitimate govern
mental expenditures, either special stress
must be laid on tax-gathering or a huge
deficit will ensue.
i-
i
0
I.
