THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
May 15, 1902
Zbtf Hebraska Independent
Lincoln, Hebraska
; PRESSE BLDG.. CORNER !3TH AND N STS
Published Every Thcksdat
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' Address all communications, and male all
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Zb tlebraska Independent,
Lincoln, Neb.
" Anonymous communications will not be no
ticed. Bejectod manuscripts will not . be re
nrned.
,' Mrs. Andrew Rice, of Nellgh, Neb.,
says that "the big lie told last fall on
'Chancellor Andrews was first pub-
llshed In the. Central Christian Advo
cate of Kansas Cfty."
! " It Is a fact beyond dispute that we
have killed more people, caused more
j suffering and burned more towns. in
the Philippines during the last three
,' years than Spain did in three hun
dred years. And we used to denounce
Spanish cruelty.
We have gone into the Philippines
Sand made war on the people without
telling them what for or what we pro
j pose to do with 'them ir they should
propose an unconditional surrender to
J our military forces. The situation
cannot be duplicated in all history.
' Dave Hill's idea of political strategy
(Beems to be to match barrels with
(Mark Hanna. Well, our Uncle Mark
'.can beat Hill ten to one at that game.
It is about the wildest idea ever en-
tertalned by "I am a democrat."
Our flag in Cuba represented liberty
i and self-government. On the 20th of
this month it will be pulled down to
' the honor of this government, and the
f Cubans will hold it in reverence. Our
flag, in the Philippines has represented
despotism and every Filipino hates
',lt. But Teddy says that it must "stay
put"
' The proposition that when the
American flag i3 hoistoa over a piece
; of territory, it can never be taken
down without dishonor, is the most
absurd statement a politician ever in
vented. It was never intended for any
other use than to fool mullet heads.
For that it "jjJy well.
All the financial papers and niaga
' zlnes of every sort declare that the
demand exceeds the output. That is
1 hard on the socialist and -republican
theories of overproduction. It seems
to indicate that wars of conquest and
common ownership of property are
'not pressing needs of these states just
at the present time. " '
The republican and gold democratic
editors are in great distress again for
fear that the democratic party will
;be ruined by its opposition to the war
fin .the Philippines. The Brooklyn
j Eagle is . especially, vociferous . in its
jprotests. It says that word "iniper
jialism" should be stricken from the
democratic vocabulary.
f - In the old days before imperialism
demoralized our gallant little army,
for an officer to lie was an unpardon
j able sin. For that he found no mercy
land was cashiered. But now the un
pardonable sin for an officer is to tell
the truth. Forgers are promoted and
J the truth tellers are court-martialed.
tFunston and Major Gardener are re-
cent samples.
I Tom Johnson has announced an
j other fanatical idea. He says that the
public parks of Cleveland belong to
the people and are maintained for the
people's use, therefore they need no
permits from the police or anybody
jelse to hold picnics there. That the
parks are really for the use of the
- hrcuyic io u.u iuea mat seems never to
nave entered into a mullet head's
brain.
- The great "emigration of American
farmers to northwestern Canada still
( continues. - Canadian officials assert
f that 50,000 American farmers will set-
tie there this year. If an irrigation
f bill had passed congress, this exodus
would have been in the main pre
( vented. Congress had too much war
of conquest to look after to pay any
; attention to the development of this
I country or theesof farmers.
' " It Is related of Col. William E.
Peters of the confederate army, who
has just died, that when his command
j ing officer ordered him to burn the
town of Chambersburg, Pa., he refused
i to do it and replied: "I do not make
t war on defenseless women and chil
dren." If he had been in the Philip
? pines he would have been court-mar-tialed
and sent home in disgrace and
told that they wanted no "sentimental
ists" over there.
The an'glomaniac idea of sending a
special embassy to help crown King
Edward has been knocked out and if
' .Whitelaw Reid, General Wilson and
i Admiral Watson go it will have to be
in some other capacity. Senator Bailey
showed so conclusively that the whole
: thing was unconstitutional that the
republican leaders, like Allison. Lodge,
! and others, had to agree with him.
t No precedent could be found in history
i for an embassy, without formal nomi
nation and conrmationjby the senate.
Many years ago John Stuart Mill
-and other-economists pointed to the
fact that practically nothing was left
over from year to year of all the goods
t produced. Everything was consumed
' as we went along. And yet the repub
licans' and the socialists are always in
: a tremor about the danger of overpro
duction. To prevent the catastrophe,
the republicans want wars of con
quest and the socialists want the col
lective ownership of all the means of
... production and distribution. . But no
. t A A. -.
t bucu cautstrppce impends. ,
I v
LAND MONOPOLY
This question which The Indepen
dent has so often propounded to the
single taxers the Chicago Public
makes an effort to answer. The Inde
pendent's question was:
Since the community or popula
tion gives value to everything, why
is It not right to tax all values
given by the . community to .the
full amount, if it is right to tax
to the full amount the value given
by the community to land?
Mr. Post says that ' "The Indepen-
dent is confused by elliptical forms
of expression," after which he con
tinues to use them through the whole
article. The Public should have con
sideration for our dullness of com
prehension and avoided the forms that
confused us. He has, however, some
pity for our Ignorance for he ex
plains as follows:
In the first place, the phrase
"to tax values," is simply a short
cut for expressing the idea of
taxing in proportion , to values.
Values themselves are not taxed.
Men are taxed. Values are only a
basis of tax measurement; the
question being whether we shall
tax men in proportion only to
their land values or to their other
values.
The old readers of The Independent
may feel some irritation because of
taking space for such kindergarten ex
planations, but we want to do Mr. Post
the fullest justice. He Is a very able
man and forceful writer when he does
not undertake to accomplish the im
possible. His final summing and the
gist of the whole answer to The In
dependent is contained in the follow
ing sentence:
In Its nature a tax in propor
tion to land values Is a tax on
monopoly, while a tax in propor
tion of labor values is a tax on
labor.
It would be interesting to know
the course of reasoning by which Mr.
Post arrived at the conclusion that
the ownership of land in varying sized
parcels is a monopoly. What sort of
a definition does he give to the word
"monopoly" so as to make it include
the holding in private ownership a
town lot or a farm? The editor of The
Independent thought that the mean
ing of the word monopoly was some
thing like this: "To purchase or ob
tain the whole of any thing with a
view- of controlling the market, the
possession of the power of exclusive
dealing in the sale of any article."
He came to that conclusion because
when he was a boy he was taught that
the word was derived from the Greek
"monos," which means "one," and
"poleto," I sell.
The editor of The Independent Is so
dull of comprehensfon that he will
have to be shown still further before
he can believe that the private owner
ship of land by hundreds of thousands
of persons constitutes a "monopoly."
If it were all owned by "one" person
the case would be entirely different.
Professor Ely says that at first he
followed John Stuart Mill in the erron
eous idea tnat land is a natural mo
nopoly, but that under his definition
of monopoly, he can only say that land
is a limited factor, but. not a monop
oly. The definition is: "That sub
stantial unity of action on the part
of one or more persons engaged . in
some kind of business which gives
exclusive control, more particularly, j
though not solely, with respect to
price." There is no substantial unity
of action on the part of landowners.
LARGEST IN THE WOBLI)
Perhaps the best illustration of the
practical good resulting from the con
tinued educational work done by the
people's party in Nebraska is the
growth of the mutual insurance com
panies resulting in keeping hundreds
of thousands of dollars in the state
that would otherwise be sent to ths
east. The Farmers' Mutual Insurance
company of Nebraska is the largest
purely mutual insurance companv in
the world. It owes ; its existence and
growth to teachings of the" people's
party and to favorable legislation by
people's party legislatures. It is a
practical demonstration of the sound
ness of populist principles. It was
populists who first advocated mutual
insurance in this state. The cham
pions of plutocracy all contended that
mutual insurance could not succeed
because the mutual companies would
have no "capital," no stockholders to
draw dividends, no money to loan at
exorbitant rates of interest on farm
mortgages. Time has proven that
honesty and integrity in the manage
ment of insurance companies is a
more certain road to success than any
amount of capital backed by greed and
avarice'
There may be good and sufficient
reasons why we do not manufacture
steamboats and sailing vessels in Ne
braska. There may be good reasons
why we do not mine coal and iron and
gold and silver, but there is no rea
son why Nebraska cannot write every
line of insurance needed in the state
and write it at the actual value of the
Insurance plus the expense connected
with writing It. The man who insists
on going east to find the wisdom nec
essary to conduct an insurance com
pany displays but little confidence in
the intelligence of the people of his
own state. It is the lack of confidence
In home institutions and-the resulting
patronage to foreign organizations
that has built in the east the. greatest
capitalistic , concerns in the United
States. The farmers of Nebraska for
many years, and to some extent yet,
pay exorbitant premiums for insur
ance to foreign companies and then
mortgage their farms to borrow back
a part of the overcharge at an exces
sive rate of interest. They burn the
candle at both ends. Is it any wonder
that Nebraska with it tremendous re
sources of grain, meat and provisions,
has not prospered as it should?
Why "not cease the folly of going
east for insurance and buy the home
product which is better and cheaper
and help to maintain Nebraska insti
tutions. There is no safer insurance
than that written by the Farmers'
Mutual of Nebraska. If you have a
policy in an eastern company that will
soon expire replace it with one in the
Farmers Mutual. It is safer, will
cost you less and you will have the
satisfaction of standing up for Ne
braska. ..
NOT DISTURBED
The Independent would like to an
nounce that President Roosevelt is in
arnest in prosecuting the trusts, but
the evidence so far does not warrant
such a conclusion. It has recently
been authoritatively stated at Wash
ington that no more prosecutions will
be begun. The most decisive evidence
that these suits brought against the
Northern Pacific merger and the beef
trust, are for political effect and not
intended to bring the trust under the
law, is the fact that no criminal pro
ceedings have been begun against
them. The men who have formed these j
t. usts are all guilty of the violation of
the anti-trust law which provides for j
criminal prosecution with penalties
of from one to three years in the pen
itentiary and heavy fines. A criminal
trial before a jury would be a very
different affair from a proceeding be
fore a judge asking for an injunction.
The Independent fancies that the !
trusts are not very much disturbed by j
the proceedings that Roosevelt has or- i
dered. The managers spend no sleep
less nights over it. They know that
Knox is attorneygeneral.
FAIR WARNING
The Rockville (Ind.) Tribune is a
democratic paper with the true ring
to it. From the following it is evi
dent there is one editor in Indiana
who means business and will not be
fooled by any "harmony" pleas:
Chairman O'Brien, of the demo
cratic committee, has begun work
at his Indianapolis headquarters.
Elsewhere we print the official call
for the state convention. The Tri
bune has but .one word of advice
to offer Mr. O'Brien one warning
note to sound beware of reor
ganizes. Remember Ohio! If .
the Kansas City platform is to be
repudiated or ignored, if insult l
offered to the presidential candi
date for whom over 300,000 loyal
Indiana democrats have twice
voted, in short, if there is any
tendency to turn the party over to
the men who have twice defeated it
by their treachery, at least 50,000
of these 300,000 democrats will not.
go to the polls.
"That's the word with the hickory
bark on it, gentlemen," says Our
Standard. "If you don't believe it, try
the John McLean game once and as
soon as you can get your under lip
out of the way figure on the returns."
After the experience in Ohio, and
the defeat of Perry Belmont, the dem
ocratic leaders ought to see that it is
the supremest folly to repudiate or
ignore the Kansas City platform. It
will result in defeat, and ought to
result that way, in every congressional
district, except those where the ma
jority is overwhelming. Right, here
The Independent hopes that the re
turns this fall will show a democrat
or populist elected in every congres
sional district where the national
platforms are reaffirmed without cavil
and the nominee an undoubted sup
porter of the reform principles; and
that in every district where the plat
form is repudiated or ignored, the
democrat or populist candidate may
be defeated. There is no use in tem
porizing or hedging. If the principles
are right they must win sooner or
later. And there is no need for two
kinds of gold standard trust advocates.
Here are the socialists still trying
to propagate the idea that this coun
try can produce so much that no one
will be able to get work after a while
and the whole republican party back
up the idea by declaring that we must
engage in foreign wars to get a mar
ket or the wage-workers will have
nothing to do, and then comes the pop
along and smiles serenely, saying,:
Don't worry, my brothers. This is a
great country and we have only
scratched the surface of it here and
there. We could give every able man
work for the next hundred years mak
ing roads and irrigating the arid weat.
Don't worry. There is no good in it
at all. There will never be an over
production of goods as long as men
have unsatisfied wants. There will
never be any lack of employment as
long as we have a large volume of
money in circulation which is a full
legal tender. But if you must worry,
then set your eye on the bankers and
the men who would manipulate the
... i, .. - - 4
WARS OF CONQUEST
Many, people have not had the op
portunity to study ancient .history,
but they are more or less familiar with
the events of recent years which will
make part of the hjstory of these times.
This recent history proves that It
makes no difference what race un
dertakes to wage wars of conquest on
the people of another race, the most
inhuman barbarities are indulged in.
The "laws of war" are not regarded
at all. That has been the case wheth
er it was the Anglo-Saxon or the Latin
race. Kitchener . did in upper Egypt,
the Soudan and. South Africa exactly
what Weyler did in Cuba and what
we have done in the Philippines. His
tory tells us that wars of conquest In
ancient times were carried on in ex
actly the same; way. Knowing what
effect these wars of conquest would
have upon our army and the American
people, The Independent has from the
very first opposed this war on an
other race and asserted that this na
tion could not long endure half re
public and half empire. In perfect,
accord with its position from the first,
it how' says , that the attack should
not be .made on the army, however
guilty some of its officers may be, but
upon the clique of republican politi
cians at Washington" who inaugurated
the war and .who are still determined
on empire. : '
MILLIONS IN IT
Farmers are asking , a good many -
questions these days. . One of them
made the following inquiries of the
editor of The Independent the other
day: ."Has Morgan got 'an inexhaust
ible gold mine so that when he wants
to buy a few steamship lines, or form,
a billion dollar trust, all he has to do
is to scoop up a few tons of gold and
then go ahead?" From the talk in
the dailies, one would be inclined to
think that Morgan was working some
such plan as that, but it is not so at
all. .- . .
These big trusts are formed without
the use of money except the small sum
that is actually spent In what is called
promoting. Say that there are six big
steamship lines, each capitalized for
$10,000,000. The boards of directors
get together and, form a trust. They,
place the stock of their different lines
in the hands of a third party a trust
company. ' It is ' agreed that all six
companies shall dissolve and a . new
company be f formed, , called, for in
stance, the International Steamship
company. The combined stock of the
six old companies; Was $60,000,000. The
new, company'e.issues $120,000,000 of
stock and distributes . it among the
old companies,''giving them two shares
of the new for one of the old, and;
behold, a steamship trust with stock
watered 100 per cent ready for busi
ness!:;" :. ;. ' ;'.
The stock is usually of two kinds,
common and preferred. A stipulated
rate of interest is paid on the pre
ferred stock, say 5 per cent, and then
if "anything of the earnings is left over
the common stock gets a dividend.
It will be seen that very little money
is required, and, what is needed comes
from the deposits in Morgan's banks.
The ordinary business man furnishes
what capital is needed without inter
est in the way of his usual deposits.
It is a slick business, much safer
than the gold brick plan, and there
"are millions in it."
Since the western . bankers took the
advice that The Independent gave
them two or three years ago, there
has been a wonderful change in the
money market down on Wall street.
Last week the New York banks were
making persistent calls on Chicago for
money and offering 5 per cent. In the
old days the western bankers were
wont to keep their money in New York
banks before The Independent pointed
out to them the folly of such a course.
It seems that the articles copied from
The Independent in the financial col
umns of the Chicago Record and other
papers had thsir effect also upon the
local Chicago bankers. The Chicago
bankers told their New York appli
cants that they did not desire to in
crease their loans or make more de
posits in New York. Not long ago the
editor of The Independent received a
letter from a banker expressing his
thanks for valuable information and
advice which had appeared in the
columns of this paper, which goes to
show that not all bankers are without
a sense of gratitude.
SLANDERING OLD SOLDIERS
The republicans are trying to put
Sheridan's raid into - the Shenandoah
valley upon a level with General
Smith's order to make Samar "a howl
ing wilderness." and "kill everything
over ten." If there is a soldier left of
the civil war who does not revolt at
this sort of thing, he is not fit to wear
the Grand Army button. General
Grant's order was as follows:
In pushing up the Shenandoah
vaaey, where it Is expected you
will have to go first or-last, it is
desirable " that nothing should be .
left to invite the enemy to return.
Take all provisions, forage, and
' stock wanted for the use of your
command; such as cannot be con
sumed, destroy. It is not desirable
. that thebWlnssLAould be de-
stroyed they should rather be
protected; but the people should
be informed that, so long as an
army can subsist among them, re
currences of these raids must be
expected, and we are determined
to stop them at all hazards."
The republican party first deserted
the humanitarian principles of Lin
coln and now their press is trying to
blacken the character of the officers
and men who fought on the union side
in the civil war.- If there is any pa
triotism left in this land there should
a protest go forth from one end of it
to the other against slandering the
men who fought for and saved the
union and who now lie slumbering in
their graves while these republican
ghouls blacken their memory in try
ing to cover up their own foul deeds.
Nothing in all history can be compared
to the baseness of this last turn that
the republican party has taken.
TORTURE -AND EVIDENCE
The imperialist senators have spent
their greatest force in describing the
torturing to death of private O'Herne.
But all the evidence submitted by them
to prove the barbarities said to be
committed on Private O'Herne is that
which was forced.from men by torture.
On confessions secured by torture,
towns have been burned and hundreds
of people slain. After the disappear
ance of Private O'Herne, a native,
supposed to know something ; as to
his fate, was put to torture, and by
that process he was made to say. that
O'Herne had been put to death under
horrible circumstances, and to name
11 other natives who had participated
in the murder. Then the other 11 were
taken in hand, and from their testi
mony, under torment, , the story of
O'Herne's death was pieced out. Sen
ator Beveridge, in the senate debate,
claimed that the proof of O'Herne's
horrible fate was "conclusive," but
Senator Hoar compelled him to admit
that the murder was not capable of
proof by any scrap of evidence other
than that secured under torture. "Such
testimony, as every one knows, has
been outlawed for generations in civ
ilized nations, because a man will
often swear to anything, true or false,
in order to escape torment."
In consideration of these facts an
eminent jurist remarks that "those
persons at home who justify or ex
tenuate torture for confession, and the
use of such confession as a justifica
tion for the infliction of the death pen
alty or the destruction of homes and
property, are greater enemies of the
republic than the soldiers who have
inflicted the torture." .
To this pass has imperialism brought
this republic in three short years.
Five years more of it will pave the
way for the. destruction of this repub
lic. This nation cannot long endure
half empire and half .republic.
SENATOR LODGE
The degeneration which always ac
companies imperialism is as marked
in the United States senate as any
where. Senator Lodge is a man of fine
education, an author of some stand
ing and has a good command of Eng
lish. But the effect of the policies he
has been advocating has so clouded
his intellect that his speech in de
fense of the administration policy in
the Philippines falls almost to the
level of the pot house spell-binder.
The whole force of his reply was de
voted to the charge that the criticism
of the Philippine policy was to "make
up a live issue" for the opposition
during the coming campaign. As this
criticism was begun by his colleague,
Senator . Hoar, a staunch republican,
the silliness of it becomes apparent
to even a school boy. The fiercest
criticism comes from his own state
and from lifelong republicans. A
speech Impugning the motives of hi
opponents and denying to them all
patriotism and love of country, is a
disgrace to a man of the training and
environment of Senator Lodge. It
shows a rapid and distinct degenera
tion. That is the effect that wars of
conquest have always" had on every
nation that ever engaged In them. It
is what The Independent predicted
when the policy was first adopted.
Senator Lodge is a most distinguished
example of it.
The merging of Chicago banks af
ter the Morgan fashion in railroads
and steamships did not turn out a3 the
promoters thought it would., , The
number was "so reduced by successive
consolidations that there has been "a
rage for nevf banks," as one of the
Chicago dailies eUtresses it. The re
sult of the merging will be that there
will be more banks In Chicago than
ever. Many, men of money think that
they can see big profits in the organi:
zation of new banks and they are go
ing Into the 'buInessk
The idea a while ago was that we
were to hang onto the Philippine isl
ands because there "is money in it."
But - recent events have proved that
there is no money in it. If they are to
be held for the military glory there is
in it, that proposition contains a
larger gold brick than the former.
Where are the welcoming crowds when
a regiment returns from the Philip
pines these days? Men suffer, fight
bravely and die over there last week
one officer, and seven men were killed,
and four officers and 37 men wounded
but where is the glory? The shame
of it all is everywhere, f '0
SOUTH AFRICA 1
' y ... . . .... "i . -
When old Paul -Kruger said that
the English might win, but it would
hi at a price "that would stagger hu
manity," Lord Salisbury, Joe Cham
berlain and the hooligans replied with
sneers of derision. Of late thexBritish
have changed the manner of j their
bearing toward the Boers and readily
admit that they , have staggered hu
manity by the skill of their generals,
the gallantry and . pluck with which
they have defended their liberty and
the magnanimity with which they
have treated their enemies. The Brit
ish have laid waste their country,
burned thejr private property, deso
lated their farms, turned their women
and children out on the velts to starve
or confined them in reconcentrado
camps to die of disease, but the Boers
have done none of these things. They
could have retaliated In a way that
would have destroyed more British
private property than they themr.elvs
owned, but they have observed the
laws of war and fought their battles
like gallant, brave and true Christian
men. Their conduct has been the ad
miration of the whole world and is at
last forcing acknowledgement ; even
from their enemies. .
What ; will come from the negotia
tions for peace no one krfbws. At first
the British were elated, but the Lon
don Times during the last few days
has begun to express doubts about the
outcome, although it speaks fairly of
the Boers. Other English papers point
to the fact that the Boers might have
destroyed the gold and diamond mines
and wrecked every British investment
in the territory, but that they had
all along respected private property.
It is winter in South Africa now, but
the British papers make no mention
of the inevitable suffering of the wo
men and children in the concentrado
camps.
FARMERS AND BEEF TRUST
A retreat from the editorial room j
in the city to the farm is a good thing
for an editor. There he comes in con
tact with men surrounded .by a differ
ent environment who think their own
thoughts and live their lives away
from the racket and noise and rush of
the city. The truth is that the editor
of every educational journal should
live on a farm. The Idea of most of
the men who devote their lives to
literary work is to own a farm and at
last retire to it and have a chance to
live in peace and quiet in their old
age. The birds sing on the farm and
the cattle look at you out of their
great, pensive eyes in a way to make
one .more sympathetic, and really human.-
Then the editor who spends his days
in the city is very apt, no matter how
honest he is, to form wrong conclu
sions concerning the vast mass ol
people who do live on farms. In Lin
coln It was frequently said that it
would not do for the reform journals
to attack the beef trust because f arm
ers were getting high prices for their
hogs and cattle. Several farmers up
here have spoken about an editorial
in the last Independent which held to
the opinion that the reform forces
should stand by the principles even if
some who have voted the ticket were
benefitted by present conditions. The i
populist farmers here say: "That
suits us. We believe In fair play, In
equal rights for all and special priv
ileges to none as much as we ever did.
Don't hesitate to stick right to the
old principles just as you always have
done in the past." And this is the
paradise of Nebraska, a country where
there never has been a crop failure
and where the farmers have made
more money in the last year than they
ever made in a year in all their lives
before. One of them, said: "I can't
help thinking all the time of the poor
workingmen in the cities who have to
go without meat and work hard every
day. I wish I could send them a hind
quarter of a steer and stand off to one
side and see them eat beefsteak until
they couldn't swallow another mouth
ful." The Independent has no fear
about what the big-hearted farmers of
Nebraska , will do to the beef trusts
and all other trusts at the next election.
"SENTIMENTALISM"
The degeneration that has come
from this war of conquest and the
adoption of "imperialism in place of
the principles contained in the Dec
laration of Independence and the con
stitution is already beyond compre
hension. It is changing the whole
tone of our. civilization. The New
York Evening Post remarks that "we
did not sneer at sentiment in 1897 and
1898, when stories of Spanish inhu
manity and torture roused our indig
nation. Not for a moment did we ad
mit that it was 'hysteria' which set
the country aflame with -noble rage at
the reported Spanish atrocities in Cu
ba and! in the Philippines. No, that
was the generous uprising of a hu
mane people to put an end to unspeak
able abominations."
In the few years that have elapsed
since then note the change. The very
same policies that aroused public! In
dignation when practiced by the Span
iards in Cuba have been adopted In the
Philippines. The reconcentrado camps,
the twining "of - whole - towns, - the
slaughter , of the people, i3 now de
fended in the United States senate and
protests made against it are sneered
at as "sentimentalism."
Another strange thing has happened.
The republican papers are hunting up
all the old charges that were ever
made against the boys in blue and
their officers by the worst .fire eaters
of the south and parading them a? a
defense for the order to "kill every
thing above ten" in the island of
Samar. What do the old gray-head ei
men who fought four long years for
liberty think of that? How do they
like to be held up to the world, not as
honorable and brave soldiers, but as
samples of Spanish barbarity, whose
acts in the civil war were so inhuman
that they furnished precedents for
making a thickly populated country
"a howling wilderness?"
These are some of the things that
have resulted from discarding thft
Declaration of Independence and the
tearing of the constitution in shreds
by a truckling supreme court. What
more is to follow along the same line,
no man can tell. Will It leave the
nation a wreck, as Roman and Spanish
imperialism did?
NEW ZEALAND LANDS
The Independent says again what it
has repeatedly Bald before, that the
New Zealand management of the land
question has prove successful in ev
ery particular. T independent in
dorses it, believes "In it as far as It
has been explained to us In this coun
try, but it is a thousand miles from
the "single tax," as advocated here
Mr. S. D. R. Caldwell, president of
the board of trade in Auckland, was
recently In this country. In speaking
of this subject, he said:
"The plan of placing all land
under government . control has
been a great success. Large es
tates have been bought by the
government. Where the owners
refused to sell, the property has
been condemned by law and di
vided into small farms which ar?
leased on very favorable terms
to tenants. The government bor
rows the money to buy these lands
at 3 and ZYz per cent. Then it
rents the land to tenants at such
a price that its income is about
5 per cent on the money invested.
The universal dislike of the people
to the holding of land in large bodies.
or lots in cities for the sole purpose
of obtaining the rise In value given
by increased population, has been at
the very foundation of the support
that has been given to the single tax
theory. In New Zealand they have
broken up that practice completely
without resort to the single tax. The
same thing can be done here. At the
antipodes they call this New Zealand
way of controlling land "socialism."
But the collective ownership fellows
in this country would not admit that
it was socialism or anything approach
ing it. . s
There are certain departments in
each university of which the people
know or think very little, yet they
have a very Important bearing on the
welfare of the whole nation. They
are sociology, political economy and
psychology and of these psychology I?
by no means the least. The sympa
thetic action of mind on mind and th
awful effects it sometimes has shoull
be understood by all the people. It
should be among the things taught in
the high schools. A psychological vor
tex may form at any time and widen
ing and extending like one of these
prairie "twisters," gather within it?
grasp all but the very strongest intel
lects of the whole land. A wave of
speculation forms in some locality, it
widens and broadens, the prices of
houses and lands begin to go up, ev
erything follows In their wake, and
men walk around the streets thinking
that they are wealthy. They Increase
the cost of their living, that makes
business for the merchants and they
In turn extend their store buildings
and so. it goes. It may be called a
psychological wave. It certainly Is an
effect of mind upon mind. It goes to
the extent of destroying reason. A
few men of stronger minds watch
this thing with a critical eye and take
full advantage of it to accumulate for
tunes for themselves.
Such a psychological wave seems
sweeping over northern Nebraska at
the present time. Farm lands are Bell
ing at such a price that they could not
pay interest on the Investment even if
corn should remain at 50 cents a bush
el and wheat would rise to a dollar.
Besides that, immense loans are being
made on farm3, some of which is in
vested in live stock at the present high
rates and some in machinery and im
provements. These loans will all
come d.ue In a bunch five years from
now and who knows what the price of
wheat, corn and cattle will be then?
The readers of The Independent In this
section, and there are hundreds of
them, are not engaging in that sort of
business. If they have anything to
sell, they think that now is a good
time to sell it. Some of them have
been selling farm land to republicans
for $60 and $70 an acre. It pays to
read The Independent.
London cablegrams say that tn
weather there has been as severe as
winter. There have been storms of
sleet and snow as late as the Sth of
May. Snow In mid-winter is a rare
thing in London.