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The Commoner.
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The Commoner,
ISSUED WEEKLY.
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
Entered at the postoffice at Lincoln, Nebraska,
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your subscription will expire. Thus, Jnn, 02 xnoam that pay
went has been received lo and including tho Inst issuo of Jan
nary, 1002. Two weeks are required aftor money ia received
b'eforo tho date of the wrapper can bo changed.
CHANGE OF 'ADDRESS-Subscribera requesting a
change in address must give the OLD as well as tho NEW ad
Publicity for the trusts? Very well, but who
will bell the cat? v
Can it be that the Fairbanks boom is steered
with an airship rudder?
The' only way to improve the ship subsidy bill
is to strike out the enacting clause.
.Up to, date no one has heard any, of the "great
captains of industry" complaining about the mes
sage. -' ' '
' John Bull may eat this Christmas dinner in
Pretoria, but he is subject to interruptions be
tween courses.
Even in Pennsylvania it pays to adopt a demo
cratic platform and then go out and defend demo
cratic principles.
Secretary Gage says the country needs a
larger volume of money. Is Mr. Gage going to
play traitor to "confidence?"
A careful study of the message will reveal
that reciprocity has about as much chance as tho
sheep had to kill-the butcher.
And now they say that there is a tobacco
combine in the Philippine islands. This ought to
make Congressman Hull favor a larger army over
there to protect the combine.
yws
Will some administration organ please an
swer: Does President Roosevelt favor the ship
subsidy bill? Yes or no, now. You have expressed
tho opinion that tho message is "concise, clear
and statesmanlike."
Mr. Chamberlain sees small prospect of end
ing the war, but as the Birmingham Small Arms
company is declaring 20 per cent dividends with
regularity Mr. Chamberlain hopes that ho will be
able to bear up.
The Commoner appreciates the compliment
paid it by the children (four in one town) who re
cited Mr. Maupin's Thanksgiving poem, which ap
peared in the issue of November 22. It has also
been largely copied in the weekly press.
.. The Philadelphia North American says that
The Commoner will be readable if tho editor will
learn to think cohesively and write coherently.
Returning the compliments it may be said with
truth that tho North American will begin to bo a
useful paper when its proprietor shows as much
love for tho public generally as ho now shows
hatred for Mr. Quay in particular.
Tho Observer of Guthrie, Okla., reproduced
entire tho first page of The Commoner containing
the editorial entitled "A Democratic Duty." The
editor appreciates the compliment paid him by
thoso who quote from the columns of The Commoner.
&&&
Numerous republican organs commend Sena
tor Hoar's plan to maroon the anarchists and let
them run their own island. This is all very well,
but what about allowing the people of other isl
ands who are not anarchists to do the same
thing?
The Lick observatory informs us that the
velocity of the Nebular movement is 36,000,000,000
miles an hour. That is fast traveling, to be sure,
but it is not to bo compared with the velocity of
tho republican party in getting away from tho
constitution.
The Washington Post has difficulty in finding
words to express its commendation of the presi
dent's message. A few months ago the Post ex
perienced no such difficulty in expressing its
opinion of the gentleman who now occupies the
presidential chair.
Two inquiries have been received recently ask
ing whether President Johnson was impeached.
No; articles of impeachment were presented by
the house of representatives, but the senate re
fused to impeach, seven republicans voting with'
the democrats in the negative.
Through a typographical error in a former is
sue, the clubbing- price of The Commoner and The
Pilgrim was given as $1.00. This should have been
$1.35, as it appears in this issue. Also, all sub
scriptions for Literary Digest in any of our club
bing offers must be newrenewals not accepted.
At Jamestown, N. Y., George M. Guntner was
indicted on the charge of being a public nuisance
because he tried to organize the wood-workers into
a union. Mr. Frank Mott, his attorney, succeede'l
in convincing the court that it is not yet a public
crimo to endeavor to associate the laboring men
together for their own protection;
In connection with the editorials which have
appeared in regard to debating societies, it 4s
proper to sucgest that the Success Club Bureau,
Washington Sqliare, New York, is organizing de
bating societies all over the country. Any per
son desiring information on the subject can ad
dress the club at the above place.
A California reader disputes the statement
made by Senator Jones of Nevada to the effect
that the increased output of gold "has accom
plished what bimetallism would have accom
plished." He points to the fact that prices in gen
eral have not yet been raised to the bimetallic
level and that there is no apparent prospect that
they will be.
When the president reads the New York Her
alds criticism of Secretary Gage's recommenda
tions on the currency question, he will be glad
that he didn't discuss the money question in do
tall. The republicans generally prefer broad and
sweeping statements to definite and specific plans
Their policies are like eggs of doubtful age they
look better scrambled.
The staid and respectable if not always un
biasedAssociated press occasionally condescends
J! ?fP , lll!mor In reP01'ting the Boston elec
tion it said: "In South Boston two prominent re
publicans were arrested on the suspicion of hav
ing worked repeaters. This was the only unpleas
ant feature of the day." It must have been un
pleasant arresting republicans engaged in re-
Governor Yate-. of Illinois has Issued an ap-
P,e?U people of hIs state for contributions to
aid the Boer women and children who are suffer
ing in the British reconcentrado camps. Gov
ernor Yates is entitled to credit for this appeal and
it is to be hoped that it will meet with a very gen
erous response. It would be well also if everv
other governor in tho United States followed the
Yates example.
, A reader asks me to give, for tho benefit of a
political opponent, my reasons for resigning my
commission in the army. The reason was stated
In the resignation, which was forwarded to the de
partment on the day tho treaty of peace was signed
Half of the volunteers had been mustered nnf
and it was apparent that the remainder would h
assigned to police duty. I felt that I could be of
more service to my country in opposing the im
perialistic tendencies of the republican party thin
I could in performing tho routine duties of a
regimental commander in time of peace.
?
A reader of The Commoner asks where in
formation can be secured in regard to the banking
question. Insofar as the question relates to tho
national bank, one of the best works on that sub
ject is the Financial Catechism and History of
Financial Legislation in the United States from
1862 to 189G. This, in paper cover, can be secured
for fifty cents from C. Vincent, 612 So. 13th &t.,
Omaha, Nebraska.
A reader of The Commoner asks what relation
PT0r,RiC0 and the Sandwich islands are to the
United States. Porto Rico is a subject territory
enjoying such local self-government as the presi
dent and congress choose to give, and has no rep
resentative in congress. The Sandwich islands
stand in the position of a territory and have a
representative in congress.
They are now talking about organizing an as
sociation of farmers to compel railroads to give
lower rates on transportation. If the farmers
would combine at the polls they would have :o
trouble in securing reasonable freight rates, but
f.s long as they vote the republican ticket and
turn the government over to the control of cor
porations, they will find it difficult to secure pro
tection against extortion by any association which
they can form.
It is announced that President Roosevelt has
declined to accept on behalf of the government
Mr. Carnegie's gift of $10,000,000 in the form of
bends of the steel trust. For this act Mr. Roosevelt
is entitled to hearty commendation. It will not
do for tho government to become either creditor
or stockholder in a trust, and recognition of this
fact doubtless impelled the president to insist that
the Carnegie gift must be in some' form other than
the bonds of a trust.
Mr. Walsh, the republican banker who is run
ning the Chicago Chronicle in, .the interest of the
republican party, openly indorses the republican
position on the Philippine question and says that
we cannot desert "the people of the Philippine Isl
ands to anarchy, dictatorship and invasion for con
quest and reconquest." Having indorsed the re
publican position on the money question and the
trust question, Mr. Walsh's paper ought not to be
able to deceive democrats any longer.
Some of the papers which defend imperialism
are also describing Jim Hill as a public benefactor
and apologizing for the consolidation of the trans
continental lines. There is a similarity between
the arguments which justify a colonial policy in
tiie orient and the arguments which defend a
railroad monopoly in the northwest. Both sys
tems are based upon the theory that a few people
?hnf llVinely. aPPlnted to do the developing and
tnat the rest of the people are condemned by fate
to be developed.
Today the faithful democratic editors of Ne
iJSSS WilA1nme?,Vn Colunus lo perfect an organ
ic 0fn edit?,rs of aemcratic newspapers in
tho j , areric?rdiillly invIted t0 be the guests of
Si! hy, 2? Clumbs on this date, and nothing
? Jh ,undone to contribute to their pleasure.
In the evening the citizens will tender the visitors
a banquet. The Commoner hopes to see a large
attendance and tho organization of a strong as
sociation that will tend to the strengthening of tho
democratic cause in Nebraska. That much good
will lesult from a strong organization goes with
out saying. There ought to be a similar organiza
tion in every state.
wSA81!1?!! in a Chicago dispatch to the Wash
l Post that Governor Yates has been called
ISnn11?;? yJhQ D"idont, and it is in
timated, that tho latter resents the Boer proclama
tion issued by the governor a few days ago It is
also stated that republican politicians "not tied
tight to the governor" (that means men who are
t,ed more tightly to the president than to the
governor) unite in condemning the proclamation
as Impolitic and unwise. The British consulate
at Chicago accuses Governor Yates of issuing the
proclamation with the desire that it would help
him become United States senator. Well, no mat
ter what the cause was, it would bo fortunate ?f
more republicans had an ambition that would
lead them to express sympathy for the Boers.