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About The farmers' alliance. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1889-1892 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1891)
THE FAUMEHS' ALLIANCE, LINCOLN, NEB., SATURDAY, JAN. 24, 1801. Slje Jarmc x$f Alliance. Published Btwt flaturday by The Alluxck Publishing Co. Cor. Uih and if Pu., Lincoln, Neb, J. Dcaaowt Editor J. M. Thompson Biwlnesa Manager "Io the beauty of the lillies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory In hb bosom That transfigures you and me. As he strove to make men holy Let us strive to make them free, (Since God is marching on." Julia Ward Bore. "Laurel crowns cleave to deserts, And power to him who power exert.' A ruddy drop of manly blood The surging sea outweighs." Emerson. "He who cannot reason is a fool, . He who will not reason is a coward, He who dare not reason is a slave." WHCKG WILL I n C RtrUDUr CANS GO? W A pi-irate letter from Omaha during the past week says that within a year Bosewater will be wholly within the democratic party. This suggests the query aa to how many Omaha republicans he will take with him. Throughout the state gener ally the republicans are much nearer the independents than they are the democrats. This state is an agricultural state. There are few large cities. As the Alli ance commands the confidence of the agricultural districts, many clean re publicans that have fought vainly for years against the corrupt manipulators of their party will obtain recognition among the independents. Those spoils republicans, however, that generally live in the cities will stick to their party to the last. Barnacles never let go; and there is not vigor enough left in the party that has fallen to the third place la the state to get them off. The democratic party never goes to pieces or breaks up under defeat. Ad vorslty seems to be its normal condition. It is likely to gain control of the princi pal cities of the state, and will likely draw to it some republicans for munici pal spoils. Republicans throughout the state surely have become satisfied that they cannot depend on Omaha republicanism. Everywhere they must look to the in dependent party for political affiliation. Their Intents and political aims through out the state at large are quite generally the same as that of the independents, and they should act with them in the cglslature at this session.' , : ALMOST A DEATH BLOW. Hastings Nebraakan. It was almest a death blow that the alluutoe struek itself whoa tt allowed Dlotator Bur mwttolead It to commit the unpardonable act of attempting to overthrow all sense of rich t and juitioe. If the allianoo Intends to preserve Itself intact a wiser course and a different potior must hereafter guide It. Bur rows should not be allowed to dictate. K so he will certainly kill the party. The above is a fair sample of the kind of rot we are compelled to submit to, A proper "sense of right and justice," In the opinion of the Nebraskan, would impel tho people of the state of Ne braska to let pass unchallenged the vil est conspiracy to debauch the elective franchise that was ever perpetrated in any state, and thus establish rapine and violence in place of law. In our opin ion this would dethrone "right and jus tice." ..: Such blankety -blank fool editors make us very tired. THE CONTEST. Living in the country, possessed with but meager means of learning the latest and most potent facts bearing upon the contest, one very naturally becomes very anxious to learn the chances of securing justice. The writer makes no pretense of being posted, but was taught that our government consisted of three co-ordinate branches but it seems that in Nebraska the Judicial assumes the prerogative of coercing the legislative branch. . Is it not barely possible that the rail roads, bants, corporations, combines, syndi cates, and boodlcrs generally, are con spiring to rob the people of the legiti mate fruits of their late victory? The frauds perpetrated at the late election evince concert of fraudulent intent. Was there not a villainous conspiracy? Has the serpent forgot its cunning or Shylock his greed? Has Satan lost his deceit and become the guardian of in nocence and virtue? The people's rep resentatives should not forget the wi lyness, the unscrupulousness of the'jwin enemy; that the late victory was the people's, and is not solely theirs to sur render to a brazen and shameless ene my. Hold to every inch of vantage and give the people relief. Hatseed, AN AWFUL LIE. Eosewater states that the "absurd demand" has been made that the relief committee should raise the needed funds for supplies. He knew it was a lie when he wrote it. The offer of the Alliance was to furnish supplies and wait until the state would pay. tF" The Kentucky State Alliance met at Louisville with representatives from nearly every county in the state. It was one of the finest meetings of the kind ever held. The QuowarrantoSml And tho Great spiracy. COIl- Is not the quo warranto a collusive suit? Are not Hon. John M. Thayer, Hon. James . Boyd, Hon. John L. Webster, and Hon. Thos. Majors in the "collude?" Is it not another Cowdry Benton-Boyd deal to use the supreme court again to knock out the legislature I' the contest cases? Is it not a sham '.rait to impress the legislature again with the greatness of the supreme court, so they will not hear or try the question of the citizenship of Boyd? To get it away from the legislature when they never, in fact, intended to try it at all in the supreme court? To get it past the time for the trial of it before the legislature, and then never have it tried at all? And if Boyd can win on the count of votes, to seat a man who was a British subject when elected? As the attorney -general's office was contested, and he needed Boyd's help in the legislature, he, of course, de clined to prosecute the writ, and we cannot much blame him. As this very supreme court just a day or so before had decided that James E. Boyd was governor and Thayer was not, of course, according to the law of that court, Thayer and. his attorney, J. L. Webster, knew he had no claim or right to the office, so he could not pros ecute the quo warranto suit. He was not a party who could raise the ques tion against Mr. Boyd at all. Every lawyer and almost every pri vate citizen knows that Hon. T. J.' Majors, the lieutenant governor, was and is and will continue to be the only man in Nebraska aside from the attorney-general, who ever can prosecute this suit which Thayer has brought. What is the probability of his prose cuting it? Why, absolutely none what ever. His office is contested as well as that of the attorney-general, and if he makes a move to contestJBoyd's office in any shape, he brings down upon him self the power of the democratic-republican combine in the joint convention. So it appears clear that this is a col lusive suit to have this question pending In the court to keep the legislature from taking it up. In the light pf the above let us glance over some of the main items that have been published concerning it, viz: Thayer applies to attorney general to bring the suit and he declines. Thayer applies to file it himself and is at first refused leave. John L. Webster is one of Thayer's attorneys for the suit. The court next takes the papers. See Omaha make John L. Webster's life miserable,- they innocently supposing that he is ia good faith prosecuting a Buit to prevent their alien idol becom ing governor of Nebraska. ; Now read In Bosewater's Bee that they are all wrong, that Webster has made an explanation which is entirely satisfactory, and it is. We hear nothing more of it, because every one knows that what would satisfy Bosewater or Boyd would satisfy anybody. Now hero comes the court Listen: "Thayer, you had better, leave; you have no right to the office" Leave io file it is given, however hearing set off five weeks and (an apology) leave given the lieutenant governor to intervene if he de sires. Putting these things together, will any intelligent person doubt that this is a collusive suit? How far was the court aware of it? How far can this court be drawn into purely political controversies? What intelligent citizen can put theso circumstances together in their natural sequence and then honestly exonerate this court from the charge of gross par tisanship and political conspiracy? DARE YOU DO IT? irf" The confirmation of the frauds of the Omaha elections by making Boyd governor, and . denying the seat " to honest John Powers, who was honestly elected, will make a revolution in this state that will not leave a vestige of cither of the old par ties on its prairies. Honest John Pow ers represents a holy principle as well as an honest aspiration of our people. Send him back to them with his legiti mate claim dishonored, and not a shad ow of organized republicanism or de mocracy will be left two years from now. ' What does Boyd represent? IT'S A CASH DEAL. Who takes it? If the men who are wavering the men who are so anxious about legislation they will never get if Boyd is seated want the money they can have it. But if they for a moment think they can go back on their pledges and their constituents and conceal that fact by any specious pretexts, they are very much mistaken. And if they do take the money the day will come when they will wish they had never been born. dp In his annual message Gov, Fifer says that Illiuois has greater nat ural resources and is capable of sup porting a denser population than any other state in the American union. If Governor Fifer would only remember Nebraska he would not make such breaks. PROSPERITY BY ACT OP CON CRESS. The Bee closes an article thus; "The scheme to provide prosjierity by act of congress is a delusion and a snare." Well, it may be, bat it is not because me scheme is impof sime. a he same power that can produce adversity might by turning its efforts in the right direction produce prosperity. It is now admitted that the demonetization of silver "by act of congress" began an era of adversity which is not yet ended. The act of the United States senate last week, restoring silver to its old posi tion, emphasizes this fact. "Acts of congress" have brought great prosperity to railroad corpora tions and projectors by granting them trifling amounts of the public domain. and lending them the national credit through the medium of bonds. Isn't it possible that the same humane consid erations might not bring prosperity to the people? The prosperity of a class of citizens who do business in Wall and Broad streets has been very carefully guarded "by act .of congress," through the agency of the secretary of the treasury. Many millions of dollars have been paid out as premiums on bonds to res cue these individuals from the baneful effects of their gambling debts. The people have submitted more or less patiently, only to be insulted and de rided when they presume to suggest that their own prosperity might be fos tered. - We have long been under the im pression that the call from the manu facturers for protection had its basis in the idea that prosperity might be se cured " by act of congress." Bnt this being prosperity only for a small class does not meet the censure of the Bee. The Bee criticizes some of the propos itions to secure prosperity, among them the sub-treasury scheme and the land- currency scheme. As to the sub-treasury scheme, we fully agree with any adverse criticisms that can be made upon it. Itbas never been endorsed by any national body. It was foisted upon the Alliance by a charlatan under false pretences. ' The land currency idea is different. This scheme has been and is grossly misrepresented. The original proposi tion adopted by the National Alliance at Des Moines was not for loans of money upon land, but that money shall be issued .upon land security as now upon bond security, or as formerly upon specie security. Under the pres ent system the government taxes the people for the amount of the interest on the security (the bonds) and the bankers charge them interest on the loans they make of the money they pro cure on the bonds, the whole amount ing to about 14 per cent. . The interest on the bonds (tax) and the interest on the loans is procured by the applica tion of labor to land, which makes land the real and only security for the bonds or the money issued upon them. ' Now the Alliance proposition is to is sue the money direct upon land, the interest on such issue to ba paid to the government by such owners of land as receive the money. It will be seen that these men would really become tho benefactors of so ciety by assuming the burden of the In terest necessary to procure money for its use. As a matter of fact, the reason why prosperity has not been secured " by act of congress" is because those acts have been in the interest of the classes in stead of the masses, and when the masses assert themselves the prosperity which the classes are enjoying Will be gin to bless them. A THREE YEARS' STAY LAW. There seems to be a great misappre hension as to the nature of the stay law asked for by the western men in this legislature. By a long term of financial prostration and unusual low prices ac companied by extortionate rates of interest, the men of the west are loaded with debt beyond their immediate power to pay. They have entered or bought their land, and made their im provements, and they believe that with some indulgence from their creditors and the improvement in the times we may expect from tho free coinage of sil ver and more liberal financial legis lation, that they would be able to liqui date their debts and retain their homes. This is certainly greatly in the interest of the state, as well as of the men who hold tho mortgages. They therefore ask a stay law which shall only be in force three years, and shall then expire by limitation. When the mortgagees understand this thing rightly they will favor such a law, and it will not have the effect of driving money out of the state. " THE LOYAL LEGION." To the lover of American institu tions it would seem that the organiza tion of the "Loyal Legion" was a mis erable attempt to ape English aristoc racy. According to the constitution of the society no person can be a member unless he has been the possessor of, a pair of shoulder straps, or is the eldest son of some person who was fortunate enough to have been an officer in the army. The man who carried the mus ket, or wielded the government saber, or manipulated the cannoA cannot hope to climb the barrier, and the foolish at tempt is made to perpetuate the wall between the children and the children's children of the officer and the private, soldier. The attempt of the American dude to introduce the English eye-glass or the English system of docking saddle or carriage horses is not more disgust ing than this. The organization of the lcyal legion, which is simply another attempt to widen the gulf between the rich and the poor, is one of the many things that has made it necessary to organize the inde pendent or people's party. The gen erals, colonels, majors, etc., are as a rule steadfast adherents of the old par ties, while the soldiersjwbo are in the new party are privates. Of course, in the next batch of recruits that will come to the party it is to be expected that some of the officers who went into the army for the sake of the offices will drift into the organization for the same reason. In, the British army the officers be long to the aristocracy, and the private soldier is simply a dog. In this coun try the volunteer soldier was, when he went into the service, equal with the officer, and when they returned to pri vate life there should be no difference. This attempt of the American snob to ape the English aristocracy is in poor taste, to say the least. The snobishness of this move cannot be better illustrated than by quoting the language of a mem ber: "The boys were good soldiers, but then the officers must have some place where they can draw the line and keep the riff-raff out." REGULATED POOLING. It is amusing if not amazing to see tho alacrity with which the Bee and other railroad organs take up and ap prove Jay Gould's scheme for regulated pooling. The scheme shows that the law having forbidden the vicious pool system, and Mr. Gould, still finding it convenient to have around, proposes to legalize it under the euphonious title of regulated pooling. That is, if by any hook or crook Mr. Gould can make pooling legal, a , system which was all wrong before, and was calculated solely to prevent competition and enable the roads to exact all the traffic will bear, becomes in tho eyes of the Bee quite the proper thing to adopt. Making an equal division of the traffic according .to an agreed per cent, amounts to exactly the same thing as making an equal di vision of receipts. The sole and only object in each case is to hold up rates by preventing competition. Does Mr. Rosewater think he can fool any gudg eons by talking about " the primary object of the agreement being to bring about satisfactory traffic distribution?" No change has taken place in intelli gent public opinion about the principle of pooling, unless towards the belief that the roads cannot themselves agree, railroad wars cannot be averted, and the necessity of the government taking charge of the roads is growing stronger every day. Only a little while ago Mr. Bosewater was lighting Jay Gould. He is as ten der of his feelings now as he is of Jim royu s. ANARCHY NOT COUNTENANCED. Blair Courier. ' . The democrats and republicans of Nebraska have unexpectedly joined hands. The state grange goes with them. It reminds us of the etormy tlmnsof 1862 when they united to save our common country. There is a great wrong done or threatened when the old parties tent together. The grangers of Nebraska are to be complimented on pulling out of tho alliance camp. The fact that Grand Master Hall pla ned on tho Boyd badge is a guaranty that an archy is not countenanced In the state grange of Nebraska. - The above is quite interesting. "The state grange goes with them." Nobody missed it. It is a fine body, historically. It makes a good showingon paper in this state. But unfortunately and strangely it continues to be represented by a man named Hall, of Pawnee county. This man is a confrere and henchman of Dave Butler, and a sharer of the boodle he gets from the roads. Butler, Hall, Coleman and two or three other traitors to the cause of the people, were here to prevent the independents from organiz ing the legislature. Some good men dropped on their scheme and it was promptly checkmated. These men have gone nowhere, They have been in the railroad camp, a little squad training under Butler's command, for years. They did their level be t last summer to break up the independent movement, and failed. That they can lead any respectable pcrtion of the grange we do not believe. A FOOL EDITOR AGAIN. It is an ill wind that blows no good. " The Farmers' Alliance stato purchasing agency" will undoubtedly find the drought of last sum mer and the legislature of this winter a great big nickel-plated bonanza. Journal. There is only one editor in the state could write that. His name is Gere. A calamity which incapacitates half the people of the -state from purchasing anything a bonanza to an institution whose bnsiness it is to sell goods! That's sense for you. And it is hardly likely that the agency will handle any part of the western supplies, with the most no torious corrupt jobber in the city on the purchasing committee. If it did there would e honest work. The commis sions of the agency are limited to pay ing its expenses. It has not been hon ored with an order, and don't expect to be. tW All of the state legislatures are making appropriations for the world's fair. JOHN D. HOWE AND THE CON TEST. In the World Herald A the 19th under the title "Boyd's Batteries Open," ap pears three columns of slush from Joha D. Howe, Boyd's attorney, which is an abortive attempt to transform a cor poration tool, and lift himself from that degraded level to the exalted position of leader and adviser of the Indepen dents. Mr. Howe not only represents Boyd, but he represents the railroads, the banks, and every interest antago nistic to the people of the state. The contest was not instituted at the instigation of the prohibitionists, nor by the candidates on the Independent ticket, but was the outgrowth of a de mand from all parts of the Btate, that a fair-investigation might be bad and jus tice done. The silly howl that it is a prohibition move is more like the driv eling of a jibbering idiot than the rea soning of a sane man. The effort that has been and is being made to prevent a fair investigation, and the quiet threat that all of the term will be consumed in the trial . of the contest, is' sufficient to convince any reasonable man that fairness is not thought of by the Boyd crowd. Nine tenths of the people of Nebraska be lieve that Boyd Is not a citizen of the United States, and that Powers re celved a plurality of all the votes cast on November 4. Still, in the face of this settled 'conviction, Mr. Boyd and his attorneys refuse to furnish any evi dence of citizenship. The only hope they have is to keep the matter in court until tho term of office expires. Talk about patriotism! Mr. Howe, you know you are endeavoring to violate the con stitution, and should you succeed, your next act should be to hoist the British flag on the state house. The only de sire of the Independents is to enforce the constitutional provisions of our state, and the greatest mistake they could make would be to allow them selves to be hoodwinked by the soft palaver of the agent of the combined forces that are conspiring to crush them. "MALFEASANCE " MEIKLEJOHN A word with you Mr. Meiklejohn You are reported as saying in your Bee Interview, and which you have not cor rected, that "had they been smart enough to get out a civil uarrant for malfeasance in office they could have made it very inter esting for me. n Could they ? Yon are a lawyer and of course ought to know. You are parliamentarian as well, and cannot be mistaken as to your duties in office and as to what constitutes malfeasance. Did you, then, expect to be arrested? No one else seems to have thought of it, Was It the guilty part you took in the conspiracy to rape the legislature that made you think "each bush an officer?" Is want of smartness "on the other side" then the only reason why you are a slick offender at large? Great Ne braska! Great Meiklejohn! Great Lieu tenant Governor! Great Lawyer! trick ing an inexperienced citizan trying to arrest you out of his warrent, as a low down bum at a negro dive would do, then defying him, and then boastingjof your avoiding arrest for malfeasance in office because those you officially tricked were not "smart enough" for you. And a reception for this! Shades of Pluto, what politics! " - DON'T GET RATTLED. The most important question that will be before the present legislature is whether the people of this lit ate shall have free elections and a fair count, or whether the Mississippi plan shall pre vail, and organized fraud and railroad power rape our government. . This question far transcends any other that can arise. There is no need for any haste in any law. In fact, it is very im portant that the relief appropriation bill should not be railroaded through. A notorious jobber, who never touches anything that hasn't money in it. is on the commission named by the bill, and purchases are now being made by that commission. This matter wants watch ing, and a safe aud honest auditing committee provided for. Don't gel rat tled. With Mr. Boyd as governor tho farmers will get no satisfaction out of this legislature. With Mr. Powers as governor something can be done. It would be far better to have a spe cial session than to have the contest wrongly decided. AN AVALANCHE OF LYING. Tho avalanche of lying and misrepre sentation throughout the state by the country press is simply amazing The papers of both parties join in slandering and abusing the independents. They are spreading the false idea that the in dependents were disorderly and riotous in the opening scenes, which is just the opposite of truth. Every infraction of good order and decorum came from the opposition. The attempt is also made to connect tho incipient; row in the cor ridors and the forcing of the doors with the proceedings of the members on the floor. Nothing could be more incorrect. These things had no conrection what ever. Ihe independents have all through been the law and order men. A consciousness of pure intentions and of power beget moderation, and thev have been moderate. They have only to calmly -hold their own and bide their time to seat Governor . Powers. Unless this is done the fruits of tba election are lost. A RIDICULOUS PROPOSITION. When the joint convention met yes terday Mr. owitzler moved that the joint resolution covening the coavcutioii be submitted to Mr. Boyd for his signa ture. Amazing as it may seem the pre posterous proposition was adopted, viz; if this legislature wanted to impeach its governor it must first get his consent. If it wishes to try this contest it must get his consent.' Suppose he does not consent. He is then the autocrat of this state the dictator of its legislature. If he really had such constitutional power wouldn't he be a fool if he didn't use it? As a matter of fact he, has no such power. It is absurd to suppose. Such a power would effectually destroy the independence of the legislative branch of the government, and subor dinate it to the executive. DONT DISGRACE THE STA1 For unmitigated gall an editorial in the Bee of the lGth excels anything we ever read. The anxiety of the little Jew who edits the Bee was to convince the members of the legislature that' it was imperatively uecessary to railroad an appropriation bill through, and present it to Boyd for signature, before any relief could be sent out. The fact is, that at the very time the article was written, the Alliance agency had de clared its willingness and proved its ability to put $50,000 worrh of goods on . the track - in forty -eight hours much sooner than transportation could be re ceived. This offer was not made by the Alliance in the expectation of re ceiving any order for goods. There would be no chance for any job in an order to the Alliance. But it was made to show that there was no need of haste ia passing such a bill, and no need of recognizing Boyd by asking him to sign it. "Don't disgrace the state" comes with delicious unction from the lips ot E. Bosewater. A political harlot who has taken the little remnant of his party into the arms of democracy who stands sponsor and chief fugleman for .T UV HnxrA A man an lnnr that hfa noma M is a blot on any page a man who up- holds riot, purchase of votes', repeating and wholesale perjury, or any vile means to get there-r-a man who recent ly sold out and aided to defeat the judge he pretended , to support the man who voluntarily relinquished the proud position of triumvir of the peo ple for the contemptible place of lick spittle for a corporation for such a man to set himself up to advise a state legislature to rush in and - recognize J. E. Boyd as governor and thus disgrace itself, is a spectacle for gods and men. . The only disgrace the state may fear is that which may result from the cor ruption money and the cabals of the men who are deceiving and bribing good men to desert their posts, violate their pledges and their principles, and dishonor their constituents. - We say plainly to these men, if such there are,- who are on the verge of treachery and are thinking of break ing their phalanx by deserting their side, that such desertion will be eternal disgrace and infamy to the state as well as themselves. The names of such men." will be handed down to dishonor. A BIG NIGGER IN THE WOOD PILE. The Bee of the 16th comes out with the amazing statement that there is a deficiency in the different state offices of nearly or quite $250,000. This is not surprising. Ihe Bee says the auditor has not stamps enough to carry on his regular correspondence. Probably his correspondents will be glad of it. But we do not learn that he lacked stamps to carry on his campaign. Perhaps that fact will account for the present defi ciency. In its anxiety to push the legislature in its work the Bee has made a fearful indictment againtt its party, such as is left of it. If what it states is true there has been the most shameless extrava gance and plundering in the state offices. Not a dollar should be appropriated for their use until a searching investigation of all expenditures is made. The con dition of the state treasury should be shown, and every dollar of the funds supposed to be on hand pVoduced. No bank receipts or deposit checks should be accepted. The committee should see the funds. Ihe financial condi tion of affairs at the state house may explain why the republican state officers are so ready to make compacts with the democrats or the devil to seat Boyd and retain their places. Investigate, is the word. Gov. Thayer Denies Collusion. Gov. Thayer takes exceptions to the article in our extra of yesterday on the quo warranto suit, and emphatically de nies that he was or is in any way in the combine to retain Boyd as governor. We give full credence to this denial, especially since we understand that Gov. Thayer's attorneys have brought an injunction suit against Boyd to compel him to show the fact of his citizenship. But at the same time it looks as though Gov. Thayer was innocently in a com bine which he could not direct or con trol. ' A GEM. The Bee of the 20th says: "Burrows issued an extra edition of his paper, in which he denounced every independent as a traitor who would not bow to the decree of the caucus." No one but the Bee saw that "denounce." .