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About The Nebraska independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1896-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 1902)
8 THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT. May 29, 1902. CAMPAIGN APPROACHING ' - m t . Lively Interest in all Parts of the State in the Com ing Elections Notwithstanding the Busy Season LIBERTY SUBSCRIPTIONS INCREASING Good Rains and Excellent Crop Prospects in all Parts of the State Make the Work Easier During the week the most encourag ing letters have been received com mending the effort to construct Lib erty Building and many orders for blocks of five have been received. The steady growth and increase in the cir culation and influence of The Indepen dent is the surest sign of the splendid enthusiasm in the ranks of the people's party in this state, particularly when it is manifested so early and in ad vance of the conventions. In Nebras ka the present is by far the busiest season of the year. Every farmer is in his fields and rarely sees his neighbors except Sundays and rainy days. The indications are that his labors will be bountifully .rewarded by an excellent crop. Prospects in the state as a whole were seldom more encouraging than at present. Upon the prosperity of the farmers depends the business In terests of every commercial institution in the state. On account of the absence of the manager during the past week and the press of work in the office the list of orders received this week will be ac knowledged with the list next week. None will be omitted. The orders re ceived have carried the grand total past 6,500 cards and it is hoped that the list by next week will reach near to 7,000. News of the Week Roosevelt has accepted the statue of Frederick the Great presented to the people of the United States by the German Emperor and it will be set up in one of the public squares of Wash ington. Would the Kaiser as glee fully accepted a statue of Washington, Jefferson or Lincoln to be set up in Berlin? This congress will appropriate $100, 000.000 for rivers and harbors and public buildings alone. This $100, 000,000 is just for a few side trimmings for a government run by the republi cans. What the whole bill will be is not yet known, but "it will stagger humanity." ' Mr. Asquith, the English statesman, said in a speech at a recent press ban quet, that nearly every member of the present British cabinet, from the premier down, had worked for the press at one time or another. So Mr. Bryan's letters from Havana to an illustrated weekly are fully sanc tioned by the most approved preced ents in English public life. Spring field Republican. The government of Justice Brown's "appurtenant possessions" still oc cupies the time of the senate to the ex clusion of matters of the most weighty importance to all who live in the' states to which the possessions are 'appurtenant." Much legislation has always failed for want of time to con sider it before we had any of the "appurtenances" to consume the months that ought to be devoted to the interests of the people who live in the states. The Springfield Republican says that our coronation ambassador to King Edward's court, Whitelaw Reid, re presents 1-76,000,000 part of the Ameri can people. Congressman Steel of the Eleventh Indiana district, who was defeated af ter 1,000 ballots in the republican con vention, has been in congress 16 years. It threw a gloom over the older members, for they interpreted it to mean that the people had grown weary of the men that they have so enthusiastically supported for years and were dissatisfied with the way things were going on. Lord Pauncefote, British ambas sador, died at Washington after a long illness, May 24th. He has held the position since 1889. It takes a bishop when once he has abandoned the teachings of the peace ful prophet of Nazareth and has per suaded himself that way to propagate the gospel is by Krag-Jorkensen rifles and reconcentrado camps, to press things to a climax. Bishop Thoburn of the Methodist church in advocating imperialism before the Philippine committee said: "As a matter of fact, we all know that in Chicago a man is not safe in walking the streets at night, while he is so m Hongkong." The bishop expressed the opinion that Aguinaldo could not have subjugated the islands, if left alone in his rebellion against Spain. He also said that there Avculd have been civil war in the Philippines in case Asruinaldo had been victorious in hia war with the United States. The bis hop may think that Asiatic cities aro better governed than American cities and that the British rule in Hongkong is quite superior to American rule in the United States, but it is going a little too far to say that a man's life is not safe in Chicago at night. The often expressed dogmatic statement that there would have been civil war in the Philippines unless we had In tervened the bishops repeats. But how does he know? Is he possessed of miraculous insight to tell dogmat ically what will or would have hap pened? Suppose there had been a civil war. Would it have been more bloody and barbarous than the one we have waged? There has been war anyhow and we have sacrificed our young men in it and paid out an enormous amount of, money as the cost of It. If even as the bishop says, the -Filipinos would have gone to war among themselves, would we not have been better off to let them fight than to have sacrificed 10,000 American lives and $600,000,000 doing the fighting in stead of letting the Filipinos do it all by themselves? In the eyes of The Independent a bishop advocating Im perialism is about the foulest thing ever seen on this green earth. Bishop Taylor of the Methodist church who recently died in California at a great age was one of the old time unselfish missionaries, who will long live in the memory of all good men. He supported himself by the sale of his books and refused to take a dol lar of pay or a gratuity of any kind for his labor. Not one of the missions ' which he 'established asked for ' any help from the church while under his direction. He fought the good fight and kept the faith, and has passed on to his reward. He was of the stuff of which heroes are made. The con trast between hirii and some of the modern bishops makes one look back with more admiration than ever before upon the pioneers of that church, such as Asbury and Peter Cartwright. Bis hop Taylor never had any use . for Krag-Jorgensen rifles or reconcentrado camps. Hardy's Column. We took a ride into the country among the wheat and cornfields. We never saw a better prospect for a good crop of . wheat. The heads are of good length and the straw long enough. Most of the corn is planted and up. A good system of planting has generally been adopted. The rows three and a half or four feet apart and the seed one kernel in a hill. and the hills one foot apart. Now in cultivating, the farmer should understand that one inch of dry dust on the top of the ground Is the best protection In dry weather. Hard crust, full of cracks or. dust are bad. The dry weather in April did not Injure the wheat in Nebraska, as is claimed. Connected with the wind it may have damaged small patches but it benefitted other pieces twice as much. Much of our wheat grows too rank, lodges down, rusts, and the ker nels shrink. The dry April checked the overgrowth and the early May rains will lengthen the heads and swell the kernels plump, and we will have more wheat than we would have had with a warm, wet, growing April. The news from Washington is to the effect that some of the old demo cratic fossils are weakening in their fight on the Philippine bill, while the younger members feel sure that if a vigorous fight was continued that at least some of its worst features could be eliminated. Some of these old senators have lost all interest in cur rent events and when the river and harbor bill is passed they are satisfied and want to adjourn and go home. ; It is even reported that some of them have been corrupted by the hope of re publican patronage. McLaurin of South Carolina is to be given a life position as one of the judges of the court of claims at a salary of $5,000 a year and that has an alluring effect upon some of the old senators who would like a life sinecure of the sajne sort where there is no work to do. New blood is badly needed in the democratic ranks. The young and fighting democrats like Carmack and Patterson begin to feel that they are leading a forlorn hope. It is said that Harris of Kansas has been Funston- ized, but that there may be no truth in 1 the report. It appears that the Nicarauguan ca nal route is in the earthquake and volcanic line and that within a short lime there have been convulsions that would have blocked the canal if it had been built. That is another good reason for choosing the Panama route. Talk as much as we have a mind to about which route the canal should take, yet with all the cbntinental rail roads opposing, there is little chance for it to built for the next fifty years. True to republican principles,, the Lancaster county convention decided that it would not do to let all the mem bers of the party vote, in caucus direct for the men they wanted nominated for office. Such a primary has too much referendum to mix in with re publicanism. We well remember when the old democratic party split and one part took the name or nunk ers and the other part took the name of barn-burners. At the same time t-e whig party split into silver grays and wooly heads. The republican party is near a split. matter. became serious enough that the war department took a hand and for warded as official denial that dum dum or explosive bullets has ever been furnished to our army the Phil ippines. Yet Chief Crozier of the ordinance j department admitted that certain 30 40 bullets were explosive incharacter and had about the same effect as the dumdum bullet, although not specific- ally known by that title. So now the war department is inclined to think that "a few soft point" bullets may have been sent "by mistake" with a rush order. The country has had enough of the evasions of the war da partment to judge for itself whether these flimsy excuses will hold or not. For the sake of decency we might all hope that we would hear of no further atrocities perpetrated under the mili tary process of benevolent assimila tion. The administration press has grown SO alarmed over the public indignation following the revelation of our policy Searles & Searles. SPECIALISTS on Onlv Ho Cure fo fe w Jo Pay ALL J0 ALL Private ? mmf Weakness, Diseases 4llnipotency and MIImO . nA DlsordersMMM TfflM Nliit Losses HOME TREATMENT BY MAIL. Examination and Consultation FREE. Charges Low. Main Office: . " Rirharrla HI ,-.. I- . - f m-m - Joe Chamberlain made a speech in Manchester the other day in which he said that - the government had never insisted upon an unconditional sur render of the Boers. The only remark to be made about that is that the jingos have at last come to the con clusion that they will have to make terms with the Boers, which gives hope that peace may be soon declared in South Africa. If the republicans can win over the Hoar family to the support of imper ialism by patronage they are bound to do it. A brother of Senator Hoar has been tendered a seat on the su preme bench soon to be vacated by Justice Gray and a son is to be nomi nated for congress in the Worcester shire district of Massachusetts. That ought to bring the old senator to agree to the abolishment of the declaration of independence. In his last book recent published, Herbert Spencer pours out the vials of his wrath upon the pestilent aser tion: "My country right or wrong." He will find every honest man in the whole world agreeing with him. The hearts of the men of all races and all climes are lighter on account of the realization of the hopes of the Cubans which were consummated dur ing the week. One hundred years of government without the content of the people has ended in the establish ment of a republic. The most bloody years of the last century when the people were trying to throw off a for eign government, were 1823, 1826. 1828, 1830, 1848, 1850, 1851, 1855, 1867-1878, 1885, and finally 1895-1898. This last war alone cost Spain 150.000 men and over $100,000,000 in cash, and Cuba gave up 500,000 lives through star vation alone. We have adopted the Spanish policy of government without the consent of the governed in the Philippines, and no reasonable man can doubt that that policy, if we con tinue to pursue it will result in the same way. At the end of this century, the historian will write down the re sults as we now record those of the last century In Cuba. Reports are persistently circulated in Washington that the leadership of the republican party is determined to down Teddy. At the bottom of it seems to be the trusts and railroad magnates. Neither of them endorse the merger suit or the beef trust pros ecution. The first effect of this opposi tion it is said will be the defeat' of Cuban reciprocity. That is distinc tively an administration measure. Reports coming from Kansas are to the effect that the democrats down there, that is. the rank and file, are made of about the same sort of stuff as the populists. A few of the demo cratic "leaders" resolved that they would have no more co-operation with the populists and refused all overtures. When the democrats who work on the farms got a chance to say their say they retired the "leaders" and the prospect now it that there will be closer fusion this wear than ever be fore. Dave Hill would do well to take notice of the democratic situation In Kansas. , , Bow Are Tnr KldaeTi f . v- Dr. Hobbs' Sparr rus Pills cure all kidney Ills. Sam ple free. Add. Sterling Remedy Co., Cnlcago or N. y. The debate in congress on the ad mission into the union of Arizona; New Mexico and Oklahoma as states shows that the feeling in the east to wards the "west is about the same as it was in the south towards the north fifty years ago. The east Is not will ing to admit ten or fifteen more pop ulist congressmen and senators. If they could be assured that they would all be Mark Hanna republicans they would jump at the chance. When the last five states were admitted six years ago they were all counted on the republican side, but the pops have got more than half of them already. 'They did not take the new party into ac count. The east knows that the west will stand up for the common people more than the east so the millionaires fear they will lose their grip on con gress and the president if any more western states are admitted. Is it not right to do right whether we have promised it or not? Are we not under the same obligations to deal with our fellowmen whether we have promised It or not? Or are we at liberty to be mean, unjust and cruel when we have not promised to be de cent? Nations are under the same obligations that individuals are. Our nation has dealt justly with the Cu bans, now why should we not deal the same way with the Filipinos? Ex-Senator Allen thinks we ought not to criticise our own party leaders. That means, we ought to swallow, without chewing, everything they say and sanction everything they do. Per haps it would be well to go a step further and brand every republican a horrible liar who charges our lead ers with taking more than their legal salary. Children should be corrected at home by loving parents, so erring leaders should be corrected by loving members of the same party. The state is the home of politicians. Mr. Hardy in his column this week falls into the same error regarding Senator Allen's position as many other newspaper men ,and politicians do. Senator Allen does not take the stand that we ought not to criticise our own party leaders; but Senator Allen dis criminates between criticism and vio lent attack; between calling attention to the wrong that has been done and suggesting a remedy, and the utter damnation of a man for making a mis take. Equity and good conscience would dictate that the good a man has done ought to be weighed with the evil he has done at least in judg ing the man. With the act itself, re gardless of who did it, the rule would be different; then the wrong should be condemned without mitigation. The child who has done wrong should be punished but the punishment should be reasonable. DUMDUM BULLETS in Vio Phlltnnlnoc that tha ' IpflfUnsr eastern papers are openly expressing StNCtUre & Gl88t SodVuCtlnol the hope that Roosevelt will enunciate cutting. Consultation Free. Treatment by mail a policy promising that the Philippines Call, or address with stamp, I nain Office: shall follow in the footsteps of Cuba QrS. SearlfiS & SpaHp .02ma,J,"2i hQnftma c1f rrwM.ninr Riir Rons- r'LjlEPiir? 9?.0?iLBJ Richards Block, veil, la SU VViy uuajr auui caoiug tuiicso meetings and unvp.ilinar statues and lavine- pnmfir stones that he has no vacancies so left by this convention, time to formulate a policy on this most and assure the populists that the com- important question. His ignoring of muiee, unuer tne instruction or tne the whole subject produces a most democratic convention, will test the painful Impression even among those validity of the so-called anti-fusion in Washington who try to uphold his law. doIIcv and would be glad to follow him Overmyer was opposed to this, but it if itworo nrxjsihio carried by a vote of 593 to 126. Then Rv thfilr own stuniditv the remibli- David, withdrew from the race cans havp wnmp t.hp. defamers of the "I cannot afford to make the sacrl army. First they denied that any Ace," he said to the correspondent cruelties had been perpetrated and 01 -ne Kansas city btar, alter tne whan fnrnoil r aflmit that snoh thine' mix-up we got into tonight. It is a wr tniP.-t.hev anoloerized for and de- tangle that is no credit to he Demo- fended Rnph men a "Hell Roarir e- Jake cratic party. Our duty was to go ahead Smith" and thus did their best to and make a 'ill ticket and go home, fasten upon the military body the After the repeated failures of the two odium for a policy concieved by cer- commitees to get together and agree tain people in the war department un a 11Iie P""cy, our oniy way out and carried out bv such tools as Gen. 01 t was to take a positive stand and Smith Tn fjiet it was left tr the dem- go to the people with it. It wasour nr-rats fn the senate tn defend nur armv dliy to nominate a ticket partly Of from charges made as to cruelty in democrats and partly of populists, if the civil war with the attempt to prove Juu sliu a uemucrauc uck- a Darallel in the PhiliDnine situation. et. nominated uy a democratic conven Tt was left tn Renresent.at.ivfi Williams tion." of Mississinni a democrat, to Doint out The next day the convention nomi- that in the war watred hv Sherman and nated the following candidates Sheridan there was no water cure, no w- H- Craddock, mayor of Kansas killing of ten year old children and Citv. Kan- for governor; James Mc- no harming of women. The repuon- vjicYctiiJ,i un. oluh, aim 0. v. au cans simnlv cannot tret it Into their non, Mound City, for supreme justices; heads that the possible defense they Claude Duvall, Hutchinson, for secre- can offer for the proved facts of the ""T or state; j. iewis, ivmsiey, ior cruelty of our army in the Philippines auanur: vvimam jence, wicnita, ior is to demand that the offenders who supermieuueni 01 puuuc instruction. ordered1 the crueltv be dismissed at This leaves three supreme justices, once whether thev are erenerals or the congressman at large, lieutenant gov heads of bureaus In the war deDart- ernor, . attorney general, treasurer, ment. The democrats have not at- and superintendent of insurance to tacked the army. They have attacked &e nominated by the populists on tne the brutality and stupidity of the few whole, an equitable division of the which if passed over in silence would offices and as fair as it could be lenvp thp nrmv Aa n whnle nndpr ever- maae, ail tmngs consiuereu. uue uj. lasting odium. the gratifying things, too, Is the turn Senator Hoar's speech on the Phil- in& down of J. Mack Love and W. H innine fcitiiat.inn was nne of the finest L. Pepperill for chairman and secre- nieces nf nratnrv heard in'' the senate tary Of the State committee. They itimanv adav. Tt was calm and temn- were defeated by Hugh P. Farrelly erate but it showed how this nation of Chanute, chairman, and Col. Cnanes has fallen from its lofty ideals of lib- Mccrum or uarnett, secretary, mere ertv Jfe declared that we have for- seems to be some misunderstanding. feited the right to express sympathy however, as to the real significance of for Other people Struggling for fie3- ine eiction 01 tnese men. ineir eitju- dom. He pointed out that the child tion ls held to mean an end to the of ten -who has war forced upon him swav of J- G- Johnson, and some day anH is shnt without merov if oantnred they are the creatures of Fike and that Orr. who represent the Cleveland- the renihiirana haVe lrned thpmseivea Hill demo-republican. Farrelly has up with Nero, and Torquemada of the always been in favor of co-operation. Snnnish inmiisitirm and the TTn Tflnv however. Klan and have cited such monsters as The platform "reaffirms the platform incHfinat? Tho riehota ctiii o-neo on of the national democratic conven- and the country next fall will have tion at Kansas City in 1900, and the the opportunity to register its opin- staie Piatioriu ut mat year, 4euuimi:ea surmises; that the bankers are tired of drawing drafts for small sums, etc., etc. But the board of experts ap pointed oy the postmaster general and the secretary of the treasury to con sider the post-check currency plan for the transmission of small sums of money safely though the mail, for which bills are pending in congress, reached the conclusion that the plan would be inconvenient and trouble some. Chief among the objections to the scheme is the fact that it would Involve the two departments in a con fusionof double bookkeeping, as th-3 proposed notes would have to be pro sented; and cashed at tho postofflces and afterwards sent to the treasury for redemption. The board will recommend the adop tion of a modified form of the Can adian money order system, which fur nishes engraved notes for different small sums, beginning at 15 cents and running up as high as $2.50. It will be proposed that the Un ited States fractional notes run no higher than $2 and that for each note, whatever its size up to one dollar, one cent be Charged, so that for two or three cents at the outside almost any sum can be procured by combination, up to the point where the money order proper would come into play. It is pointed out that this Is not so con venient for those sending money as the post check system would be, but the expert objections made to the practical operation of that system probably put it out of consideration, says a republican paper. The Independent isn't mistaken very often in anticipation what bankers will do. The Post Check currency would circulate as money and save a trip to the postoffice in sending small. sums by mail; but the proposed substitute will be but little better, if any,than the old postal note scheme. Bankers never throw stones at their own counters, and they will not do so now. "WE ARE POPULISTS" Other Blindness ion. trusts and arraigns the republican party for its protective policy; favors the election of railway commissioners; denounces the republican anti-fusion law; favors reform in the tax laws Nominat.Fartofa Ticket and Hold Out an l'cal Option in municipal taxation; demands tne aooiition ot tne iree pass KANSAS DEMOCRATS OHt Branch to Populists Darid Overmyer Disgruntled A Grand Platform and all other like devices; endorses the position taken by the democratic members in congress; stands for di Chief Crozier Admit That Certain 30-40 Ballet are Explosive Crawfishing: Republicans The debate on the Philippines in the senate has been proceeding in rather a calmer tone during the past few days but this is because the administration forces have at last discovered the ab surdity of their position and have drawn in their horns. Senator Bacon's speech on reconcentration was a mas terpiece and every tquery from the re publican side only helped to drive home-the awful truth that the admin istration has been guilty of Weyler ism In the Philippines. Senator Ba con proved beyond doubt that the Fili pinos were ordered to be in concentra tion camps on a certain date and were shot down without regard to whether they were friends or foes if found out side after that date. The testimony of ex-Private O'Brien in regard to the use of i dumdum bullets was another one of those things that the war de partment and administration have known all along but have hoped to keep from the public. At first the re publican members of the Philippine committee pooh-poohed the idea and tried to intimidate the witness. When he brought samples of the bullets tho The democrats of Kansas evidently rect legislation and for minority re took wiser counsel and have evinced presentation in the state legislature; a desire to co-operate with the popu- congratulates Cuba upon her admis lists. It was thought that the demo- sion into the sisterhood of republics; cratic convention, which met in Wich- d avors a resubmission of the pro ita the 22nd, would adjourn without hibition question The two planks any formal action to meet in Topeka of greatest significance, aside from June 24, the date of the populist state reafflrmance of the national platform, convention. This, however, was voted are as follows: down In place of this, the convention wf stanJ the ownership and nominated part of a ticket and gave operation of all public service func the state committee plenary powers tions, y and in the interest of all the to fill the remaining places after the P.ePle- Wherever municipal corpora populist convention has acted. The tions inaugurate efforts to own and program is for the populists to fill operate their own water or light plants the vacant places with populists and or transportation facilities, we corn nominate the entire ticket as the popu- mend 1 Jne vters of our pay th list nominees. The democratic commit- f"0? f UC h?mf furesf ? tee will then nominate the populist lin with the principles of democracy, candidates as the democratic nominees and w w welcome the day when and both certificates of nomination the entire interst ate tras portation sys will be presented to the republican sec- tern of our country can be acquired and retary of state. He will rule, under operated by the people thus doing the anti-fusion law, that one or the f . vvl"i fe 7ZZt?W other cannot go on 'the official ballot, ,. 7 t1 and an action will be brought in the "J """"i vr. VT; V: supreme court to test the law. This ua?"" LUC c ok -,ii v j est trusts ever organized. Duuijiautiaiiv yiuKiaiu met. uucu 1 .... , . , . , . i . out hv ti,0 J0,0L , .J . "In the Interest of the people we aero pieatl xui a OLaic aumimi)n".i." A small contineent in the demn r a legislature free from railroad a smau contingent m the demo- , ,Qtnr rry,a rrmnsed rennhli- "ttSS? n tax laV which will be adopted u'r:.. rlr; If the next legislature Is republican, SrtS'SA leaves by command of . the railroads withdrew from the race 'because his motion to adjourn was voted downH , Atttinn u railed to 0 n ministration. Attention is called to consideration" of Congressman Jack- the fact in this connection that in son's resolution, as Overmyer stated. . democratic Missouri, the Burlington but virtually Intended to kill it. The u ZXn w .B' tow i5 t c ,i,,. 226 per mile; while in republican Kan ti j rm,. t, i has t nays taxes on a valuation of of business of this convention, in and fj'0 P.er "e .IS rK-' so far as they provide for the nomi- 9'?-M nation of a full state ticket, be sus- nd ?hiM Fe' j j '4.v,0. i,t Ji $7,060 in Kansas; and the Santa re, pended, and that thi3 convention now ' . e q t iron- proceed to the nomination of such of fices as, in the judgment of this con vention, will he the fair and equitable $17,057 in Missouri and $6,749 in Kan sas; and that the general valuation of railroad property in Missouri, for Post Check Currency vcuuuu, will uc mc ia 11 o.uu eiJimttui-; , , , , . an proportion of the offices to which the elao;rlltCi J;.i owr oaii k of higher than the same property is val- the ensuing election. And that the ued in Kansas. democratic state committee be and the same is hereby empowered to fill the vacancv of any office so declared by this convention, and that said com- When The Independent first called mittee be instructed to meet at Topeka attention to this admirable plan for on June 24 and confer with the popu- transmitting small sums It took occa- list convention and assure that con- slon to say, that it doubted whether vention that if it will nominate th 3 T the bankers would allow the measure men for office as made by this conven- to become a law. tion that the committee will Indorse Immediately the Post Check Cur and nominate the men for offices which rency buerau wrote The Independent the populists may suggest - for the J assuring it that it was wrong, in. its Editor Rosewater of the Omaha Bee in an editorial headed "Partisan Color Blindness," objects because The In dependent congratulated him and E. W. Simeral for the able manner in which they represented the railroad tax question to the state board. He says: "The compliments of the offi cial organ of Nebraska populism would be better appreciated if they were not coupled with the misleading assertion that the proceedings initiated by the editor of the Bee received their inspiration from that quarter." That was not the idea, Mr. Rosewater. Yet it must be confessed that much of the argument on railroad franchises and taxation thereof was a repetition of what The Independent has been say ing along that line for a number of months. Ignoring the question of franchises, The Independent still believes that railroad property is, on the average. assessed as high proportionately as other, property. Isolated examples can be cited in proof of an opposite view, but the true test is to take a general view of the matter. In 1899, farm lands to the amount of 31,000,- 000 acres were returned by the asses sors at nearly $10,000,000 less valua tion than were 28,000,000 acres in 1893 In other words the area increased 10 1-2 per cent in six years, while the assessed valuation decreased from $3.08 to $2.48 60. cents an acre, or a decline of 19 1-2 per cent in value. The railroad assessment of 1893 was nearly $2,500,000 greater than that of 1899 a decrease of 8.8 per cent in the six years, yet the increase in mileage had been but 7 miles. Exclusive of railroads, the decline in assessed val uation of all other property from 1893 to 189S was over $23,000,000, or nearly 14 per cent. If tangible property, valued according to the usual methods, is to be considered without reference to franchises, then the present board and all boards preceding it have as sessed the railroads high enough. But the trouble is that the value of a railroad cannot be determined in the same manner as the value of a farm or a city house and lot is determined. A house Is valued as a house not as a combination of mortar and brick and window glass and shingles; but a railroad, under present methods, is valued as a scrap-heap of engines, cars, rails, ties, depots, and a strip of right-of-way. It should be valued as a railroad. But when the right-of-way is valued by comparing It to contiguous land, and the depots, cars, engines, etc., are valued at what it would cost to replace them, it will be found that the railroad as an entity is much more valuable than the value of all its constituent parts, ascer tained in the usual way. The differ ence between the two represents the franchise value the value of that intangible right to exist as a railroad, to exercise the right of eminent do main, to "charge all that the traffic will bear." Our constitution declares that franchises shall be taxed but railroad franchises never have been taxed In Nebraska. The agitation for just taxation of franchises is of recent growth in -Nebraska. It is not yet very well under stood, but the people are learning. The Independent is free to admit that it is learning something every day j regarding railroad taxation, and a j frank statement from the Bee would contain the confession that It has learned a great deal about the same subject since 1900. The railroads have never borne their share of the taxes, because they escaped paying on their franchises; but The Independent has nothing to take back of what it said in its issue of May 17, 1900, because then the whole question was discussed from the standpoint of actual, physi cal, tangible property and there was ample evidence to show that railroad property was assessed as high on the average as other property. The ques tion of franchises was not mentioned then. 1 ' . . Judge Bryant Urges a Fight on Principle! and That Political Nonentities Take a nack Seat Editor Independent: The discus sion of political candidates is still a. order. Whoever is named at Gran i Island, it is to be hoped that he wi! not be a political nonenity. No goo . can come of a nobody. It is usele to avoid the issue If we are in sea it:. simply for plundtr, let us quit nun and have done with It. But if o. principles mean anything, let's put a man whose nomination is a platform in itself. The absolute integrity of the pop : list party must be maintained. W are not ready to be swallowed yt What are the democrats going to u in 1904? That is the question. I -allowed them to swallow us, and son -demo-republican were nominated 1904, would wo not feel cheap? St i we must bear in mind that Bryan at his Nebraska democrats are. all rih: Without Bryan we could not have ra, ried the state in 1896. The democrat put up for two campaigns with or place on the ticket, and allowed t, to reap almost the full benefit of Hr: an's nomination. These things a, not to be lost sight of. Yet we are populists, and populli' we will remain. We do not ask. no will we receive, the kindly advice : those democratic editors who ba struck at so many of our leaders, a soon as they were charged, wlihu!u waiting for proof. No, we are popu lists; and populists we will remain, it you please. v WILBUR F. BRYANT. Lincoln, Neb. GOVERNOR DAMERELL Mr. Houcliin It Enthusiastic For Hi Friend Dr. Ilobert Daraerell Editor Independent: I am an n! ex-soldier and a populist. I see a grou: many names brought out for governos. I want to express my choice for govci nor and the reasons. I have. llvel i.. this vicinity about thirty years and I have been well acquainted with our candidate for twenty years. I Kno him to be a gentleman of integrity an i ability and would make a first etas, governor. Give us Robert Damert-U for governor and the people will ratify the wisdom of the nomination in No vember. The populists will rally around the banner of Damerell as they can that of none other. I give my reasons why Dr; Damerell is the prop er man for governor. Let us unit on the fusion ticket and we will carry the state. F. HOUCHIN. Red Cloud, Neb. LONESOME WHITELAW REID V The Reason. "It Is hard to understand," says the : Post-Dispatch, "why ' the flag should stay up in the Philippines and be hauled down in Cuba." The reason for the difference is clear.. In the case of Cuba the people through the democrats in congress forced . the declaration that the flag should not re main as a condition precedent to Its being carried there. In the case of the Philippines the people; have not had a say, Memphis News. ..., . A H TTlll go Alono to Offer Adoration to Klog Kavrard Itooaeralt'a Imperial. itic Appointment The Springfield (Mass.) Republican in speaking of the action of the sen ate on the appointment of a ppeeia' embassy to help crown King Edwai 4 makes the following remarks: 'Whitelaw Reid has rented expensive apartments in London for the cor onation season. He has provided him self with a retinue of attendants, and doubtless ere this with the requisite red plush breeches of a special em bassador, and he will now go tp tp. coronation in that capacity as repr sentative of the great republic if has to go entirely at his own expense. But the proceedings of the senate Sat urday indicate that he will go actually representing the feelings and senti ments of only about one-tenth of 1 per cent of the American people, an i that he will go by virtue solely of a poorly considered act of the adminis tration. "This embassy hunts for apologt.; and supporters almost in vain. Thy were summoned to appear from the re publican side of the senate yesterday, and did not appear. Mr. Hoar ex pressed his disapproval of the who!" affair, and regarded as unanswerable the argument of Mr. Bailey that th president, in naming such an ambassy on his own authority exclusively and without confirmatory action by th senate, had exceeded his constitutional powers. Even Mr. Lodge, who a much as anybody is the spokesman o:' the administration and who is com mitted to a policy looking toward an Anglo-Saxon conquest of the world, felt obliged to express his personal disapproval of this particular out cropping of Secretary Hay's imperial istic alliance. His attempt to find precedent in President Cleveland' creation of a "paramount commission er to visit Hawaii falls ridiculous ly wide of the mark; for the mission of Commissioner Blount was merely that of a personal agent of the presi dent, sent to make a special Inquiry for the enlightenment of the chief ex ecutive. He might as well have re ferred, as a case in point, to President Grant's appointment of Gen. Babcock as a special agent to secure informa tion in San Domingo for the chief ex ecutive's use in respect to the question of annexation. "No, President Roosevelt stands quite alone in this affair, and so does the great republican editor. The lat ter will appear at the coronation in v all the red plush puffery and fluffery that the occasion calls for. but the ap proving sentiment he will be able to call out will be confined to the other side of the ocean. It is evident that none exists worth mentioning on this side. Mr. Reid will undertake prob ably the most lonesome function evpr created In this country, and if his am bition does not prove costly to his party, he may count it fortunate. Tn lembassy certainly cannot now prov? very satisfactory to the British kins and people." From the very inciplency of th's royal flunkeylsm in which Secretary Hay was the chief mover. The Inde pendent denounced it. The readers of the paper may feel assured that nine-teen ths of the -people of the United States are of the same opinion- ; whatever the miserable creatures who edit the great dailies may have said concerning it, ; , ( " .