PROCLAMATION
y
I-
The laying wide of the swaddling clothes of a
territorial existence and assuming the habiliments
of a state is a period worthy of definite registra
tion in history. It is an event that should be re
numbered at all proper intervals ever after. Ne
braska came to the inheritance of statehood and
was the first to enter the Union soon after the close
of the Civil War. She was fortunate in that tens
of thousands of the young men who had rendered
service to the government in the capacity of sol
diers during the war and were inured to the fatigue
on the field, came to this territory prepared to
undergo the hardship incident to the life of a pioneer.
With them came thousands of others' from the
several states and from homes across the sea, all
for the purpose of establishing and reclaiming the
soil from a state of nature and making it respond
to the demands of civilization.
These hardy sons of toil, unwilling to longer re
main in the relation of dependents on the general
government and preferring to take upon themselves
the obligation of a free and independent state,
asked for and received admission to the Union on
the first day of March, 1867, adopting as a motto
' Equality before the law," and engraving the
same on the Great Seal of the state.
Two score and five years have passed, since by
the will of the people and the authority of law, we
became an independent factor in the galaxy of
;:t up
states that constitute the strongest and the freest
republic on earth. Sueh has been our progress
that we stand second to none in point of general
intelligence, and the peer of any in agricultural
and other industrial achievements wherein the soil
is the principal factor. "
In view of these facts and in order that our peo-'
pie may be reminded of the near approach of our?
forty-fifth anniversary, I have thought it wise, as
chief executive of the state, to suggest that as eiti-';
tens of the commonwealth, we in some manner,
observe this occasion; for example, that the schools
take up the subject and ask one or more of each
school to prepare and read a paper involving the
growth of the state in population, churches, schools,
railroads, number of farms and amount produced,
instituting comparisons between certain dates as to
numbers and values. As instance the fact that up
to the 10th day of July, 1865, there was not one
rail of railroad iron laid in Nebraska. . Now we
have 6,135 miles of direct line in the state. In 1867
only 48,800 people, now 1,192,214.
On March 1st next, write a letter to some one or
more of your friends in other states, telling them
something of what you know of the state's develop
ment. Thus, in this modest way, we can observe,
the day and help spread important facts touching
the resources and progress of our beloved state.
CHESTER H. ALDBICH,
J.,,.':;. ... Governor."
of
II
It
S CURRENT COMMENT
XL
ft
Of course all men who know any-
ting at all about current events know
, "jpie falsity of the Sioux City Tribune's
large that Senator Allen of Madison
lined ud with the sutrar trust. Evi-
(yences in plenty are at hand to prove
ti . . e i. ah .1 l
. iab ucuaivx aucu naa wits uuij lutiu-
V-r of the senate committee appointed
investigate that trust who made an.
. fort to get at the facts. But people
imiliar with the source of the Sioux
ity Journal's charge against Senator
11 ..lien will not give it a second thought
'r a bit of credence. Those editorials
Tre written in Lincoln,
t
1
Like an oasis in a desert, a spar to a
Irowning man, a cup of cold water to
weary wayfarer, is the best way to
"describe the city council's action in
barring cairvoyants and trance
, mediums from this city. Seldom do
we find an opportunity to commend
the city council of Lincoln, but here
1
we have it; : This clairvoyant business
is about : the cheapest and meanest
graft we'- know of. It appeals to the
weakminded and the credulous. It fat
tens on the. fears and yearnings of
men and women. Its votaries are al
ways cheap frauds and fakes." That
the system should be tolerated in any
civilized community is a sad commen
tary on our. boasted intelligence. As
long as , it is permitted we have no
license, .to condemn voodooism, idol,
worship, or -demonology.
Park Commissioner Bryan's plan to
have the .city borrow money and ex
tend the park system to the northern
limits, of, the -city is so practical that
we have no hopes of its receiving even
casual, attention from the council. It
has beep,; probably always will be, dif
ficult to arouse Lincoln to a sense of
its need .of. parks and boulevards.
Those who have money to go to the
V
Named for and Made in Lincoln
From Selected Nebraska WheatBest Wheat in the World
Best
By
The
Oven's
Test
FLOOR
MH.O.BARBER & SONS
r-gramriiT
A
Nebraska
Product
worthy of
Nebraska
H: O. BARBER & SONS, LINCOLN
mountains or the seashore in summer
have almighty little regard . for . the
men, women and children who have to
remain at home. And after such have
paid the expenses of their pleasure
jaunts they are disinclined to submit
to a few. dollars extra taxejs for parks
that will be used by the "common
herd." . .
The democratic "harmony" pro
gram in Missouri,' wherein Clark and
Folk have come to "an understanding,
reminds us of the old verse which goes
thusly : -There
was a young lady of Niger
Who went out on a ride with a tiger.
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside,
And a smile on the face of the tiger.
'The smile on the faces of the Clark
supporters finishes the simile. , Once
more, and again, we remark that
Champ Clark is in all probability the
man you'll have to vote for next fall
if you vote the democratic national
ticket. 1
Lincoln loses the State Teachers'
Convention again. There are many
reasons for this, one of them being
that Omaha has a huge vote ; and an
other reason is that a lot of Iowa
teachers living near Omaha, namely,
in Council Bluffs, have votes. But
the chief reason, in our humble opin
ion, is. that we of Lincoln have come
to look upon conventions here as a
mere matter of course, and failing to
entertain properly. Omaha exerted
every effort to make the visit of the
teachers pleasant and have something
doing for them all the time. It is all
well enough to say that these conven
tions of teachers are for "uplift," hut
the fact is that seven-tenths of the
teachers attend because the occasion is
a sort of vacation dn working time for
them; a vacation on pay. Lincoln is
so well located for conventions, and
we have so many of them, that we 'ye
come to iegard them as of little mo
ment save as they bring people here
who will spend some money. A hall
in which to meet, a few badges, an
address of welcome and that's about
the limit. This may be all right from
the standpoint of pure business, hut
isn't it a fact that almighty few con
ventions worth having are held solely
for business reasons? Is it not a fact
that the conventions prefer to sand
wich a lot of pleasure in with just as
little business as possible and still
have a business excuse for the conven
tion? We've just fallen into a little
convention rut; that's all.
Having had some little experience
with conventions, as a delegate, as a
visitor and as a newspaper reporter,
we frankly confess that we don't
blame the teachers for again selecting
Omaha as the place of meeting. Until
their coming gets to be an old story
Omaha 13 going to spread herself to
entertain them, which means that the
teachers will be mighty well enter
tained, for when Omaha spreads her
self she does it to the queen 's taste.
If you dont believe it, just ask any
Nebraska editor who attended . the
Press Association meeting in June last
year. ''
we note with regret a disposition on
the part of a few esteemed townsmen
to cry "sour grapes" because the
teachers accepted Omaha's invitation.
Not for us. We're almighty sorry the
teachers so decided, and we are frank
to admit it.
St. Valentine 's - day isn 't what it
used to be, for which, to a consider
able degree, we are thankful. The old
penny horrible has gone out of style.
But we are sorry to note a decrease
in the custom' of sending the neat lit
tle tokens of love and friendship, a
custom that used to prevail. Because
of our love for this old custom of
sending friendly little tokens on Feb
ruary 14 we have manufactured a few
of our very own, the same to be found
elsewhere in this issue.
Mr. Honest American "Voter, how
do you like this? President Taft nomi
nated Cornelius P. Swain to be United
States marshal of Delaware. Swain
was recommended by Senator Du Pont,
the powder king. When Swain's nomi
nation came to the senate it was
charged that he had corruptly : used
money in DuPont's senatorial cam
paign. This threatened an investiga
tion of DuPont's election. Immedi
ately Attorney General Wickersham
conferred with Du Pont and immedi
ately thereafter Swain's nomination
was withdrawn and the announcement
came that there would be no investiga
tion of DuPont's election.
John R. Walsh is dead, therefore the
mantle of charity should be drawn.
But Banker Morse is still alive and
being hounded to the limit. There is
this difference between the case of
Walsh and the case of Morse. Both
went wrong, to be sure, but Walsh
emerged from prison with a fortune
still in his possession. Banker Morse
gave up everything he had to square
things, his wife bravely sacrificing her
home and her jewels to make restitu
tion. Morse exerted himself to square
accounts. He is broken in health and
stripped of his once great fortune.
Friends , have come to his assistance
and sent him to Europe in hopes that
the trip will restore him. We never
did believe that Morse meant to play .
the game crooked, and his actions after
the exposure cpnfirmed us in our opin
ion. He was convicted for doing those
things that hundreds of other bank
ers are known to be doing every day,'
the difference being that the other
bankers get away with it. So could
Morse had he tied up with some of
them.
Judge Gary, head of the steel trust,
makes the same mistake that many
other men similarly situated have
made. He thinks that what he calls
"Welfare work" among the thousands
employed in the steel mills is suf
ficient. But it isn't. It may suit the
imported workers for a time, but just
as soon as they get a bit of the Amer
ican spirit instilled into them they
lose their taste for that sort, of thing.
The American workman is not asking
anybody to do things for him. He
merely wants a fair opportunity to do
things for himself. Give him a decent
wage so he can have books and a
bathroom in his own home, feed and
clothe his children and send them to
school instead of the factory, and have
a few creature comforts of his own
earning, and he will snap his fingers
at this so-called "welfare work." But
the average American worker would
rather eat his noonday lunch out of a
bucket right by the side of his work,
and then go home in the evening to a
comfortable fireside, than to have
lunch rooms and shower baths and all
that sort of thing in the factory and
nothing at home because of beggarly
wages and long hours.
Judge Gary nor any other man of
"big business" is going to stave off
the coming revolution by putting in
bath rooms and other fancy trimmings
at the mills, and continuing the miser
ly wages and body-killing hours of
toil. That sort of thing made a favor
able impression for a time, but it don't
go now. It is possible to fool the
American worker part of the time, but
gation it is no longer possible. The
worker is wise to the fact that he has
in these days of agitation and investi
not been getting a fair share of the
product of his toil. A few. years ago
it might have been' possible to make
him contented by, giving him a little
larger share, but today he has made
up his mind that he is entitled to
about all that he produces, and by
the same token it seems that he is go
ing to have it or know the reason why.
The Gary plan will be about as efiica-,
cious as King Canute's effort to stay
the, rising tide.
CONCRETE FACTS ABOUT NE
BRASKA. Secretary Mellor of the State Agri
cultural Society has compiled a few
Nebraska figures on his own account.
And no man is in better position to
know these facts. Will Maupin's
Weekly has on every possible occasion
done all it could to make known the
resources and possibilities of Nebraska,
but it cheerfully admits that it is un-
able to make all the facts known. Nor
could any other newspaper or individ
ual. The facts are too big. If a man
in possession of a lot of real facts
tries to tell even a part of them, most
men are apt to wink the off eye and
list" him as eligible to membership" in
an Ananias Club. If it were possible
for any man to get up and tell the
whole truth about Nebraska nobody
wbuld believe him. The truth is so stu
pendous that it would make fiction
look like a selling plater.
But Secretary Mellor has braved all
these dangers, and he has come as near
to telling the tenth about Nebraska as
any man can, because he is a truthful
man and also in a position to get at
the facts. Here are the figures that he
has compiled, relative to Nebraska's
1M1 production of agricultural and
live stock wealth :
Acres Quantity Value
Bushels -
Corn 6,218,035 133,400,303 $ 87,310,190
Wheat 3,465,765 46,609,885 46,609,886
Oats ...2,312.610 32,035,858 12,814,348
Barley 85,015 . 918,180 504,999
Rye 85,687 923,871 .'. 692,903
Speltz , 42,677 430,878 185,277
Potatoes ........ 106,113 4,668,199 6,845,248
Flax ..i 3,187 41,431 128,720
Tons
Alfalfa ... 744,755 1,985,100 24,813,750
Hay
Tame ....1,345,804 1,845,805 16,822,662
Prairie ..3,890,690 3,168,710 39,608,875
Millet and
Hungarian 84,456 154,291 1,928,637
Sorghum 90,637 227,739 1,821,912
Broomcorn 2,093 4,906 48,480
Sutrar Beets 12,206 142,268 569,072
Kaffir Corn...... 11,021 24,460 73,380
Horticultural t
and tiarden . .
Products .-- - 10,008,755
Eggs .268,531,014 40,279,661
Pounds
Poultry .. 43,412,604 3,299,349
Wool .. 2,013,095 201,310
Hides 39,697,422 " 3,969,742
Furs . 141.921 141,921
Butter 47,983,128 13,435,275
Cheese 133,145 146,459
Gallons
Cream 21,918,804 12,155,342
Milk 2,399,240 3,598,860
Animals for slaughter . 89,194,163
Total value of farm products. .... .3406,209,111
Number of Live Stock.
Horses 918,240 3102,842,880;
Mules 91,137 11,938,947
Cattle (including dairy) 2,229,976 66,899,280
Sheep 383,602 1,534,408 ;
Swine 1,979,784 19,797,840.!
Total value of live stock $203,013,355
Total value farm products.... 406,209,111
$609,222,466 .
Once more Will Maupin's Weekly'
challenges any other state to equal
that record per capita or per acre. And
it urges every loyal Nebraskan to exert
himself to the limit to make these facts
known to all the world.
Once more college authorities have
fixed it so that a lot of husky young
athletes who need the money will have
to lie like Satan and play under as
sumed names in order to maintain
"good standing." It beats thunder
what a lot of chumpish actions a lot
of wise guy professors can pull off in
the name of athletics.
