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About The Alliance-independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1892-1894 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 1892)
THE ALLIANCE-INDEPENDENT. s OUR SCHOOL LA.WS. The laws which govern the district school business of Nebraska need over hauling. Nebraska has gone beyond the territorial conditions which made It necessary to work so many of the crude plans which of late have proven a great drawback to the school inter ests of the state. We boast of our' school system and well we may, but half a dozen states are far in our lead. Many states have found that a township unit instead of small sub-districts, rcsu-ts in grea'.cr uniformity of work, prevents penuri ous majorities in small neighborhoods from voting the more liberal minor ities out of a reasonable amount of school at reasonable cost, distributes railroad tax more equitably among those who have helped to pay for the railroads, and secures better local officers than where so large a number is required. Several states have laws which guard the schools much more thoroughly from incompetent work. The county superinendency has been removed from politics largely, by placing the election in the bands of the district or township school officers. This is a great step in advance. Better men are chosen for county superintendents and, when secured, are retained much longer in office. Several states see to it that only qual ified persons serve ai institute instruct ors. A man is not called upon t) instruct tho teachers of a county simply because he can secure a list of recommendations as long as the moral law, or because he helped to elect the county superinten dent, or because he is so pompous and self-important that he captivato.3 the young and inexperienced superintend ent. Some of the institute woik of Ne braska is a positive wasto of money, an injury to the tired teachers and a dis grace to the state. The people's party has made a good start in reforming our school laws. The free text book law is a groat step, saving tho people thousands of dollars and in creasing tho efficiency of the schools. Now let the party go on with the good work. Let us have less of politics and mora of merit. Let us elect a 'state superintendent who will have tho cour age to grapple with the needs of the times when he goes into office, instead of reserving all his recommendations for his final report when he is just ready to retiro from office. The department of public instruction needs a shaking up. Will the people's party lay hold and attend to it? We shall see. Gen. Van Wyck is being assailed on account of the railroad bill he intro duced into congress in 188G. Anyone who will take the trouble to read the bill through and carefully examine it will find it one of the best anti-monopoly bills ever introduced into congress. Among other things it required that the branches built under its provisions should be stocked at their actual cash value, that the secretary of the treasu ry should hold the stock, that the rates on all the U. P. lines in Nebraska should be no higher than the average rate between Omaha and Chicago, etc. Tho bill didn't suit the railroad fellows and it never passed. If you belong to a glee club, send at ones for eomo of our sheet music song3. THE PREAOHEBS WE NEED, In another column will b3 found an article signed "Parson." It was writ ten by an active minister of the Gospel. It is certainly timely as far as it goe9 But it is exceedingly mild. If tho Divine Master had preached as mi!dly as this "Parson," the world would never have been regenerated. What wo need today is preachers who will preach from such texts as tho follow ing: "Woo unto you, Scribes and Phari sees, hypocrites! For ye dovour wid ows' houses, and for a " pretense make long prayers; therefore yo shall re ceive the greater damnation. Matt. XXIII-14. ' For yo are like unto whited sepul chers, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but are within full of dead men's ones, and all uncleanness." Matthew XXIII-27. "Go to now yo rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you! "Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. "Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall bo a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it wore with fire. Ye have heaped treasures together for tho last days. "Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped have entered into tho cars of tho Lord of Sabaoth;" ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; yo have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just. James V 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. We need today ministers who will preach from such texts as those; who will call things by their right names as Christ did; who will tear open the "whited sepulchers" at the risk of seek ing new pastorates; who will hurl anathemas like jagged rocks at the heads of all who "oppress the poor," and "keep back the hire of tho laborers." What tho world needs today is tho Christianity of Christ, and men who have tho courage to preach it. The republican paper3 are constant ly commenting upon the independents that have returned to the fold of tho republican party, but they studiously avoid giving the public the names of these prodigals. Independent papers havo been continually publishing tho names and addresses of prominent old party men who have como over to tho new party, and recently an artlclo was published Riving the names and loca tions of forty old party papers in ono state that havo voluntarily gono over to tho side of the pcop'e. Let tho Journal namo us a fow independent papers that have gone over to tho re publicans. Let tho Journal mention by name a few farmers who have de serted. As to individual deserters tho republicans got John Curry last year and Steve Jones and II. C. Palmer this year. This announcement may help their cause a little where these men aro not known, but that effect will bo mow than counterbalanced hero where they aro known. Ex-Sheriff D. A. Farrell, who for many years has been a political power in Mills county, Iowa, has renounced what he calls "the Cleveland-Harrison Wall-strect-combination" and joins tho poople's movement. And so they cono. With two suoh sinkers on his lino as Whitelaw Reid and Tom Carter who can be surprised to soo Mr. Harrison tob under. XxxxX xx xx t jk ill! Vnvm l' 'j (w xS!k - I i FURNITURE. LARGEST STOCK; LOWEST PRICES. 1 I ii I. 1 1 -I i- -1 i ki-J ( i -v. aim,1 m: w.uwt Am0tm-i.w imhI ! i ' ,1 ' J V i m&h i -j j - -.1 -i- ji- --- i - ' i- " '-- ""-"i i . n..,.t.. i;.,:av tS L Tim i 1 rinf i Ii 1 11" I ' -- - , I 7 T T-"l ' , r -TTMr.m - - s ;j - : -. (i s ... - ,r ! r-T -"S - , . , 1 Tr.T-TT -r,::.T?7 t Solid Oak Three Piece Chamber Suit to Match this Cheval Dresser. IL! HARDY k 211 SOUTH 11TH STREET,
