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About The Alliance-independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1892-1894 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1892)
1 9 THE ALLIANCE - INDEPENDENT. SOME COMMENTS- The Kearney convention was a great M affair. It was great in numbers, en- , I thusiasm and practical wisdom. The ' convention was pervaded by a spirit of '; devotion to the cause in the presence , of which treachery shrunk away, dis cord hushed its noisy clamor, and old vparty cappers stood silent. y A FAIR DEAL. - We do not believe there ever was a slate convention held in Nebraska with less log rolling and wire pulling than there was at Kearney. There was very little effort at combination among tho friends of the candidates. The con vention did one thing at a time, and did it well. As a result, the ticket is fairly representative; fairly distributed "over the state and fairly satisfactory. DISTRIBUTION OF CANDIDATE'S. The independents all believe in "just distribution" and they "hewed to the line" fairly well in the distribution of positions. Van Wyck and Wolfe live in the first, Strickler in the second, Gunnett in the fourth, McReynoMs in the fifth and Shrader, Easterling and Hyatt in the sixth. The third was left out in the cold. They made their fight f for Hatfield for treasurer and lost by a " scratch. But it is loyal territory and will roll up a big majority for the I ticket. The big sixth has been neglect- I ed heretofore, but now it is decidedly I in the swim. It will roll up majorities I to correspond with its recognition. I ,.. DISREPUTABLE METHODS. 1 It is to the credit of General Van Wjck and his friends that they paid very little attention to the disreputable means employed to defeat the old war horse's nomination. Thousands of copies of the most disreputable sheet ever published in the state were scat tered on the streets and in the hotels at Kearney. In the middle of the night hundreds of flaming posters were post ed cn the bulletin boards and sidewalks Of the city. Circulars were printed in w the office of a republicsn paper, and sowed broadcast. A few men who were v not delegates assisted by republican J strikers and shouters tried by., ever v means to stir up dissension, create sus ; picion. and pave the way for a split in the convention. Buta l these efforts ' wore in vaio. In fact they creat d a k deep disgust in the mieds of the sensi tf ble, earnest mes, who composed that convention, which re-acted in General " Vau Wyck's favor. It to the credit of General Van Wyck's friends that they had no words i of abuse for any other candidate. They cheerfully acknowledged the worth atd I merit of other candidates. They sim ,Oj)ly i'elied on the strength of their can didate, and the good senss oi tne aeie- and they made no i " mistake. 4 Disreputable methods and the rule or ruin policy received such a crushing rebuke that they will revfi appear T Hn another People's convention in No- Yiska. The independent party in Ne raska has passed a great or sis. The -w&sdorn and loyalty of the plain people who compose it have been tested and found sufficient. The era of dictator ship, of blighting suspicion, is past. . The eraof lraternity, of mutual confi dence and harmonious co operation has ' begun. Every true man will fall into line and a grand and substantial v'cto- ry will be achieved as a result of this campaign. ? A strong pressure was brought to .preceding the convention to induce . niin to become a candidate for governor " but he steadfastly refused. When the halloticir began ho was ab.entfrcm thci pavilion. But as soon as notified iat his name was being used ho astened into tho convention, mounted t a chair and protested ngainst the fur- I ther use oi nis name, saying inai ne fjvasfor.Van Wyck. Notwithstanding ibis a number of delegates persisted in the man of his choice and ho could not be pursuaded to bo guilty of such an act. When nominations ior lieutenant gov ernor were called for, Hon. I. D Cham bet Iain's name was presented, but a msmber of his delegation said he was authorized to withdraw it. This led to quite an altercation in which several took part, some claiming that he would accept and others dec'aring that he did not wish his name used. Notwith standing this he received quito a large vote. Mr. Chamberlain's course is taken as an indication that ho and his friends are looking forward to a con vention . which meets at Seward Au gust 11th. KEM'S RENOMINATION. had been a foregone conclusion for many months. But tho absolute unanimity ane the genuine enthusiasm with which the convention chose .him were most gratifying. Mr. Kem made two excel lent speeches at the convention, one at the court house and the other at the tent. It was the general remark of the hearers that he had improved as a speaktr and thinker during his service at Washington. Reports from all parts of the district are favorable for his re election by increased majorities over thoso of two years ago. He will make a thorough and rigorous campaign un der tho management of Hon. J. H. Ed minsten of Eddyville who was made chairman of the congressional com mittee. WHAT HE WILL DO. General Van Wyck was called out after his nomination, but he did not un dertake to make a speech. He returned thanks in most appropriate words which impressed his heaters wi'h the depth and sincerity of his gratitude. He said no independent of Nebraska stood more squarely on the platforms adopted at St. Louis and Omaha than he did. He said somebody had inquired of him if ho would sign the Newberry Bill if ho were goyernor and it were passed. He said he certainly would and he would say more: He would sign any bill passed by xhe representatives of his party. He did not think it was the duty of the governor to legislate. JOHN H. POWERS. When John H. Powers mounted the rostrum a deep silence prevailed. When he said he would withdraw his name in the interest of harmony a storm of applause broke forth. And it broke forth again and strpnger still when he was unanimously nominated for auditor. His declination caused mrch disappointment, but still no one felt disposed to censure Mr. Powers for his action was entirely consistent. He has a deep hold on the confidence and affection of the people. W. L. GREEN. The ablest and most eloquent orator in Nebraska lives in Kearney. No one who attended the convention will ever foi'get his grand speech, lie is thor oughly familiar with the issues, and he presents them with a force clearness that is unsurpassable. He is both a natural and a trained orator. He promised tho delegates tbat he would visit every part of the state during the camprign and would be glad to meet any champion the opposition might put up. KEARNEY. Last week Kearney earned a good reputation as a convention city. ' The immense crowd was well taken care of, and the visitors were handsomely treated. The citizens seemed to vie with one another in their readiness to look after the comfort and enjoyment .f visitors. Kearney is one of the most beautiful and enterprising cities in the west. She has a population of 10.000, three railroads, plenty of churches and schools, an oatmeal factory, a plow factory, a canning fac'ory, a woolen factory and last and greatest of all the wonderful cotton mil1. This is now finished and in actual opeiation. Tho attendants on the convention carried away as mom en toes thousacds of badges made of cotton goods from this mill. Tho c'.ty of K arney is beautifully loca ted in the Platte valley about midway between tho eastern and western borders of the state, and just half-way farming country, settled by as enter prising and industrious farmers as can be found anywhere, and to them Kear ney owes much of her success. Buffalo county, of which Kearney is tho county 6tat, is one of tho banner counties in the independent movement. The old anti-monopoly movement was strong there. Tho county allianco in that county was among tho first to de clare for independent political action. In 1890, the new party carried tho county by a hrge majority for tho whole ticket. In 1891 they elected every county officer .but two by good majorities. Now they are in better shape than ever. Mr. Easterling, our candidate for secretary of state is a resident of Kearney and is universally popular. Hundreds of democrats and republicans in Buffalo county will voto for him. PERSONAL MENTION. . Mr. G. H. Whittaker, one of the leading real estate men of Kearney, was chairman of tho press committee. He looked after tho independent edit ors and treated tbem handsomely. Mr. S. S. Smith of the Kearney Standard probably did as much as any other man to make" fho convention a success. It was largely through his efforts that the great tent was secured. Without it the 5,000 people present would have stood no show to '. see or hear anything in connection with the convention. Judge Allen is by all odds the best presiding officer that has yet come to the front among the independents. Ho gave perfect satisfaction Mr. B. S. Littlefield makes a capital secretary. His voice is good, and he does business in a business like way. H. G. Stewart was chairman of the congressional convention and filled tho place to the satisfaction of all. Captain Ashby of Beatrice took an ac tivo part in the convent ion,' and his points were well taken. No man in the convention exerted a stronger influence than W. L. Greene of Kearney. He is a coming man. O. E. Goodell of Lancaster was amongst the foremost men of the con vention. J J. M. Kinney of Omaha showed him self to be a natural orator in a short speech against the state militia. Charley Pirtlo was unanimously elec ted secretary of the state committee, a deserved mark of confidence and a vindication of a worthy and faithful young man against tho vile slanders which have been heaped on him. Ye editor was there and took it all in. He met many hundreds of old ac quaintances. Tho hearty hand-shakes and the warm words of approval and encouragement which he received from them were most grateful to him. They showed that the voice of slander has not shaken the confidence of the people. Frank Hibberd of Douglas county deserves special mention. He did some great work for his political hero, General Van Wyck. Capt. Hatfield of Antelopo gave our own Wolfe a close race for state treas urer. Mr. H. is one of the best men in state, and has a host of friends. Hon. W. F. Wright was one of the good and true men whom lightning did not strike, but he has the respect and confidence of the people to a, high degree. He has done as much to build up this movement as any man in the sta'c, and he will be in the fight as long as anybody else. ' Col. E. A. Fletcher of Franklin was a strong candidate for the place of at torney general, and he would have been a good ones Mr Strickler is absent on a tour thrcugh the west with General Weaver. So soon as we can ascertain his pedigree wo will give our readers the benefit of it. Meaawhilo we want to say that he is a mighty big little man, a fighter and a winner. Harmony is good but it is not to be seen to any alarming extent in the re publican party of Nebraska just now. Congress adjourned at midnight August o. A review of what it has dQDQJvpnlfjPPUrtY n ,v rrv email cmrA STILL PALLING. We have frequently called attention to the fact that the immediate cause of financial depression business 'stag nation and hard times which have pre vailed in this country for years Is a long continued falling of prices.. Every week the roa Jcrs of tho daily press are regaled with trado reports under glaring head lines telling of "in ireased business activity", "trado im proving," etc. But he who reads caro fully will find in almost every such re port the fatal admission that prices are still falling. In K. G. Dunn & Co's report for last week we und the following: ' Tho volume of trade in July is fully 15 per cent larger than last year, and greater than in any previous year, in spite of a decline of 5 ptr cent in prices since a year ago" . This to hilt, a VAnoHlinn rt iVtn liiafvt-n of previous years. The effect of this long-continued falling in prices is as follows: lsl; Business of all kinds is depressed. Tho profits of dcalors must be sacrificed because the prices of goods fall while in their hands. Men who havo money avoid investments, and seek loans. Industry languishes. De mand for goods falls off because the consumers are unable to buy.and this in turn checks production. And so one reaction follows another till the wholo country is prostrated. 2. Every fall in prices enhances tho value of every obligation to pay monoy. Every debt becomes moio valuable to the creditor, and harder for the debtor to pay. Debt begins to increase, and after a time, if prices continue falling, the increase of debt becomes regular and rapid; and tho producers of the country engage in a continuous struggle merely to keep their heads above water. On the other hand the wealth of the debt holders increases until in a few years, the wholo surplus earnings of the people How regularly into their coffers. Even worse than this, debt not only absorbs the surplus earnings, but continually spreads more .and more over the capital ond the homes of the producers. The only logical result of a long con tinued falling of prices is the concentra tion of the whole wealth of the country into the hands of a few very rich men, and the practical slavery of the masses of the people. For twenty-five years prices have fallen with little variation, and they are still falling. And the awful effects can be seen on every hand. The logical result will soon be realized in full unless some change comes. And what is the causo of this lang continued falling of prices? Primarily it is tho contraction of the currency by the retirement of the greenbacks and the demonetization of silver. These acts of legislation were crimes against civili zation, These acts must be repealed and their effects counteracted by legislation or our boasted civilization will become a curse, and liberty will be banished from our land. What the end will be is the question for the people to decide. "Error ceases to be dangerous,! said Thomas Jefferson, "when reason is left free to combat it." Many cf the errors of public policy have held sway because reason was chained down by party prejudice. When men once con sent to give reason full sway they' see how flimsy are tho arguments advanced
