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About Will Maupin's weekly. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1911-1912 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1911)
amusement stage. Only a rash and un thinking man would stand forth and de clare that airship commerce will never be profitable. In view of what has been accomplished during the last five years in the matter of heavier-than-air machines, coupled with what has been accomplished along other linos of human endeavor, it is not too much to predict that inside of the next ten years we will have regularly scheduled airship lines, conveying both freight and passengers. It is interesting to note that such much vaunted political reformers as La Foll ette, Cummins and IJristow lined up with such statesman as Lorimer, Smoot and Hey burn in an effort to defeat reciproc ity. We greatly fear that these reform ers are desirous of reformation only along lines that will not interrupt the profitable graft of their particular peo ple. "An optimist," declares John Z . - White, "is a man who don't give a d n what happens so long as it don't happen to him." We might pharaphrase this and declare that "a reformer is a man who is willing to reform anything or anybody save only those things and men in which he has a personal interest." Mr. Bryan's sense of humor has always s been -keen, but it seems to be growing keener. At an Iowa Chautauqua the other day he said, "I will not be a candi date for a third term." "You mean can didate for the fourth time!" shouted an auditor. "No, I mean what I said," re torted Mr. Bryan. "If I were nominated again I would be charged with running for a third term because during the last eight years the republicans have taken so many policies I have advocated." And the great crowd instantly saw the point. Police Judge Crawford of Omaha has been nominated for county judge by the republicans of Douglas. If there are enough Douglas county voters interested in seeing the child labor laws upheld, Judge Crawford will be handsomely de feated. While labor commissioner the editor of this paper had an experience be fore Police Judge Crawford that impels him to warn all opponents of child labor that Crawford is not in sympathy with them and much more thoughtful of the welfare of the exploiters of child labor than he is in the welfare of the children. Trust Secretary Mellor of the state fair board to secure attractions for the fair that will attract. On September 5 Secretary Wilson will speak at the fair, endorsing . reciprocity. On September 8 Representative Norris of Nebraska will denounce reciprocity. Doubtless Secre tary Mellor would pay handsomely to have these two gentlemen meet upon the same platform on the same day and de bate the question. TIME TO WAKE UP. During the last five years Nebraska has lost 20,000 people and $20,000,000 in money to the Canadian northwest. Why? Because the Canadian northwest has ad vertised extensively, while Nebraska has advertised not at all. During that same period of time thousands of people and millions of money from other states have been attracted to the Canadian north west, many of whom, with their money, might have been induced to locate in Nebraska had the resources and possi bilities of this state been properly called to their attention. What is true of the Canadian northwest is also true of the states of Texas, AVashington and Oregon. The Texas land boomers have been ac tive, and their efforts have been backed generously by the state of Texas. Nebraska is criminally negligent of her duty to herself. She ought to be one of the biggest advertisers in the country. She has more to advertise, and more to gain from advertising, than almost any other state. With 15,000,000 acres of fertile land untouched by the plow, evei'3' acre of it capable of producing bumper crops of grains and grasses ; with unexcelled opportunities for profitable investment in manufacturing enterprises, and with climate unsurpassed, there ought to be a constant procession of homeseekers into the state. The fact is, Nebraska is losing many of , her best be cause Nebraska is failing to make known, even to her own citizens, the opportuni ties that abound. When the legislature of 1911 neglected and refused to make an appropriation for a Bureau of Pub liciity and Immigration it lost a golden opportunity. Two years will have been wasted ere the opportunity again offers. And during those two years other states, more enterprising but with less to offer, will be making the gains that Nebraska should have been making. SILLY TWADDLE. The democratic party stands for the British industrial system transplanted to the United States. There are 120,000 members of the British system now on a strike, 5,000 troops were repulsed by mobs in Liverpool, and 12,000 women workers in London have appealed to sym pathizers in the United States to help them in the struggle for bread. The adop tion of a system fraught with poverty and degredation is what the democratic party will offer the voters of the Unit ed States next j7ear. Are we ready for it ? Kearney Hub. After searching for a proper caption for the esteemed Hub's effusion, "Silly Twaddle" was tire best we could do. Of qourse the democratic party does not stand for the "British industrial system transplanted in the United States." And of course, if the British strike is an in dictment of the "British system," then the A. R. U. strike of 1894 and the Home stead strike of 1892, and the Burlington strike of 1888, and all the other big strikes in this country since 1866 are in dictments of the system the Hub defends with so much insistence and with such disregard of self-evident facts. If 12, 000 British working women asking pub lic assistance while striking for better ; wages and conditions is an indictment of the "British industrial system," pray tell us what sort of an endorsement of the re publican high protective tariff system was the strike of 30,000 women workers in Chicago and of the 45,000 women work ers in New York less than two short years ago? And, of course, the democratic party is not going to offer "the adoption of a sys tem fraught with poverty and degreda tion." The democratic party will offer re lief from a system that exploits the pub lic for the benefit of a few. This offer will be made in response to a public de mand, evidenced by the election of a dem ocratic house in 1910 on a platform pledging tariff reduction. We might get somewhere in the matter of solving this tariff puzzle were it not for the presence of so many who refuse, either through ignorance or something worse, to study the facts and then give them to the people without bias. ' But to indict an industrial system be cause under that system strikes occur is to present against the protective tariff system the strongest kind of an indict ment. MR. FURSE'S DEFEAT. The defeat of John Furse for the dem ocratic nomination for railway commis sioner is to be regretted. By every rule of of the game he was entitled to the nomi nation and to an election. -And we are of the opinion that had it not been for Mr. Harrington's ill-considered remarks at the Fremont convention, and his sub sequent "open letters," Mr. Furse would have' been successful. The Harrington remarks, however, made Mr. Harman's friends doubly active. Of course Mr. Harman had a right to be a candidate, this being a free country. But in becom ing a candidate he was seemingly actuat ed by a desire, to "get even." Mr. Harman was a candidate for the appointment that was given Mr. Furse, and failing in that he proceeded to make trouble in his party's ranks, winding up by getting into the race in order to defeat the man pre ferred above him in the making of the appointment. We are not informed as to Mr. Harman's ability to fill the posi tion. We only know that under all the circumstances as they appear to us he is not of that calibre we like to see in men whom we support for office. This judg ment is based upon his action in trying tp "play even" 'because he was not appoint ed to the Cowgill vacancy. The Anti-Saloon League, if it is cap able of learning by experience, will prob ably endorse the next candidate it de sires to defeat.