. n. THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT Harcb 8, 1800. EiiSlfl .f.t'.' i ;:, ." ' ' .," r EIcKinley In the Role . ; - of W cafraercock. LHAZmQ OHAHGE OF FEONT. i tfcs Passage of the Porto rVl t Rican Tariff Bill. , 1- IT HALiaU- tBTLUEHOE AT X70ML Pityotttrou Contention! of Kepwb. OaitMMara ClaUna That PMfcocr Fowtr of Brit- am PMlUUBemtDlllTer-Wbooyed -.Ct-V Fto tka ImporlavllatawBilors Special Washington Letter. ! A mating things are happening In this Capital City.;, la his December knes eage ;to congress President McKlnley need this emphatic language, declaring smcqolrocally In faror of. free trade prlth . Porto Rico: V i"The ; markets of .the United States tjfeould be. opened up to her products. Pur plain duty Is to abolish all customs tariffs between the United States and forto Rico and glre her products free access to our markets." I Now, it must be taken for granted tbat that was a well considered opin Iqo, and that It was a proposition on pr hJcb he .proposed that the Republican party should stand and on which he himself would stand. Nevertheless it is an open secret that It was Mr.'McKlnley's personal and of ficial Influence: which caused the pas past of the amended Payne Porto Rican jtaHX bill by the closest squeeze. - The president, chanced his base, but for ome . unaccountable reason , did not communicate his reasons for the change , in , the constitutional manner, bot' by buttonholing and importuning ynembers in private. People will want to know why he changed. Don't you know?.. . . ' A' Ballsm Imflncne. i The Washington Post, Independent, 'fa cosamenting on the above paragraph ' b.the president says: .", 44If..lt,waa our .plain duty three CQoWths ago to give to the products of Porta Rico, free access to our mar kets. It 1 our plain duty today. The . president summarized the ethics of the situation. Our obligation has been In nowise lessened since the message sras written. , . "What mallga Influence has inter t0Qd .to baflt the president's rlght ffrosaad erigtsal latest we do not care . to coojsctsre. . Of course, ! it is COtprloua that certain domestic Indus tries supposed to be of greater or less political importance have, through theh: various organizations, Impor tuned consTees to withhold altogether or at least to modify Mr. McKlnley's vkhuu aiuiviwvw tiviaiuiuc a. UJMXJ organizations are afraid, or pretend to j be afraid, of the sugar, tobacco and trait - products of the little island, everybody knows . that, were Porto tileo cultivated to Its utmost capacity, and were Its entire harvest shipped to lew. ,Tork, .duty free, within two months the -result would be absorbed Without-the smallest perceptible dls !tarba&ce of our domestic equilibrium 4r. the most Infinitesimal effect upon , the markets. It Is a little Island, an Island of great fertility, to be sure; but Its aggregate output would not agi tate Philadelphia and Chicago alone, to ay. nothing of the rest of. this vast country. .And Porto Rico might easily thrive and, prosper, and develop with tout .'. harming the very greediest and - , most .selfish of our organized commer C cisi .latsrests. ; '- - . " ."President McKlnley, In his mes uSi spoke for, the. honor, the loyalty sind the righteousness of the. American jpeeple, andthe members of the ma vjority in congress who, in spite of the tarty whip, axe supporting the presl enfs position have exhibited a conr- i jeoil. altruism and a noble Christian- ty V which ; entitle them to the rever- tuive stoedjfor the right, for Justice and talr dealing, and have thrown all thought of selfish advantage to the iwteds. Braver men never stood in the , . pass of TbermopyUe. Truer patriots never invitea martyraom. ' ft anything more caustic than that fcja been . written ; since the ' days f Jnnins, I have failed to see it. I ad (rise stump speakers who read these letters to cut It out and paste It In their feats for' future, reference and use. It Is good ammunition, sure as you live. ' I ; '" Powers Congrcit. ' ( The debate on' the Porto Rican bill amght to open the eyes of all lovers of liberty in America without regard to political aQliatlons as to the settled purpose of the Republican leaders" to Wet; at; naught, and-disregard the cou- Utution of the United States. - -Over and over again" Republican con- pressmen asserted' that congress pos- sjsjsses all- tne powers . or the . xJrttisn parliament. - Let's see If that is true. iWhat power has congress ? Just what the constitution-gives it and not one .whit more."' What Is congress? The ' - creature ""of - the constitution. ; . Is the creature greater than the creator? Who ,wCJ have the gall to amrm a propo- Ititlon so. Utterly preposterous? Yet In vltaetthat is what they do assert when they declare' that the American' con- grexa possesses all the powers of the Critlsh parliament. What power does rtrUament possess? Supreme power, 19 Crttlzh monarch has dared to veto '' ; a tUt passed by parliament since the Vri "cf Wflllam III, usuaUy called the CirSs cf Oracle. The British constl- tution Is s jnTth. ' There Is no . such I thing., Tbefe never was. Parliament has as much right to abolish the mon archy tomorrow as It has to pass a revenue bllL ,-' Has congress the au thority to abolish the republic? Who will bo assert In so many words? Yet kessrs. Hopkins et at. Republican congressmen, leaders In congress, bold- j ly assert that congress is endowed with the same powers as the British parliament possesses. If that he true, what tho deuce did we have the Revo lutionary war for? Were we simply swopping masters? Exchanging . par liament for congress? Trading a devil for a witch? Congress has the same powers as. the British parliament, has it? How does it happen then that courts In this country declare acts of congress unconstitutional sometimes especially In the income tax cases? Where Is the court to declare an act of parliament . unconstitutional? No where. It can't be done. It is impos sible, , for there is-no British constitu tion to be violated. But the iteration and reiteration of the proposition that congress possesses the unlimited power of the British parliament ought to wake the people up, if they either in tend or hope to preserve the remnants of their liberties. . Dalaell'a Broad Claim. Mr. Dalzell of Pennsylvania declared in his speech that congress could estab lish a tariff against New Mexico and at the same time let In the products of Arizona free, In face of the constitu tional, pro vision that all taxes and im ports must be uniform. Does anybody, Democrat or Republican,- outside of congress or a lunatic asylum believe that the constitution authorizes any such performance as Mr. Dalzell de clared possible? . General .. Grosvenor, , who has the courage of his convictions indeed more courage than conviction boldly declared that the purpose for which we hold on to the Philippines is to get all the-money out of them we can. And yet we are told that this Philippine war is waged to spread Christian civi lization! A sermon or two by General Grosvenor would knock the bottom out of that self evident He. By a strange concatenation of events we go partners with Mohammedans, .slave drivers and polygamists in the Philippines Indeed carry them on our pay rolls and go on killing Christians over there a strange method of spreading Christian civiliza tion, surely. A RemaurlcaMe Statement. ' To show the feeling of the big In juns among the Republicans touching the constitution, I hereby quote, with out apology for its length, a most re markable article from the Washington Star, a prosperous Republican paper. It is enough to make those who believe In a constitutional government have the shivers. The Star says: The Idea of a national constitutional convention Is getting a hold upon the minds of some of the most thoughtful men in public life. The thought Is merely suggestive as yet, and has not been resolved Into a definite purpose, but there is a growing feeling that we have reached a stage in our history where It begins to be a serious prob lem whether the constitution must be reconstructed or reconstrued. The feeling Is very common in and out of congress that this nation is like a big boy In short pants which will give way at every seam If a new pair of trou sers are not soon provided. Almost every Important development in our national growth supported by a consid erable element 'active in public affairs is felt to be a strain of the constitu tion. Within the past 18 months more than ever before during the pres ent generation of political doctors the constitution has been raised across the path of progress along the lines of de velopment seemingly most popular, and men who believe thoroughly in the new policies and have faith in the fu ture world influence of the United States have been disturbed and caused to ponder over the question of consti tutional limitations. They have hesi tated between veneration for this time honored instrument and a , common sense recognition of present conditions and future needs. The PrMBt Tendency In Conareaa. "There are few men in congress, aside from those who are utterly Indif ferent to anything except merely tem porary policy; who do not agree that the present tendency is to break away more and . more from the restraints which the constitution has been re garded as putting upon the policies of government. This 1b justified upon the grounds ef necessity arising from the growth and development of the na tion. It is argued that if -the framers of the constitution had any conception of the nation to be built upon the foun dation they laid the conditions exist ing at the -time of the framing of the constitution did not admit of its being made broad enough . to meet that na tion's needs for all time. Not to speak too irreverently of that " great instru ment, it was of necessity a patchwork in which each of the states or colonies contributed a patch, and the doubts and anxiety of the time found "expres sion in the color of the patches. What once, stood out in . glaring colors has now faded; time has reduced the whole fabric to a common , shade, but .that shade, is ' indistinct and gradually be coming colorless. - - - .A Qneetlon of Metbod. "In dealing with the. conditions that now exist there appears little differ ence of opinion as to what the facts are, and it is a question of method in .dealing -- with the problem presented. Comparatively few men among the class . responsible, for ; government to day. In either the legislative or execu tive branch, and perhaps in the ju dlciary, have much respect for the nar row restraints of the constitution. A suggestion of their existence with a right to be respected provokes out breaks of .impatience In every debate In congress. The only open question apars to be whether the restraints which, are deemed Inconsistent with our. present national character and a hindrance to expansion shall be ig nored and allowed to become a dead letter or whether the problem shall be dealt with more directly by a recon struction of the constitution to suit it to the changes that have come about during; Its honored existence of more than a. hundred years. "Those who are inclined to the idea of a reconstruction by a constitutional convention at some time in the near fu ture are influenced by the belief that the inevitable result of trying to over come difficulties by avoiding or ignor ing or by new and strained interpreta tion of things which conflict with pres ent and future policies will be the de velopment into a condition of having only an unwritten constitution, as has Great Britain, the written Instrument becoming obsolete, and that we will have a. new constitution In fact, though not of record. They feel that if we are to retain a written constitu tion the changes in it made necessary by new conditions should be made in writing in order .to preserve stability of our institutions. . Timidity which would cause some politicians to shrink from meeting the question frankly still admits of their ignoring a constitution al restriction which they have not the courage to remove. ' A Danger Foreieen. "A danger foreseen from a system of irregular and Informal revisions of the constitution 'by general consent' is that emotional and hastily formed pub lic sentiment, which can exist but for an hour, may be left without restraint and constitutional construction become merely a matter of compliance with the demands of the hour. "The Populists, with a certain theory of socialism, propose what they term a system of Initiative and referendum' for legislation, so that what shall be considered would be not the need and the wisdom of the law, but the momentary, unconsidered and pos sibly improperly secured expression of opinion at the polls. "The 'initiative and referendum method of constitutional construction might lead to disaster. It would cer tainly leave our system of government constantly in doubt.. It would be dan gerous alike to all classes. At one time the common people might be deprived of their liberties, at another the rich might be despoiled of their wealth. At all times subversion' of government would be possible. "Yet it Is foreseen that this nation is not going to be forever held In restraint by the defects of its constitution or Its lack of adaptability to new conditions and that If these defects are not cor rected In the fearless and proper way, through formal revision, a situation is likely to de flop in the very near fu ture where the constitution will be held In contempt and the only recogniz ed constitution will be the demand of the hour comir. from any class of peo ple who for tht time being are power- fulenough to en force their will. "As yet the suggestion of a national constitutional convention is made in a timid whisper under the breath, but it Is occupying the minds of a good many, and It is likely to develop into a public agitation of the question within a com paratively short time." Now, be It remembered what The Star is. It is a, great newspaper pub lished at the seat of the government. It is said to be k money maker. It has a very large circulation for so small a city. It is read by nearly every pub lic, man in Washington. It would not dare to print such an article if it did not think that . it pleased Republican leaders. Such words uttered by a pot house politician would not be worthy of attention or of remark, but appearing in a great daily paper of the dominant party, in the shadow of, the capitol, they must furnish food for thought. . The Pride of Democracy. Joseph W. Bailey of Texas closed the debate for the Democrats, and he made a constitutional argument worthy of the greatest constitutional lawyer in the best days . of the supreme court. He Is the pride and glory of the Demo cratic party. Jonathan P. Dolliver of Iowa closed for the imperialists. He dealt In sky- scraping rhetoric, steered clear of logic and supreme court decisions, whooped up the boys as though making a stump speech on the prairies of Iowa, tackled Bailey only once or twice and for so doing got a thump on the solar plexus which neither he nor those who wit nessed it are likely., to forget to their dying day. His speech was a fine dis play of verbal pyrotechnics worthy of a Fourth of July, oration merely that and nothing more. If is with pleasure that I introduce to the readers of these letters a young Democrat who is destined to a high career if he lives, Hon. William Gor don. Brantley ef Georgia. He succeed td Judge Turner, who was recognized as one of the strongest men of his day in the house. My prediction is that Brantley will soon stand in the front rank . among . congressional speakers. His. speech on, the Porto Rican mon strosity was a masterpiece of logic, his torical .information and of eloquence. He not only, occupies but fills the great place held by. Judge Turner. The substitute offered by Mr. McCall of Massachusetts in conformity with the president's message was lost by a vote of 173 to 159, a queer commen tary on the occult influences which control this administration. . N Mr. Richardson's motion to recommit was lost by a vote of 172 to 162. The bill as amended, was carried by a. vote of 172 to 1G1. Powers! of Vermont, Bromwell of Cincinnati and Tompkins of New York spoke against the bill and then voted for it. llLcaal ; An Alt Begins , HereM Increase of business and increase of stock to accommodate it have made it necessary for us to add about 250 feet more shelving and plate glass-cases to our already tremendous amount. , To do this satisfactorily we'll have to dispose of an enormous amount of merchandise now in the house, consisting of some winter and late spring lines, and a great amount of spring and summer wares. Hence this sale, these little prices, and this sacrificing of the most seasonable goods at this most seasonable time. '-.---' ' ' -... - r - - V - "'; ' - Alteration Sal8asReady-to-Vear-6ooils 50 Wool and brilliantine waists were 92 and $2.50, sale price, each 35 Fleece Wrappers, and several dozen dark percale wrappers, this sale, each. . . Wrapper house dresses, medium light colors, regular 91.25 A lot of women's cloth 'jackets, mostly ; former prices 97.50, 93.50, and 910.00, 20 Boucle Capes, 30 inches long, trimmed with thibet, 93.75 values, 50 women's suits in homespun cheviot, and novelty plaids, regular 910.00 values, this sale, each.. . .. 25 910.00 plush capes, - lengths 27, 29, and 50 inches, during Alteration SaleDomestic Department 36 inch Percale, all new spring styles, worth up to Fine cambric, better quality than Lonsdale, 40 in. wide, worth lac 9-4 brown sheeting worth 20c i (10 yards to a person,) this sale, per Light and medium prints, this sale per yard . . . Alteration Salens Remnants of white goods, fancies and 38 worth up to 20c a yard, all go during Cotton towels. 18x40 in. this sale each 72 in. unbleached, all haen table damask worth 85c, this Turkey red table damask, this sale per yard Remnants of table linen at same remarkable reductions. Jl i 3 k o v ? .dV mm mr mm mm.. m m mw iajiiiiiiiiiiniiim g PLANT CHERRY, L I PLUM AND PEACH P S that have been tried and proven suitable for the climate, and are true EE to name. Write for prices on Apple, Cherry, Peach, Pear, Plum, and S 5 Shade Trees, and all Small Fruit and Shrubs. Also circular describing EE Z the new RUSSELL PEACH. We will have a sale yard at corner 14th .nd O B. LincCn. N.b. & CO.SS?- j iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiniiiiins DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE FREE" Upon application, we will mail to your address our CATALOGUE, in which is listed all The Leading Standard Fruits Wanted to thft Northwest. A ful line of Nursery Stock on hand for the Spring of 1900, Fruit Trees, Small Fruit Plants, Ornamentals, Forest Shade Trees and Seedlings. EVERGREENS. Address, SHALL BROS., An mm ? NORTH Order direct and get Trees and Plants at less than one-half of Agent's prices. Full assortment of I tlURSERIES kooooooxoxo Bromus I llOrm is! Two years ago our university sent out Brome Grass Seed to farmers for experiments. In most ev ery case it was found to with stand severe drouth as well as extreme cold. It comes early, stays late, and is most excel lent for pasture. Postpaid, 30c per lb, 3 lb 80c; by freight 20 lbs (for 1 acre), $3.60; 50 lbs, $8.00. $15 per 100 lbs. - W have Cane, Millet, Red Clover, Timothy, and all "other Grass, field arid Garden Seeds. ' " ' SEND FOR GRISWOLD SEED CO., lOth and N St '"F. 0. Eax A 15a Lincoln, Neb. v. Send for Special Price; Circular rat .75 c ...75C 75C $3.75 $1.47 $5.00 $5.00 .. values, sale price, each. , . black, sizes 38, 40, 42, and 44, during this sale, each.. "' this sale, each. serge, - ' this sale, each . 6 9 3 I -2c I -2c 13c l-2c 11c, this sale, per yard ........... and 20c, this sale per yard. . . . yard Linen Department in. Swiss, 9 I-2C ..5C 63C 1 3c this sale, per yard .. . , v sale, per yard I ' Hardy Varieties i f o o o Fruit Trees, Plants,Shrubs,Roscs O 40 Varieties Strawberries. ' 14 Varieties Raspberries. Other Fralts la large supply. O o NORTH BEND NURSERIES, X Sid ff TREE CATALOG. North O.nd, Nbr. X Dodn County. Sugar BO OtS I We keep the genuine Lanes Imperial' Green Top' Sugar Beet. ; Just the feed for your dairy cows.. All Sugar Beets and Mangel Wur zels; 5 ppunds forv$i. In 10 pound lots lor over , . 18c Pr Pound Dwarf Essex Rape! -This the best rapid growing forage plant known, it . being ready for pasturing six weeks from sowing. Good for cows, sheep and hogs. 5 lbs, enough for 1 acre, 80c postpaid. By fght. : 12 Lbs. for 01.00 CATALOGUE hursday, Alteration SaleOross Goods end Silks Strictly all wool ; . ; : QCa . Etamine, 40 in. wide, 5.3c val ue, this sale per yard. , . . . . O J u Beautiful line of blister , . - 5 I 1 7 crepons worth up to 92.00 per yard, sale price per yard .............. .v I I I r SILKS Large line of new and desirable waist silks, the newest ' color combinations, good value at 98a, sale price, per yard 2. ............. I u b Pure silk - - ; black Taffeta, good value at 80c sale Alteration Sales'ash Goods Department Cotton grenadine, new fancy openwork , R I ' all spring styles, 12ic goods, this sale, per yard 0 I " Z w French gingham, 32 in, wide, . Ill Of all new spring styles, worth 20c, this sale, per yard 7.. II, I "Zw Skirtlinen, -. Q I 0ft 30 in. wide, worth 15c, this sale, per yard.... ; U I "Lit The season's daintiest and prettiest showing of all the popular weaves and colorings. ... ' 1 ; Alteration SalsShoe Department Women's kid Shoes, heel and spring heel, button and lace, round, coin, and common sense toes, all good styles and good wearers, " CI 0Q worth 91,75, this sale, a pair v I iu Women's Oxfords, slippers and sandals in black and chocolate broken line of sizes, 91.50, 91.75, 92.00 CI OR and 92.50 values, in one lot, this sale, a pair...... I iZu A lot of women's button shoes, square toes, Q7fl sizes 2i to 4, worth 91.50 and $2.00, this sale, a pair Ulv A lot of women's Goodyear welt shoes, button, cein toe, 93.00 values, this 0 j 7C sale pair,. .$ I I U Women's house slippers at 49c 79c, 88c, 97c and 91.25. S MpD Ol I A quicker than any other line. Remember this when you buy your tickets. City Ticket Office Cor. Tenth and O St., Telephone 235. 000000OOftOOX00 OUR ADVANCE AGENT 16 Double Board Hardsnsd wo Inch only $11.00 wttb Plow i.f V VCTI Bard Steele -v5?1IMJSlSBasSS" A FEW PRICES Timothy, ..$1.50 ......$6.00 ...:....$i.oo per bushel Alfalfa.............. Speltz Best varieties Seed Corn , 7R per bushel ...ilv Send for mammoth Descriptive Catalog:, FREE THE NEBRASKA SEED CO. J.311 Fabnam St., Omasa. more state price winners and Exposition winners. "For 18 years lams has led all horsemen with best horses, , lowest prices. Big; bargains for next 30 days. All stallions must be sold.? No pets. ' fAMS RECEIVED $1,320 IAMS "BON TON' and "JAQTJE8 COXUB aaa WO amlesmaa la country. Bar saro money . snoantaos to show yoa more atalliona tarns ail other importers in Nebraska. Oooii r"TiWi. and lama pay freight. Good terms to responsible parties. . Stallions exehanared. - 40 HEAD OF 1400 TO1900 POUND CHUNKS and DRAFT EH8 for OALC lacs sni fcls t:rs:s m nasccts to pe:;!a nto da business tlth fcia On U. P. and B. &M.JRy.: , ST. PAUL, NEBRASICA dt ilacidza Sale ...... .;.-.- . k;:-.. .. .. .. . .651 price, per yard Lincoln, Neb lounsi uars io soaiTie...s ....Tuesday and Saturday of Each Veeko The Burlington Route via Billingsley is not only the shortest by several hundred miles, but half a day a " ! Bet. P and Q. 'Phone 38. I V 811.00 Steal Flaw, hard aa alas all over. me oetipiowon aartn at any price. have other 18 Inch plows tor $8.60. Oaaranteed to soonr or money refanded. Seod tor Big freoCatatoc Bonlei, Barnes, 10X ether thian. Write now and Ret ready for Snriaa work. Castorealtar HAPGOOD PLOW CO.. BOX 22. ALTON. ILL. cxwm. Tk rimw rewy im in U.S. MUln( dirMi V) U 1 Best varieties Seed Potatoes, per bushel .....80 ..$2.00 $6.00 $13.00 Cow Peas Essex Rape Seed per 100 pounds ......... Bromus Inennis per 100 pounds. IMPORTER and BREEDER PERCHEROIIS, SHIRES-CLYDES and COACHERS. IAMS' Horse Show at the Omaha Expo, had all the People Judges, Superintendents and all ON THE RUN to see the largest exhibit of horses on the grounds. MORE BLACK STALLIONS than all ex hibitors; more 2,000 pound Horses, For Makintf Greatest Horse Exhibit ill I BT AT OAVAHA EXPOSITION. "best la TJ 8. worth 500 sailes trip to aoo. IAJCS I .J- i i . . f nmr ou-ees m iimi nam ana hn a i 7)