The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902, January 10, 1901, Image 1
at ft ' ft : jl (MR WW VOL. XII. LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, JANUARY 10, 1901. NO. 34. 4 IHE STATE TREASURY M It--t Taralaf r of th r--414 tUpUl-a Banker's Abo.it occ' a month during the pat four ti." Omaha Bee baa de- snaL'IM information of -Treasurer Mmn At to fcre he bad placed tbe ut.iEtM trut fund for safe k-p-:nic. W,!h r h kpl t h uninvested '!.-.- in a faf- in the treasurer's or hHtr he had them placed in .rr.- -!. bank wa a matter which Mr. Mtrve kept hi own .o'it.-1. ar.i !.- urhKjif-d do reply to t.. f;. li.u rrratories of thi tf-ci!-ruB bo pr-id over the ,ri "f to continents." Somehow tL- ;-;i of Nebraska felt that Mr. M--o- 1oIer hi bt to keep ev try ' r.t of th-e funds Invested in In-:-f-i-t arir.r -uritie as required tjr t.v.- constitution, and thy did not n Mr. twalr in hi demands fo :Lforcjtior. whWh. if Klvn. might ;.. -r, a hid for burglarizing the trh .ry; tfc-y f-!t that when Mr. M- rv-. t rm of oRc should . r.d. b- oM act want for ev-ry cent hat cam into hi Lands, and in th' hr mr not mietak-n. On last Thur1y Mr. M rv delivered to hi wr $51 3 in cold, hard cS!. hi ting all that was left un t.id of IMl.TOl.TU in trust 'sis-is rt r.4 during th four yean of bS iw:rnnry . Of course, th; wi!l not now ned to ak Treasurer S!if"r the qution so often asked Mr. y."r- fr it 1 a matter of com mon k&ol-se that th' coterie of on.!. backer?, acting a a "commit t fr,r th1 incoming treasurer. ffiz.-4. the money, save Mr. Steufer to!t lip therefor, and carried I? away a qytekly a Lincoln backmcn oi ! carry thm. Th l.e tnouia t now: uir until ti ari- in i hand of Omaha bank er t;nl- Tr-aur-r t-uf-r has with drawn h: " !-;it" within the past day or two. "A -r?f. -5 -hwk is ju.t the thing." xt-y -.r.-'-l ; t Mr. Merve had long hzo :-frr:;.i:.-S that th t'irning over ?; Ci' to hi mcrftor should be n&il. T:;-r- ho-jM no "cigar box" o r."- u; ;.'.'i t.vir.t the people in af ?r tfire So h hai th j:l.e39.4S of triiT fir. i r - ! to ! ! r to his suc ff,K1 in t -t raoti-y the world -x-r '." Th-r 1 good many toaai 4 it, . : a a money. a t . r'-tiJKats irreverently term to!d: t!ire r erGbacks and treaa--sr iot at. 1 roM crtincate and sll . r --rt-.'-;it-'i. last and by no . rational bank notes. Th? r.ot- t ad vi-.i-ntly n kept a long tirvt- lo sonj darsp vault; they had i ;u-ty smn; and th coterie of silk f rcii.-i Lar.k-r ho acted as a ""costnit!--" for Tr-aiirr Steufer .sd .finte.J the money, sniffed di datcf Jlly Mf e-r and anon they dippl the u-, tii thir asrsty fingers intJ th ;-'V.e-. ur and ir-newed the count The "con: tr.it tee" is wholly a repub !irir :rjt!tuTion It i not known in the iiut-. at Ieat. not this kind of "roransitte" for an incoming treas irer. it id a relic of the barbaroua lay whfa a tate treasurer delivered o his ueMir th uninvested tnisi funis tn certified check, checks not .rtifed due bills from John Doe for money te tad received, promissory note of prorsment politicians, etc.. and the ccrr.m:tt-e " l--!r.g composed ft' rrorn:r. nt ianker. "paysed upon the ;,a;r" c-f the outcoing treasurer ,r.i ;ri 5-1 whether it would be safe for th new treasurer to accept cer tain note and due bills in lieu of cash. Ste-ofer's "committee" had no "paper" to pa tipon, ecn if they did soil their I:!y f.r?-r2 r-ounting populist rv. V HierytiiJig a lout the treasury wrs , i:,x"i--tsr.Kly regular for Steufer's committer " The ruoney countd : rht to a inny. There really must "s-e rf-iyth:ne; to find fault with. How abot the current fund in ftate Je-ro:tone-? Well. Meserve na"I neje-W-tf d his duty in not writing checki for the balance n favor of William t'ir. t-tate treasurer. But Meserve r' :r.td to the list Nebraska. "In re the State Treasury." and the "commit te hi obliged to bide their time and ?e content tc verify the bank balance. During the :na jg-ural ceremonies In ;-'!r.t fvios it ban tc be whimpered ahwv.T th jt the new treasurer wouM refuse to recfve the general fund tate warrant on hand held a invest ment for the permanent educational funds. That wotild put the pop treas urer n a hole.- for Hire. But before Treasurer Fteufr and hi "commit ev" f o-'Id broach the subject. Mr. Me-M-rvf raestioned it himself; said be had heard certain rumors. Yes. there was r-. met hint; fn it. they admitted; co-! r. t take the warrants, you know. !-or:- a premium had been paid: very irregular pro-e-ding; not a good isTetmest. you know, because the leg ielature might refus-e to make an ap rrciriition to pay them. "AH right, gertl'tnen " j-ald Meserve. "you can take yyir choice: either take the war rantu as they tand. or their amount In cath. I can hare it ready for dc !Hry in forty-eight hoursl" That was a pettier. How could an old. long-whik-red iop get next to more than million do!!ir tn cold cash? But they were afraid fce could, just the same and one member of the "committee" wilted. -Stecfer." he said, in a hoarse -Hpr. "jouli have to Invest in wa--rast or you'll have half the people of the tate on your back In a minute." And Merte coreJ another point over ti e white-ncgered gentry who smoked Chancellors at the new treasurer's ex pnM. The next morning the new treasurer was laying general fund warracta as Investment for the permanent funds and paying 1 per cent premium there for. It was a hot pace the old treasurer had set. but Steufer felt that he must keep It up for a while at least. Notwithstanding their protestations that the present officers and appointees are "new blood," the republicans are beginning early to show their old-time disregard of law. Section 5090, com piled statutes of 1899, authorizing state depositories, says: "For the security of funds so deposited under the pro visions of this act the state treasurer shall require all such depositories to give bond for safe keeping of payments of such deposits and the accretions thereof, the OFFICERS of the BANK seeking to qualify as a depository shall be INELIGIBLE to sign the bond pro vided for under this section, .which shall run to the people of the State of Nebraska, approved by the governor, secretary of the state and attorney general." The Independent has relia ble Information that the United States National bank of Omaha has filed a depository bond signed only by "the officers of such bank, and. inasmuch as Mr. V. B. Caldwell of that bank la bored long and diligently as a mem ber of Treasurer Steufer's "committee" it is not unreasonable to expect Gov ernor Dietrich, Secretary Marsh and Attorney General Prout to approve the bond and Treasurer Steufer to give the United States National a large de posit of state funds thereunder. Dur ing Treasurer Meserve's term this bank refused to qualify as a state de pository because the fusion officers would not violate the law and approve a bond signed only by persons ineligi ble. The people asked for republican state officers; let them grin and bear it while thebe officers disregard the laws. Prior to his inauguration in 1897 ex-Treasurer Meserve had received several proffers of assistance from Omaha bankers to act as his "com mittee." He searched the statutes dili gently, but could find no provision for a "committee" of the sort, and re spectfully declined the proffered ser vices, assuring the bankers that he should accept nothing In the way of "paper" from Mr. Bartley that would need an expert to pass upon; he could count money, he believed, and nothing but money would be received unless the court ordered or decided otherwise. The court decided that the current funds, deposited in depository banks, needed no physical turning over, and that point was settled without the in tervention of a "committee." Bartley was In no apparent hurry to turn over the trust funds and delivered only about ten thousand dollars a v dav (153.fe09.13 all told) until Governor Holcomb's special message to the leg islature brought matters to a focus, and Bartley refused to pay over any more of the funds. He lacked just f333.S78.08 of completing his work of turning over the trust funds. Query: When ex-Treasurer Hill turned these funds over to Bartley, is it possible that Bartley's "committee" made a mistake in judgment in "passing on the paper" and accepted a lot that af terward proved worthless? In't it about time that this "com mittee" business be relegated to ob scurity along with other barbarism: Meserve bad no "committeee" to help him pass on anything. He served the people four years, did more business, and with a less number of office assis tants than any other treasurer; saved the state fully one hundred thousand dollars of interest on registered war rants, invested a million dollars more of the trust funds thfn any of his predecessors; and finally turned the balances oer to his successor right to a penny. Settlement Is made in the month of January with a majority of the county treasurers for state taxes collected, and Treasurer Steufer's receipts for the permanent educational funds will be considerably greater than his in vestments therefor. The following ta ble shows the receipts and investments In January, 1899, and January, 1900: Receipts. Investm'ts. January. 1599...$ 88.358 12 $14,399 41 January. 1900... 133,287 89 65,977 23 AN ACTUAL MENACE That militarism is no longer a mere menace, but an actuality is painfully apparent from a Burvey of "present day magazine literature. Three or four years ago, the most prominent feature of our leading per iodicals was the articles on social questions, directing the attention cf the people to a consideration of ways and means for improving their ma terial and moral condition. The leading features of the period icals cf today are war articles calling the attention of the people to ways and means for killing and maiming each other, and pointing out the sup posed reasons and justification for wholesale human slaughter. Who can doubt that this tends toward national moral deterioration? And what must be the effect upon individual character, of a scrutiny in to the motives and methods that guide governments In their relations with each other, ub those motives and methods are discussed in the "public press of today? How natural for Individuals to feel that policies and practices which gov ernments pursue to secure their ag grandizement may properly be imi tated in private concerns. Our religion teaches love,' kindness, generosity and honesty towards our fellow men, but how rarely are these sentiments exhibited by nations in their treatment of each other. . Hate, cruelty, greediness and deception, how much they prevail in the affairs of nations In times of peace; while in war times, are they not systematical ly encouraged as evidences of patriot ism Ithaca (N. y.) Democrat, FALLING INTO LINE The Big New York and Boston Lawyer Repeat the Arguments of the Independent in the Su- . pre me Court, The cases involving McKinley's im perialism which were set for hearing January 7, have been prepared with very great care. Briefs were filed in two of them some days ago. They will be interesting reading, especially to those who are not subscribers to The Independent, but to its readers they will not be new, for every argument these great Boston and New York lawyers make in those briefs can be duplicated from the columns of this paper. For more than two years The Independent has been furnishing to its readers from time to time every thing that is in those briefs. Read the following extracts from them and you will be convinced that those who have read this paper have had pre sented to them the very same ideas which are there presented to the su preme court. These lawyers, like Sec retary Long, are following in the lead of The Independent. The first brief filed laid down the following proposi tions as the basis of the appellant's contentions: "The constitution of the United States reaches over every portion of the national domain, whether in the form of states, territories or districts, because this constitution provides for territories as well as states. The ces sion made by Spain in the treaty of Paris produced an absolute change of title and sovereignty in Porto Rico. "The president of the United States is an executive officer only. He has no right to exercise legislative func tions. The imposition by executive or ders of customs duties on commerce between the island of Porto Rico and other parts of the United States after the treaty of peace and the exchange of ratifications is unauthorized and void and the collection of such duties is without warrant of law, "A government without limitations was never intended by the founders of the nation. They sought to establish, and did establish, a constitutional re public which furnishes a written guar anty of protection to all of its inhabi tants. The idea that in one portion of the country the executive and legisla tive authority is subject to restrictions and limitations and that in another portion it is without any restriction or limitation that in one part a re publican government exists and in an other, part an unlimited despotism,. Is repugnant to- the theory upon 'which the government was founded. Every inhabitant is entitled to the protection afforded by the bill of rights." A large portion of the brief is de voted to the refutation of the doctrine laid down by the attorney general iu the Goetz case recently argued by him in the supreme court to the effect that the government of the United States should have an unlimited hand in the control of territory outside' of the states. Replying to this declaration Mr. Chaney says: "Mr. McKinley is the president of the United States the president of its territory and its people. He is not. the president of any other territory or people, and he is the despot of no peo ple and no territory. He was never elected or commissioned the despot of anybody or anything. "The congress is the congress of the United States the congress of the ter ritory and people of the United States. It is not the congress of any other territory or people. It is omnipotent nowhere on the face of the earth. It was created by the people of the Unit ed States under a constitution specific ally pointing out its powers and du ties. It exists by virtue of that consti tution, as does also the presidential office. It is omniponent nowhere. "The only omnipotent thing this side of heaven is the constitution formul ated by the fathers out of times which proved the necessity of providing against despotism in the presidential office and against the omnipotence of men representing the people of the United States. "One would think, to hear the argu ments advanced by the government, that there are no restrictions or limi tations of any sort upon congress or the president, so far as the territories are concerned; that they may .give to Alaska an absolute monarchy; that they may give to the Hawaiian islands a republic; that they may give to Porto Rico such government as Wey ler would provide; that they may give to the Philippines a form of gov ernment after the plan of Turkey and China; that they may establish a re public in one part and a monarchy in another; that they may deny to the unfortunate inhabitants of these isl ands all the recognized rights and privileges which characterize the codes of civilized nations. In short, they may restore all the relics of barbarism, and there is no power on earth to stop or control them. "It is no answer to this to 'say that the congress, is. too enlightened and the president too merciful to commit such acts of tyranny and oppression. That does not change the question. "We contend that no such right - exists; that congress in its government of the territories is itself subject to constitu tional limitations, and that the people of these territories or colonies are protected by these limitations, . and that they may themselves appeal to that instrument for protection." The brief in the Downes case was filed by F. R. Coudert, jr. In this case exception is taken to the Imposition of duties on goods Imported into the United States from Porto Rico. In his brief Mr. Coudert, quoting the de cision of the supreme court in the Cherokee nation case, asks: "'. "If the Paris treaty did not make Porto Rico a part of the United States, how could the congress of the United States be vested with the. right -to legislate for it and to determine the civil rights and political status of its native inhabitants?" Replying to his own question Mr. Coudert says": "The congress of the United States is not Invested, by the constitution, and cannot therefore be invested by treaty, with power to legislate for a foreign country. - vi;- - "Nor need there bis any concern with reference to the question of exped iency. If the people of the United States deem it expedient that the addi tional powers exercised by their tem porary agents; should be approved and should be continued to their succes sors the people can so ordain. The constitution has provided an " easy method for their- ordaining. It has not established the supreme court for that purpose. , A constitutional amend ment, if demanded by the people, can be presented, in congress and ratified by the legislatures in less time than it will take this court to unravel and determine the mofaentous questions involved in this case, "If a revolution in our method of government and, in the principles for which this government stands is to be made it should be made by the power which is at. the base of all govern ment the people -for whose benefit the government is made. . It certainly should not be done by a court intended to be a conservator of all our institu tions and not the voice of the people to change the form" and character of these institutions." WILL OWN HIE . WORLD Rockefeller Goes Into Railroads, Will Have a Line Reaching From New York to Seattle nd by steamer to Alt the Orient. The biggest-Taiload combination ever effected . was perfected' last week and Rockefeller waa the chief mover in the whole business. This will fur nish a through line from New York to Seattle and by steamer to China, Ja pan,, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and all of the antipodes. The fact has been announced that th? Northern Pacific is building a number of the largest freight steamers ever launched and now that Hill and Rockefeller have effected-a combine, these go with the; deaL . The Asso ciated press account of the transaction-is as follows:. The announcement was made semi officially and the information did not come from a New York source that the big deal, by which the Hill-Morgan-Rockefeller interests were to secure control of the NortherivPacific and St. Paul roads, Is pracUeally consummated and that Inside of a month the sys tems will be In effect one. About three weeks ago, sd the story goes. President Hill obtained a loan from Canadian capitalists of $28,000,000, and it is added that much of this money went for the purchase of Northern and St. Paul shares. "In the vaults of the Great Northern treasurer, it is stated, repose the deposit slips showing that this immense sum was placed to the credit of President Hill in the Chemi cal National bank of New York. The depositors were," it is asserted, Sir William VanHorne, president of the Canadian Pacific, R. B. Angus, multi-millionaire and director of the Bank of Montreal and Lord Mount Stephen of Montreal. President Hill will leave for New York next week and it is stated that the sole object of his visit is to put the finishing touches upon the most gigantic railroad deal in recent years. The Chicago Chronicle said: Presi dent Albert J. Earling of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway yester day sold his 20.000 rhares of stock in the road. The line has passed into the control of J. J. Hill. J. Pierpont Mor gan and John D. Rockefeller. Today Mr. Earling enjoys the dis tinction of being president and general manager of a company in which he does not own a single share of stock. He has made a profit of $840,000 on his stock and does not know whether he is to be' retained in an official capacity by the new management. James J. Hill will enter the direc tory of rthe Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road in a few days and within a month It will be part of a continuous line under one control from New York to ; Seattle. The Baltimore & Ohio road may be the eastern link. The purchases made by Hill and his sup porters did not figure In the market transactions. They .were made outside the exchanges and the direct dealings with " the holders. Earling was not the only big Chicagoan to part with his' stock. Marshall Field is reported to have disposed of his stock, amount ing J: to $3,000,000. The Alexander Mitchell estate parted with $2,000,000 and the heirs of the late George T. Smith are said to have disposed of $3, 000,000 more, the sale having been made through Alexander Geddes, who represents the estate on the directory of the board. Earling's stock was sola for $3,040,000, going off at $152 a share. The other purchases are said to have been at the same price. Earling bought his stock at $110 a share two years ago. The total purchases made yesterday by the Hill interests are reputed to have been in excess of $15,000,000. The Milwaukee line will pass over to the Great Northern, under a lease, it is said, whereby the preferred stockhold ers will be guaranteed 8 per cent, com mon stock, 6 per cent for two years and 4 per cent thereafter. The gen eral officers of the Great Northern will direct the line from Chicago to St. Paul and what changes will take place in the consolidated management are impossible to predict. COAL STRIKE. The strike in the Northern Colorado coal fields is still on and no Colorado coal is likely to come to Lincoln for some time. Gregory, The Coal Man, has a large supply of Wyoming coal such ; as Rock Springs, Hanna and Glen Rock on hand. Office, 1044 O st. I NO MORE WAR Cardinal Gibbons Preaches a Powerful Sermon Arslnit Imperialism and Standing Armies. Th greatest disappointment that ever came to all good men in this coun'.ry was when the church, and es pecially the protestant branch of It, forsook so generally the teachings of its great Founder, abandoned thedoc trinea of peace which was the charac teristic of all His teachings and began to advocate and the propagation of t..e gospel at the point 6f the bayonet and mouth of the cannon. The Inde pendent has long hoped for a revolt against this apostasy, and hoped in vain. The declaration of men like Bishop Fellows and others high in the rulership of the church, boldly advo cating Caesarism fell like a curse upon the whole nation. At last there comes one clarion voice from the church, not from the protestant, but from the Catholic wing, making a protest against standing armies, wars of con quest and the .whole modern scheme that has been propagated by McKin ley, that will do the soul that has a particle of the religion of Christ left in it good to entertain. This sermon stands out as an oasis of blooming flowers, stately palms and shadowy avenues in the burning sands of the deserts of aposticy. It was delivered in Baltimore, January 7, by Cardinal Gibbons. It is commended to pro testant and Catholic alike. The cardi nal said in part: "And how does our country stand on the subject of war? Although the corner stone of the constitution is peace with all nations and entangling alliances with none, we have had on our hands four wars in the century just brought to a close. In 1812 we were engaged in the war with Great Britain, which was justifiable on our part because it was a war of defense. In 1846 the Mexican war occurred. Our terrible civil war began in 1861, lasting four years, and we have recently closed the war with Spain, which resulted in the los3 to her, and in the acquisition by us, or all her foreign possessions. "When we read of a great military campaign, our imagination revels in the contemplation of the heroic achievement of famous generals. We listen with rapture to the clash of arms, the shouts of the victors, and the sound of martial music. We seem to .catch the . spirit of enthusiasm by which the combatants were animated. "But we take no note of the shrieks and agonies of the soldiers weltering under a tropical sun. "It is a subject of great concern to the friends of the gospel of peace that Christian Europe presents today the spectacle of a huge military camp. All the nations of the continent, as well as England, are armed to the teeth, and are living in mutual dread and dis trust of each other. They are devoured by an insatiable ambition of conquest and dominion, or by fear of invasion. When you see heavy clouds surcharged with the electricity of war hanging over these nations you may expect the thunder-clap of ' battle to resound at any moment. Armed nations, liko armed individuals, are a Constant men ace to one another and are easily pro voked to fight. "And these military forces instead of diminishing are unhappily increas ing every year. As soon as one nation augments its armament, its neighbor feels Impelled to do likewise in self protection. According to a report com piled and published in 1887 from offi cial sources, the army list of Europe on a war footing comprised nearly fourteen millions of men, and the an nual cost of maintaining the military establishments, even in time of peace, exceeded six hundred millions of dol lars'. At the present time the cost would probably amount to one thou sand millions. . "When we consider the immense number of men who are torn from the bosom of their families in the prime of life, who are withdrawn from ac tive industrial pursuits; when we -see these young men vegetating in idle ness in time of peace, and luxuriating in license ?nd dissipation in time of war, we may form some idea of the moral, material and social evils result ing from such a system. In contem plating these standing armies, the calm observer might be forced to con clude that European governments were primarily established to destroy rather than to save life, to foster hap piness and develop the resources of a country. "May God so guide our legislators and statesmen that they may never be betrayed into imitating European gov ernments by the establishment of for midable standing armies. God forbid that we, ourselves, flushed with recent victories, should ever become intoxi cated with the wine of imperialism or militarism, but may we always follow the traditions of the fathers of the re public. "Hitherto we have presented to the world a beautiful spectacle. Europeans accustomed at home to meet a soldier or gendarme at every street corner, on arriving in this country have' been filled with surprise and admiration that a nation so vast in extent, and with such an immense population con tains an army of only twenty-five thousand men. They have been forc ibly impressed with the fact that they can travel from Maine to California without meeting a single soldier. They see that every citizen of . the United States is a soldier without uniform, engaged in the active pursuits of life, and ready at a moment's notice to de fend his country. They would feel that we are a strong nation because we cheerfully bow to the majesty of the law and are not confronted and in timidated by military satraps. May this fair picture never be defaced. "Every Christian nation of the world has its own national flag; it fights un der its own chosen leaders; it listens to its own favorite war cry. "But there is one banner before which they all should bow, and that is the banner of the Cross; there is one Leader whom they should all re vere and worship, and that is Christ the Prince of . Peace. There is one clarion trumpet to which, they all should hearken, and that is the trum pet of the gospel." , - STATE COMMITTEE The Populist State Committee Will Meet at Grand Hotel, Lincoln, Jan uary 16th, 1901. Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 3, 1901. To the Members of the State Committee of the People's Independent Party of Ne braska. Gentlemen: You are hereby called to meet at Lincoln, Neb., at the Grand hotel, January 16 at 2 o'clock p. m for the purpose of transacting any business that - may come before that body. It is hoped there will be a full at tendance of the committee and all others who are anxious to see the re form forces continue the good work, which they have so well done in the short time they were In power. All such persons are requested to attend this meeting. There will be an after noon and evening session. Very sin cerely, J. H. EDMISTEN, O. D. WILSON, Chairman. Secretary. MAKING A DESERT The Killing of Insectiverous Birds Is De vastating; Large Sections of Nebraska. Editor Independent; I notice an ar ticle, "The Hunter Nuisance," by Isaac F. Tilinghost, in The Indepen dent concerning the depredations of hunters. The northwestern part of Nebraska has been so devastated by hunters that vegetation is practically destroyed by grasshoppers and other harmful insects, every season. Each year the birds are more scarce and the insect plague is four-fold worse than the season preceding. Mr. T. J. Wilson brought quail to his farm from Missouri in 1883. He rented his place one winter and his tenant, con trary to contract, allowed the birds to be killed. The next summer Mr. Wilson's cabbage crop was short 4,000 pounds and whathe did., raise wa of inferior quality, being pithy and wormy. . All his other vegetables suf fered in the same proportion. 1 The next year the birds returned and his market garden has since been as good as ever. In November, while Mr. Wilson was away from home, some hunters came to his place and shot 28 of his quail besides wounding others. Mrs. Wil son, who, owing to an accident, was alone at home, ordered them to desiFt, but they paid no attention to her. Mr. Wilson will prosecute those men fcr trespass the same as he would any other robbers. Last spring W. R. Reynolds fenced 640 acres of land for winter pasture and kept stock off the place. In tho fall he found the grasshoppers had eat en the grass. .down to the roots. We used to have the richest pasturage in the world, for our native grasses are as nutritious as eastern hay and grain combined, but the hunters have al most ruined this country. The Sand Hills country has long been called the stockman's paradise, but I predict that if the hunters who are killing the grouse, quail and other birds by the carload are .allowed to continue their work of destruction it will not be five years before those lands will be nearly ruined for graz ing. - The Dawes county farmers have be come so exasperated by the hunters that they have bonded together for self-protection to the number of sev eral hundred and have signed the fol lowing resolutions. M. S, HAY WARD. Chadron, Neb. (The resolutions enclosed are signed by 45 of the leading citizens and land owners of that section of the country. They have raised a fund and bind themselves to prosecute every man found shooting birds or game on the lands owned by them or in violation of law. The Independent hopes that they will stick to their good resolutions. If the killing of insectiverous birds, of which the quail is perhaps the most useful, goes on in the future as in the past since breech-loading arms were invented,; Nebraska will become large ly a desert.) The Girl and Her Mother "If your dear mother could count on your steady, sensible, helpful, practical interest in the home-making and the management of the house, she would be the happiest mother in the world," writes Helen Watterson Moo dy of "Where Daughters are Sinners," in the January Ladies' Home Journal. "She would be glad to give over a little or a great deal of her authority to an earnest and systematic little daughter. She has had the care of her home on her mind now for nearly twenty-five years morning, afternoon and even ing, meals, house-furnishing, house cleaning, sewing, guests, everything. Think of it! Do you wonder that her first fine enthusiasm is a little dulled, and that it doesn't seem so tremen dous a matter to her if her sofa-cushions are old-fashioned, or her window curtains are looped primly back as they were twenty years ago, or. her waitress doesn't wear the .very new est kind of aprons?" j Ladies' warm slippers; former price, $1 to $2; ' now 79c. Webster & Rogers. THE SALT TRUST It Has Raised the Prices Above the Tarff 'Protection" and Salt is Being Imported. The salt trust is a tariff trust, but it has raised the price of salt to so high a figure that importations are coming in, in spite of the tariff. Why a people with common sense will sub mit to these trust robberies is be yond comprehension. The first thing that The Independent expects to see is that the tariff on salt has been doubled under the old plea that thi foreigners pay the tax. The tariff is not high enough to suit the grel of the salt trust managers. The fol lowing item shows why the tariff on salt will ba doubled. A large shipment of salt from Lis bon, Portugal, for the Armour Packing company has just begun to arrive In Kansas City. Thirty-five cars have reached there and twenty-five cars are on the way. Each car is loaded with from thirty-five to forty tons of tho salt, all in bulk. The purchase abroad of this enorm ous quantity of salt by the Armour company was provoked by the high prices demanded by the salt trust In this country. Salt might have been bought from the Hutchinson (Kas.) companies only 200 miles distant. The Armour company uses about fifteen carloads a week. James Ferrell, pur chasing agent for the company, said: "Prices are now $6 a ton, a figure so high that we were forced to do some thing desperate to escape the payment of it. Instead of buying salt at a point 200 miles from Kansas City we have sent more than 5,000 miles to an other country for it, and after paying steamer and freight rates and a cus tom duty of. 8 cents a hundred, we are still able to save money. This shows what an outrageous profit the salt trust makes in this country. The high price of salt will be no de triment to Armour and the meat trust. They will simply add it to the price of salted meats and the wage-workers will pay it. They can't object for they voted for that very thing, but theso chaps are so very unreasonable, when they find it out they may do a llttlo growling 'before they line up at the polls and cast their ballots for the trusts again. The cattle men who will also have to pay part of this tribute to the trust will do exactly as the unorganized workers, will - do. They'll growl .and then vote' for trusts. A lot of mullet head farmers will act in the same en lightened manner.' .When they go to town to buy a barrel of salt they will abuse the retail dealer and then go and vote for trusts and "protection." If the American fool-killer had not killed himself with overwork thero might be a chance to get rid o( some of these political idiots, but as It is they will, live on to voto for "protec tion," standing armies, subsidies and such like things until they die of old age. Reflect a little upon the statement of Armour's purchasing agent and you can readily come to a conclusion as to the amount of robbery the salt trust is perpetrating upon the people of this country. The salt mines of Kansas furnish the purest and-most easily mined salt in the whole world. These, enormous beds of salt are about two hundred miles from Kansas City. The salt trust puts the price so high that salt can be produced In Portugal, 5,000 miles away, loaded on a steamer, shipped clear across the Atlantic ocean, transferred from the steamer to the docks, from the docks to railroad cars, shipped 1,500 miles at. high rail road freights, pay a tariff of 8 cents a 100 and then be sold at a profit within 200 miles of the great Kansas salt beds! What per cent of profit docs the salt trust make when it ships sal from Hutchinson to Kansas City? By all means let us raise the tariff on salt and make the, foreigner pay somo more tax. In the Very Lap of Luxury "In the linen-room of the million aire's home, each set tied up with beautiful ribbons, are piles of embroid ered, lace-bordered pillow-cases, matching sheets also decorated witii French needlework half a yard deep," write3 M. E. Carter of "Housekeeping in a Millionaire's Family," in the Jan uary Ladies' Home Journal. "Count less dozens of towels embroidered eighteen Inches deep; guest sheets costing two hundred and fifty dollars apiece; immense damask cloths that required special loom building for their weaving. Twenty-four diners can surround a table covered with one of these cloths. There are others smaller with point Venise borders, in sertion and monograms, too costly for one to presume to guess the price. The bath towels are worthy of mention, s luxurious are they in texture and size, and sometimes exquisite in color. They seem oo beautiful for the bathroom until you visit the latter: Mexican onyx trimmings, with silver or gold mountings, bathtubs sculptured out of solid blocks of spotless marble. Axminster rugs which are laid on the floors harmonize perfectly with tho contents of the linen-room. Eye hath not seen, nor hath It entered into the' heart of man to conceive, anything too delicate or too costly for the daily use of our American millionaires. Any of their bedrooms that you survey will represent a private- fortune in its furnishings." Would Have Elected Bryan Editor Independent: Enclosed find $1.75 for one year's subscription and watch. If a paper like The Independent had been, sent to . every voter's home in this country Mr. Bryan .would have been elected by a big majority. A. O. DEITZE. Cortland, Neb. 7