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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1901)
HlPwwywHpp'wpiiiipwiiippiiiiiji mi mf yi m. W"'uWIIWUJJ'WWWWri!,WJ'1 BW'MWWWt W""""' UWfl'W'fr fr(ni''wi v "-t-w w tion for carrying out its policy of catering to the wants of the corporations that put money above American blood and might above justice and right. Clearly General Merriam has just grounds for complaint. The Kansas City Times thinks that farming would be successful in the Klondike if the coal supply was sufficient to keep the vegetables from freezing while they are growing. The Depart ment of Agriculture might experiment with cold slaw and iced tea. Agencies of American politicians, who pro Reconciliation, fess to believe that we can whip the Filipinos into friendly rela tions with us, have forgotten what Chatham said of bayonets as agencies of reconciliation. "How can America trust you," said Chatham, "with the bayonet at her breast? How can she suppose that you mean less than bondage or death?" Great When General MacArthur re- Expectations, ported that "the expectations of the administration have not been realized " he did not mean it. What lie meant was that while the expectations of the adminis tration have been realized the claims of the admin istration have not been. " But MacArthur is not the only official in the Philippines or in Wash ington, either who realizes with joy that lan guage can be used to conceal thoughts. Extravagance Some of the republicans are be Increasing. coming alarmed at the extrava gance of the present Congress. The appropriations for this session will not be far from eight hundred millions. Deducting about one hundred and fifteen millions derived from postal receipts, it still leaves nearly seven hundred millions to be raised by taxation. Senator Hale was recently led to remark: "The tide, immensely swollen heretofore, is more swollen and more turbid." "And still rising," interjected Senator Spooner; "Rising rapidly," added Senator Allison. Why does not the administration call a halt? Because the tax eaters control the republican or ganization and their appetite grows with the feeding. K- They Cannot Lose Him Politicians who imagined they were burying Theodore Roose velt when they nominated him for the vice-presidency, were not acquainted with the characteristics of their intended corpse. Mr. Roosevelt has recently been hunting lions in Col orado, and in his bloody jaunts through the for ests, a well-equipped literary bureau has accom panied him as a pillar of cloud by day and a pil lar of fire by nicrht, thus preventing the achieve ments of Mr. Roosevelt in the wilds of Colorado from being hidden from the world. This liter ary bureau describes one of Mr. Roosevelt's ex periences in this striking way: He killed a lion with a knife thrust, and in doing' so exposed himself to danger the average man would not face for a million. He does not wait for the dogs to stretch the animal out, but rushes in while the lion is fighting with the dogs. In'tho particular instance related by the guide, who was with him, the animal was a large lioness.. She fought fiercely, and while several of the dogs had The Commoner'. her about the hind legs and haunches and were drag ging her backward she had a vicious hold on another dog. Mr. Roosevelt sprang to the rescue of the dog which the savage animal seemed about to get the best of, and she quickly lot loose of the dog and sprang at the arm of the hunter. Ho held his gun in his left hand, and, quick as lightning, thru3t the stock into the wide open jaws while ho found her heart with his hunting knife. The stock of the gun was partly chewed and broken off, and he can keep it as a me mento of the closest call he ever had. The man who rushes in where canines fear to tread, who can hold his gun in his left hand and quick as lightning thrust the stock into tho wide open jaws of a lioness while ho finds her heart with his hunting knife, is not likely to be entirely lost from sight in the vicc'presidential chair. the words of Lincoln. Tt is a significant fact that the present policies of the republican party com pel the leaders of that party to ignoro tho senti ments expressed and the principles advocated by the first republican president. Lincoln charged Douglas and his supporters with an attempt to limit and qualify fundamental and self-evident truths; the republican leaders cwio under the same condemnation today and, therefore, extracts from Lincoln's speeches are no longer popular in a republican gathering oven when the ostensible object of tho gathering is to do honor to his memory. What Did He Expect? The Jefferson- The largest celebration of Liu-Jackson-Llncoln coin's birthday this year was that League. held at Columbus, Ohio, under tho auspices of the Jefferson Jack son-Lincoln League. Nearly two thousand persons partook of the dollar dinner and listened to addresses by Con gressman Lentz, Chairman of the League, Con gressmen DeArmond of Missouri and Shaffroth of Colorado, Ex-Senator Towne and Ex-Governor Altgeld, Hon. Tom L. Johnson of Ohio, Hon. Alexander Troup of Connecticut and Mr. Bryan. Senator-elect Carmack of Tennessee sent a letter to be read on the occasion and Dr. Howard S. Taylor of Chicago contributed a poem. , ' The League was originally intended as a local organization, but it has become so popular that the organization is being extended into other states. it . A Tardy The Indianapolis Sentinel calls Protest. attention to the fact that some of the republican papers are making a tardy protest against the ship-subsidy bill. It says: The only way to oppose such jobs and steals .effectively is to oppose the political party which advocates and carries them out. The ship subsidy is in line with republican preachments and practices for the last thirty years. It was a part of the frankly avowed republican program in the, recent campaign. Those who voted for Mr. McKinley did so with their eyes open. They knew that his election and that of a republican congress meant that this project of scoundrelism would be carried out. They are not really in earnest now in their opposition to it. They are simply "making believe.' Their appeals to the democrats in congress to help save the country from the swindie which the country itself indorsed last November are purely theatrical. His Principles No one can read the republican Ignored. speeches delivered upon the re cent anniversary of Lincoln's birth without noticing how completely the princi ples of the martyred president were ignored. His ability as a lawyerwas referred to, his patience was praised, his tenderness and mercy eulogized, and his homely wit repeated, but there was no attempt to apply his principles to present-day problems or to draw practical lessons from his public life. Why? In 1859 the republicans celebrated Jefferson's birthday just as the democrats celebrated Lin coln's birthday this year. In 1859 Lincoln re ferred to and quoted the words of Jefferson just as the democrats are now referring to and quoting The Chicago Tribune has been asking republican editors for their opinion of tho ship-subsidy bill. An Indiana editor answers, "There never was a more infamous attempt to rob the treasury as well as to defraud tho people than is repre sented in the subsidy bill. Why not subsidize the farmers to raise corn and wheat? The bill goes to show that organized wealth has an insa tiable greed without regard to tho rights or wel fare of the people." This indicates that at least one republican ed itor has awakened from his Rip Van Winkle slumber. It would be interesting if this editor would now tell us what he expected in tho way of legislation when he labored for a republican victory last fall. A Very Good Richard Cobden, that eminent Example. Englishman, would be surprised if a copy of the new army bill were laid before him and he was told that tho United States of America had enacted that bill into law. It was Cobden, who, in a speech de livered in 1850, said, that in tho matter of na tional defense, the United States set Great Brit ain "a very good example." "Does anybody dare to attack that nation?" asked Cobden. "There is not a more formidable power in every sense of the word, although you may talk of France and Russia, than the United States of America; and there is not a statesman with a head on his shoulders who does not know it, and yet the policy of the United States has been to keep a very small amount of armed men in existence." Freedom of The Press. The deportation of Editor Rice from Manila because of his crit icism of American ofiicials ought to give the American people some idea of what is to be expected under colonialism. Free speech is not consistent with military rule or carpet bag government. Men who exercise authority with out responsibility to those whom they govern cannot tolerate criticism, and any suggestion of malfeasance or misfeasance becomes incendiary and dangerous. Human frailty makes public ofiicials liable enough to error even wheji re strained by a free press and when that restraint is taken away the people have no protection what ever. There is a love of justice to bo found in every human heart, and when justice is denied, those who are responsible for the denial never think it wise to have the matter discussed. Be nevolent assimilation is too tender a plant to withstand the frost of criticism. il tt I i.i r; J-1J....J -I-Jil.