TXTET ITEBBAOKA INDEPENDENT
April 12, 1000.
i
KE$E CUXfe COSHER I3TN AND N STS
Eibtekth Tear v .
PcBtlSHXD EvSBY ThCKSOaT
.O0 PER YEAR IFT ADVANCE
Whaa piakiaf rittaCM do sot laave boo
with mw acnciM, yostaaatara,'- ate., to ba
ruUt a tiffaraat a p&aa, mat left Wit
thaaa, ud tha nWrtttr falls' to gai araftar
evadlt. ..v -, r- - - '. -i"
Addraaa all eamaaaiaaUoaa, c4 atake all
drafts, maey order , ate payabla to ..,-' -
' . v Cftr ttebrasks Indtptmdtnt, i '
. . Lincoln, fJebrmtk.
. Aaoaymoas com mnsieat ions will not ba ao
tiead. Bajaetad aaooscripta will mot ba raw'
rnraad. '
Read the premium - offer of "watches
for everybody" on. page seven. ' .. V 1
r Carl Schurz announces that he will
support Bryan 1 for the presidency and
declares that the policies pursued by
McKinley are a menace to republican in
stitutions. - ,
Admiral Dewey said he would not be
a candidate for president and now he
says he will. , He has evidently been de
moralized by living in the same neigh
borhood of William the Wobbler.
Tou will find the date at which your
subscription, expired with the address on
your paper or : on the wrapper. If de
linquent, please give the matter your at
tention, and oblige the publishers.
An .Omaha man says- that since Rose
water effected his three, recent tie ups,
that is, with .. Cleml Deaver, John L.
Webster and D. E. Thompson he goes
around with his head cocked on one side
and an air of "I'm in it this time sure."
The subscription blank inserted in
your paper this week is an invitation to
you to get up a club - of campaign sub
scriptions. We'll prove our appreciation
by sending you a durable watch, a guar
anteed time keeper, as a premium for
-twelve.
The . Burtonian begins an editorial
with these words: "The editor of the
Independent, the official tool of the sec
retaries of the Board of Transportation."
Such a statement ' leads .' us to remark
that all mullet' head editors are not re
publicans. .
President Kruger asks: "Are the tears
of the widows and orphans to pay for
the gold fields?" That will be but part
of the payment which Chamberlain and
'Rhodes have demanded from the poor of
other countries, as the thousands of dead
and wounded on the battle fields already
"prove." "
, The brutality of the English has an
other exemplificati6n. They hate con
fined the Boer prisoners in a pest hole
where four . hundred of them are down
with the typhoid fever, while they have
sent Cronje and a thousand more to the
barren rock of St Helena.
The reason why the play called "The
Degenerates" has been so bitterly assail
ed by the great dailies is said to be be
cause it bears too close a relation to the
republican . majority in congress and
Porto Bican legislation to make it agree
aSle to the hightoned gentlemen who
are supporters of Mrs. Langtry.
The Chicago Record and the Civic
Federation by a joint effort succeeded
in electing a majority of republicans for
Chicago aldermen as non partisans. As
soon as the votes were counted . the . said
non partisans got together and resolved
to organize the council on strictly repub
lican lines.
Away, down at the bottom of all this
v trust question and the root from which
all the evils grow of which we complain
is the legal fiction that attributes per
sonality tea; corporation. Trusts and
TmAtAmli will HAMr tianvwilifABrn tin.
I T 1 ii- vv ... W . W W i fcU V TT
til that fact is recognized.
The republican papers that have been
denouncing the Porto Rican bill now
. calmly remark:- "The legislation regard
ing Porto Rico is different from that of
an ordinary territorial government be
cause the conditions are different."
.There never was such a set of dastards
permitted to live on this earth before.
nTk mvf Vain alnn 4VA Alt TM V
preservation 01 b guTernmeni 01 ine
- AS . - M - it A. t 11 -
people, by the people and for the people'
, by sending in a club of campaign sub
scriptions to the Independent? We've
met you more than half way, made the
lowest possible rate, and in addition will
send you as a memento a kind of "for
" . .- - -
get us not" a valuable watch, warrant-
' - : "
V Wharton Barker says 'in his paper
, that "Nebraska will send a full delega
tion to Cincinnati. , A strong delegation
' rm . 1 . mt jyi-w .1 .
jiaere axo aoout u,uuu resojute popu
lists in Nebraska who would like to see
the names of those forty-two populists
who are going to Cincinnati. No list of
names of such delegates has ever: been
given to the public here. Give us the
'x names - . .. .
Uct9i Utbra$ka
CAMTAIGN XXTEKSES
7 Admiral Dewey and , General, Miles
both announced that they would like to
be candidateax-the 7 presidency and
they both declare thatGiey are demo
crats. No one besTdeiVJlcKihiey seems
at all anxious to run on the , xepyblican
ticket since the full intent and purpose
of this adminlstfetJc; supported as it is
by a majoritar cgrss,ifooVerride
the constitution and 3 discard the Decla
ration of Independence has been pro
claimed through the passage of the
Fgrto'Kican bilL If either Dewey or
Miles run,! the questi6n arises is to who
will pay - the campaign expenses. It
would be impossible for any candidate
to get one electoral vote short of the ex
penditure of about a million dollars. It
would take that much money to get the
ticket in the field in all the counties of
these forty-five 'states. Every state and
county would have to be looked after.
Men would have to be selected in every
state in the' union for electors and their
names put upon the ballots in all states
were they were voted for. ,
' Who wovld go into the several states
and make these arrangements. Would
they spend their time and pay their
traveling expenses out of their own pock
ets? If there . was any canvass to be
made, where' would the s peakers come
from and who would pay their expenses.
If there was literature to be circulated
who would prepare it and pay the print
ing and postage bills? Who would en
gage halls and theatres? Anyone will
see at once that a presidential campaign
could not be carried on among 70,000,
00d of people for less than a million of
dollars and without'any workers at the
pblls or carriages to bring the voters.
No one without experience in the car
rying on of a political campaign has any
idea of the enormous amount of money
it takes.' The large expenditures of state
and national campaign committees does
not cover half of the cost. Hundreds of
thousands of dollars are expended that
never pass through the hands of these
committees. Some one may ask where
all this money comes from. It is not de
nied that millions were contributed by
the. banks, trusts and corporations to the
republican campaign fund. Among the
populists it comes very largely from the
unpretending supporters of the party.
Some of it of course comes from the
office holders, and they generally make a
great deal of fuss about it, but much
more comes from men who never held
office :and never expect to. One old
farmer comes into the Independent
office and told the editor that it had cost
him $28.50 to attend the last state con
vention. He came from one of the far
western counties. He said that he would
probably have to attend the next state
convention also and at the same cost.
There were more than 1,200 delegates
at the last populist state convention and
if it only cost them on an average of
f 10.00 each there is an expenditure of
$12,000 dollars and the campaign has
not yet begun. The man who attended
this last state convention will have very
many other expenses to pay. There are
two county conventions in each county
to attend and hall rents, printing and
hotel bills will have to be paid. All these
things are but the preliminaries. The
real campaign begins after the conven
tions have all been held. Then speak
ers must be procured, railroad fare must
be paid, an enormous amount of print
ing must be done, hundreds of dollars
worth of postage stamps must be bought,
large amounts of stationery must be se
cured and several persons . employed all
the time at the state and county head
quarters The men who never hold office pay
more than their proportion of these ex
penses even on a per capita basis and
they make much less fuss about it. The
expenses of the state committee to which
the office holders contribute, are but a
small part of the expenses of a state
campaign. If there were no expendi
tures made in the counties and precincts,
there would be a very poor campaign
made no matter how much the state
committee exerted itself.
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance
and it costs money also. No campaign
can be carried on without money. Quite
a large number of men must give all
their time to it sometimes for days
both day and night. You may land the
best organizer at the head of the best
executive committee that can be found
in a State at the capitol, and they can't
write a letter , or make an appointment
until they have money. Many men are
wondering if Dewey ever thought of any
of these things when he announced him
self as a candidate for the presidency?
Want to trade? We do. We trade a
good watch for a club of twelve. What
do you say?. . .
The old idea that "advertisements are
only for the children to read" is rapidly
disappearing. The best business men
and most successful farmers read the
advertisements in every well established
and reputable paper which they receive.
It is business "that , Vthey., sifould; Did
you ever think of ibex fact that men who
advertise are men "who have something
that they wish W sell? ? Don't you know
that it is easier to buy from a man who
wants to se&.4h4nidfrom raman who
doesn't care wthet? he" sells or not?
Another thing,3uAm?ay&not' know so
well, but it is equally true that the men
who write advertisements, as a class, are
paid higher and better wages than the
men who write the stories and other
v
reading matter. ' Many of the brightest,
wittiest, and sharpest thinkers in the
country are found among the men who
write advertisements. Why not read
their productions? You'll get many
bright ideas from the ads they write.
You'll think of things you never thought
of before. If you read the ads you'll
learn something. If you'll patronize ad
vertisers judiciously you'll save money.
. J ulian Ralph's tirade against the Boers
and their generals has excited the con
tempt of the whole world. The bravery
of the Boers and the skill of their gen
erals is acknowledged by all men every
where. Ralph seems to think that the
Boers were measley cowards .' and that
the only thing the British had to fear
were, the dongas, drifts, kops, kopjes,
dorps, klips, kraals, laagers, neks, spruits
and things of that sort.
Those who imagine that Attorney
General Smyth has had an easy time
during his term of office should read the
review of the work he has done. He
has done more hard work than any law
yer in the state of Nebraska. The next
legislature should make provision for
providing the attorney general's office
with additional assistance. As the state
increases in wealth it will be impossible
for one attorney to protect the interests
of the people against the encroachments
of corporations.
There is now in South Africa four
British dukes, two marquises, twenty
earls, three viscounts, twenty-three
barons, fifty-two heirs to peerages and
thirty baronets. They are there to fight
a lot of farmers who do not myster one
little individual in the whole popu J a tion.
Several of these aristocrats have been
taken by the kindly Boers to 'Pretoria
where they are given their board free.
Several more were started toward the
same boarding house when that famous
regiment wandered into that spruit on
their retreat toward Bloomfontein.
Oom Paul has been very kind to them
and gives them jam to put on their
bread.
Several parties have written to the
editor of the Independent concerning
the call for the meeting of the state com
mittee and what is proposed to be done
there, some in favor of the proposition
for the committees to divide the offices
among the different parties and some
against it. This paper has no choice in
the matter whether that is done by the
committees or by a conference commit
tee appointed after the conventions meet.
There are arguments, and good ones, on
both sides of the question. Some say
that the committeemen, being elected be
cause of their known loyalty to the
cause and of the confidence that the
various counties have in them, and be
cause they will have more time to con
sider the matter are the best agencies to
decide this matter. When the conven
tions meet the conference committees
must be appointed by the chairmen of
the various conventions from men pres
ent and in many cases men will be se
lected who have given no thought to the
matter, they will be pushed for time,
will have to work during the night and
the conventions will have to wait on
them before apy thing can be done.
Others seem to think that if the state
committees do this work that it will not
give satisfaction and efforts will be
made to set it aside when the conven
tions meet and the whole business will
have to be gone over again. So there it
is, and you can take your choice. One
thing is certain, the date of holding the
conventions will have to be changed
either to a later or earlier period. That
is a necessity.
THE UNIVERSITY
The Independent has no desire to
bring the university into politics, it in
sists that it must keep out of politics.
Some are so over sensitive on this point
that they insist thM no man among the
learned of this land who has expressed a
sympathy with great common people
and the down trodden of earth must
come into control of that institution be
cause that would be bringing in politics.
Plutocracy has looked after the institu
tions of learning in these states just as
it has after the distribution of intelli
gence in the organization of a great trust
to control the dissemination of news., A
professor or chancellor can advocate
openly those principles which result in
the enormous concentration - of wealth
and it is not politics at all, but if he
adopts the principles of the great writers
and thinkers of the past who opposed
monopoly and concentration of wealth
and power, he is a persona non grata
and must be dismissed if he holds a pro
fessorship, or if out of a place, it must
be seen to that he does not get one.
' The people in the last election were
much, interested in this question of
whether our great university was to be
continued under the influences of con
centrated wealth or to take a step for
ward into that broader ground that
truth must be sought without prejudice
and for truth's sake alone. If the stand
is taken that because a man has ex
pressed sympathy with the toiling masses
no matter how learned he may be, he
must be excluded because that would be
bringing politics into the university,
then has our work all been in vain. .
If you want a watch we will give you
a good one for a club of twelve cam
paign subscriptions. Read the offer on
page 7. - - -
-wiia BEMEvipAirrriiiim,
If a principle is right it can be de
fended by reason. It does not need to
be bolstered up by falsehoods. When
men refuse to defend propositions by
argument it is conclusive evidence that
they cannot be defended. During all
the fight on the financial question the
republicans have refused to meet us in
debate On the stump and . have filled
their papers with false statements of
facts. They are doing it yet. Take the
following from one of. the Chicago dai
lies for an example;
"Secretary Gage is rejoicing Over the
success of the funding operations, and
particularly because the transactions of
the treasury during the - last few days
demonstrate that the government of the
United States has reached the highest
credit ever held in the financial world
by any nation at ahr time. Ensrland
recently issued a loan drawing 2$ per
cent interest at 98 cents on the dollar,
while the 2 per cent bonds authorized
by the recent currency act are ,now sell
ing at a premium of 106 which is equiv
alent to interest of about It per cent."
Nothing ' is more attrociously false
than that statement It has not only
been made by reporters and editors but
by the secretary of the treasury him
self. Think of a party so foul that the
men whom it has elevated to the high
est place in the republic, officially mak
ing statements which they know to be
false. What are the facts in this case?
England did issue a loan drawing 2i per
cent interest and the United States is
sued one drawing only 2 per cent. But
there is this difference. The men who
loan the money to the United States get
it back in bank bills in full. The Eng
lish loaner does not. Instead of bank
ers getting only 11 per cent on their
money loaned to the , government and
the English getting 2 per centwhich
is preposterous on the face of the state
mentour bankers get If from the
treasury and from four to five from the
people on the same capital. It makes
no difference on this rate of interest
that part of it is first paid into the
treasury and then given to the bankers
and far the larger part taken directly
from the people without going through
the treasury. '
Of course a mullet head is so stupid
that he will believe that the bankers of
this country will loan money to the
United States for If when he could get
2$ from the English government and
that is the reason that such rot is print
ed in the great republican dailies. In
fact there is nothing so preposterous
that a mullet head will not believe ii if
he sees it in his party paper.
A HORRIBLE DOCTRINE
To preserve liberty and prevent the
robbery of the masses by legislative
bodies, every state in the union has re
strained them by constitutional law from
doing many - things and reserved to the
people all the rights not delegated to
these bodies. Furthermore, cities,
counties and towns are restrained from
imposing excessive taxation and many
other things. . This restraint upon legis
lative bodies has been the ' safeguard of
liberty in all countries and in all subdi
visions of government. There is not an
unrestrained legislative body in exist
ence on the earth today. No man has
heretofore appeared anywhere to advo
cate such a monstrous thing. It is a
new doctrine. It embodies in it every
thing to threaten civilization. It is
worse than the despotism of the Caesars.
It contains within itself all the horrors
that the world has fought for a thou
sand years from which to find some way
of escape.
But that is' the doctrine that is pro
mulgated by McKinley and upheld by a
republican majority in congress. The
claim is that a majority in congress is
an absolute power, unrestrained by any
constitution or superior law when treat
ing with the people and territory be
longing to the United States not included
in the actual states of the union. It is
an, unlimited and all pervading despot
ism. If Porto Rico is not ; protected by
the constitution, congfess can pass a
law declaring all the people slaves and
put them upon the auction block and
sell them to the highest bidder. They
have no right congress is bound to re
spect. What we have, known as the
"rights of man" have been abolished.
They have no rights. They are subject
to the imperial will of men Jike Elkins,
Piatt and Quay. It is the most horrible
doctrine that has been proclaimed in a
thousand years. It is a hundred times
worse than the Dred Scott decision.
But that is what republicanism stands
for.
The United States is paying more per
capita, for war expenditure than any
nation of Europe. This year the per
capita cost of the military establishment
of Australia was $1.25; of France, $3.25;
of Germany, $2.59; of Italy, $1.47, while
the cost of the present military estab
lishment of the United States and ex
penses growing out of past wars is $1.16
for each man, woman and child in the
land. ,
One of McKinley's congressmen an
nounces in his speech that while the
discontented and the populist agitators
denounce the "barons," the "magnates,"
"trust managers," and all those who
have accumulated property continuous
ly, as without heart and consumed with
greed, the fact is that no set of men are
more anxious to see the farmers prosper
than these ' same "barons" and "mag
nates." The trouble of that speech con
sists in the misuse of one wbrd. ' . The
"barons are very anxious to see the
farmers "produca." If he 'will only
change the word "prosper" to "produce,"
the speech will be all I right If tha
farmers did not produce, these magnates
would soon be counting ties themselves.
It is from what the farmers have pro
duced that all these chaps have become
magnates. j;
A war correspondent of the Manches
ter (Eng.) ' Guardian says that where
ever Lord Robert's troops have marched
they have left a line of desolation behind
them. The farmhouses nave not merely
been sacked; they have been savagely
destroyed, mirrors smashed, pianos
wrecked, works torn from clocks, chik
drens toys and books wantonly de
stroyed. Even the buildings themselves
have been burned or seriously damaged."
That is the way the imperialists have
had Of advancing Christianity and civili
zation for the last thousand years.
Protection got another black eye when
the coal barons began to ship soft coal
to Europe last week. They will, bow
ever, be before the next congress as they
have been before every congress for the
last thirty years declaring that they
must have a tariff on coal to protect th
miners from the pauper labor of Europe.
The mullet heads wity all shout, "That's
so. The barons must have a . tariff on
coal." Then they will all go home and
pay nearly twice as much for their coal
as these same barons sell it to foreign
ers in Europe.
A large number of leading English
men have signed and published a . pro
test against the Boer war. They make
the charge that the chief object of the
war was to oppress labor. The laws of
the Transvaal republic interfered with
their plan, and it was resolved to crush
the republic. They say the plan was to
employ as little British labor as possible
and to reduce the wages of native labor
to the smallest pittance. These men do
not conceal it. Mr. Hammond said:
"There ought to be no difficulty in ob
taining 80,000 Kaffirs to work . the
mines." Where does the British work
ing man come in?
The situation in South Africa must be
a slaughter house of the innocents in
deed when the McKinley appointees
who hold office there or go there to in
spect affairs rebel against the John Hay
anglophobism and actually resign their
offices. Webster Davis and Macrum
have quit, and the only one that sticks,
is the son of John Hay. McKinley
knew what he was doing when he select
ed that boy to represent the United
States in the Boer republic. If any one
else .had been selected there was a
probability of another rebellion- against
the Hay policy. .
Mark Hanna and McKinley seem to
think that they can slap the American
people in the face and tell them that
they do not know enough to know what
they want. If there was ever a univer
sal expression of publio opinion on any
subject, it was on this proposition to ex
clude the people of Porto Rico from the
benefits of the constitution and govern
and tax them without their consent. In
the face of this fact, Mark and Mack
proceed to do what every man in the
United States of any standing has de
nounced, These leaders, seem to believe
that partisan insanity is so wide, spread
and virulent that they can proceed to
do anything and the men of the country
will continue' to vote the republican
ticket. That may be so, but if ft is, the
end of free government is near at hand.
. . - clubs ; ; .
Since last report clubs have been re
ceived from the following:
N. Holderness . ..2
George Pickerell. 3
A. Marshall 4
John H. Reed ,6
Henry Stevens. .5
Wm. H. Sayles ...3
Charley Eliot. 5
A. D. Dover ..5
H. B.Miller ...2
Abner DeFrance 7
J. W. Miller.. ,.5
J. H. Morgan '. .5
Merit Walton 5
E. M. Harrison 5
J.S. Dewey 13
P.M. Girard, 5
J. T.Moore.. 14
John A. Erskine...... ....2
T. A. Kinnon .4
John Lewis. 3
Andrew Young 9
Anton Vogt ) .5
Janson Lyon 4
D. F. Williams. 1
N. Holderness .2
N. H. Blackmer .2
A.H. Williams.. ....5
George M. Brooke ...........2
Hon. Fred Newberry 1
E. E. Binfield.. .5
W. S. Stanford... .5
C.H. Nigh............. .......1
E. M. Harrison....... ......1
Eliza Sowards.... ........ ............5
S. Atkinson. 3
Three clubs 5 each no signature . ... .15
A. J. Kerr......... . 7
Jackson was elected by a fusion of va
rious parties, Lincoln was elected by a
fusion and Bryan is going to. follow their
example and be elected in the same way.
The Independent sewing machine ad
vertised on page eleven is warranted for
ten years, ' .
- twim tBit stand iron I
The republicans of the house had a
general round up after the senate passed
the Porto Rican bill. The seven who
voted against the bill on its first passage
did not attend the caucus, In the dis
cussion among the true blues who were
present, one of them said: ' :
"Either the constitution does or does
not extend , over the islands. Congress
either has or has not the right to levy
discriminating duties against the new
possessions, fl the constitution does
not extend, and congress has the right
to discriminate, now is the time to as
sert that doctrine. The issue has been
raised, and to back down now would,
Mr. McKinley believes, be a surrender
of all that the party of expansion stands
for. . The right of the United States, or
the federal government, to deal with the
Colonial possessions with a free hand
must be defended. Whatever legisla
tion is passed for Porto Rico must in
volve this precedent."
: There we have it from one of their
own number "what the republican party
stands for' It is for despotism and the
right to govern people outside of any re
straints of the constitution. . It is the
same thing that King George III stood
for. It is the same thing that the
Caesars stood for. It is what the effete
monarchies of Europe stand for. But it
is what Washington, Jefferson and Lin
coln opposed. The only hope of such a
party is that the people, being utterly
selfish and incapable of reasoning from
cause to effect, especially when the effect
is not in plain view, they can so , fasten
this new doctrine on the republic and so
bolster it up with standing armies and
big navies, that when the effect does be
come evident to these dull minds, they
will be as helpless as the disarmed and
downtrodden peoples of the old world
are todays
The populist party Stands solid and
it is the only party that is solid against
this conspiracy. They are not troubled
with partisan ' insanity. They will work
and vote with any party and for any
man that will help place this republic
back on the eternal truths enunciated
in the declaration of independence and
formulated in the constitution. All
these are being swiftly swept away,
they have made the nation great.: They
have been an inspiration to the sons of
men everywhere on the face of the earth.
But the republican party stands to blot
them all out and turn government over
to be guided by the principles of the
tyrants who have in all ages deluged the
world with blood.
The despotism of a legislative body
unchecked by a constitution, is the worst
despotism. It is far worse than the rule
of an absolute monarch. An absolute
monarch, though hedged around with
the divine right of kings, is not so dan
gerous td liberty as an unrestrained par
tisan legislative body.
WONDEBFCIi STRATEGY
The retreat of Joubert from the siege
of Ladysmith is causing amazement
among the military men of the whole
world. : On the night of the 27th neither
General Buller nor General White saw
any change whatever in the condition of
the Boer forces. Where ever during
that day General Buller had "felt" his
adversary he found unyielding resistance.
On every kopje around Ladysmith, the
Boer siege guns were roaring away with
the burghers around them in undimin
ished numbers. On the 28th General
Buller pushed forward with his whole
force and was astonished beyond ' meas
ure to find not a single Burger to oppose
him. He pushed on into Ladysmith and
when the .next morning dawned, the
strongest glasses could just distinguish
the last end of the great wagon train of
the retreating Joubert as it turned in be
hind the mountains that lay in the dim
distance. In one day Joubert had with
drawn to safety every gun, every, wagon
and all his ammunition and stores. Such
a feat has never been accomplished in
the history of war in all the ages of the
past. It is military triumph that amazes
the military experts the whole , world
over. Even Napoleon, in all his maneu
vering, never accomplished anything
that equaled it. The necessity for this
retreat is said to have been caused by
the abandonment without orders of one
ef the keys to his position by a subordi
nate officer. Thia only makes the move
ment still more astonishing, for it had
not been contemplated at all an hour be
fore the time when the order was given.
. . HUNTING FOR NEWS. :
To those of us who live out here on
the great plains, 1,500 miles from the
sea, the coming and going of ships has
very little interest. Probably not one in
ten thousand ever casts a glance at that
column of the eastern dailies that tells
of the arrival and departure Of ships and
cargoes on the ocean. Of late, however,
there are items in the shipping news
that are of very great interest to us
dwellers on the plains. Among them
were the accounts of the departure of
the steamer, Sumpter, carrying the
most valuable cargo that the govern
ment ever sent abroad. The cargo was
worth many millions. Not a dollar, of
it will every return. It is just that much
loss to the American people, for it con
sisted Of gold to pay our soldiers fighting
in; foreign countries and of munitions of
war. It was said to be the most sumptu
ously fitted out troop ship that ever
sailed on . any sea. Investigation how
ever showed that all the magnificence
Was reserved for the officers' quarters,
which were furnished with solid ma
hogany and a silver service that cost
$8,000. It simply showed, that if we are
to follow ; the . monarchies of - the old
world in fighting foreign wars, making
conquests and holding nations as sub
jects, we would : also fdllow their other
customs, and widen, by costly magnifi
cence! the distance between the common
soldier and the men who wear shoulder
straps. ':' :: .a: -' ' ' '
' Ther are other things in this ship
ping news that also interests us, such a3
the two following items: '
"Sen Francisco, April 1-rTha trans-
Sort Sheridan arrived from Manila to
ay. She reported typhoid fever aboard
and was placed in quarantine, where
she will probably remain for several
days. The Sheridan brought from Ma
nila 110 army prisoners, 86 sick, 11
insane ard 32 discharged soldiers, and
11 nav prisoners and 14 sick sailors." -J
"Manila, April 1 The United States
transport Sherman sailed - today with a
battalion of the Fourteenth infantry.
Captains Richard T. Yeatman, Armand
I. Lasseigne and William S.Biddle,
Lieutenants Robert , Field and Oliver,
175 military prisoners and 25 insane."
; From that bit of shipping news we
learn that on two transports alone there
Were 285 military prisoners and 25 in
sane. , Such items can be found ey
few days in the shipping news. Tuat
army over there must be in a very strange
condition. t Most of the officers must be
engaged, a good part of the time on
court martials and the soldiers turning
criminals or engaging in mutinies. The
censored press dispatches don't let u
know anything about it. But ho- doe
it happen that these ships are constantly
loaded down with private soldiers sent
home as prisoners or insane?
A SUGGESTION
The attention of the readers of the In
dependent is, called to the premium offer
"watches for everybody" to be found on
page 7. We are anxious to continue the
increase in the circulation of the Inde
pendent. Thanks to the co-operation of
many loyal friends it has been growing
steadily. We believe that as it has
grown it has been made better in many
ways. As it continues ' to grow it will
continue to improve. It is therefore to
the interest of every reader to speak a
good word for the Independent to his
neighbors to secure their subscriptions
if possible. The premium watch offered
is a good onefully guaranteed for one
year a watch that retails at six dollars
everywhere. The Independent (in con
nection with another publisher) placed
an order for 1000 watches of the same
pattern and design. - That's why we can
give so good a watch for so little money
or so little effort on your part. The
watch is given as a premium for twelve
NEW campaign subscriptions at 35 cents
each. It is seven months until election
and the rate of 35 cents for that period
is low enough that anyone should be
able to secure the twelve subscriptions
in a few hours. Try it and you'll be
surprised how easy it is. Get a pre
mium for yourself or your boy. We
guarantee that you'll not regret it. If
you want sample copies write and we
will send them. , A subscription blank is
enclosed is this weeks paper. Preserve
it for use when sending in the club.
Morton seems to have an attack of
melancholly for he mournfully remarks:
Seventy-five million of free people and
only permitted to vote, for one or two
men !" What's the - matter Morton ?
Has that denial of $10,000 of hoodie by
the reform club given you the dumps ?
Come, cheer up.' There are more men
than Bryan and McKinJey that you can
vote for. There is Wharton Barker and
Debs and the prohibition candidate, and
the woman suffrage candidate. Come,
cheer up, ; s .
HARDY'S COLUMN
To be a gentleman In England mean 3
uiutu cdd iixau i v uucb lit. AUieriCI. 1L
you have money enough to live with-
out work you are a gentleman over
there, but here you must be respect-
rui, Kina, ana gentle, or you are not a
gentleman. There are lots of rich
men in America who fall far short of
being American gentlemen.
Dewey, they say, has put himself
in the hands of Ms friends for the
presidency. No one seems to know
whether he is a republican or demo
crat. He may work the same game
Taylor did. Taylor did not know
whether he was a whig or democrat,
and was elected without committing
himself either way. After his election
he did not live long enough to find out
which side he was on. His plea was
that he had not voted In thlrty.years.
nad taken interest in the. army and
that was all. He was just the man the
wnigs wanted ior ne nad taken no f
part ror or against slavery. The man V
wno has said nothing about gold is
now wanted by the gold democrats.
NO one knows how Dewey stands on
any of the questions now up for set
tlement. If he gets fairly into the
field he - may tell things - about the
Filipinos that he has not told yet. We
nave no doubt that the full ; truth
would raise the hair on McKinley's
head. - wnen he was sent to Manila
it was supposed he would have a hard
job and tnere Is no doubt he was au
thorized to enlist Aguinaldo in oppo
sition to the Spanish, and was prom
ised an independent government of his
own. Let Dewey tell the whole truth
and would It not make fun for the
boys in Washington.
It is about time for this government
to express sympathy for - the lichtlne
Boers and condemnation for the op
pressive Engnsn government, and yet
If- 4 nrtf Mtiilafant AW
rimand a thief. Our government ' (
in the same kind of business. EnglaV"'
should express sympathy for the ?' &i
V
7 V