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VOL. XII.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, APRIL 25, 1901.
NO. 4R;
(
THE UNIVERSAL CENSORSHIP
CapitM Bae ft44 la Ftabllihlaf;
Om a EiTeetfve as Amy Iept
Cald I lr
The universal lying and complete
unreliability of the press dispatches is
at Jai becoming a erious question.
When cm takes up a daily paper he
b i so assurance that anything that
he read is true. This degeneracy is
ttcdet raisins the foundations of so
ciety itself. The following paper was
read by the editor of The Independent
bfere a club consposd of university
professors, lawyers and leading busi
ness mea cf Lincoln and was dis
cud ty them for two or three hours.
When Washington and Jefferson laid
the foundations of this government
one of their chief concerns was to pro
Tide for the freedom of the press. It
Is stips la ted in the first amendment to
the constitution that congress shall
isaite no law abridging the freedom of
rpech or of the press, but In these
later days a way has been found that
is much more effective than any law
that "oc gress could enact to that end.
It will b the object of this paper to
tell how it has been accomplished.
The Una "the press at first includ
ed the whole literature of ;he co'intiy.
but of late years it is rpplied almost
exclusively to periodical publications,
uch s dally icd weekly newspapers
and the monthly and quarterly maga
zines, ft is In that sens that the term
will be osed ia this discussion.
The existence cf the press is made
pofsitle by the universal and never
ceasing demand for news. Unless &
writer has an opportunity to get the
cti that is the current.happeniags
of his own nation and of rfce world
no one would read his productions.
That is true of every department of
lltrrmtttre. with perhaps the exception
of fiction, and It applies in a measure
thr. A man could not write an ac
ceptable scientific article unless be had
the ecws of the most recent discover
ies in science.
It will be admitted without disputa
tion thtt the power that controls the
soarce cf news or its distribution, con
trols the press.
The chief ani almost sole source.of
news in the United Ftates is the Asso
ciated press, the means of distribution
is the telegraph and beta of these are
private monopolies, , free press be
comes a myth ander tLee-tlrcum-sticcs.
Only such information will
be famished as the Associated press
sees fit to furnish, and only that dis
tributed to the people that the tele
graph trust wishes to forward. While
loth oi these monopolies profess to be
public corporations serving all alike,
yet every cewtpaper rrran knows that
the above statement Is as true as any
geners.1 statement can be. It is only
Eecessary to know how the business of
gathering and distributing is managed
to atiderstand how a censorship is es
tablished over all the Information dis
tributed to the American people, how
the freedom of the press is abridged,
and how the real sovereigns are de
ceived, and are induced to administer
government la very different way
from what they would If they had all
the farts submitted to them.
For the purpose of gathering the
news, the Associated press has an
agent la every city, town and hamlet
in the country The news that these
men gather is all sent to Chicago if in
the western circuit, or if in the eastern
to New lork. At each place there is
an editor who edits all the ntws that
is sent in- Not an Item of it goes to
any newspaper until it has passed tin
dcr this editors eye. Is it a false
statement or a straining of language to
call the man who has this awful pow
er in h:s hands and who constant
Jy exercises it, a censor of the press?
If something occurs In the city of
Omaha taat the agent there deems of
genera! interest, he forwards !t to Chi
cago. After the censor has examined
it and sees proper to give it out. It is
sect to all the papers in that circuit.
Daring the night it will come back to
all the papers in Omana taking the
Associated press Jlpatches. It is not
likely that any of the Omaha papers
will use it for their own reporters have
already written it up much more fully
than It will be found In the Associated
press difpatc h.
The first thing to notice is the very
great change in the matter that is now
sent out from what was sent fifteen or
twenty years ago. The burden of the
Associated press matter is now de
tails of murders, murder trials, divorce
suits, scandals. lynching and other
frivolous stuff of that character. Years
asro the report was valued for the im
portant matter that it con. ,t-l. Long
prrcs by eminent men were fre
lastly ert. I remember that one
night about two o'clock, when I was
handling tie telegraph matter on a
daily, that I received a little slip of is
mat paper which contained part of a
sentence and beran. "47 Conklin." In
thoe dzjs all the stuff came from the
tesr?ph ce written on tissue pa
per. There were no capital letters, no
punctuation and no parsg.-aphs. Thse
came in little bits and It was the duty
of the telegraph editor to paste them
together and capitalize, punctuate and
Iwrasrarh the matter, as well as to
write the head lines. " Forty-seven
ConitHn meant that that distinguished
gei.tlemsn had made a speech in the
scrate an thst was the 47th section
of it as divided up by the office send
ing it.
A ;reat deal more attention was raid
fa tbo& days to work of the house and
senate than row. Every day some
thing was sent when congress was in
session. Now ore may read a great
daily for days and hardly see con
gT-&s mestiond. The serious fact? of
life are igtsored and the papers filled
with frivolity. No matter how much an
editor ?t?y deplore this, he is utterly
helpless. A power far above him reg
ulates the dissemination of news.
It is said that the publication of a
newspaper is purely a commercial af
fair, and such matter in printed as will
sell. It is true that the commercial
spirit rules the newspaper office as it
does everything else in these days, but
t is not always true that such matter
s printed as will sell the best. A
newspaper is published to make mon
ey, but it can often make more money
for its proprietors by not printing
what the people want to read than by
printing, it. Great financial interests
are aided or discouraged by what ap
pears in the newspapers, and there is
much more money in the creation of
public opinion that will affect legisla
tion than In a large circulation. These
financial interests can bring to a news
paper an immense income. In fact,
the wealth of most of the great" dailies
ani some weeklies has accrued from
this policy.
This is especially true of what is
ralied the religious press Advertise
ments are the great source of income
to all papers. If any lone will look
over the advertisements in the great
religious weeklies he, if at all a prac
tical man, he will imniediately recog
nize that a large part of the advertis-
ng that they contain pomes from the
great financial concerns, and that the
returns from such advertising in that
class of papers must fall far below the
amount of money that is paid for their
insertion. The religious weeklies cir
culate largely among the well-to-do
farmers. The advertising that farmers
are Interested In is J farming imple
ments, blooded nvo stock, dairy ap
pliances, seeds, bee culture, fertilizers
and things of that kind. But what Is
the advertising in these great religious
weeklies? It is bank statements, life
insurance and great financial deals.
On the other hand these great finan
cial concerns refuse to advertise in pa
pers where returns would be certain,"
because the policy of the paper Is op
posed to the public policy which brings
to them most of their millions. Very
frequently letters ccme to the busi
ness office of the paper which I try to
edit, in reply to applications for ad
vertisements saying that if the policy
of the paper Is changed they will give
us a liberal line of business.
As another illustration that the man
agers of papenrdo not print the line of
news and follow the editorial policy
that will secure the greatest number of
subscribers, or, as it is said, that which
will sell, was the "flop" of all but one
or two of the papers started by the
farmers alliance and kindred societies
a few years ago. -.. These .papers- were
all run on the same general principles.
A very large part of the space was
filled with purely agricultural matter,
and the editorial policy was to defend
the political principles announced by
those organizations. That " sort of
writing was what these people wanted
and what they were willing to buy and
pay for. It was what secured their
circulation. , Within a few months all,
except one or two, suddenly stopped
the editorial discussions and made the
papers purely agricultural. They lost
hundreds of thousands of subscribers,
but, without doubt, it paid them better
not to print the kind of matter that
would sell.
There was a paper printed in St.
Louis which for more than twenty
years had been purely an agricultural
paper and had a circulation of from
15,000 to 20,000. All at once It began a
vigorous editorial policy advocating
the doctrines of the farmers' alliance.
Its circulation Increased by leaps and
bounds. Within a few months it had
over 80,000. It was printing the matter
that would sell. Suddenly this sort of
matter ceased to appear. As soon as
the subscriptions expired that had been
obtained by the new policy, the list
dropped back to less than it was be
fore. No doubt the proprietors made
money by not printing what would
sell. 4 ,
The change of policy made in the
Chicago Times In 1S93, quadrupled its
circulation in less than three months.
Then it again changed Its policy and
proprietors ana no doubt made a Dig
sum cf money by refusing to print
what would selL
From these Instances and hundreds
more that could be furnished by any
well-posted newspaper man, it is plain
to be seen that the' freedom of the
press, as understood by those who
founded this government, no longer
exists. -
Along with this censorship of the
news, and the control by certain inter
ests of nearly the whole of the press,
there has come a change in the editor
ial writing. Instead of discussing the
great questions of government and so
cial progress, most of the editorial
writing in the great dailies is of the
most frivolous kind. In one of the
metropolitan papers lying before me
containing so many pages that it is a
burden to handle It. there is not one
single item that wouk' he of interest
to the scholarly man. The leading
editorial article discusses tooth-picks.
In regard tc what has , been said
about "yellow journalism," the reply
may be made that it is no worse, and
possibly not as bad, as some that pass
as resoectable. A member of this club
described a "yellow journal" as "a pa
per made up of large black headlines,
illustrations and rot." The new pro
cess of transferring photographs to the
printed page and running them on fast
cylinder presses, the cost of filling the
space with them Is about as small as
to fill It with solid printed matter
Especially Is this true where the artist
is made a member of the staff at a
salaryand the whole process is com
pleted In the office. Some of it is ex
cellent work, but in the main it is an
tppeal to the prurieiit desire of what
Is vicious and low. The colors that
are used are sometimes not only re
pugnant to good tasbi, but would hor
rify a hottentot.
Whether the freedom of the press as
was understood ' by the fathers ' can
ever be re-established Is a serious
question, and one thai might well em
ploy the best minds, not only in this j
club, but the best in the nation. There
Is certainly one thing that all moral
ists should take an Interest in, namely,
the universal lying that has become so
common that it no longer attracts
adverse comment. It is a habit of the
great dailies to write what they call
"special dispatches" date' them in a
foreign country . or at some distant
plae and send them out as legitimate
news. Other papers copy from them
and they secure general 'circulation. A
short time ago a Chicaeo paper printed
more than a column that purported to
tie a special dispatch from the City of
Mexico, the substance of it being that
President Diaz had gone Insane affcr
the country was on the verge of revo
lution. Of course all the other dailies
reprinted it. As soon as the news
reached Mexico there was a flood of
dispatches sent to all parts of the
United States in denial, saying that
President Diaz was in excellent health
and had gone on a hunting trip. No
correction of the story was ever made
in the paper that first printed it. Dur
ing the last month I have made a list
of nineteen. such things. What use is
it to try to teach truthfulness to our.
school children when the newspapers
which they1 all read, are every day
packed with lies.
Is it any wonder that the editor,
when he knows that there is not a line
in the dispatches upon which he can
rely, sits down and writes an editorial
on tooth-picks?
It is not the lies that are sent out In
these dispatchs that trouble the honest
editor the most. It is the supression
of the news. There was a recent oc
currence tnat illustrates mat state
ment. At the time the Porto Rico
cases were argued before the supreme
court there was an intense desire for
a full summary of the arguments sub-,
mitted. I myself wrote to a friend in
Washington beiore U;e case v.
and asked him to use every endeavor
to have such summaries sent out by"
the Associated press. He replied that
many similar requests had been made
to him and to other parties. Every
honest editor was extremely anxious
to get what those most eminent law
yers had to say upon the question of
whether the constitution followed the
flag. They were anxious to get the
argument on both sides. What was
the result? Only the most meagre and
fragmentary report was sent. I was
assured by this gentleman - that very
full repqrts were made ot and given
to the - superintendent of the Asso
ciated press in Washington. My in
formant, who Is a newspaper man of
long experience and high standing as
a Washington correspondent, maae
such investigation as convinced him
that full reports were sent from the.
Washington office, Trey .
as the censor in the New fYork office
and then reappeared in the very con
densed and mangled form in which
you saw them in the daily papers. ...
Of course any newspaper that had
a Washington correspondent could
have ordered that matter sent as a spe
cial dispatch. Two things must be
taken into consideration, before the
managing editor is condemned for not
so doing. First, the very great differ
ence In the cost of special dispatches
and Associated press reports, and, sec
ond, that the editor had a right to ex
pect that the matter would be sent by
the Associated press. If after finding
that the Associated press had failed
to send It, he had ordered it, it would
have been two days behind and not
"news" any longer.
Perhaps the most remarkable exam
ple of the suppression of news occurred
in 1892, when the Associated press sent
an order to all its agents on the eve
of the' election to not report the vote
of a' party that cast more than 2,000,
000 ballots and carried several . states.
It was more than six weeks before the
returns of that -party could be gath
ered from the- county weekly papers
and anything like an estimate formed
of the vote of that party, and it was
not until In January of the next year,,
when the year books appeared, that
any accurate knowledge on the sub
ject could be obtained.
The effect upon the government of
this country - by this - censorship of
news is as great as that of an immense
standing army under the control of a
dictator. The only remedy is the gov
ernment ownership of the telegraphs-
and the sending of all press dispatches
at the same rate, whoever offers them.
Editors have also degenerated and
no excuse can be made for the way
they conduct their papers. There , is
certain news that they can all get If
they try, such as official reports of the
government. There is one thing that
has been an- unsolvable puzzle to me.
I cannot imagine, why the editors of
one of the leading party's papers has
constantly ignored one class of news
that one would think would be to their
interest to get even if it did not come
by the Associated press or through
the regular channels. The people of
the United States are in the most pro
found ignorance of the fact that there
has been more silver coined under Mc
Kinley and put in circulation than was
ever coined before, in the same length
of time since the government , was
founded. It . is being kept up every
month; the sum of $2,242,166 was
coined during the month of February.
The amount for March has not yet
been received. Why the opposition
press has not taken this matter up
and pointed out that the present ' ad
ministration which 4was elected the
first time upon the distinct proposition
that the coinage of silver must be
stopped, is a thing that I could never
find out. The facts are obtainable by
all editors. - - , ,
All sorts of schemes have to be re
sorted to in the event of starting a
new paper. The news franchise Is of
ten" the most costly thing about the
starting of new papers when it ought
to be given to all alike. The New
York Journal, to , get a press fran
chise, had to i. buy an . unknown paper
with an insignificant circulation and
pay $50,000 for It to get the press dis
patches, when it first started, and It
still carries as a sub-title the name
of Advertiser. . , -
Many communities would have a
daily paper or another daily paper, if
it were not Tor this monopoly of news
by the Associated press and - Western
Union telegraph monopoly that can-
hot now have one. .'
If the monopoly of news can be de
stroyed, the American people need
fear no other trust even if engineered
by the shrewdest intellects that world
pan produce. .. .
In the symposium of great men re
cently held in New York on how to
elevate the press, Edison's essay was
the best. It vas as follows: "Once in
a while publish a fact." -
THE ENGLISH DISMAYED
They Find That Warn of Conquest Against
s Brave Fn Feopl art Ex-
j.v " . eeediB&rlT Expensive
. There has ibeen a greater sensation
in England during the last week than
any. of their great celebrations - over
the; defeat the Boers ever caused.
The whole population seems paralyzed.
John' Redmond's comment on the
budget speecS, to the effect that there
would, not befso many Maf eking cele
brations now! was perhaps the most
judicious criticism which .found ex
pression fromf the crowded house. Sir
Michael Hicks-Beach made a most de
pressing speech, rwhich sobered both
sides of the commons.
The cost of the '.war, the magnitude
of the deficit and the extent to which
recourse, ta borrowing powers must be
had were on a larger scale than had
been expected and the new burdens of
taxation - were more serious than ex
pected.,; " ' ,
The estimate or approximately $921,
500,000 &s the net cost of ' the war
would have- staggered the taxpayers
even if the end of the military opera
tions hadj been in'sight, but with the
resources of guerrilla -warfare appar
ently inexhaustible there was "a gen
eral conviction in the commons that it
mignt , exeeed si,wx),oou,ouu before a
settlement cduld be f eached.
: The permanent Mebt, as already increased-
would be enlareed. by $300.-
000,000, with the suspension of all ar
rangements for a sinking fund.
The consumers of beer, spirits, to
bacco and tea were spared a further in
crease of taxation because the limit of
profitable . revenue had been . ap
proached, but $55,000,000 was the es-,
timated outcome of the increase from
fresh taxes on Incomes, sugars, mo
lasses,, glucose' and exported coal. ?
; The main' burdens will be 'fourteen
pence Instead of a shilling on iaeomes.
the duty on sugar, averaging a half
penny on the pound to consumers, and
the export duty on coal, which consti
tutes 12 per cent of the export trade of
the United Kingdom. s "
A crowded house heard the speech of
Sir Michael Hicks-Beach with mingled
feelings of dismay and satisfaction.
Many conservatives would have been
better pleased if the sugar duties had
been doubled and two pence . dropped
from the income tax.. ' .
The liberals would have been de
lighted from a party point of view if
the area of indirect taxation had been
widened by duties on corn and manu
factured goods, so that there could
have been a grand rally of the opposi
tion in defense of free trade. As it
was, Harcourt was enabled to make a
strong protest' against a revival of the
antiquated export duties which would
embarrass shipping interests and also
against a repudiation of the tariff pol
icies of Peel and Gladstone. " f
': There was intense excitement in the
galleries and lobbies and the impres
sion prevailed in the clubs that a
wedge would be driven into the free
trade tree and that it would never
come out, but would be hammered
further in another year.
The new scheme of taxation may be
summed up as follows: ' . .
Revenue, 1900-1901 $651,925,000
Expenditures, 1900-1901. . . . 917,960,000
Deficit, 1900-1901.......... 266,035,000
Revenue, 1901-1902 ........ 'fl6,275,000
Expenditures, 1901-1902. .. . 921,060,000
Deficit, 1901-1902 204,785,000
To meet the deficit it is proposed to
increase the income taxi put a grad
uated duty upon sugar, the West Indies
product not excepted, to tax molasses
and glucose, place an export duty upon
coal and to borrow $300,0000,000 by
means of consols. v -
The tax on' Incomes amounts to a
little over 5 per cent.
Cowardly Subterfuge
Funston is credited to Kansas, but
not all the citizens of that, state credit
him with heroism. The Johnstown
Democrat fires this hot shot into those
who aro shouting for Funston and
glory: ''Let Funston get what honor
he can out of this capture. But let It
not be forgotten by Americans that it
was effected, not in honest, open, man
ly war, but by base trickery, by a
mean and cowardly subterfuge, by as
vile a piece of sneaking artifice as any
red Indian ever put into execution;
and he had for, his tools in its carry
ing but those bloody Macabebes whom
the Filipinos themselves refused to en
list In their forces; those Macabebes
who are to the Filipinos what the Mo
hawks were to the Americans; those;
Macabebes who are the real savages of
the islands; "these . Macabebes who
fought with he Spaniards and who are
fit allies, in the most atrocious- war
that ever a free people or any other
people waged against liberty."
; 'Reads Every Line ;
. A lawyer of prominence said the
other day: There are just two papers
printed, in the state, the editorial page
of which I read every line; they are
the Nebraska Independent and the
well, our close personal ; connection
therewith prevents us from giving you
the name of the other one he men
tioned. Crete Democrat,"'
THE LAUD HUIIGRY
The Dangers, Privations and Snffertng Eo
dared to Get a Piece of God's Green
Earth to Call Their Own
v With increasing earnestness the pop
ulists have "been warning the people
that soon this land of the brave and
the home of the free would become a
counterpart of the countries of Eu
rope. There would be the landlord
and tenant, the capitalist and the wage
slave. 'What they said was not their
own conclusions only, but were the de
ductions of the scholars and philos
ophers as well. The census bulletins
point out that the tenant farmers are
increasing at a terrible rate and the
home-owners grow less and less. The
opening up of the Kiowa and Co
manche Indian reservations will make
a few thousand acres of land availr
able for settlement. The thousands
who have assembled along the borr
ders of the reservation, patiently wait
ing, and suffering while they wait, is
a sight that ought to appeal even to
the heart of a plutocrat. The Ameri
can Tribune makes an appeal to the
government to dispose of the land by
lottery to avoid the clash that is sure
to come when he gun is fired that an
nounces the opening of the land. In
discussing the question it says:
We are informed that Secretary
Hitchcock has under consideration a
plan to open the Kiowa lands August
6th without allowing a run. We hope
he will adopt some drawing or allot
ment plan, and it should be done at
the very earliest date, that the many
thousand people now living along the
borders of that land would know it
and disband. There are tens of thou
sands, now upon the border; many are
now suffering. They live in dugouts,
wagons, "tents and shacks. There are
so many there that if the lands
were opened now there would not be
enough to give the crowd two acres
each. Therefore . thousands must be
disappointed, besides, they are getting
sick, the women and children are get
ting sick. Many of the men are get
ting short of money and are compelled
to sell their last horse for something
to eat; and the general government
will have to keep them before the land
is opened if allowed to remain Xas
they are. While if the honorable sec
retary would adopt some drawing plan,
these mea would all register and could
disband and go off to work until the
drawing took place. It would be much
better for the people and save the gov
ernment from having to decide thou
sands of contests that surely must
arise from the run. " It would: also
save many lives, for there are many
desperate people there who expect
lands or a fight, and our opinion, is
there will be murder all over that sec
tion the day of the run and for weeks
thereafter. The government could and
should vtake immediate steps to prevent
It, and to amend the state of affairs
existing there. No one has any idea
until they go iind see for themselves.
These people have gone there, because
the Government is going to open these
lands, and they are lined up for one
hundred and ten miles on the east and
west 'sides and for , sixty-nine miles
across each end of the reservation. We
tiave been there and seen it ourselves.
and it is getting larger each day, as
new arrivals are dropping in each day.
None are allowed on the lands, all are
over the- lines. Lines set along the
railroad on the east, along Red River
on the south, along Green county line
on the west and along the railroad line
on the north. Even the railroads are
expecting to run large trains down
into the territory, that people may
drop off at various places and make a
run. So the general thought is, to go
on; it will be the greatest run ever
known, the most desperate and more
blood shed . than ever before. The
former ones were disgraceful enough.
We say by all means make It a system
of drawing, or allotment, but stop the
run as early as possible and disband
these people for their own good."
IT COMES VERY HIGH
Americans Can Make a Note of What Im
perialism Costs England How Bab
cock Played Harlequin
Washington, D. C, April 20, 1901.
England has been thrown Into a state
of consternation by the annoy ncement
from the chancellor of the exchequer
that the heavy expenses of the Boer
war will necessitate a heavy increase
in direct taxation ; Already higher
taxes have been placed on-sugar and
coal and popular Indignation is not
soothed by the fact that there Is only
a nominal increase in the income tax,
thus leaving the actual burden of this
war of conquest on the middle 'and
poorer classes,.
We shall have to reckon with the
cost of the Philippine war sooner or
later and theexpenses of subjugating
the Boers give a nice little object les
son in imperialism which can be per
used with profit by every American
taxpayer.
; The Boer war has already cost Great
Britain $725,000,000. The end is not
yet in sight. This "small war" has
cost twice as much as the Crimean
war. It is admitted that no contribu
tions can bs expected .from the Trans
vaal itself.
On the basis of the ordinary rev
enues of Great Britain there will be- a
deficit of about $300,000,000 this year
and this must be met by increased tax
ation and a war loan. It is said that
this is the most disastrous statement
of finances ever made in parliament
The British people are howling in
wrath, but they are committed to im
perialism and will have to foot the bill
It will be the same way in this country
when the people realize what the sub
jugation of the Philippines is going to
cost. 'Somehow the spirit of freedom
implanted in the breasts of the com
mon people like the . Boers and Fill
pinos, dies hard and it takes mighty
armies and much expenditure of mil
lions to make slaves of peop.le who
want to be free.
Vice President Roosevelt has been
keeping pretty quiet since his stren
uous experience in managing the sen
ate in the few days of extra session; j
but he can't keep still more than two
consecutive weeks. He has to talk to
some -sort of an audience. In New
York the other day , he told a lot of
little ragged newsboys that each one of
them had as good a chance to become
vice president as he.
That old story was all right about
twenty years ago' when a poor rail
splitter became president, but nowa
days it hardly goes, even with such
ignorant things as newsboys. The
high dQoesof the, nation are ngyMike
a lottery in which 'there are" 'seventy- -five
million chances and only one gold
en prize and the trusts are in charge
of the lottery and see that the prize
goes to one of their representatives.
Little newsboys who have ambitions
had better look forward to the - time
when they will be required to give
compulsory service as soldiers. It
won't be more than ten or fifteen years
before that will happen if militarism
and imperialism develop at . the rate
they have the last three years.
Congressman Babcock hopes to be
come the Moses to lead his party out
of the wilderness into which it has
wandered. He thinks to supplant such
astute leaders ,as Payne and Dick by
keeping up a pretense of wanting anti
trust legislation.
It will be remembered that Mr. Bab
cock wanted the protective tariff tak
en off steel and iron at the last con
gress. At least he pretended he did
and played his part in the comedy
when his house, colleagues-objected
and buried the bill in the oblivion of
committee -'-
Mr. Babcock is entirely right in the
idea that the trust issue is bound to
become the greatest one " before the
American people, but it rather jarred
one's belief In 'his sincerity to see the
dignified member of congress bobbing
in and out- of a broker's office in Wash
ington during the closing weeks of the
session and it was painful to note the
current rumor that the gentleman had
made a very tiay sum oi money on cer
tain stocks which went skyward
through trust manipulation.
Really Mr. Babcock needn't trouble
himself to play the harlequin on the
trust issue. When the people are suf
ficiently aroused they, will take the
trusts in hand and deal with them in a
decisive manner and settle the ques
tion in a way which will put it out
of the. .range : pf picayune, politicians
who have so little knowledge of fcval
issues that they think pretended anti
trust legislation will advance them
personally. :. -
Fourth Auditor Castle of tne post-
office department has just written an
article for one of the magazines in
which he deals real hard blows to the
postal savings system under govern
ment supervision. ' -Of
course that ought to settle it. If
an administration menial who lets the
affairs of his department go at loose
ends and who is ever ready to ignore
civil service requirements, says that
a proposed reform cannot be accom
plished, why the thinking public. will
be only too glad to take his word for
it.
Mr. Castle attempts to show that the
system is a failure in England, though
his statistics. are drawn, from doubtful
sources and very badly mixed indeed.
But why does he neglect the history
of the plan in France? Can it have
escaped his omniscence that the
French government conducts a postal
savings system with satisfaction to
both the government and the deposi
tors? Mr. Castle is tob pessimistic. He re
minds one of the people who were
sure that a steamboat would never
float and that steam railways were Im
possible and that the telegraph was
rank blasphemy toward the creator of
the universe. The postal savings sys
tem under government control is one
of those things that the government
could do for the private individual and
save him being fleeced by the banks.
It is coming in spite of Mr. Castle.
The administration seems to have
an uneasy conscience over its treafci
ment of the son of ex-President Harri
son. It' dislikes the comment that is
being made about the matter. The last
congress opened a way to provide for
the appointment of officers in young
Harrison's situation, but the admin
istration has determined to give him
no appointment. Senator Fairbanks
is willing to give $1,000 toward a
monument in memory of General Har
rison, but will not aid his son to get
an appointment.
Pardon Bartley
A Nebraska man Is being most un
justly treated and Governor Savage is
the only man who can give him jus
tice. That man is Joseph Bartley now
In the penitentiary at Lincoln for the
embezzlement of a certain large war
rant, which warrant was paid with the
indorsement of J. H. Millard just
elected United States senator from' Ne
braska. If the partaker is to be re
warded why should the thief be pun
ished? Let Governor Savage do his
duty as a Nebraska republican and
pardon Mr. Bartley and then call the
leeislature together to pass an. appro
priation bill to cover his salary while,
serving the state. Exeter enterprise.
Typical Senators
Mr. Dietrich and Mr. Millard are
both typical United States senators
They will average well with their as
sociates in the upper branch. The
former is a bank president and stands
for the B. & M. railroad in Nebraska,
the latter is a bank official and repre
sents the U. P. railroad In the state.
Each has the qualifications -required
for his position. The Arrow-H?ad. .
A STANDING ARMY
An Old Officer Declares That the Regular
, Array of the United States Sto aid
Not Exceed 1 0,000 Men
Frank E. Farnam, who served in the
First Massachusetts heavy artillery
during the civil war, in a letter prlnt&d
in Our Dumb Animals says:
"Having served three years in our
civil war and having taken part in
some of the fiercest conflicts cf that
war, my conclusions in regard to the
subject are not wholly those of a
theorist.
MThe result of my observation, in
vestigation and' experience had led tue
to believe that the standing army cf
ffielnjt'9d., States, should .'not exceed
ten thousand in number, andthajt .all
the militia systems of the several
states should be abolished.
"Thi3 conclusion will doubtless be
pronounced a radical and dangerous
one by the many who have given little
thought to the subject, and by the few
who profit by the present antiquated,
ineffective and demoralizing system,
but I have some reasons for the faith
that is in me.
"I say 'antiquated, ineffective and
demoralizing' advisedly.
"The system of the regular army of
the United States, of which our state
militia systems are but weak imita
tions, was copied from the European
systems in vogue in the early part of
the last century when a commission
wa3 sent from the United States to In
vestigate the military systems of Eu
rope pBeparatory to establishing a
military system here.
"Cur present regular army and West
point were the results (West Point
with its records of caste, hazing, etc.)
"The element of military caste taken
from thEurcpean system, where the
officers were nobles and the privates
serfs, was peculiarly grateful to the
south, which dominated the commis
sion referred to, as indeed it did the
whole nation at that time.
"In this system the elements of in
dividuality and manhood were elimi
nated from the make-up of the privcte
soldier. He was reduced to mere fight
ing animal,, without ambition, judg
ment, or any rights which the officer
was bound to respect.
"When an army of such solditrs
comes in 'contact with manhood and
brains, 'fighting for a principle, or in
self-defense, the result is as graphical
ly portrayed by Canon Doyle In his ar
ticle in the October number of Mc
Clure's: 'The ratio of effectiveness is
perhaps ten. bo one in favor of the sys
tem of which the Boers furnish the
latest and mostv surprising example.' i
r "Wars -of aggresion do not develop'
armies of this noble class, the vital
element of principles being lacking.
Such wars do develop soldiers of for
tune, mercenaries, cruelty, robbery.
and lapine, and all the horrors that
spring from a combination of whisky
and bloodthirstiness.
"As a rule with bathmi, as with in
dividuals, self-defense alone justifies
bloodshed.
"Our civil war was no exception to
this m"t. though the union forces were
generally the attacking party. It
struck blows first only to prevent the
south from destroying the nation.
"The province of military art, then,
i3 simply to defend the rights of na
tions. All the glamour, which is
thrown over conquest; all the pomp
and circumstance of war; all the glory
of conquerors is false and Injurious to
the interests of the human race, and
we commit a most serious error in
placing before our youth the false and
gory tales of slaughter which consti
tute three-fourths of our school histor
ies. This cultivation of the brutish In
stincts of mankind, which are always
to be repressed, not encouraged, re
sults in the general worship of mili
tary heroism and the growth of that
war spirit which is always anxious to
test its prowess upon some weaker
nation.
"But what would this iconoclast of
fer in place of our military system,
and what should take the place of
the militia which has been our boast?
"Just this: have done with all the
meretricious trappings of war, the tin
sel paraphernalia of parades, the brass
bands, the sergeant majors, the gen
erals for day, the pips clay and red
tape, the nurseries of dissipation and
disease known as "musters" and sub
stitute a state law compelling all
young men, say between the ages of 21
and 35, to meet at least one day In a
year In their respective localities, un
der just such government as Is used In
civil matters, and practice marksman
ship (arms and perhaps prizes, to be
furnished by the state),
"A national school, on a plan suited
to the country and the age in which we
live, could furnish a class of engineers,
strategists, etc., necessary to direct
the million of effective defenders of
our land when necessary. - - f
"In this way we should constantly
have such an army as to make the con-'
quest of the United States, even by the
combined efforts of all other nations,
an impossibility.
"Such an army would give us full
power to defend our own righ.s, and
would deprive U3 of the power, and In
a' great measure of the disposition, to
take away the rights of others, and
would be a great step toward that mil
lennium of universal peace on. earth
and good will to man which you, Mr.
Editor, so courageously advocate, and
which all just and true men hope for."
There can be no doubt that the mod
ern magazine rifle will finally work
a complete revoldtion, not only in tac
tics, but In the organization of armies.
When charges were made en masse,
when the soldier was to!d to "keep
shoulder to shoulder," any jiort of
thing that stood on two legs and had
sense enough to pull a trigger would
make a soldier. It Is not so anjr more.
There must also be some intelligence.
The magnificent and destructive fight
ing of the Boer farmers will eventually
have its effect on all armies.
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