WILL MAUPIN'S WEEKLY
THE WAGEWORKER
WILL M. MAUP1N, Editor
Published Weekly at Lincoln, Nebraska, by The
Wageworker Published Company.
"Entered as second-class matter February 3, 191 1, at the post
office at Lincoln, Nebraska, under the Act of March 3, 1879."
ONE DOLLAR THE YEAR
Some of these days we will have a legis
lature that will think more of the needs and
desires of the people than of playing for
partisan advantage. x
Everybody knows that Senator Lorimer
was elected by bribery and treachery. But
it will be a great satisfaction to learn who
the bribe givers are.
Instead of paying legislators a flat rate
couldn't we devise some method of paying
each member just what he is worth to the
state?
President Taft inferentially informs the
people that it is none of their blamed busi
ness what he does with the army and navy,
he being the commander-in-chief of both.
We venture the assertion that the veto
of the Sunday base ball bill will not have
the effect of increasing the Sunday morning
church attendance.
It is now up to the opponents of Sunday
base ball to provide something more at
tractive than must'- sermons and insistent
collections for foreign missions for the re
creation of tired workers.
Governor Aldrich vetoed the Sunday base
ball bill because it was not drawn to suit
him. The majority refused to amend it be
cause it did not want to please the governor.
Between them thousands of wage earners are
deprived of an opportunity for healthful and
innocent recreation. And who has profited
by the foolishness.
Representative Bailey returns to Buffalo
county without the state house under his
arm or much of anything else for that mat
ter. A man of Mr. Bailey's ability and
hustling proclivities could have accomplish
ed a lot of good. It was too bad that Mr.
Bailey wasted his time on a scheme that
commonsense should have told him was im-
prosperity do not hinge upon the licens
ing or the prohibition of saloons. Let us
keep sweet and cool in discussing this issue.
No one will blame Governor Aldrich when
he heaves a sigh of relief at getting a demo
cratic legislature off his hands.
Those Mexican insurrectos will make a
grave mistake if they listen to the Diaz
promises of reforms. Diaz wouldn't be mak
ing promises if he were not scared, and he
willl not carry them out after the insurrectos
have laid down their arms and dispersed.
The first step to genuine political reform
in Mexico is the retirement of Diaz and the
bunch of grafters he has surrounding him.
posible of accomplishment.
A majority of the members of the thirty
second session of the Nebraska legislature
have shown their good judgment by sub
scribing for Will Maupin's Weekly. The
rest of them should get into line. A dollar
for a whole year fifty-two consecutive doses
of cheerful optimism and Nebraska boosting.
Of course Will Maupin's Weekly is in
terested in the outcome of the local fight
.over the excise question but not excited
Lincoln will not suffer financially if the city
continues its "dry" policy; neither will it
become a modern Sodom if it decides to be
come "wet." Lincoln's growth and future
Ten millions for a warship today to be
used as a target inside of the next ten years.
This navy game is fine business for the ship
builders, but it's "war''' on the taxpayers.
The word "war" is here used in lieu of
what General Sherman said it was.
Valley of Humiliation
This little incident happened many years
ago. To be more exact, it happened some
five or six years after the memorable land-,
slide of 1894, when a democratic congress
was wiped off the face of the political map
and a republican congress placed thereon.
It was in that year that Champ Clark was
defeated for re-election by a man named
Treloar. And it is upon this that this little
tale hinges.
Speaker Clark came to a certain Nebras
ka city to make a speech. He was in a con
fidential mood that particular day, and in
- speaking to a friend about the time when he
was defeated for congress by a music teach
er, he remarked:
"That was my first and only defeat. But
that mis humiliating enough under the cir
cumstances. Had I been defeated by a states
man I would have cared but little. But to
have been defeated by a fiddler say, that
was the deepest depths of humiliation."
Forget It, Governor!
Governor Aldrich is not adding to his
reputation for being a broadminded,
liberal man by continually harping about
Chairman Byrne and stigmatizing Arthur
Mullen. Both of these gentlemen have a
perfect right to influence legislation if they
can. And so far as Will Maupin's Week
ly is informed neither of them has advo-
cated any vicious legislation with ulterior
motives, nor opposed good legislation. The
mere fact that Chairman Byrne advocated
a measure is not a sufficient reason for exec
utive disapproval. As one of Governor
Aldrich 's well wishes we hope he will for
get all that sort of thing and pass judg
ment upon all matters according to the
merits thereof, regardless of what this or
that man may think about them. Will
v Maupin's Weekly is vastly more interested in
peeing Governor Aldrich give the state a
-.- wise administration than it is in seeing the
fortunes of any political party or political
jnanager advanced We fondly hope that
Governor Aldrich will forget men and think
only of the best interests of the state.
The Cinch on Lorimer
After members of the Illinois legislature,
had conessed that they accepted bribes for
voting for Lorimer, the "blonde boss" was
vindicated by a jury of his peers. "Peers"
is a good word to use in that connection, too.
Now comes the confession of the man who
raised the $100,000 slush fund to acconv
plish Lorrimer's election, "because he was
worth that to the interestss." There is no
getting away from these new facts just dis
closed. Lorimer is senator by virtue of
bribery and corruption. And the bribery
and the corruption were so open and plain
that the most obtuse could see them. Yet
Lorimer was "vindicated." But how? By.
a lot of senators who had themselves been
repudiated by the people. Every minute that
Lorimer remains in the senate of the United
States is an insult to the people and a lot
on the history of the republic. The senator
who acquiesces in that insult is not a whit
better than the beneficiary of all the rotten
ness and corruption of the Illinois legisla
ture. '
The First Labor Law
The first labor law enacted by the Ne-
braska legislature in many years went,
through the house by unanimous vote1 last
Thursday. It had already passed in the
senate by a good majority. It is known a&
Senate File No. 16 and relates to making
safe the men engaged in the errection of
buildings, bridges, viaducts, etc. The new.
law f or it is presumed that Governor Aid
rich will sign it, provides that in the erec
tion of bridges and viaducts, and buildings
of more than a minimum height, shall be
properly floored, scaffolding properly
placed, etc., and nothing left undone to
safe guard the life and limb of the building
tradesmen engaged thereon. This bill was
introduced at the instance of the Nebraska
State Federation of Labor, and was pushed,
by the legislative representatives of that or
ganization. In addition to securing the en
actment of a wise law, the Federation's rep
resentatives have demonstrated what can be
done by united and intelligent action. The.
same representatives who kept busy until
this beneficial law was passed have also
been busy with other matters of equal im
portance. They have compelled attention to
the necessity for a compensation law, and
while such a law could not be secured at this'
time, they compelled recognition of labor's
claims and as a result a commission will be
named to investigate the subject." A factory
inspection law will have been enacted ere
the session closes; also a law compelling
better safeguards in popular amusement
houses.
It is only by intelligent, concerted action
that labor will secure just recognition, and
the success that has attended the first or
gmized and systematic effort should result
in making the Nebraska State Federation
of Labor stronger and mgr aggwiisivG,.
