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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1903)
"frwrWWmfi)'m'Hf i m nmwiwiipiwwi1 ' " The Commoner. MA-Y 15, 1903., 15 nfl"Vmimnif0'n,'M!f"''.TrrJ THE DEGENERATING INFLUENCE OF WEALTH We are not pessimists, but facts are facts, and cannot bo ignored. This glorious republic of tbo West ern hemisphere is the. Mecca of the world. The weary eyes of all nation alities turn longingly toward it. It Is the country of hope and of promise to all. It should go on from glory to glory through coming cen turies, but will it? It is now but a century and a quar ter old, an yet it shows elements of weakness that are an occasion for alarm . to every lover of his country who has studied at all the history of the rise and fall of nations. We boast of the great prosperity of the country, and for proof cite statis tics of trade and of commerce, both home and foreign. In themselves they are evidences of development and of strength consid ered alone. But we have to look but a step farther, and we find alarming indications of peril to our free insti tutions in the concentration of busi ness interests and enormous wealth in few hands. It is not the fact of concentration alone that suggests the peril but that which is an inevitable accompaniment of such concentration of wealth and power, viz.: Degeneracy and loss of virility. No nation in history ever made such rapid strides in the direction of tre mendous wealth, concentrated In few hands, and consequently no nation ever took such a galloping pace to ward the precipice over which nations have plunged into death and oblivion. The possession of vast fortunes de stroys personal ambition, encourages almost every form of vice, degenerates and weakens those who inherit them not usually those who acquire them through their own efforts antL sends out the children of the third genera tion physical, mental and moral wrecks. In proof of this fact we have but to look about us. Thus far, in the infancy of this republic, a single son or daughter of a family of inher ited wealth has, in most cases, re tained enough of the sturdy manhood of the founder to hold the family pos sessions in the lines that he indicated, while the other children have dissi pated and weakened themselves by almost every indulgence Imaginable. But the inevitable tendency is ap parent in the excesses of living in dulged in; in the selling, for-the highest title, the daughters, of fortune to the rakes of Europe, and In the in dulgence of the passions in drink, in gamblirig and other forms of fast liv ing. And still the fight for the posses sion of dollars goes on, and the dread consequences loom up more ominously and more surely. Boston Traveler. PASSING THE EXPENSE ALONG The gentle and profitable pastime of "passing along the expense" to the "consumer is just now being indulged in by the coal mine owners, the -coal roads and the coal dealers. - Tomorrow will witness the first 'delicate raise in prices to the con sumer from the low water mark, which was reached a few weeks ago. The increase is fixed at 20 cents per ton, or about 6 per cent. Thus it will be seen that the great public has scarcely been given time to draw its breath, much less ltd pocketbook, while comparatively low prices prevailed. But even at the recent low water mark of ?6.25 per ton the price was from 75 cents to a dollar per ton great er than at the corresponding period last year, an amount equal to about a 15 to 20 per cent increase. And yet at the former price it was proved that the coal operators made in net profits over five million of dol lars more per year than they had mada previous to the advance in wages, granted to the miners about three yearn ago. What then must be the prospective profit to the operators under this new scale of prices? Admitting that the wages of min ers have been increased on an aver age of from 8 to 10 per cent through the recent decision of the coal com mission, how can this excessive in crease in the prico of coal of 15 to 20 per cent be justified?' According to Mr. Baer, whose com pany controls the hard coal supply, it isn't justified. It is simply sched uled, just as Mr. John Jacob Astor would schedule an increase in the rents of his buildings. To Mr. Baer it apparently makes no difference that tenants can quit Mr. Astor's buildings, although the public must have coal. It is the position assumed by such men as President Baer that is rapid ly developing the spirit of socialism in the country and giving impetus to the movement for government ownership of all public and semi-public utilities. Providence Telegram. Where Rcvarenc. is Dut. In Rome, a monument has been erected in commemoration of the martyrs who established in Caesar's gardens and arena whero they blazed as human torches and writhed in the grasp of junglo beaststhe religion wo enjoy in peace and security. All over tho world tho "First Church" holds sacred today, the mem ory of those saints who lived tho lifo of sorrow and denial and died tho death of anguish and of firo, and with commendable pertinacity clings to tho faith of Peter and Paul, through all the novations and translations of tho Bible and variance of creeds, hold ing in their hearts a reverence be yond expression, for the noble band of martyrs, whoso fearless death taught them the way to live. Strange to say, tho average Ameri can citizen is anything but consistent or reverent This has been proven by tho fact that tho home of America's greatest martyr Abraham Lincoln has been sold under the hammer and will be converted Into a feeding place for stock. Rare marble monuments are erected all over the land, to his mem ory. The chair ho sat In is sacredly cherished, tho books ho read, the pen he used, tho words he wrote are price less treasures, but the homo where he tolled and slept -and passed ho early hours of his care turned life, is turned over to pack of hungry cat tle! Here his eagle heart soared in dreams of a future useful life, dedi cated to mankind; hero hp trimmed his candle and sat until the small hours of tho night studying to fit himself for tho nlaco his nura and I lofty soul aspired to win in the minds and hearts of men. Hero ho swung his axe and plied his hoe in humble toll, and here where tho earth is sacred to his footsteps behold; as in the prophesy of Babylon "the flocks and herds shall feed whero golden gar dens bloomed." Wo are ndt one of those who be lieve that fair words and flowers can comfort our dead, but these martyrs who gave to man so great an heritage, deserve a little praise, a little weep ing, a great reverence and some con sistency in its bestowal. Lewistown (111.) News. t AboatbayluirabscCTor hames until jam sure our tm 7KKN Cetalo. It telk aU about oar celebrated Hpllt Klckery Veh Idea sold direct from factory at factory prices. It tells alt About this MfJLlT niuxoRy miXMKwt, xor nuoox for J n On Trial. . U xao cfiuuog m iree lor a poeuL OfcitCarrfcfsMrf.Ci. Station 1S8 OfacUuaU, Okie. Xjgffey iAINT Anil-Trust, FIreproor Hill I Economical Durable. n , Save yeu BO to SO on yeur PAINT BILL, M or Taint mailed FUKB. Wo arc not In tho tnisfc VAK1 PAINT CO 7tl Larrabee fit., Galeae Patent Secured On rw: returned. Tnxn opinion as to patentability, (end for imldo book and nbatto Invent. Finest publications luucd for frno distribution. 1'atenU lecurnd by us advertised frco In Patent Uecord.HAMPLK copy, trek. Evans, Wllkcna Co. Dopt. F. Washington, D. O. Tho greatest Invention of modern times tho JUectrlc Haxor Mrop DrcM er recommended by all who try It. No shavlmr outfit Is complete- without It. I'rlco Ifto by mall postpaid, r-end 2o stamps or silver. YOLK MONEY IIAfK If you aro not satisfied Vfltb our puuhsse. Tho T. J. fordo Co., Geneva, Ohio. I5S5SS WHITEWASH DOESN'T STICK f On April 27 tho war department gave out the result of its alleged in vestigation of the Denver Post's pub lished interview with Gen. P. D. Baldwin, in which the general said that he preferred the negro as a sol dier because ho did not have to worry about his safety in a fight, "as it doesn't malce any difference whether he gets killed or not" -General Baldwin at first tried to explain, and modify the Interview, but the" war department gave him a plain hint to deny it absolutely, and ap parently he took tho hint, for the re port given out from Washington was to tho effect that tho general was not interviewed, that the Denver Post had been imposed upon, and that the reporter had been discharged. The Denver Post immediately printed a double-column editorial sus taining the reporter and exposing the impudent mendacity of the official report Tho Fost-said in large type: "The reporter was not discharged, and his dismissal was not even thought of, because the Post does not? believo that he perjured himself when he made oath to the truth of his In terview with the general." No person of ordinary intelligence believes that the reporter lied or that tho war department's report is truo in any particular. All the evidence, all the testimony worthy of credence, proves beyond reasonable doubt that General Baldwin was interviewed, and said just what the Denver Post re porter swears ho said. Philadelphia North American. wlv Mrjtm . iTwm We will acrid any bicycle te unf address with the un derntaiKilncr and mp-coment that you can plro It I O DAYS' FltEE THIAL and if you do not find It easier run nlwr, handsomer, stronger, better finished and equipped moro on to dato and hl,W frnulo than any bicycle you can buy elsewhere at tS.QO to 115.00 ioreNiit,yacaa re tuna H (a as at eurex al yea will ( b l m (. IA AC Ruy ur ntw HIGH GRADE 103 SIO.Hh HEwTON 1ICYCLE. which wo guar r a iwbiw ontco stronger, easier riding', better equipped) better frame, -wheel, hubs and Marines than you can et In any other bicycle for less than tSO.Oft. OUR 1903 NAPOLEON BICYCLE la priced at about OHEjHALF tbo lowest prico asked by others. For frta Bicycle Catalogue, hundreds of price surprises In bicycles and supplies, our Free Trial and Guarantee Proaosltlon and cur Most Astonlshlnd Olfe-r. cut thia no. out ana mail S SEARS, ROEBUCK b CO., SSBSS. lHOg DEL0AC.fi SAW MILLS ARE BEST! 1 no rrice it hi ant tad. Known the Wrtlrf fHar. .. SJs2WErP' fl25 SAWMILL t a60 Feet Luster n day with ly 4 h.p. wiKa immuis jc esu Diir mils, lOlWJl.D.. any prico. DeLoaeh Mill MAclUaerr, Plaaara. Haadaene CatoletrMc Free if yoa eat tfals est aa4 giT duw 01 paper. murGTom-immw nianBftTirlD(rhlirh-firadeVlIIICrjEBDd HARWKftS entitle u to oar reputation of moklnw the Unset grade of vehicle on the raarVot irblch are known as Xstlauasir.ee Qvallty. Not bow cheap but bow good. fiira 30 DAYS' FRJ&E, TRIAL, which sjires 70a every opportunity of proving our claim. Write M osi ce for oar Free BuKiry Book whlcb Klree deecrlptlOD of oar full lino of Vehicle and Ilarnew, at lege than wholesale prices. KaJawazeeCMriHeHarAeMHr.C. 175 SiMflB$L,Ka!miza,Hlch, MMT 4tt 4tft- r30 YEARS SELLING DIRECT FREK IStaiteb. CiiaJetrtu V V XvaH XviflB aB JaSZaeiaaaflP . We arctheLuxetraaBfactnrcrsof vehicles and harness la the trorI4 selling to con- sneers exciaavejy. WIS IIAVK HO AGENTS fcatclop tcjwbcrttfar ezJKUfaea, gnina Uhtg llvry. Yoa ere evt.notklne If net ttUSL We mX ItfcstyUtof hlel a& MctjlM ot X mJ-mJ Wo. til Top tatty. FrieeftO. As good as slla lor 2S asore. turn. VT1ta ihwi S NHHisrMH; ma. til- eautj. mwiia. A rood m ttXU ttt HA More. ZTJGsTJATOJLXlIAOXftXAiineillcrO,. CO. XlkArt,IJ. . m HI