MEN AND MATTERS
Of course, the mere fact that Roose
velt once declared that he would not
accept a third nomination cuts no fig
ure with him now. Such a little thing
as inconsistency is never considered at
Sagamore Hill. Mr. Roosevelt clearly
believes himself to be the only genuine
"man of destiny," and of course such
little things as shattering precedent,
overruling: .laws, claiming the kingly
prerogative of life and death, or sit
ting in judgment upon the motives of
his fellows, are mere incidents with
him.
r
Vociferous, platitudinous, arrogant
sand temperamentally unable to refrain
from tergiversation, Mr. Roosevelt is
always and forever giving us advice
on everything from rearing of chil
dren to conservation ; from directing
the destinies of the universe to point
ing out the mistakes of all preceding
statesmen and lawgivers. If Mr. Roose
velt but knew as much about some one
thing worth while . as he thinks he
knows about everything in general, he
would be, perhaps, more modest, and
certainly more conservative and evenly
balanced. Y '
Mr. Roosevelt is playing a mighty
shrewd game, for he is about the
' shrewdest politician since the days of
Martin VanBuren. Such little things
p.s friendships and laws and regard for
pledges have no place in his plans if
perchance they threaten to interfere.
Quick to denounce as liars and traitors
. all who dare' to take issue with him,
Mr. Roosevelt is quick to pick flaws
in others. He called Thomas Jefferson
"a imid, scholarly and shifting t doc-
vtrinaire;. the, father of nullification,
therefore of secession; constitutionally
unable to put a proper value on truth-
; fulness." Indeed, Jefferson seems to
, have been the original member of the
Roosevelt Ananias club. Of President
Franklin Pierce Mr. Roosevelt wrote:
"A small politician, of low capacity
and mean surroundings, proud to act
' as the servile tool of men worse than
nimself.' Of President Monroe ' he
wrote: "Colorless, high-bred gentle
man of no special ability, but well
fitted to act as presidential figure
head." Of President Tyler he wrote:
"He has. been called a mediocre man,
but this 'is unwarranted flattery. He
was a politician of monumental little
ness; his chief mental and moral at
tributes were peevishness, fretful ob
stinacy, inconsistency, incapacity to
make up his mind, together with in
ordinate vanity."
We take it, after a somewhat exhaus
tive study of the Roosevelt literary
and political productions, that we have
had but three presidents of any par
ticular mental and moral ability since
the foundation of the republic Theo
dore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and
George Washington and we couple
the names of Lincoln and Washington
with that of Roosevelt with consider
' able fear, lest Mr. Roosevelt accuse us
of paying them an undeserved tribute.
It is with regret we note a disposi
tion in certain ' quarters to deprecate
the candidacy of W. G. Stamm of Lin
coln, who is seeking the democratic
nomination for railway commissioner,
because he is conducting a "five and
ten cent store'" Bless you, brethren,
the biggest business institutions of the
country are builded on a nickel basis.
. Take our street railway systems, for
instance. And the largest and tallest
building in New York City was built
with nickels and dimes. And one of
the greatest insurance companies - in
America collects its premiums in pen
nies and nickels and dimes. It is not
a question of whether Mr. Stamm is
"i conducting a "five and ten cent" busi
ness; the question is, is he conducting
it successfully and honestly t He is.
We have now a physician and two
lawyers on the railway commission.
It is our candid opinion that it would
'be well to have upon the commission
one man who .knows something about
the transportation problem from the
standpoint of the men who actually
pay the freight. Mr. Stamm may not
be the best man for the place, but he
is, at least, a shipper, a successful
business man and a good citizen.
L. A. Varner of Sterling admits that
he would like to officiate as lieutenant
governor of Nebraska, and we are
quite willing. Therefore his candidacy
has our official endorsement. Colonel
Varner is. an old-time newspaper man,
possesses experience as 'a legislator,
and is one of the men who have helped
to make Nebraska.
Without in the least deprecating the
abilities and qualifications of other
democratic lawyers who would be
willing to serve the state as attorney
general, this newspaper is of the opin
ion that the democracy of Nebraska
would act wisely to give that nomina
tion to Andrew M. Morrissey of Lin
coln, late of Valentine. Hjr nomina
tion would be wise because he is a
lawyer of commanding ability and
wide experience, and because he pos
sesses elements of strength not neces
sary to name, but which would be
mighty helpful ; to the entire state
ticket. Mr. Morrissey studied a long
time before announcing his candidacy,
and then did so because hundreds of
friends urged it upon him. He will
have "behind him the Influence of the
entire northwest, where he is thor
oughly known and admired.
MrV' Folk of Missouri, being gifted
with ordinary good eyesight, was not
long in deciphering the handwriting
upon the political walls of Missouri.
Hence Mr. Folk is really out of the
running, thus giving Champ Clark a
clear field in the old state. With
, Governor Harmon stubbing his toe on
the initiative and referendum, and
Governor Wilson daily colliding with
some very queer things he has written
and said in the years gone by, we daily
grow, more confident that Champ Clark
will be the next democratic candidate
for president of these United States.
But we are not worrying a bit about
this presidential candidate business.
Whether it be Roosevelt or Taft or
La Follette for the republicans ; or
whether it be Harmon, or Wilson or
Clark for the democrats, we don't
care a bit in comparison with whether
we have a big corn crop in Nebraska
this year. And preliminary to a good
corn crop we must have good seed
corn and that's what we are most in
terested in these February days.
. ...... i
The Omaha, Lincoln & Beatrice
electric railway, which doesn't get
within fifty miles of, either Omaha or
Beatrice, declares that it cannot give
Bethany a 5-cent fare. Of course it
says so. The steam roads said it would
, be . bankruptcy to, enforce the 2-cent
fare law, but they are still doing busi
ness and taking in more passenger
fare than ever before. The New York
gas monopoly said it couldn't sell gas
for 85 cents, but it is, and paying big
ger dividends than ever.
The death of Chancellor Huntington
merely removes a familiar figure; it
does not in any wise lessen the sphere
of the Huntington activity. His life's
work was such that his influence for
good will be felt for generations to
. come. The ability of Chancellor Hunt
ington, had it been directed towards
mere money making would, doubtless,
.have resulted in his becoming a million
aire. Yet there isn't a man of millions
in all America who was as rich as he
in all that goes to make up the sum.
of human success. The best monu
ment' that could be erected to Chan
cellor Huntington is Wesleyan Univer
sity, and that monument ought to be
builded upon a basis of perpetuity
through an endowment fund reaching
; the million mark. -
Of course your mind will be unable
to grasp the immensity of the figures,
but we give them so you can cogitate
over them. In 1911 the sum total of
the value of Nebraska's production of
agricultural, live stock, dairying and
manufacturing wealth was upwards of
$850,000,000. In that year Nebraska
produced more agricultural and live
stock wealth per capita than any other
state. And she isn't even well started
along the road to the goal of her pro
The labor organization that fights
the "Taylor System" is mferely kicking
against the pricks. That sort of thing
is merely a repetition of the old-time
fights against labor saving machinery.
The ditch diggers fought the dredge;
the shoemakers fought the lasting ma-
chine, and so on down the line. The
wisest act ever performed by a labor
union was that of the printers when
they accepted the linotype as an. as
sured fact, and instead of fighting its
introduction set about to control it.
As a result printers are getting better
pay than ever, and 98 per cent of the
linotypes in the United .States are
operated by members of the Typo
graphical Union. There is no staying
the march of progress. Efficiency is
the watchword of the day. Labor or
ganizations must advance industrially
as well as socially and otherwise.
SPORTING NOTES.
The landing of "Smiling Bill"
Dwyer as manager of the Antelopes
for the -coming season makes a hit with
the "fans" of this good old town.
President Despain wasn't experiment
ing when he put the lasso on Billiam.
He was getting a man' who has de
livered the goods both as a team man
ager and as a player. Any man who
could keep the crippled and discredited
Des Moines team in the running and
avert complete, collapse has something
and Billiam was the boy. He is al
ready a prime favorite in Lincoln be
cause he is a gentlemanly ball player,
and one who not only knows the game
from soda to hock, but plays it with
all his might. We're all for Billiam
over in this neck o' the wodds, and
don't you forget it.
Dwyer seems to know how to get
along with the players under -him, as
well as knowing how to get the best
work out of them. ,He is always there
with the "pep," and has the knack of
putting the hypo needle into bis bunch.
And to top it all off, Billiam is a first
sacker all to the good. Maybe not so
spectacular as som.-. we've : seen, and
certainly not nearly so erratic. , The
more you study his record the more
you'll congratulate President Despain
and yourself upon the acquisition of
."Smiling William.'". Y , '
Parson Farthing says he is going to
"come back" with a whoop this sea
son, and we're all for him. The Par
son didn't get a square deal last spring
when he was trying out with the Chi's.
He was forced to" go a mid-season gait
while the frost was still in the air, and,
as a result he pitched himself into the
sore arm brigade before the season
opened,, As a result he didn't have
anything but the bum flinging arm
most of the season. 'r. But he's been
seasoning up all winter, and having
anchored himself to the fireside for
keeps, we're feeling ' pretty sure
that the Parson will be the star port
sider of the loop this season.
Pitcher Fox is in the dumps on ac
count of what he thinks is a genuine
"jinx" that has fastened itself upon
him. - Fox was the champion hard luck
pitcher of the league last season. In
twenty-six games he averaged seven
hits to the game, and lost many a one
when he got away with less than half
the hits scored against his opponent.
He has reason to believe that he had a
"jinx" last season, but we've fixed
that all right. One night not long
since we killed a .black cat, smeared
the blood on a busted ball bat, said a
few words, crossed our fingers and
thought of John Fox. That means
that Johnny Old Boy can rest easy in
the knowledge that we've laid the
"jinx" away for keeps. We want
him back this season.
During the winaup of the season
last year Willis Cole performed a lot
of spectacular feats around second
base, and the indications are that he'll
be placed there when the season opens.
There are plenty pf indications that
Cole will be a hummer at second after
he gets started.
Although Jack Thomas was swapped
to Des Moines, the chances are fifty
to one that he '11 show Up at the be
ginning of the season as a member of
the Sioux City team. With another 1
club and removed from some of the in
fluences that have been his for six
years, Thomas will doubtless get back
into his old stride. And when in his
stride Jack Thomas is one of the nifti
est first sackers in the game.
The outlook for the season in Lin
coln is mighty pleasing to observant
fans. President Despain has got into
the clear. This season he will not be
to the expense of building a club, nor
Of improving his park. These two
items alone, cost Despain pretty close
to $8,000. That's a sizeable bit of,
money, and Despain will not have to
spend it this trip. The improvements
necessary at the park will cost but :
little. One that is contemplated is the
division of the boxes so as to make '
them two-seat affairs. A little paint,
some patching and a little work on
the diamond, and the park is ready
to be compared with any of them in
the loop. - . ,-
Third base is about the biggest
worry President Despain has on hand
at the present time. He has several
men under consideration, but he isn't
satisfied that he has a line on the
right man yet. Until he gets it he'll
not be happy. Right now he has a
chance to land a man who has made a
good record as a fielder, and who
promises to develop into a good
.sticker, but Despain wants a man al
ready developed as a swatsman.
What's this! Hack Jaskell coming
back as one of the men behind the big
windpad! Didn't we hear that 1911.
was Hack Jaskell 's 'last season in the
Western 1 There are doubtless many
better umpires in the business than
this same "Fat Jack," but by the
same token there are many worse
Nebraska's
March 1, next, Nebraska will
be forty-five years old
Forty -five years of marvelous
progress and development
a record unequalled in the
history of state making.
Will Maupin's Weekly will
appear about March 15th asa
'Nebraska Anniversary Number"
and will tell the state's story.
It will be the best number of
the best Nebraska Booster
Organ in Nebraska.
ones and we got most of 'em last
season. When he goes on the diamond
minus that grouchy feeling and calls
'em as he sees 'em, Haskell always
gives satisfaction. The trouble is that
he don't always do it.
Every day President Despain gets a
line pn some baseball marvel. The
woods are full o& baseball marvels, but
the trouble is that most of them fail
fir V ' II U . ucic axe iuuxc lailUH-S
in the baseball line than in almost any
other business. Besides, the YbushtT
who may be setting 'em all afire in
the barbed wire circuit can't light a
match in fast company. But, just the
same, a wise magnate has got to keep
right on following, up these leads,
hopeful that out of every five hun
dred , or a thousand he may pick 1 a
peach. ' And one peach in a thousand
lemons may make, a magnate a pot of
money.
The more the matter is aired the
cleaner Isbell comes through in the
matter of that Pueblo-Wichita deaL
The fact seems to be that. Pueblo cop
pered her play, and then tried to win
both ends against the middle. While
,.. Pueblo was asleep old Wichita woke
up and made good. That's all there is
to it, and Isbell has the documents ta
prove it. At least he and Prexy
O'Neill say he has, and their word
goes with us.
About the best thing in the shape of
outlook is over in Des Moines. Hav
ing ; gotten rid of Grandpa Higgins,
Des Moines is waking up to baseball
again, and with Fairweather and Isbell'
in control it looks as if the staid old
Hawkeye capital is going to be classy
from taw hereafter. The only wonder
is that Des Moines is on the baseball
map at all after three or four years
of , Grandpa Higgins' cavortings. But
it is, and we're expecting some did
dings over there this trip. .
Anniversary
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