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VOL. XI.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, JANUARY 25, 1900.
NO. 37.
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SEHATORIAL QUIBBIHG
Desperate Efforts Constantly Made to Pre
vent the Truth Belnjr FnrnUhed to
the People
The facts about McKinley's war
upon the Filipinos will be suppressed
If the thing Is possible. "When in
formation Is asked for by the senators
every obstacle is - thrown In the way
cf obtaining it that the sharp pluto-'
eratle lawyers in the senate eau invent
Of course they never say: "The people
nhould not be 'trusted with a knowl
edge of these matters." Tbey always
begin with the statement that they
desire that everything should be made
public. Then they say, "but." A fair
sample of this kind of work occurred
the other day. Senator Pettigrew in
troduced the following resolution ask
ing for information: '
Resolved, That the Secretary of War
be. and he is hereby, directed to in
form the Senate whether General Tor
ri one of the offlcers'of the Philip
pine army, came to General Otis with
a flag of truce on February 5.
the day after the fighting commenced
between our forces and ihose of the
Filipinos, and stated to General Otis
that General Aguinaldo declared that
lighting had been begun accidentally
and was not authorized by ini. and
that Aguinaldo wished to have It
stopped, and that to orlng about a
conclusion of hostilities he proposed
the establishment of a neutral zone
between the two armies of a width
that, would. be agreeable to General
Otis, so that during the peace negotia
tions there might te no further danger
of conflict between the two armies,
and whether General Otis replied that
fighting having once begun must
go on to the grim end. Was General
Otis directed by the Secretary of War
to make such an answer? Did General
Otis telegraph the Secretary of War
on February 9, 1S99. as follows: Aguiu
" aldo now applies for a cessation of hos
tllities and conference. Have declined
I-" ' did General Otis
,i 1 t Was he directed
War to reply; ana
ay, did he or the
nake to the appii-
; .ilUllg?
x no first move that was made was
to object to, its present consideration.
That had the encct t(5 lay it over for
a day. When it was called up in due
course Lodge immediately took the
floor. He began:
"Mr. President, I see no objection
f whatever to giving ah possible infor
mation in regard to every transaction
in the Philippines. I certainly, for
one, -have no desire to see anything
whatsoever suppressed, and I do not
lelleve there is any desire anywhere
to have anything suppressed. But 1
do think" that the resolutions of inquiry
offered by the Senator should be put
in a proper form."
Then a wrangle took place and the
result of it was that a meaningless
substitute was passed instead of the
original resolution. That sort of thing
occurs nearly every day.
TARIFF TRUSTS
Sell Goods to Foreigners for 80 Per Cent
Lett Than They Will Sell Them to
American Fanners
The steel and wire trust has raised
the price of wire anu nails a hundred
per cent during the year and the price
now is four times as high as it was
ini 1805. While it has thus raised
prices to the American farmer, it
sends ship loads of wire and nails to
Kngland and sells ttieru for less than
half what it chaiges our own farmers
who have voted the tariff that enables
them 'to do it.- All these facts were
brought out in the testimony of Jhn
. Gates, managing director of the
American Steel and Wire Compny,
before the Industrial Commission
Gates stated these thing's uubiushingly
tie maue no sort or excuse or eva
sion. The mullet heads of Xebrska
will no doubt declare that Gates was
ing -when he made these admissions
and that the benevolent Wire and
SteeJ Trust would never think of do
ng such naughty things. Ilowever
& review of his sworn testimony will
, reveal that he admitted:
That prices of wire nails, etc., had
been doubled;
That his company exported 700 tons
of wire a day; .
That It furnished England with CO
per cent of her supply;
That goods were sold lower to for
eigners; - ''ft
That such prices were necessary to
"hold outside trade; ' -
That not infrequently, new "plants
were shut up and dismantled:
. That tins. was clone ror "various
reasons;"
x That five plants had been closed;
That his company had a monopoly
of the barbed-wire business;
That therefore higher prices were
charged for these products:
That his company was making big
' profits;
That his company did not recognize
labor unions as such; - .
That subsidies should be paid to
' steamship lines and to corporations
with $T.JOO,000 or more capital.
-v. TVj& effect" upon prices produced by
the ttist has " been marvelous. A
f table of prices of wire nails printed in
i the Iron Asre. .Tanuarv 14. from .Tnnn
V wry. 1894. to the close of Deeenier,
ink, snws mat wire nans nave ad
- vanced in price from SI. 17 in 1894 to
$3.53 at the close of last year. Thev
J are now quoted at $4.13.
.Will the farmers who are building
board fences because barb wire Is too
expensive feel like voting to continue
a tariff system which compels them to
pay 88 per cent more for fencing wire
than foreigners have, to pay for the
same wire? Large quantities of .barb
wire were exported , from "New 1'orK
in December. 1S5KJ, at uu.per nun-
dred, although the home price was
raised at the end of the montn from
$3.SS to $4.13. - '.
Apparently all foreigners are not
treated alike. To be most favored and
to reap the full blessings or protection
you must not only be a foreigner, but
you must reside , at least 3.000 miles
away from the land of McKinley and
Dincley. Thus our neighbors, the
Canadians, must pay for the privilege
of living so near to, us.; However, the
trust treats them better tnan it treats
Americans. On December 2,
Canadian Hardware, a Montreal pub-
Ication. eaid:"
"Retail dealers in the United States
py $3.70 f. o. b. Cleveland for carlots
for barbed wire and $a.su ror less tnan
carlots, while the figure quoted to th
retail trade in Canada is $3.25 f. o. b.
Cleveland for carlots and $3.35 for less
quantities. . " -
"Plain wire is quotea to . ine Can
adian dealer $11 per. ton lower that to
the home dealer.
"The explanation of. these differ
ences in prices is that,, in the home
market on account of the high custoi"
tariff, the United States manufacturer
has a monopoly, while, in catering for
the Canadian trade he has to bring his
prices down to a point that will keep
out the product of British and Ger
man manufacturers."
It mav be noted that when this
trust was first formed we heard a
great deal from the trust theorists
about the economic advantage and
savings of great combinations. Thus
Mr. Garrit II. Ten Broek, or St. liOius,
as counsel for the company, announced
that "the only effect on the market
that I can see will be a possible slight
lowering of prices because of this
economy, and also a steadiness of
prices for the. future." There are stui
numerous pro-trust theorists prating
about the blessings of trusts, as if
nearly all of the trusts had not in
practice actually demonstrated that
they are, under present conditions, all
around curses. The blessings, so far,
are enjoyed only by those . who get
into the trust on the "ground floor."
Some good old pop ought to take
this article and show it to his mullet
head neighbors. It will probably
make them feel so good that they will
all goon a tare. to ki;ow. tl;at.this same
trust which charges them at a . "basis"
of $3.53 per keg for nails (about $4.o0
at retail) export these nails and sells
them to Europeans at'.' $2.14 "basis"
per keg, and that it exported about
70,000,000 pounds in '1899, to all parts
of the earth. '
It somehow happens tht. every
time this trust raises wages in one of
Its departments the increase is her
alded as one of the beneficent effects
of great combinations. Recently many
ponderous articles in great republican
papers have been based upon the
assumed fact that the supposed 318,000
employees of this trust are getting 40
per cent higher wages than before the
trust was formed. Such misleading
statements undoubtedly have a com
mon source. v ", - -
The facts appear to be that the new
trust did, on March 1, 1899, raise the
wages of its employees who were get-,
ting less than $2.50 per day from 5 to
10 per cent. In June,' 1899, a few of
the steel and wire workers-probably
shared in the general 25 per cent ad
vance obtained by the Amalgamated
Association of Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers. On January 1, 1900, the
trust advanced wages . of tonnage
workers, workers by the hour and
day laborers 7i per cent. As usual
it was announced in the papers that
this "advance was unsolicited and un
expected." Possibly. But the Iron
Age of January 4, 1900, contains a tel
egram from nttsburg which says that
"the National Association of Rod
Mill Workers has presented a s'cale of
wages to the American Steel and
Wire Company calling for an increase
in present rates of from 3 to 21 J per
cent. The nienhave asked for the res
t oration of the wges in force prior to
1S93 and a uniform scale. The com
pany is given until January 15 to an
swer, and it is not expected tnere will
be any trouble in arranging a satisfac
torv settlement with the " rod mill
men.
Webster's Sympathy
The following are the words of Daniel
Webster, spoken ; in sympathy with
Greece when she was struggling for self-
government. Why do they not apply
with equal force to the Filipinos?
"They (the Filipinos), contending with
ruthless oppressors, turn their eyes to
us, and invoke us by " their , ancestors,
slaughtered wives and children, by their
own blood poured out like water, by the
hectacombs of dead they have heaped
up as it were to heaven, they invoke,
they implore us for some cheering sound.
some look of sympathy, some token of
passionate regard. They look to us as
the great republic of the earth, and they
ask us by our common, faith whether we
can forget that they are struggling as we
once struggled, for what we now so hap
pily enjoy. I cannot say, sir, that they
will succeed; that rests with heaven.
But for myself, sir, if I should tomorrow
hear that they have failed that their
last column had sunk beneath the op
posing guns, that the flames of their last
city had sunk in its ashes, and that
naught remained but the wide melan
choly waste where once the islands were,
I should still reflect with the most heart
felt satisfaction that I have asked you
in the name of 8,000,000 of freemen that
you would give them at least the cheer
ing of one friendly voice." - -
A lot of children's ' shoes 35c at Sanderson's,.
STANDARD OIL POWER
It Ran the Government of the United
States and the Treasury Cash is Part
of Its Loanable Funds
The correspondence given in the pub
lic 'document entitled "Transactions j
With Certain Banks," sent to congress
by Secretary Gage, on pages 34 to 148
Inclusive and 187 to . 292 inclusive,
shows:
First That there was a "combine"
between the Standard Oil Company,
acting under the guise of the Standard
Oil (National City) Bank, and the
United States Treasury, manipulated
by Secretary Gage, Assistant Secre
tary Vanderlip and Treasurer Ellis
II. Roberts.
Second That the bonds used In se
curing free government deposits tor
speculations and speculative loans
were in large part bonds owned by
and held in the name of the Standard
Oil Company.
Third That this Standard Oil
United States Treasury "combine"
began in June, 1897 three months after
Gage, Vanderlip and Roberts took
charge of the United States Treasuv
Department; that it began with the
appeal of Hepburn. Vice President of
tne Mandard Oil Bank, to Gaze: "If
you take the pains to look at our list
of directors you will see that we also
have very great - political claims In
view of what was done during the
canvas last year;" ..that it continued
with steadily increasing "kindness
on the part of Gage, Vanderlip and
itooerts until it . culminated in the
grawt by Gage and Roberts to the
Standard Oil Bank of the internal
revenue farming contract. Secretary
Gage says of that contract (pages 12
and 13 of the "Transactions") that
on December 19 he held a "c6nf er
ence with the Treasurer of the United
States' on the subject of concentrat
ing the internal revenues, and "as a
result of this conference" the Stand
ard Oil Bank was made the reservoir.
Fourth That the deals inaugurated
by the "combine" and managed to the
profit of the Standard Oil Company
included the Union Pacific funds, the
Central Pacific funds, the $200,000,000
Spanish war loan, the $20,000,000
payment to Spain, the Custom House
sale, the bond purchase of last . No
vember, the internal revenue pooling
contract in fact every Treasury oper
ation of any size, since Messrs. Gage,
Vanderlip and Roberts took office.
There never was a- greater set of
rascals than this treasury gang, some
of whom" have the most unsavory
records in private life. Roberts is
especially of that character. He has
been convicted in the courts of steal
ing from his sister, but he is the Stan
dard Oil's treasurer of the United
States. His court record reads as
follows: .
Fifth That between said 6th day
of November, 1895, and the 1st day of
January, 1897, said defendant (Ellis
II. Roberts) appropriated and 1 con
verted to his own use out of said
mone3rs of said plaintiff (his sisterl
and without her knowledge or consent
the sum of $19,200." From report of
referee in the case of Jane L. Brooks
against Ellis H. Roberts and approved
by the supreme court. Judgment was
rendered against Ellis II. Roberts in
the sum of $21,147.7G.
His record in the office which he
now holds is like unto It. He pro
ceeded to make the United Sttes treas
ury a branch bank of th& Standard
Oil National City Bank, as soon as he
got himself well seated in his chair
at Washington to which fact he has
testified in his own handwriting.
Read the following:
The necessities of the public service
as a rule require that the deposits re
ferred to be made with the Asslstaut
Treasurer of the United States.
Nevertheless, in view of the apparent
accomm6datlon to your bank, this
office will authorize you to make tne
deposits as suggested, with the under
standing that the arrangement is to
remain in force at the convenience of
the department." United . States
Treasurer Ellis H. Roberts in a letter
to President Stillman, of the Standard
Oil Bank, who had requested permis
sion to make deposits of surplus funds
at the Treasury through a Washington
correspondent.
This is a specimen of the crowd who
announce in the Senate and in the
daily papers that they are under
direct guidance of the Almighty, who
holds with them special communica
tions and tells them what is the will
of heaven and reveals to them, to the
exclusion of all other mortals, what is
the destiny of this nation. Wrhat else
could anyone expect from them, when
he remembers that every one of them
was pu: there by Mark nanna?
THE FIGHT ON BRYAN
The Mlddle-of-the-Roaders Intend to do
. all In Their Power to Down Him.
There can no longer be any effort to
compromise with the followers of Whar
ton Barker. The leaders of that move
ment mean to defeat Bryan if the thing
is possible. They will do. all that is
within their power to prevent votes be
ing cast for him. That being the case,
yre who have known Bryan, believe in
his integrity, and want to see him
elected president, can have no further
fellowship with them. They belong to
another party a party whose aims are
diametrically opposed to the party to
which we belong and which has gained
suth a commanding position in this and
other states west of the Mississippi
river. The following items clipped from
the Southern Mercury, Wharton Bark
er's paper in the west, will show that we
have come to the parting of the ways
and that they must . take one way and
we the other. They will not support
Bryan 'under ; any circumstances. We
determined to support- him. That ends
all fellowship. The Mercury shows the.
animus pf the Wharton . Barker crowd
in the following squibs;
Keep your eye skinned for traitors.
There is a warm time ahead in popu
list politics. ; ; .
Don't let the banner of the gallant
"103" trail-in the dust ' . ;
Fusion is wrong in principle 'and pie
will not make it right. '
Keep your aye on the populist who is
in "practical politics." .
Straight ahead is the only rule of ac
tion for thepeople's party.
Wharton Barker w a . populist, and is
ffiving his energy to building up popu
ism. '.;, ''v.f '..?.::
Send none but true men as delegates
to your district convention.
Let the' boys in the trenches speak out
on the proposed sell-out of the people's
party. . . ,';; ; -;
Who puts up the' expense money to
pay the way of those who seek to com
mit Texas populists to the fusion policy?
There is no such jtford as surrender in
the lexicon we-, use .at the Mercury office.
3 Filipino liberation
A society has been formed at Los An
geles, Cal., called the Filipino Libera
tion society. It has issued an emanci
pation proclamation for 'all Filipinos.
This document affirms that the Filipino
war was inaugurated unconstitutionally.
It declares the principle that individ
uals are not bound by, the immoral acts
of the official authorities of the nation.
Each citizen is so responsible for the
wrongs committed by his nation that he
is bound personally to annul, and re
fuse to obey,: them. Otherwise all prin
ciples of right may be overthrown . and
all justice trampled on in the name of
"nation." Government , shall not" con
strain individual conscience, nor shall it
constrain actions in conformity with
that conscience. . .
WHERE THE GOLD IS
The Gold Stock Is Being: Reduced In all tne
Great Countries of Kurepe Except
' .;'i'f: Spain
M. Edmond Thery.'a statistician and
economist well known . in Europe, has
recently written an article first printed
in 'Le Nation" of Paris that is attract
ing a. good ( deal . of : interest among
economists everywhere. The follow
ing is an extract from it: t
Gold stock qt the nine principal
issuing banks of Europe at the end of
the years 1897, '1898 apd 1899 (in mil
lions of francs). :
Counties. 1897. 1898. 1890.
France 1,964 1,826 . 1,879
England . , - 770 705 732
Germany . 774 702 63ti
Austria Hungary 700 755' sn
Belgium . .. ...... . . 91 102 87
Spain . ............ 2a 270 340
Holland . . L i ....... . ti 109 95
Italy 300 304 293
Russia , . ......... 3,008 2,000 2,31 1
Totals i . . - . . . 8,005 7,439 7AS13
Even if we take no account of the
fall in fhe'gold stock of the Imperial
Baik of Russia, caused by the Russian
monetary reform, it is none the less
evideritthat, in spite of the enormous
increase in the world's gold produc
tion,' the gold stock of the European
banks is. in process of being ieduced,
taken as a whole. v
On examining the table given above
we see that it is the. Bank of Spain
which has gained the most gold be
tween 1897 and 1899. If we consider
the special needs of Germany, where
the rate of discount is at 7 per cent:
the delicate situation of Austria-Hungary;
where the valutor has not yet
been completely regulated; the re
quirements of Russia, "who must de
fend her pew monetary regime: and
of France, whose enormous fiduciary
circulation necessitates a very large
gold reserve, we arrive at this singu'ar
conclusion, that, at the present mo
ment, only the Bank' of Spain couia
come to the assistance of the English
money, market. . '
The Bank of Spain, in fact, possesses
340 million francs in gold which are of
no use to it, since its notes are re
deemable in silver, and further, when
the discount rate is A per cent !n
Paris, 5 per. cent at Brussels, Amster
dam and Rome, 6 per cent in London,
Geneva and St. - Petersburg, 7 per
cent in Berlin and 8 per cent at Bucha
rest, it is only -4 per cent at Madrid
and "Barcelona. - :
It seems that Spain has learned
enough to shake off thes money sharks
of the old world and Is about to. start
out on a new tact. She is on the silver
basis, and if she has. only the courage
to stick to it and follow out Jlie wise
policy that has brought such blessings
to all the people of Mexico, she may
take a new atart in life. The thing
that she should do is to sell all of that
gold, for as .Tbery says,, she has no
use for it. It if" no more use to ner
than so much-mud.- France and the
other. Latin nations that have stuck
to silver have no trouble these days.
It is the-gold standard nations that are
in the doldrums. ' ' '
. If you want cash'each week for sell
ing Stark: Trees, that grow and bear
fruit , write Stark Nursery, Louisiana,
Mo., for terms. ' ..
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AFRAID OF THEIR RECORD
Every Effort Is being; Made by the Pluto-
cratic Senators to Hide McKlnley's
itefariows Work. '. "f
Washington, Jan. 23 (Special Cor
respondence.) In the Senate and -the
House the republican pleaders have
been kept. bns dodging flying missiles
of all sizes' and 'shapes '.which 'the oo
position are sending in from every
direction.' The Gage City National
Bank matter will not down, an- u me
efforts of the republican leaders to put
it to sleep and hide the fact of its ex
istence i from the public, but serves
to attract more' attention to it. So far
as the treasury officials can do so the
policy of denying all information of
the progress of the deal is adhered to.
Things will leak out, however,, and
information will come to the front
from unexpected sources, until the ad
ministration . supporters are getting
into a' dreadful state. For instance, -it
has been revealed during the past day
or two, that although it was given out
the first of the year, or rather forced
out, of the Secretary of the Treasury,
that it would .require about twenty
millions of the government money, put
into the selected , depositories to save
Wall Street from the "prosperuy
panic," that this was not the real
amount used in this scheme. There is
now on deposit with these favored
banks under this pretty little scheme
over thirty millions of dollars of public
money, and. the indications are that
more is to follow. The last conclusion
is reasonable because if the banks
could, demand it as Hepburn did
force compliance., with -their demands
as they seem to have aone, they will,
like the horse leech's daughter, con
tinue to cry for more, just as long as
there Is a dollar in the west or at the
disposal of the government. This con
tinued agitation of the matter nas
aroused the country and the determin
ation of the democrats, populists and
silver republicans in bom houses to.
push the administration to the point
of a complete exposure or else a flat
footed denial of all information to tne
people, is Causing more uneasiness
than ever. The introduction of Sena
tor Allen's resolution, asking for in
formation as to whether -the1 Transvaal
Republic had ever . accredited any
diplomatic or consular representative
to this government, and if so, when
and for what reason he was denied
recognition,. brought out some curious
talk in the Senate. The flat declara
tion of Senator Spooner, to whom the
attack on the resolution seemed to he
given, that the Senate hrfd no right to
demand information concerning the
actions of the Secretary of State or the
President in a matter which had been
closed, and about wbich there was w
pending diplomatic arrangement
which might be frustrated if mad;
public, was a stunner to many. It is
the enunciation of the position that the
administration is forced to take. The
President and his cabinet officers as
sume that the" people of the" country
are not "entitled to know ; how their
servants have discharged their duties,
and this is founded on the conviction
that the manner in which the trust
has been performed will be unsatis
factory when the people do come to
know it. But what a condition that is
where the servant dares not let tho
master see his work.
This same . condition, of arrogatiou
of the right to keep from the people
the manner in which the public busi
ness is conducted, prevailed in Ne
braska a few years ago; and the people
came to know of it and they brought
about a howing of the booKS that is
not yet forgotten. The attitude of the
supporters of the. . administration" in
these days is causing thinking people
to wonder why there, should be so
much anxiety to conceal things. There
Is another branch of the government
which is being looked after, and that
is the department having in charge to
."colonial'" . government and appoint
ments. In a general way it Is known
that there are a great many, appointees
of the government in Cuba, Povro Rico
and the Philippines. It is also kr.owu
in a general way that some very lat
salaries and soft places are provided
for political favorites of the adminis
tration in these islands. 'But the at
tempt to get .specific and detailed in
formation as to how many of these
appointees there are, wat they are
supposed to do. and how much they
are costing the government
and ' the people of ' the islands,
met with the same decided
opposition the other day that all other
inquiries have: What will this inquiry
show. when, it is finally pushed to a
conclusion? Is. there a condition ex
isting under the "policy of imperial
grandeur" that is sometimes talked
about and which is patterned : af te r
that t)f England, ' that will, when
brought to light have some of the ele
ments which made Clive's administra
tion forever memorable when he under.
authority of the British government
looted India? If everything is straight
why . don't the : administration court,
instead of obstructing, a full investi
gation ? .-.- i . ; . v' '..' ;"' ' ", '
The Nebraska delegation has been
bearing Its full share in the' work of
the past week.' Senator Allen hs his bill
to pension Mrs. Mary L.. Stotsenberg
well on the way to a successful pas
sage through the Senate. Bills were
Introduced in the House and Senate
providing for a public building at'Nor
folk by Representative Robinson and
Senator Allen. -D.
H. BRADLEY.
Holt County Redeemed
One day last week the county board
of supervisors went through the tedious
process of counting about $70,000 in
cash, in warrants and ' securities held as
cash by County Treasurer Henry. It
was aU thereevery cent six years ago
Treasurer Mullen started in' with a gen
erous balance left by the republican
county officers of twenty -two cents.
Two dimes and two , pennies left in the
vault by the Frontier's pets; these pa
triotic republicans also left other tokens
of their affection for the dear ; people.
They left nearly every school district in
the county holding the sack for the
amount of their apportionment and the
sinking fund accumulated for the pay
ment of any bonds that might be out
standing. They drained every fund
they could reach they held up the tax
payers individually and collectively, and
left the county over $ 100,000 in the hole
and with a name that smelled to Heaven.
Holt county ha been redeemed under
six years of populist administration.
Our warrants are at a premium and
claims as good as gold. Every populist
should be proud that he is a populist
and proud of the record as a party
Holt County Independent
DIVIDING THE OFFICES
It is one of the Things That Troubles E-rery
Party and is Never Satisfactorily Ac
complished Editor Independent : In the last
issue of the Independent I see men
tion made of some appointments and
promotions in the Auditor's .office.
For the benefit of a great number ot
your readers" I would like to have
you publish a list of those persons'
that have been chosen by the different
state officials to fill the. positions of
clerks, deputies, etc., that have been
chosen from the humbler walks of
life, such as farmers, laboring men,
etc. .As far as my observation-goes,
I think the above named class are not
as fully, represented as they should
be. I think it is not becavise. of lack
of ability among- the laboring men
that they do not secure their, share.- 1
have'my views on . the matter and
would like to have you express yours.
T. P. TEAGARDEN,
Odell, Neb. ;
The United . States government
prints a "Blue Book," but so far as
known to . this writer, no .state gov
ernment does. ,To get a. list of all the
state employees and - their occupations
before fheir employment by. the state
would be a -very large undertaking-
so large in fact that-no private indi
vidual would like to try it. The in
formation asked would be very inter-
estlngV and the -editor of "the- Independ
ent would like to get hold of it
himself. - For one, he cannot see why
the" state should not print a blue
book as well as the general -govern
ment, and if he were a member or
the legislature he would bring in, a
bill to that effect. -
The appointment of .-'" state officers
and employees is one of the most dif
ficult questions any party 'in power lia
to deal with. No doubt an effort has
been made to divide the offices up
fairly, first in regard to the share or
each-of-the fusion parties, next as to
the different interests and occupations
next to the parts of the state and so
on, but it has never been done to the
satisfaction of any party or interest or
occupation. The . editor of the Inde
pendent is fully satisfied of one thing
and : that, is that . the fanr2K?s who
made the party and sustain it have
never had any where near their share
of the offices. One reason for this is
that all of the .'most lucrative offices
must go under the law to the legal
pedagogic and medical professions. Of
course all the judges, attorneys and
many other lucrative places must go
to the lawyers. The educational places
must be filled by. the professors. The
great asylums and other' institutions
of that character must go to the doc
tors. The university and the superin
tendence of the education must gotto
the pedagogues. After all these
places are 'filled it leaves but .poor
picking for the farmer and the labor
ing man. The people might send a
farmer . or an editor to congress once
in a while, but seldom do.
Our Policy
It isconstautly asserted in the im
perialist press that those who oppose
a war. of subjugation on the Filipinos
have, nothing to offer in its place
Nothing is more false. Mr. Br3au has
on several occasions outlined a policy
The other day Senator Hoar told the
senate what ought to be done and how
to do it in these words: v
"Let me state what I would do today
as I have stated what I desired to do
before the war broke out. The Philip
pine armies are scattered. Aguinaldo
is a fugitive, and in concealment.
would send GeneraPWood or General
Miles or Admiral Dewey to Luzon.
would have him gather about hjm fl
ea binet of the best men among the
Filipinos who have the confidence ol
the people and desire nothing but
their welfare. In all provinces and
municipalities where civil government
is now established possessing the con
fidence of the people,, I would 'consult
with their rulers nd - representatives.
I would lend the aid of the army ,ot
the varmy of the United States only to
keep order. I would perm... the people
to make laws and to administer laws,
subject to some supervision or inspec
tion, till the disturbed times are over
and peace has' settled down again
upon that country insuring, the secur
ity of the people against avarice, am
bition or peculation. So soon as it
seems that government can maintain
itself peacefully and in order,, I would
by -degrees withdraw- the authority ot
the United States, making a treaty
with them tnat we would protect. theru'
against the cupidity of any other nn
tion, and would lend our aid for a rea
sonable time to maintain border "and
law." . . .
IS THERE PROGRESS?
Has not the System of the Middle Ages Re
turned in Spite of Boasted
Advancement. 1
Now, as in the middle ages, one of tha
barons has more weight : with the gov
ernment than ten thousand of the re
tainers. Now, as then, government is
bent for the barons' special protection.
Now, as then, the barons divert the rev
enues for ' their own profit, play tricks
with the treasury, and evade tneir prope?
share of taxation to throw. the burden'
upon the inferior creatures that toil, t
Is there any progress in that? ' - t
There are kind-hearted barons of in
dustry now, as there were kind-hearted
barons of castles then. The kind heart
of the barob makes no difference to th
slave so long as the system .goes en
There are slaves that are well housed
now; there were slaves that were well
housed then. The kind of house makes
no difference so long as the vast major
ity of men must waste their lives in bar-
ren toil for less of the fruits of the earth,
than they need and the few fortunate
masters perform no labor at all for more
of the fruits of the earth than ? they can.
use. .-. . , ;. : - ; v - , ' ... -. - - - "
Names chance, externals change, es
sential conditions remain the same.
The telegraph and telephone are de
sirable things; the steam engine per
forms wonders, we have the most lux
urious sleeping cars in the world, we
produce great quantities of the most in
tricate and amazing machinery, wo
make light with electricity, we are car
ried about by steam.
Will some one kindly mention one of
our inventions that has not been turned
into an additional bond for industrial
slavery? One that has not become the
instrument of organized greed? One
that has not been made a vast machine
for wresting the fruits of tho earth from
those that have , too little and adding
them to thoselhat have too much?
It is.no doubt a line thing to have ma-,
chines that make shoes. ; What about)
the darkened lives and hopeless toil of
those who run the machines? .
Against the .telegraph and telephone If
put the East End of London and th
rear tenements of New York; againsUfhe
cotton mill, the men who operate it;
against the sleeping car, the anthracite
coal regions of Pennsyl vania; against tho
trolley car, the black list and the - com
pany store; against the dynamo, John D
Rockefeller and Mark' Hanna.
Is there any progress visible in thlgv
prospect? .,"-:.i-"--'"' """.'
Go into one of those Pennsylvania
mining towns. Observe the terrible
struggle for existence, the squalid houses
and the famished children, the saddened
lives, the toilers robbed and cheated
kept in their employers' debt, dogged by
spies, denied the . privilege of . doing
enough labor to get" themselves": food,
without hope, without light, without!
cheer. '''.
Can. the car coupler or the thrashing
machine or any other noble triumphs of
nineteenth- century civilization make
amends for such condition s?..
. In New York the poor shiver , for lack
of coal; in Pennsylvania are mountains N
of fuel, the earth's free gift to man, and
thousands of men anxious to mine it
that they may get bread and live. And
between stand the barons of industry
who will not let the miner - mine so that
the poor shall shiver until they pay m
higher price for warmth. "
Do you see any signs of real civiliza
tion in that? ' ,
The whole world tells the same story.
What is the use of talking about civil
ization and progress when the nation
called the most civilized is now engaged
in making war for sundry lumps of gold
upon a nation a pygmy by comparison?
Why - talk - of. advancement when tha
strong deliberately purpose for the sake
of gain to obliterate the weak? Why
boast of better conditions in the face of
an international crime far more savagw
and cruel than the , partition of Poland?
Why prate about an enlightened public
opinion when the world sits by and per
mita this monstrous spoliation?
The end of the century, sees all tha
nations of Europe except two-still cling
ing to the huge, ineffable absurdity of
thrones and kings. It sees " legislators
and rulers still wielding power by tho
divine right ' of birth. It sees a subtlo
strengthening of remaining .. feudalism
through the profound reactionary influ
ence of y England. It sees the toilerV
everywhere crushed under the appalling
burden of. .militarism - and armaments.
It sees nations, building empires withx
the slaughter of, races . and the robbing'
of lands. It sees even in the frees ti
countries the steady absorption of power
into the hands of a few. .
y It sees race still hating race; it ?ee
the greatest. activity of nations directed
toward the means of war and methods
to destroy human life; it sees Great
Britain- spending $300,000,000 to kill,
Boers and permitting the famine-stricken
people of India to starve to death.
Is there any progress in that?
.. No doubt from.all this evil in the slow
processes of time - good will be evolved,
as man was evolved from ;the ape. No
doubt some day the frightful ideals of
the Bismarcks and the Chamberlains, of
bloodshed and aggrandizement, will
cease to curse mankind. But looking1
at the matter impartially is there any
evidence of such progress in the nine
teenth century as Justifies the ; peanbf
joy?. ' . .... . .. .
And if there is, where is it? Charlesl
E. Russell in New York Journal.
. .. Another 7prker
Editor Independent: Last Saturday
I received sample copies of your gran'
good paper and have placed each cxr
in hands where I think they will do ei
as I realize that every little helpsy .
going to do all I can, (which I jfejweSa
to say is but little) to help ,
people and thus make popQQ llt
J.M
South Sioux City, Neb . .
r
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