v . ii if i II i at i ii i i
MY
raiff mm
VOL. XIV.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, SEPT. 4, 1902.
. NO. 15.
MICKEY'S NEIGHBORS
H
Harrey . Kewbranch'i Interviews With
. a Number of Polk County llepubllcans
Tricky Mickey Can't Poll IIU
Party Strength
Perhaps republicans may think it
bears out the proverb about the
"prophet" when it is known that John
H. Mickey, the republican candidate
for governor, has so many bitter ene
mies among his own party associates
at home; but iHs not altogether flat
tering to Mr. Mickey, posing as he does
aa a devout Methodist almost if not
quite sanctified to find that his neigh
bors do not consider him an honest
man. If there is one thing more than
another that the average American
citizen thoroughly despises, it is a
hypocrite; and if Mr. Mickey is not
that sort of a creature, then his neigh
bors have woefully misjudged him.
Mr. Thompson's standing at home is
well attested by the reception given
him after the Grand Island convention
and comments of the republican pa
pers of that city. In order to ascer
tain how his republican opponent
ftood at home, the Omaha World
Herald sent a reporter to Osceola to
investigate. The result of that, it
vestigation is rather tough' on Mickey.
V.ui let Newbranch tell the story:
(Special dispatch to the World-Herald.)
Osceola, Neb., Aug. 31. Henry Chase
Is one of the most prosperous and one
of the most highly respected farmers in
Polk county, Nebraska, which county
has the distinction to be the home of
John H. Mickey, the Osceola banker,
who is the republican nominee for gov
ernor of the state.
Mr. Chase wears upon his coat lapel
the little bronze emblem which attests
his membership in the Grand Army of
the Republic. He served four years
in the civil war as a member of the
Ninety-fifth Illinois. He is and al
ways has been a staunch republican.
He is an unusually well read and in
telligent man, has a beautiful home
?.nd a well stocked and selected library
and speaks with the care and preci
sion of the man who is accurate as to
details.
"I have known John H. Mickey for
many years," said Mr. Chase to a
World-Herald representative. "I have
had exceptional opportunities of form
ing his close acquaintance. And know
ing him as I do I do not hesitate to
say to you that I do not consider him
a square man in any sense of the
word. I was John Mickey's bonds
man when he was county treasurer
more than twenty years ago. I could
not help but know something of the
way he was transacting the,, affairs of
the office,' and when I became fully
posted I was in constant anxiety lest
I should be called on as surety to re
compense the county for money lost in
the county treasurer's office. And after
he went out of office I did not feel
safe until the court house burned,
which it did, exactly one year to a
day after Mickey's successor was in
augurated. I have always felt that
the record made by Mickey as county
treasurer is largely responsible for
Polk county being the banner 'pop'
county In the state, the facts of his
administration, as they were after
ward disclosed by an examination of
such records as had been preserved
from the fire stirred the people of this
county into revolt long before the
populist party was born. Go through
the county and you will find that I am
not the only republican and old sol
dier who feels that he J-:nows John
Mickey too well to be justified in vot
ing for him, although you will prob
ably find a great many who will refuse
you permission to use their names.
He is a very unpopular and very much
disliked man. To illustrate this fact
it might be mentioned that the last
time he ran for county treasurer, nom
inated by the grace of the 'machine,'
the county was so overwhelmingly re
publican that the opposition named
no candidate against him. Yet, though
he was the only man running for the
office, it is my recollection that Mick
ey received only sixteen votes more
than half of the total vote polled in
that election. I certainly shall not
vote for John H. Mickey for governor
of Nebraska."
Mr. Chase charges Mickey with hav
ing tricked the county in the location
of the county seat at Osceola. Mickey
was Union Pacific land agent at the
time. Mr. Chase says, and agreed with
the county authorities to sell to the
county the quarter section of railroad
land on which Osceola now stands, al
lowing the county to realize the profits
on the subdivision thereof into lots,
whic'o profits would be utilized in the
erection of a court house. But when
the location had been decided upon,
Mr. Chase asserts. Mickey had the title
In the quarter section transferred to
a third party, who. in turn, deeded
back to Mickey a half interest in the
same, so, Mr. Chase alleges, that Mr.
Mickey and his catspaw divided the
profits arising out of the location of
the county seat at Osceola and the
county had to raise the money else
where for the erection of its court
house.
Wilbur M. Johnston of Osceola is
another republican who will not vote
for Mr. Mickey. And, like Henry Chase,
Mr. Johnston will not only refuse to
vote for Mickey, but is doing all that
he can to assist in accomplishing his
defeat. Mr. Johnston was, until a
short time before Mickey's nomina
tion, editor and proprietor of the
Polk County Republican, having pur
chased the paper in 1900 from L. A.
Beltzer, who was running it, under
the name of the Polk County Indepen
dent as a populist paper. Mr. John
ston made the paper republican and
with It rendered valiant support last
fall to the county ticket, which came
verv nearly being elected.
When Mickey had received his as
surance of the nomination for gov
ernor this spring he determined that
he could not allow, the Republican to
live, knowing that Johnston would re
fuse to support him. And so H.'.H.
Campbell, editor of the Osceola Rec
ord, Mr. Mickey's brother-in-law, was
sent around to purchase Johnston's
paper. He bought it, transferred the
subscription list to his own paper
and locked up the Republican plant,
which is now growing rusty and cob
webby from disuse and neglect.
This is what Mr. Johnston said to
the World-Herald man regarding the
republican nominee for governor:
"That John H. Mickey will run far
behind his ticket in Polk county is a
fact well known to everybody who Is
posted on the local political situation.
It is very apparent to any one who
cares to take the trouble to investi
gate that this is not because he
espouses the principles of the republi
can party, but, on the contrary, is be
cause a large number of local republi
cans know that he is responsible for
the birth of populism in this county,
for his political methods and rotten
administration as county treasurer are
the main causes that induced hundreds
of our citizens to Identify themselves
with the anti-monopoly movement
many years before the populist party
was ever thought of, and as a conse
quence Polk county has been giving a
'pop' majority for the past thirteen
years, when it should have been in the
republican column. Mr. Mickey's rec
ord as county treasurer shows that he
is at least incapable of holding any
position of public trust. But to give
a direct answer to your question, I can
give several other good reasons why
Mr. Mickey will lose the support of
scores of Polk county republicans.
First, because he has been directly re
sponsible for the defeat of several lo
cal republican candidates, who were
men he could not control. Second, be
cause of his many questionable busi
ness transactions. Third, because his
method of manipulating local republi
can politics has been to either rule or
ruin, for he cares nothing about the
local ticket and he will ride rough
shod over the republicans of the coun
ty who dare to question his dictator
ship, for the sole purpose of having it.
understood by the people of thr, state
that he is the 'big Indian' up in this
neck of the woods. This very thing is
what brought about the defeat of the
entire county ticketf last fall, for he
had himself elected chairman of the
state delegation and then given the
power to cast the solid vote by the
republican county convention, and be
cause of this fact the local ticket did
not receive the support of at least 100
republicans in the west end of the
county. Fourth, because he never for
gets nor forgives an enemy and will
crush any person who opposes him in
any way. Fifth, because ..of his hy
pocrisy in allowing 4he Omaha -Bee to
come out and declare he favored the
legal sale of. liquors and. that he was
not a prohibitionist, when every man,
woman and child in Osceola knows he
has always been a very radical ad
vocate of prohibition, and during his
service in the legislature of 1881 he
introductd a bill to prohibit the
manufacture and sale of liquor in the
state of Nebraska, which was known
as house roll No. 82. Our people do
not care about making the liquor
question an issue in the campaign,
but as a rule they do detest a man
who will try to 'carry water on both
shoulders,' as John H. Mickey has at
tempted to do since his nomination
for governor."
George Cadwell is the land agent in
Polk county for Former Governor Al
binus Nance. He lives on a valuable
farm in Platte precinct, is an old
soldier and is known and respected
throughout the county, where he has
lived for a quarter of a century.
"I am a republican," said Mr. Cad
well to the World-Herald man; "I
don't think the man ever lived who
was a stronger republican than I am.
I cast my first vote for John C. Fre
mont in 1856 and I voted for Abraham
Lincoln and then went to war as a
member of the Third Wisconsin cav
alry, to fight for the preservation of
the government he was administering.
"I have always voted the republi
can ticket ever since that time, but
I'd allow this old right arm of mine
to be cut off before I'd allow myself
to vote for John Mickey."
"Why do you feel so bitter toward
him?" was asked.
"Why? I'll tell you why," and the
old veteran's frame trembled with the
vehemence of his speech, "because of
his discreditable methods in business
matters as well as in politics. That's
why. I'm not the only republican
farmer who won't vote for him, eith
er. I know of a great many others,
and their grounds for opposing him
are just the same as mine are. No,
sir, it won't hurt me if you print what
I have said. I'm independent of John
Mickey, thank God. And as for the
business,'! do for Mr. Nance, I'm get
ting too old to. attend to it and am
ready to drop it this year anyhow."
Myron Abbott is a farmer living in
Canada precinct, where he owns a
160-acre farm, and has lived" for twenty-four
years. He ' Is known as an
earnest, honest, simple and truthful
man.
"I have always been- a republican,''
said Mr. Abbott to the World-Herald
man, "but I shall vote this fall for
W. H. Thompson, the fusion nominee
for governor. You will find more re
publicans in this county will vote
against Mickey than ever voted against
any republican candidate before. And
the reason is that he has not been fair
and square in his transactions. I sup
pose Mr. Mickey might make a good
governor, for he is a smart, sharp,
shrewd man, and knows how to trans
act business. But I don't consider
him a straight and upright man, by
any means. He is sharp in business
and he has used his smartness to take
advantage of a good many of his
neighbors and others having dealings
with him." . ' .
David Harmon lives on a 160-acre
farm, ten miles northwest of Osceola,
that is well improved and would sell
'. .(Continued on Page 2.). v
OKLAHOMA SCHOOL LANDS
BIr.Maher Inquires About the Beat Method
of Handling Them Wishes to Avoid
the Mistakes of Nebraska
Down in Oklahoma the question of
what to do with the territorial school
lands is agitating the people. By law
there is set aside one-half section for
et.ch school district, and thus far the
territorial practice has been to lease
these lands on favorable terms. Re
cently a large number of the lessees
held a convention at Oklahoma City
and passed ringing resolutions against
the lease system, declaring in favor of
a law providing for sale of the lands
at an early date, and pledging them
selves to support only those candi
dates for the legislature as will pledge
themselves to do all in their power to
bring about a sale of the lands.
The El Reno Democrat takes a de
cided stand against the contention of
the lessees and warns them that they
constitute only one-sixteenth of the
voting population of the territory;
that they have received liberal treat
ment at the hands of the terriorial gov
ernment, and that the other fifteen
sixteenths of the voting population
might take a notion to combine in the
interest of the patrimony of their
school children.
Mr. J. W. Maher of El Reno, a
former Nebraskan and an old-time
reader of The Independent recently
wrote to this paper asking for a state
ment regarding the school lands of
Nebraska, believing that the experi
ence of this state might be useful in
determining what Oklahoma shall do,
especially in the matter of avoiding
the mistakes made here. Answer was
made him as follows:
Lincoln, Neb., Aug. ' 28, 1902. Mr.
J. W. Maher, El Reno, Okla Dear
Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt of
your favor of the 17th inst., explain
ing the school land situation In your
state, and asking opinion as to the
best method of handling school lands.
Press of business has delayed answer.
I am unqualifiedly opposed to the
sale of school lands, and the experi
ence of Nebraska, coupled with the
outlook for future trouble, sustains
this opposition. Up to he 30th of No
vember, 1900, Nebraska had acquired
from the United States for educational
purposes
Acres.
2,969,102
Deeded to purchasers 485,730
Then under contract of sale.. 550,838
Then under lease contract 1,879,144
Vacant and subject to lease. 8,218
Leased but applic't'n not filed 45,172
At that date the unpaid portion of
purchase price on sale contracts was
$3,946,083.07, which, with interest at
6 per cent, must be paid within twenty
years from date of contract, any time
at the option of the purchaser.
Without going into details regard
ing the various statutes and changes
made by different legislatures, the
original policy of the state was to sell
its educational lands on long time,
using the interest on deferred pay
ments for maintenance of the schools
and investing the principal received as
rapidly as possible in "United States
or state securities or registered county
bonds of this state."
On November 30, 1900, the state had
on hand, as a result of its policy of.
selling educational lands, a fund of
$4,525,492.28 exclusive of the undeed
ed lands under contract of sale, and
the lands vacant or under lease con
tract. The condition of this fund was
as follows:
Invested in securities $4,365,544.63
Cash in the treasury 159,947.65
ent .Investment is in warrants, and
these are called for payment In about
twenty to twenty-two months on the
average, and the adoption of a better
revenue law which will insure cash . to
pay current expenses simply means
the, cutting off of that avenue of in
vestment for the educational funds. A
change In the method of investment
can be made only by a constitutional
amendment and that is a difficult pro
position in Nebraska Under our. pres
ent constitutional provisions for
amending; but a change of the revenue
laws may be made by the legislature
at any . time. v
It is safe to say "that unless some
thing is done to relieve the situation
that the state treasurer, four years
hence, will: have on hand anywhere
from two to four millions of dollars of
idle educational funds which he can
not possibly invest, because of the con
stitutional limitations placed upon the
matter of investment." And this can
not be other than a constant menace.
The populistllegislature of 1897, see
ing the drift of things, repealed that
portion of the iaw permitting the sale
of . school landsL and leaving the right
to lease as the future 'policy of han
dling the lands. This was very dis
pleasing to the, republicans who had
inaugurated the sale policy, but, al
though they controlled the legisla
latures of 1899 and, 1901, they lacked
the .nerve to directly go back to the
old policy. However, the present com
missioner of public lands and the at
torney general, both republicans, have
conspired to defeat the law of 1897 as
far as possible, holding that any. hold
er of a lease contract, made prior to
the passage of the law of 1897, has the
right to convert it into a sale con
tract at any time he chooses, because
the old lease contracts contained an
option of -that kind- a, constant re
minder that there was once a Dart
mouth college case.
My advice to the people of Oklahoma
would be to resist the demands of the
school land lessees' convention and
never under any circumstances sell
the patrimony of your school children.
The safest Investment, is in land, and
the safest investment in land is own
ership by the state. The lease con
tracts should be made for a long time
and liberal in their provisions so that
the occupant mayKhave secure tenure
and be induced td improve his hold
ings. But-the lessees are not the only
persons to be considered ; they deserve
fair treatment, . but not such , as will
eventually jeopardize the interests of
all the people by creating a large mon
ey fund, difficult tol be invested. Yours
very truly, r j- " : ... v
CHARLES Q. DE FRANCE, x
Asspclate Editor,
PARTNERSHIP WITH GOD
Total .$4,525,492.28
It will thus be seen that if none .of
the holders of sale contracts allow
them to lapse, the total funds will
reach the sum of $8,471,575.35 before
many years elapse; and this enormoub
fund must, until at least our constitu
tion is amended, be invested in the se
curities mentioned above. United
States bonds are at a high premium,
because of the special banking priv
ileges they carry, and are not a satis
factory avenue of investment for the
educational funds. We have no state
bonds they having been fully paid off
during the populist-democratic state
administration which ended in Jan
uary, 1901. Most of the county bonds
are already owned by these funds and
as most of the counties have already
gone in debt to build court houses
and have ceased the foolish practice
of voting bonds in aid of railroads
but little dependence can be placed in
this class of securities. The only other
avenue is investment in state war
rants good enough while the security
lasts, but extremely temporary in
character. The practice of investing
in state warrants was put into practi
cal operation by the populist-democratic
administration for a double pur
pose: to find investment for the large
amount of educational funds which
had accumulated under republican ad
ministration (to say nothing of the
large amount which had been lost or
stolen by a republican state treasurer)
and to bring state warrants to par
from a discount which had been forced
upon them by republican tactics in
the interest of warrant brokers. It
was a good piece of .financiering, al
though temporary in its nature, be
cause, under proper revenue laws and
economical administration the state
should pay cash for current expendi
tures. It had the desired effect of
raising state warrants from a discount
of 3 to 5 per cent to a premium of as
high as 2 per cent.
The problem that is now confronting
the people of Nebraska and few of
them really know how serious it is
is to find proper investment for the.
educational funds received from the
sale of lands. Many of the county
bonds will fall due in the next four
years and it is estimated that two or
three millions of the deferred pay
ments on educational lands under sale
contract will be paid in that time.
About a million and a half of the pres-
"We are Here by Dlyfne Order and to do
You Good" Has Been the Language
of Tyrants
Why, after the nation Itself has been
rioting in pious pretension' and cant
ing hypocrisy for a considerable sea
son in justification of an attitude' and
course that could not well be justified
otherwise why, after this, the Baer
claini of providential guidance and
sanction should cause surprise or com
ment, is past understanding. It was
to have been expected. There has
never been a time when tyranny or
privilege in th$ course of establishing
itself or in defense of its position al
ready established, would not set up a
claim to partnership with God if
pressed to a justification. The masses
of the people, in all ages and coun
tries, have had to contend against
this pious pretension in the struggle
to be free. It was so in the primitive
days of slavery, in the progress out
of serfdom, in the contests for the
political equality of men and In later
struggles against industrial monop
oly. Jefferson Davis, speaking for the
slave oligarchy of the south, said
with all solemnity that "slavery was
established by decree ,. of Almighty
God." and that "through the portal
of slavery alone has the descendant
of the graceless son of Nath ever en
tered the temple of civilization"
words singularly like unto those now
heard every day in all parts of the,
country to justify the holding of an
alien people in political slavery, only
one step removed from and closely re
lated to industrial slavery.
"We are here by divine order and to
do you good" this is the language of
privilege in all times and places, and
when you hear it you may know that
somewhere back of it is concealed the
spirit, if not the action, of the tyrant
and the slave driver. Some such re
vealing quality possesses ;the utter
ance of the coal monopoly's spokes
man, and it Is this doubtless which
so stirs the organs of public opinion
of all shades of thought, from radi
cal to ultra-conservative. The yarn
ing to trust monopoly Is plain. It
ought to avoid giving such palpable
evidence of the tyrant's spirit as Is in
variably afforded by asserting the ex
istence of. a partnership with God in
the business. That Is a game which
fools only the simple-minded.: these
days, and the American people are not
all simple. Perhaps it is the cool as
sumption that they are which so an
gers the present case. Springfield Re
publican. .
Many of the old subscribers to The
Independent will he interested to know
that the library of John Davis, for
several terms a populist congressman
from Kansas, has been secured by the
Nebraska University Historical so
city. John Davis was an authority in
the house on political economy and
kindred subjects and consulted by
members of all parties. His library
consisted of several thousand books,
many of them rare and now out " of
print, and would be an acquisition
which any university or economist
might well be prcfud of owning. It
was secured by Mr. Sheldon on his
late trip to Kansas to attend the un
veiling of the monument to Coronado.
"CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS"
Mr. Bowen Agrees With the Socialists
That He Who Works With HI Hands
for Wages Should be "Class
Conscious"
Editor Independent: There is much
criticism of the conduct of the govern
ment, and who that has common sense
or common honesty can doubt that the
complaints are justified. But I think
that the advocates of reform, for the
most part, greatly underestimate the
evil we condemn.
The present commercialized politi
cal system, though the subject of such
widespread discontent, cannot be as
easily as quickly overthrown as many
of its opponents appear to imagine.
Itself a mighty, power, it is allied with
forces equally potent. The vast, com
plex republican political machine is
leagued with the great consolidated
moneyed interests and the combine
rules men's bodies and souls. It holds
the people's daily bread in the hollow
of its hand. It tcontrols a majority
of the newspapers and pulpits. Its
agents are found In every association,
industrial or social, and are shining
lights and pillars of the church. In
its service are enlisted the boldest,
the shrewdest and the most unscrup
ulous of men. The desperate and law
less are among its tools, while it neg
lects' no opportunity however slight,
no occasion however trivial, to main
tain and augment its power.
""".7 " at Fourth of July,
at Chautaun- hool orations, its
creatures are present . Ither in person
; as recently happened at Chautaqua
or by proxy, to speak a good word
for their masters. '
There are hundreds of thousands of
men in this country who, nominally
free to exercise untrammelled the
right of suffrage, in point of fact vote
as their employers dictate. They are
told that if they do not support the re
publican party at the polls, business
will be ruined and their livelihood
jeopardized; and, although most of
them do not wholly believe this, they
dare not take any risk, especially as
each feels that if he were to disre
gard the warning and his indepen
dence became .known, the threatened
fate would be pretty sure to overtake
him individually.
In short, observation discloses the
fact that while many desire reform,
few are willing and still fewer are able
to do anything to bring it about; and
reflection as conclusively shows that
the -problems , confronting us are ap
parently unsurmountable.
Never since our government was
launched upon an untried and un
known sea has the' cause of the "plain
people" been in such deadly peril. We
are already a nation of flunkeys and
will soon be a nation of slaves as well.
And in the face of such conditions
when every evil tendency marshalled
by greed and gold is arrayed In solid
phalanx against the rights and wel
fare of the common people ana ror
their? own aggrandizement such al
leged democrats as William C. Whit
ney say: "The democrats have no issue."
To use a slant? nhrase "don't that
jar you?" And of such are the would-
be reorganizers of the democratic
party.
The socialists are right In one or
their contentions, viz.: That every
man who works with his hands for
wages should be "class conscious." He
knows, or ought to know, that there
never can be, as society is at present
organized, any genuine affiliation be
tween himself and those who are born
in the purple. This may be arraying
class 'against class, but such things
have always been and always will be.
If all wage-earners and all others who
believe in the dignity of labor and the
equality of man could come together,
they would be numerous enough to
change the whole system, even to a
new constitution or none at all. The
common people sinned away their day
of grace in 1896 and I fear that never
again will we make as good a show
ing. CHAS. M. BOWEN.
No. 1209 Main St., Buffalo, N. Y.
MRS VANDERBILT'S BALL
A Midway, a Theatrical Performance, a
Negro Cake Walk and it Cost
$100,000
No newspaper could be a faithful
historian of its own times unless it
made a record of such social events as
Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt jr.'s New
port ball. The facts are the main
thing. This is 1902, the 126th year of
American independence, and the 80th
since your . great-grandmother reveled
in the luxury of glass windows, wax
candles and possibly an India shawl.
It is a year of tremendous prosperity,
with business going at a two-minute
gait and J. P. Morgan holding the
reins. And on Monday night Mrs.
Cornelius Vanderbilt was "at home"
to her friends.
The preparations had been going on
for many weeks and the result was an
astonishing and splendid range of en
tertainment, which may be barely out
lined. The guests began to arrive at
Beaulieu: the Vanderbilt villa, at
about 10 o'clock p. m. From their car
riages they first entered a kind of elon
gated booth 22 feet wide and 250 feet
long, which was lined with red cloth
and was resplendent with such high
decorative effects as hangings, stream
ers and electric lights could create.
This was called the midway. Its at
tractions were reminiscent of the cir
cus and the variety theatre, but all the
more exhilarating on that account.
There was a Punch and Judy show,
dancing girls, a shooting gallery, a
wheel of fortune, a doll-baby game, a
gypsy fortune teller and a negro com
edy team, who sang "Ma Castle on the
Nile." At the end of the midway the
guests passed into the Vanderbilt
house, where they were greeted by
host and hostess. , At midnight the en
tire company of a New York theatre,
comprising 100 people and. the orches
tra, produced the musical comedy,
"The Wild Rose," in an Improvised
theatre at the rear of the house. The
performance was . considerably con
densed, but it lasted an hour and a
quarter, and was given with all the
cleverness of which a trained body of
professional artists was capable. Mrs.
Vanderbilt now has the distinction of
being the first person to close a New
York theatre for a night and brin& its
company to .Newport to reproduce in
full a theatrical bill at a private en
tertainment. It was no exaggeration
for the reporters to say that "it was an
event long to be' remembered." ',.
After the professional theatrical per
formance on the lawn, the entertain
ment became more commonplace. The
guests went.to. supper, while the the
atre was transformed into a ball-room.
Then came the cotillon. In the middle
of this, however, a novelty was intro
duced. The guests were seated and
the negro comedians, who had before
sang negro melodies in the midway,
appeared on the ball-room floor with
their wives and executed a cake walk.
Thereupon a second supper was served
to the guests, and finally dancing was
the attraction until morning. The
decorations of the house and grounds,
the favors, and so on, call for no de
tailed description, although, of course,
they were superb in quality and mag
nificent in appearance. and form. Nor
is it necessary to describe the cos
tumes or the two suppers. It may be
worth while to say that the duchea of
Marlborough, "the American duchess,"
was there; while Jt is not out of place,
as a matter of Tecord, to note that the
cost of the affair has been very con
servatively estimated as being about
$30,000 It is more -than probable.
however, that Mrs. Vanderbilt's "at
home" cost nearer $100,000.
At a time when the president of the
United States is making speeches iii
New England, one of whose objects is
to allay the growing social discontent
of the masses of his own party on ac
count of the great industrial combina
tions and of the accumulation of ir
conceivable wealth in the hands of a
few families, Mrs. Vanderbilt's ball
with its midway, professional theatri
cal performance, and expenditure' of
what used to be called a fortune sup
plies exactly 'the illustration which is
best adapted to the creation of an ef
fective, contrast. These are prosperous
times, yet there are very few people in
the United States who can read of the
riot of luxury at the Vanderbilt ball
with much solid satisfaction, even if
neither envy nor hate creeps into their
souls. It is idle to blame any omi in
particular for such rlotdUs displayH of
wealth. Mrs. Vanderbilt, who is un
doubtedly a beautiful and most estim
able woman, merely acts in accord
ance with the influences around her.
The society in which she moves con
stantly demands novelties in its enter
tainments, and to supply them is the
natural effort of successful society
leaders. Nor is it reasonable to berate
the press for the publicity into which
it throws the performances of the rich.
The world has a right to know itself
its extreme luxury, as well as its ex
treme poverty. Out of all, at last,
there will surely come some evening
up of conditions, although the mannes
of it may not be easy to foresee.
Springfleld Republican.
POOR OLD MABINI
Near the Grave, Half Paralyzed, He Pre
fers to die in Prison Rather Than
Acknowledge Himself a Traitor
What an unreasonable man is the
alleged statesman of the Filipino re
public, the aged Mabini! Half-paralyzed,
unable to move without as
sistance, an exile in the island of
Guam, this foolish old man will not
take the oath of allegiance to the
United States, even to return to his
native land and to friends. He is
quoted as writing:
'l cannot 'gtt' over the idea that
others shall legislate for me and my
people and in so doing govern us. It
is better to die in exile than to pros
titute my conscience, for at best I have
but a few years to live."
It i3 understood that Mr. Mabini
does not regard himself as a traitor.
He does not understand the term "al
legiance." He thinks he never owed
any allegiance to the United States.
He thinks he never committed trea
son. Apparently he does not recog
nize the fact that he is a chattel In a.
contract between a pure republic and
a medieval despotism, in which he
and his land were bought for a price.
Perhaps he cannot discern, suchis his
blindness, that there Is any essential
difference between the two partien to
the contract. And yet Mabini has been
recognized by European and Ameri
can students of history as a construc
tive statesman, and his scheme cf a
Filipino is a wise and workable ne.
There Is something wrong here. Mr.
Mabini is in error. He should be
grateful for the opportunity to ac-
knowledge his error, and die under
the great flag of the noble country of
the free, a citizen of what? Spring
field Republican.
Labor in the South African mines
has become very scarce since the Boers
were overthrown and in consequence
many mines lie idle. Things some
times don't turn out as he thieves
and imperialists expect. . There has
been a heavy tax laid on the mines to
pay the expenses of the war that these
mine owners insisted upon, and now,
since the kindly and religious Boer is
no longer in authority, the Kaffirs re
fuse to come in and work the mines.
The British propose to levy a heavy
tax on the Kaffirs -so that they will
have to work in the mines to. get; the
money to pay the tax. There are a
good many ways of making slaves out
of men besides buying them for so
much cash from slave pens. .
THE UNIT OF MONEY
Mr. Da Hart Continues Discussion ef Del
Mar's Statement That "all Money Is
the Unit of Money"
Editor Independent: I notice la
your issue of August 14 that Mr. Van
Vorhis does not approve of Del Mar's
assertion that the "unit of money Is all
money." I regret' this. I did not sup
pose that there was a writer of intelli
gence outside of the gold standard
camp who would question the asser
tion that the unit of money is all
money. This reminds me that In the
old coinage laws of the United States,
prior to the civil war, the silver dol
lar, which was a product of "free coin
age" was designated as a "unit," with
out saying whether it was a unit of
money or a unit of value. In those
days there was no gold coin struck ty,
the name of "dollar" (except In 1849).
The only gold coins they had were the
eagle "of the value of ten dollars or
units," half-eagles "of the value, oC
five dollars or units" and double-eagles
"of the value of twenty dollars or.
units," so that, the gold coins were
multiples, of a dollar or unit; and
whether one looked at silver dollars
or eagles, half-eagles or double-eagles
they were "units," without eajinj?
whether units of money or units of
value. . "'
In 1873, when the attention of tb
people was very much occupied with
the issues growing out of the civil
war, a set of men whom we will call
gold bugs" or "gold standard" people,
procured an act to be passed by con
gress, which hey called "an act to
revise all the old coinage laws;" ami
in the revision (sec. 14) they inserted
a clause to the effect that the gold
dollar, (which had been coined 'since
1849 and weighed 25 8-10 grains of
standard gold, or gold nine-tenths
fine,), should not only be a dollar, but a
''unit of value." The act continued the
coinage of all the old gold coins." mak
ing them, multiples of the "dollar or
unit" as N they had been previously;
the only difference being that the gold
dollar of 1873 was a "unit of value"
as . well as a unit of money. Under
the old or previous laws all the gold
coins, had been "units," without stat
ing, whether they were units of mon
ey or units of value. The silver dol
lar was emphatically the "unit,
while, the gold coins were supposed to
be equal to it or a multiple thereof,
and our coinage system, at the be
ginning of the national government,
was based on an old Spanish sliver
coin then in circulation, called a "dol
lar," weighing 416 1-4 grains eleven
twelfths fine, and containing 371 1-4 .
grains of pure silver. This was the
"dollar or unit," to which all gold,
coins were supposed to be equal, or a
multiple thereof, until 1873, when a
new idea or principle got Into our coin-
age laws.
In 1873 they dropped the old silver
dollar from the number of the varl- '
ous silver coins to be struck, and sub
stituted another silver dollar desig
nated J nc the act of a "trade dollar,"
welghlng-420 grains nine-tenths fine,
instead of 412 1-2 grains, as the silver
dollarhad weighed since 1834-37. The
trade dollar was subject to free coin-
age and was therefore unlimited, but
it was not a legal tender in. payments f
exceeding five dollars and" was there-
fore not money In sums exceeding that'
amount. Free coinage of fractional sil
ver pieces had been suspended in 1853,,
and therefore the result of the revising!
coinage act of 1873 was, that there was
no "free coinage". except that of gold.f
with the gold dollar declared to be 1
the" "unit of value" in the United
States. These apparently little chang-;
es were not discovered until three
years afterwards, when silver began -to
fall-in price and the people began
to Inquire into the cause thereof. The:
fact, however, Is, that the" law was put
through both houses of congress, with
out any discussion - of any conse-
quence and with no discussion what- '
ever among the people. There was no ;
demand on the part of the people for 4
the change. And In 1876, when the
change was discovered and an lnves-
tlgatlon was afterwards made, It was;
found that no member of congress and
no senator, except John Sherman,
knew of the change at the time It was
made. This was called by a great
many people a "crime." I have noth- .
lng to say now except that if con-
gress should enact a thousand times
over that a single gold dollar Is a'
"unit of value" It would not be a
unit of value; nor a unit of money, as
long as there are other dollars In clr-,
culatlon. '
I have recalled the above historical
facts, because Mr. -Van Vorhis, amons:
.other things, says: "There is no unit
of money except an arbitrary unit
(dollar or cent)." I agree that all
units of money are "arbitrary" In the
sense that they are made by society,
or the government representing the
people, but all units of money are
created by the different nations of the
earth; and the total money of each
pnatlon Is the nation's unit of money.
A single dollar cannot possibly be a
unit of money, or a monetary unit, as
some say, except in a commercial
sense, where a person has a certain
sum of money td pay and each dol
lar counts one in making up the sura.
I was not discussing money from the
standpoint of the merchant, but from
the standpoint of science, when I
called attention , to Del Mar's asser
tion that "all money Is the unit of
money." We must all bear In mind
that Mr. Del Mar has written a little
book of two hundred pages entitled
"The science of money;" and I took
the abstract. from this book. He talks
about money, not as a business man
would talk about it, but as a scientific
man must. talk about it. And, by the
way. It is the only book In our lan
guage where the -subject of money is
scientifically treated. Other books
have been written that are of more or
less use, .and . have done good Eervlce
in giving a definite meaning to money
-and value, but I do -not know of any