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About The Alliance-independent. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1892-1894 | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1893)
(7 i The Alliance-Independent The Alliance-Independent -v V T ll D (it k rl IM It ths best A av avar Y i;. w Ss . AdwMnn medium lntn-.et. If lc fpcl al'y aluabl menu of r w hititf b frim-ni. Its nronlH'i' n If a lrire in Net.iju.kH a the cir culation ol all the "farm journals" combined. Give Thk Aluanck Indefkndekt a trial It you want good results. VOL. IV. ' -THETHEIGHT RA1E BILL It Bias The Gauntlet ef the He by a ' ; Vote of 63 to 30. THE BEFUBLI0AK8 OH XICOBD. (1 is dow Awaiting ita Turn in the Senate. Predictions as to the Outcosae. The revised form of the Newberry Kl I HI, now known as the bouse committee All, which reduces present local freight tes a little over 20 per cent, has pass 1 the house and is now going through , jte various stages to which bill is subjected in the senate. ' The republicans stubbornly fought the bill to the very last in the houBe. '' Their first fight was nmde in committee l the whole described in Thk Alli-jUNCE-LN dependent of last wek. ' Their last fight was made on an attempt & to recommit the bill when it was roughtup for passage last frlday nd they yery nearly succeeded. Ex. pt for am opportune discovery of the trick they were tryiag to piay, they would have succeeded. They fully realized that a recommi'ment at this time practically meant the death of the bill. It was understood by all that the bill Bade a reduction of only 20 per cent on present rates. The republicans pre- tended to have discovered that it really , ') cut present rates about 30 per cent aud b ' -was full of discrepancies. On this they S were fighting to have it recommitted ..for correction. ' They handled their case very deftly. ! They even hoodwinked the chairman Mr. Porter, before their trick was dis covered. It finally came to light that the republicans were running down the wrong column of figures; that the bill after all was only a reduction of 20 per cent, and the bottom fell out of the re publican fight so suddenly that they never smiled again that day. V The bill was taken up again Friday jJmorning and read the third time. The treading occupied five hours aod it was f after 2 o'clock before the bill was put I , on its final passage. The republicans largely opposed the bill to the end. Those who voted for it did so under protest, most of them waiting until they were sure it had a majority. t The vote by parties were as follows For the bill 39 independents. 15 J' republicans and 9 democrats. Against the bill 29 reoublicans. and 1 rlemnnrat. l'- Absent 1 independent, 1 democrat P 1 j and 4 republicans. Ti'V. PROBABLE FATE OP THE BILL. ' , ' Iff the bill ever comes up in the sen L , Le, it may pass. It is almost certain ,hat two democrats will vote for it and it is said that one republican will. Senator Clarke, of Omaha, who has sn dangerously ill during the session V t is now improving, has said that be wwld vote for the bill if he could be - Tvesent. These votes, with the solid independent support will pass the b 11. The corporation tools in the senate wilL leave no stone unturned to prevent v the bill from ever coming to final pass age. It now remains to be seen whether iheycan succetd or cot. If it ever 'does come to a final vote, however, I . rather think it will pass. ,; If it should pass the senate it is not iven then a law. It must receive the dgnature of the governor. Governor rounse has never yet said he would but his friends claim that he V OTHER RAILROAD MEASURES. " Clarke railroad bill which was deled somewhat after the Newberrv E has been put to sleep by the senate ,,ne anu-pass Din was killed in the .ate. i j nR .Cjvereiib rLH mil wninn was an oxact copy of the republican mbxtitute Uaoiw horl in last, 'vroclra A t t t a vt-ito Independent, has been killed in the senate. v The Stewart rate bill, which is con siderably like the Stevens bill of two fears ago, a on general file in the cen to and will come up for consideration robab'y next week. The bill compelling railroads passing at the same grade to build transfer switches; and its compani n. the bill 'compelling roads to give bills of lading r the shortest possible routes to inatlon, have both passed the house ood majorities. bill compelling railroads to provide ble wagon road crossings; and an- r to compel railroads to build pro I) .0 1 uCJf. per cattle guards and causeways have both passed the house. OTHER MATTE BS. A. J. Scotfs bill providing that roort gaged land should b appraised in par eel s and that no mor should be sold than enough to piy the debt, the par oel on which the home stands being last sold, was recommended to pass the house, bv a unanimous vote. There will be no sifting committee in tht house. The republicans and democrats in the senate are raiding the amounts in the gei eral appropriation bill. The inde pendents have made a. bitter fight, but the other two parties have combined against thm. Senator Ma tes (dem ) voted twice on a question regarding the raising of an appropria ion last week. He wa in the chair, and voted once as a member of (he body. The vote was a tie. Then Mattes voted again and dec ared the motion carried. The independents appealed and Mattes refused to put the appeal The lieu t' ant governor, known recently as ''Smutty Tom," supported him in his rulings. If the two old parties go op as tbey have the past week, tbey will raite appropriations nearly a half million dollars The state institution at Beatrice is to be investigated. ihe committee to investigate the attemp'ed senatorial bribery is not yet through with its work. Thurston is attempting very hard to cover up his track and to a certain extent has sue otedfd. - There is the suspicion of a rumor that Crounse it tired of being govern r and intends to resign. In that case S'uuttgr Ten" would become governor Then we would have a beautiful time of it, wouMn't we? J. A. E. Letter From an Old Timer. Wilford, Nb , Mar 4,1893. Editor Alliance Independent: If you will send me a lot Yf sample copies of Th -Alliance-Independent, I will put them into the hands of parties that I hope to induce to sub scribe for it. You are making an excellent paper and I would gladly see it in the hands of every voter in the state. Thousands no doubt would spurn it Ytt tens of thoubands would read and learn. The truth it the democratic ard re publican voters as a rule do not see or read our pnpers. All they ki ow of us is what their partisan journals say of us and what they say as a rule is said to create prejudi se They are teach ing their follower to despise us Our peop e in this new county are yet very po jr. We have nonlocal paper. If I could manngH in some way to ob iain sufficient of uur kind of literature to circulate freely among them I know it would resu.t in good. I wish you success. Stand for the right and thu people will stand by you it is uu pleasant to have to contend with professed friends of the cause we re present, but we have to deal with mat ters as we find thsm and expose hyp v risy and double dealing even if it does create a commotion. - Keep in the middle of the road and defy all opposition. Your brother in the work of reform. J. M. King. A Plutocratic Poodle. No less an authoiity than Harper's Weekly assures us that the Duke of Marlborough's Americas wife's dog j8 boarded at some point near Philadel phia at a cost of fif tei n hundred dol lars per annum. Taere are thousands of families around for each of whom three hundred dollars per year, paid unfailingly would be a god-send, and they would gladly toil at hard useful labor for it too. Otht-r thousands in i-emi starvation are slowiv ptri hing Guds! what a spectacle for men and angels is the sight of our Plutwa'c in receipt f incomes 'hat ate vast fortunes in themselves and squander log tnem ln vice, pomp and 'uxury on pimps, parasites, menials, vagabonds, while the only really meritorious citi zens, the hard laborer-, the in ustriouc in necessary or useful callings live on Utile more than "Brr ad and Water,'' freeze in winter, hum in summer, and know not one day of comfort the yt-ar round. St. Joseph Herald. Our travellin g representative M . Geo. S. Currie is taking in Kansas and Missouri. He is now in Leavenworth where he will stop a short time and then crn nn to St. .TnaAnh An, assistance orcourUses xfan1edhim will be appreciated by the firm. Ripans Tabules a slst digestion: sweeten a sour somach; curejiivet troubles. . Purk Bred Poultry. White Plym outh Rock White Games. Partridg. Cochins, Touiouae Geese, White Hoi land Turkeys, White Guineas, Pekii Ducks. Eggs in season. Prices low. W. A BatfS, Jr., 36tl Fremont, Neb. LINCOLN. NEB.. THURSDAY. MARCH 16. 1893 IOWA FREIGHT RATES Pacta Concerning the Establishment of the Hawkeya Maximum Tariff Charges. - t BOTH CARRIER AND PATRON BENEFITED Operation of the Law Has Been Profitible to Railroads and Shippers. OPINIONS OF THE COMMISSIONERS ConsicLcntlms on Which the Famous Schedule Was Formulated. COMPARED WITH THE NEBRASKA LINES Classification of the Roads mt tho Two State Under the Iowa Law Bates Id Force Set Oat Bide bj Side. Now that railroad reffulation is fairly pe lore the legislature it may be interesting to review the history of Iowa railroad regula tion and institute comparisons between Iowa and Nebraska rates. The Iowa legislature of 1883 passed a law ' uuarw7 mc, uu. In 1887 seven railroads in Iowa were in the 'empowered and directed" the railroad com- hands of receivers. In 1891 there was but uiission to make a maximum schedule of me, and the receiver of that reported it in a reasonable ratea and fix a classification as prosperous condition. soon as practicable. The schedule was com- LX.nSlwv ItaSHsS rt iS" . , ... ,, . . ,. , - . . creased appreciably aince 1888. It is ad pleted In July, 1883, but the railroads fought Litted the tBe ,uta it in the courts, and it did not become Hvould account for some of the increase la operative until February 8, 1889. There have railroad traffic, but the commissioners main been a number of changes in the schedule Pin tnat the new system was responsible aince, but they have been of so limited jfo mUcb. of the favorable ahowinK. They - . .v . .v " r 77 VT Insist that it not only stimulated business, effect that the present tariff is substantially ruul tnat it effected a eaving by cutting off the same as that adopted by the commission Ire batpr, 'free passes and other special priv more than four years ago. Changes of more jileges and by preventing rate wars. There importance have been made in the classiflca- S,a3 a slight growth in the mileage. Th.mmil lUonsequently the business of 1891 showed a tion. The commission adopted the western toandsome increa88 ln earnings per mile and classification of the railroads with such 'tt substantial gain in the percentage of in modifications from time to time as seemed borne on the investment. Just to Iowa interests without being burden- j Improvements In the Service, soma to the railroads. These variations now I The railroads said they would be corn number about seventy-five. ipelled to stop construction if the rates were - &inra thA fyinrhiginn of thM Wl mntMt Leduced. As a matter of fact less than 150 the corporations have submitted to most 0f . iw. ,v, .ty, . , the rulings of the coumussion with a show of grace. They have abided by the schedule of rates and have accepted the modifications of the classification with little opposition beyond a dignified argument at a hearing J u v " v-chur before the board. There is one important point, however, which is yet in controversy. Charging the 8am for "two Locals." Previous to the enactment of this law the railroads had given joint rates on shipments passing over two or more lines, but thereafter they maintained their right to charge the service but also upon their road bed, rolling un of the local tariffs on the several lines, jutock, buildings, etc., all to the danger and For example, the schedule rate for a car- -De disadvantage of the public. A most dole load of hogs was ,18 for 100 miles and 134 for StStSTSi 200 miles. U a shipment were over two '.ffect, for millions have since been spent on lines, say 100 miles on each, the he betterment of Iowa lines. During the railroads claimed the right to charge. $36 as year ending June 30, 1891, the improvements thwgh there were two shipments of 100 incluled $1,300,000 expended for buildings miles each The legis ature then passed an (m08tly new depots), new rolling stock, auto act requWng the railroads to make Joint naUc couplers, air brakes, 37,789 tons of steel VtJH A IT1 ruled .tb-t.? kaUtorePlaoeironor wora steel, 2,338, Joint rate should exceed 80 per cent of the M 0e, eUs. were chan froin sum of the several local rates. Thus, in the narrow to standard euage, the Northwestern STL ;301 Eat Muilt eventy-8ix mUes of double track and not exceed 80 per cent ot$J6, which would be in e0rmous sum was spent for stone cul- oSili,. . n w ' ieris, for Iron bridges to replace wooden This had been the praotice of the railroads Structures and for other extensive improve themselves, but they resented legal control t .m, 5U"T a"7antae 01 orec ,n rn J4 10 fight it m the .courte The statute infor- tunatelv contained thin rlaiinA- P.sn-lnot nri tyvtlr lltrantnira -f o HafaAt in t-Ka lnw tunately contained this clause: "Carload lots shall be transferred without unloading irom tne cars in wnicn sucn snipments were first made, unless such unloading in other cars shall be done without charge therefor Itive committees lcsistod tnat men must be to the shipper or receiver." The railroads 'endowed with power a little less than mirac contend that this act is unconstitutional, be- uloiw to compute rates and protect the stock cause it requires them to render a service holders (the protection of the people never witnout compensation. The corporations seem to have the best of the argument thus far. and the Joint rate provision is not likely to be operative until the legislature amends it, but the railroads are merely delaying the day of Judgment. The rates established by the commission are higher than the Joint rates voluntarily granted by the railroads themselyes before the enactment of the new law and also higher than the Joint rates now in effect on interstate traffic. Arguments of the Lobbyists. When the Iowa law was under considers- tion in the legislature the capitol was over- run by a horde of railroad men of high and transportation, we assumed that ratea low degree, who prophesied all sorts of dis- made oluata" by the roads were re aster. They asserted that the corporations aiunerative or the official!, would not have would have to recoup themselves by raising1111 tnenu Therefore in computing our the interstate rates and by decreasing the schedule we took as the basis of our work transportation service in Iowa. They main- tne rates 8ecretl' made to favored shippers tained that the commissioners could not tne pa8t and lhe Published tariffs of Iowa determine the reasonableness of a rate with- luna IUmoia. Each of the commissioners pre out an elaborate calculation of the cost of IP-10 table. That of AL-. Campoell was every item of expense, even to the waste ctren,el.v low and mine vas the highest, and oil used on hot boxes. They insisted M. Smith's scale was a medium between that rates could not be reduced without t9 tw0 extremes and was adopted. The gross injustice to the stockholders of ""bed1116 nw in force is suostantially the the corporations. Jn one breath thev con- P6 as Smith's original tariff. . tended that anything less than 8 per cent on ! "while the cut rate given secretly to their stock would bankrupt them and in an- favorile were an influential factor in lorm other admitted that they had averaged lng the legal cbedule, yet I think our tariff much less than that when entirely free to Is in no Pattioular a low as some of those manage their affairs to suit themselves At 8eo"et rates. The Iowa schedule is higher one moment they asserted that the local tnan tne Inlttimum schedule of the Illinois business of the state was so small the pro- .commission, which has been argued as im posed reduction would be of no benefit to alr on tne ground that the smaller amount any one and a moment later they were sure ut bulnes in nla tate entitled it to a the losses under a reduced schedule would nltTaep rate Dut these gentlemen forget to throw three-fourths of the roads into the P'P1"1 tnat tne railroads may go as far hands of receivers. For a short time after ibeiow tho s1 schedule as they please. We the passige of the law some of the railroads i01 evWenw that the lines in Illinois were tried to make it odious by reducing their actually doing business on rates consider train service, but with that exception none ittbly mier tn leal maximum, and conse of the evils predicted by the corporation flueawytnat schedule is not a fairoompar offlcers and attorneys came to pass. lson with the Iowa schedule. , "Ordinarily it might have been difficult to . Their Prosperity Increased. It is an indisputable fact that the Iowa railroads have been more prosperous aince the adoption of the maximum schedule lf rates than ever before. Under mo old system the railroads sought the lontr haul, and it is well known that Iowa lobbing and manufacturing industries were being crushed out or driven from the state. It is conceded that these interests have been rreatly benefited by the chance and that many new industries have been fostered. The loss to the railroads was not nearly so great as they tried to make the people be, Ueve, because they were already secrete giving many of the largest shippers cut rates even lower than those established by the commission. The new system put a ston to this rank favoritism and gross injustice. It gave every man an equal chance with every other, aud robbed the corporations of the cruel power to ruin a weak shipper by favor ing a competitor witn low rreurht rates. It rave a stability to the rates which in turn lent stability to trade The people of Iowa are satisfied with the present rates, the clamoring of Jobbers and manufacturers is heard no more, the railroads are doing more busuiess than ever before, the agitation has ceased and the transportation problem is out ox pouiica. ims is tne testimony oi the commissioners and of the business men of lows. Here is the statement of the commis sion in the report for the year ending June 80. 1891, the last published: That the rates have benefited Tnwa el. denced by the Increased business thereunder. The testimony of the railroad officials la the jiurt was that they caused a reduction of ibout26per cent on local rates, which had en cxhorbltant. The effect has been to .tlmulate Iowa Industries by giving them heap fuel and low raws for getting tbelr pro iuce to market. It has caused the opening of lew coal mines, the erection of new mills, has Tondenully enlivened the Jobbing interests nd reduced prices to the consumers and at uatiy ui lute&e lines were operating uuuer .be class '"A" rates, although they were en- Ue were added. to lowa "n(d,urin "?a ,i,hree years ending June 30, 1891, but the f fap from'the maximum Schedule. Though a new commonwealth in uhe far west, Iowa ranks fifth among the states or tne union la its railroad mileage, commissioners assert officially that there u nnt i innt within hAr hnrYlami mnn t.hnn is not a spot within her borders more than , if teen miles from a railroad, and they argue j. hat construction ceased because the state lad all the lines it needed, there being no tew territory to be occupied with a proba bility of remunerative returns. The railroad lobby laid particular stress upon the assertion that the companies would fnrcftd Ln .u'nnnmizn nnc nnlv nn thM t.aln 1. .. . . J . w the raUways more than $500,000 to repair the mes of floods during the year. i . How the Bate Was Computed. The high-salaried officials who pleaded the pause of the corporations before the legisla- 'entered into their pleas), but the Iowa com- .uissiuuei wuiiu a simple, uireci, ana ef fective solution of the problem. Hon. Peter lA. Dey is the conservative member of the lowa commission, soimucn so that he is even harged with being a tool of the railroads, :nd yet his testimony condemns the corpo rations. In explaining the method of mak ing the maximum schedule and its operation uis statement was substantially as follows: In computing our schedule we did not E nd it necessary to figure the earnings of the ailroads or the dividends of their stock holders or to consider the thousand and one Flings which go to make up the cost of the same time largely Increased tb tonisjre and revenues ot the roads. To enable Chicago to compete with lows Jobbers, Inter state rates were reduced and prices cut. and the lively competition ai-d reduced rates hare resulted In lower prices to the consumer. The farmer get his supplies cheaper, his lumbor, coal, salt and other heavy commodities at fair fate. Ha finds a market for a portion ot ala surplus corn, oats, hay, wood, tlmbnr, etc., at home and saves transportation. Ue market Imany of his hogs In Iowa packing houses and saves freight charges. Wood and logs that lay jiu the timber rotting, the Iowa rates are mak ing a market for, and new mills are sawing the latter up for use In excelsior, fencing pickets, handles, boxes and other Industries unknown Ibefore. The railway policy of the long haul iti as in a measure been supplanted by the new (system, and an exchange of products between .uiuvrent parts oi me state is one or tne com- menaaoie results, rlay and corn from norta ern Iowa are now sold at better prices in the Hairy counties of eastern and southern Iowa In large quantities, a thing hitherto unknown. mesa formerly paia tribute to unicago. What the Official Figaros Show. The flrurea which represent Iowa's rail road business are an emphatic refutation of tne corporation arguments against reason able regulation. Previous to the adoption of 'the maximum schedule the revenues of the railroada were decreasing, while their epo rating expenses were steadily growing ilarger. The new system gave assurance ef icaouity and stimulated business, and the result has been a handsome increase in the traffic of the railroads. In spite of the threat of inferior service, the operating" ex penses have increased in proportion te the growth of the traffic. The following state ment of tonnage and earnings of Iowa bust loss tells its own story: . Gross Net Year Ending. TooDaae. Barolafs. Karaiass. Junew. tiwr la.sfliTiw tsT.ww ii,hts,tbi unsSO, 1HH8. 13,7.OHI II7.11.M)I lO.WSMrt uneW, IHSa 18.m.lA4 M,i.m 11.SXI.IIIS nneSa,l8U0. 18,TH,4 4I.8I7.VJH IIJM.tM luneisJ, IH9I W.IM.H4H iSMt.m 14.44H.Kf It must be remembered that the maximum ichedule did not go into effect until Feb ruary of 1889, and the new system hardly nad time in five months to make its results itrongly felt in the traffio for that year. The report for 1893 has not been published. In some respects the omparlson is even more favorable when the distinctively Iowa roads are considered. Following is stable v Hie earnings of those lines whose mileage is 'Uy or almost wholly within the state, the , parison being between 1891 and the last under the old system: vAMseraoAD. IBM. IsM. el !-:.,,!,.- ... f1 Albta A CeaterTllle I 10M I l,in Tl.Ii Burlington. Cedar Bsplds A Northern 2.CIT.M1 I.J10.4TI M M Chicago, lowa Dakota., . W,m 411 U.tl Crooked Creek M.4U l.4ar l.Si DesMolnos Northern.... U.T4S lW.WIIW.lt Dubuque Sioux City 1,760,47 1,M?,:I6S 44. Vt Uamsaton bhenaodoah. I6J.U7 174,tflt T.U Iowa Central .. 1,lt7.87 1,844.4 la VT low Northern 1R.7IM U.1I4 m.M Mason CUr ort Dodge.. 11,77.1 II'J.'.'JI M il blouz City A Northern.... 1(4 865 Uj.H1 l.S.M (Burlington Nortbwast'n 6I.4U3 tiT.Mil SO.bO tBurllngton a Western.... W.0II 71.4 44. M tiles Moines a Kansas t-itf Sa.M s,7&4 J7 74 tiles Moines AMortliwest'n 145.WH 1Vi7J 4S.SI a new line which btgsn operation ln January, 1800, and the business of Its first rear is siren la the )888oolumn. t decrease. These are short, unimportant eeal roads. t the last four were narrow gnags roads. Gvldenne of BeneHoial Effects. Thirteen out of fifteen lines showed a marked increase in traffic. The falling off on the two inslgnificaut coal roads is attrib uted by the commission to exceptionally mild vinter weather and strikes in the mine ascertain the special rates given certain shippers in this state, but the law brought these gentlemen forward to testify freely on the secret manipulations. The statute pro hibited discrimination. The shippers enjoy ing special privileges saw in that provision the menace of higher charges for them, and they came voluntarily before the commis sion. They naturally wanted the low rates continued even if it was necessary to rive competitors the benefit of them. Competition BegoJates It. "Class B and class C roads tare permitted to charge higher rates than those fixed in the schedule, but as a rule I think they do not take advantage of that privilege. The reason is simple enough. The state is such a network of railroads that Junctions are numerous, and a line charging higher than the class A rates would lose the business. The weaker roads are consequently forced to meet the competition of stronger lines at common points. The B and O lines once asked the commission to permit them to use tne B and C rates on shipments not affected by their competitors, but at the same time they wanted to continue the A rates on com petitive business. The long and short haul clause in the law prevented that kind of an arrangement, and the Iowa commission, un like the interstate commission, has no au thority to suspend the operation of that pro vision. As a result almost all the local traffio is done on the rates fixed for class A roads. The weak lines never come to us now asking favors for themselves. They all want concessions for the strong roads. "It is practically impossible for the com mission to figure with exactness the amount of the purely local traffio of Iowa, that which is subject only to the state laws. Ten years ago we estimated it at 18 to 20 per cent of the whole amount of Iowa traffio. I have just completed a computation for our forthcoming report and find it to be about 25 per cent. I have made a most careful and exhaustive calculation from the statistics in our possession, and I am confident that con clusion is approximately correct. Summing; Up Its Effects. "As to the effect of our system, I am not ?uite as enthusiastic as some of its friends, think it has stimulated the Jobbing inter ests of the state by giving the wholesalers distributing rates which enable them to compete with Chicago. Our Jobbers were complaining continually under the old order of things, but they seem to be satisfied now, for we near no more grievances from them. The Chicago Jobbers, In the hope of retrev ing some of this loss, forced the railroads to make concessions on interstate rates to secure the long haul Some claim that the new system has led to the establishment of many new manufacturing enterprises and the extension of others, but I am not sanguine on that point. "The greatest benefit from the Iowa law, I apprehend, lies in the faot that the rail road question has been taken out of politics. "There was in Des Moines a firm manufae- (Continued on f ifth Page.) The government own ership of tailronds aid telegraphs. That freight rater Id Nebrssl a be reduced tnl a level with those la force In Iowa. - --t ;- :- The building by the natleoal government of a great trunk line from North Dtkota to the Gulf of Mexico. NO. 40 THE COM IKO PARTY. There hat been a great evolution in the politics of this country daring the last few ytars. A ssnse of security, as regards kurcessln national affairs, nasi) the- re1 publican party, the party that has oon- trollfe.all the- dppartmtr ts of the govtm ment, (with the exception of four years), since the civil war, into greater laxity as regards the honesty and purity of its motiyes, than it would hare entertained had it had closer competition for govern mental control. To repeat a saying that has been, current for a nnmWr of years, It is not the party of Abraham Lincoln.- It has wandered out into the highways and byways of political corruption; it has pandered its pelitical influence and offices to the powerful few, and left the defense less many to starve on the husks which were glngerlnglv doled oat to them. These causes, the details of which we shall enter Into from time to time, led the honest thinkln g people 0 desert the grand old party which bore this aation safely through its most perilous crisis the;iateclvll war. They tolerated, until forbearance tceased to be a virtue, the gradual and growing deviation from the true republican form of government, and cast their lot with the democratic party, ln the wild hope of securing better gov ernment, and with the knowlt-dge that tbey could be governed but little worse;, and to.tbls universal tentlmt-nt of wrong, the democratic paity owes the Inaugura tion Grover Cleveland as president of the Unlted.States March 4, 1803. The democratic party has but little 1o recommend it to the suffrages of a liberty loving people. It has dark blots ln Its history, burned there by war. and. blood-. . . shed; Its sdvocstes have ever been men of limited, bigoted Ideas; Its rank and file have principally been drawn from among the slums ef humanity, from the Ignor ant, the dissolute and the depraved. ' Ita banner has ever been spresd over the few; it has ever ad vacated principles foreign to the government under which we live, and has from Its inception, denied that under the law, men were free and equal. For this reason, it remained la bscurlty for over a quarter of a century. despite the sympathy of the "Solid South" of England and English capitalists, and of every tyrannical, monarchical form of government on the nlobe. As far back as fifteen years since, some far seeing minds apprehended the Im pending state of affairs. They saw that every year, the fact was beci ming more icd more evident that it was bt-coming harder for a poor mau to earn a living; that political and govern mnt patronage advanced others to a position of com petence,.while the great mass of tollers bowed their necks beneath the yoke, and sighed "for a Moses to lead them out from the land of bondage." For years have they lifted their grinning eyes to the blue skif-s above .while their quivering lips muttered. "How long, O Lotd, how long." From the laborer in the city came the same cry; it was re echoed by the toll ing farmer, who saw the mortgage eating up his substance and making ; it impos sible for him to earn a living even here " in this, the richest garden spot ou God's green earth ; ita reverberations were heard by the miner, and one by one tbey took up the cry, and as a result the people's party, the party of the toiler and of the future, Fprang Into the race for the suff rage of our people. Thk Citizen etapds before you today, gentlemen, as a representative of this new party. It aim will be to keep in the middle of the road of pure national poli tics, its influence shall be u?ed in the in terest of the toiling masses cf humanity, that they may share in the blessings of life, and not bear all the burdens while others receive all the recompense. It will not be ln any wry an advocate of an-. archy, neither will It allow its prejudices to deny justice to those worthy of it. It will a'ly itself to no "ring" for the man ipulation ot local politics, and it will open its batteries upon some combinations that are being formed which will cause their originators to seek cover. Its motto will be, "a'government of the people, for the people and by the people." - We ask the co-operation and assistance of all fair mindd people, who desire to see the politics of this city controlled by pure, honest men, and who desire such elected to the varlons offices at the com ing spring election. Our aim is justice. Will you join uT ir lr-