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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 1904)
I H ' ia).ffWWB fTS"! The Commoner. ,ii mont is more highly, regarded than -it la In most of the largo cities of the "United States. " I observed with Interest the enthusiasm manifested' by the officials In the work being done by the respective cities. At Birmingham, Mr. Roland H. Barkeley, a member of the city council, by request of tho lord mayoV, called upon me, and not only showed great familiarity -with tho work of the city government, but manifested an intense desire to secure for his city the moin ods that had been proven by experience to be tho best. Mr. Black, recently mayor of Nottingham, is a very successful lace manufacturer, and yot he deemed as -much concerned about the affairs of tho city as about the details of lus own busi ' ness. Lord Mayor Harrington of Dublin, Lord Mayor Dixon of Belfast and Lord Provost Prim rose of Glasgow, were all nllve to the Importance oi their work, and seemed to make tho dlschaige of their duties their chief concern. In this connection, I desire to record my ap preciation of the public service df one of the most ; interesting and agreeable men whom I have met in the Old World, Mr. John Burns. He began his ' industrial life at the age of ten as a maker of candles. He was afterVvrnrds apprenticed as a machinist, and after acquiring proficiency in his fyado followed that line df employment until his 'associates made him their representative in the city government. Pie was soon: "afterwards' sent " nto 'parliament, and has for some fifteen years ".represented his district iu both Oodles. ' He is ' only 45, buf his hair and beard are so streaked with gray that one would think liim ten years ' older, fiefs u Jitfle below" medium height, strong ly built, and very active, and energetic. A dlll- 'gent student, quick-witted-and effdeuve in speech, it is' not surprising that he stands today among the world's foremost representatives of the wage 'earners. Ho is 6pposod; to both arlnking and " gambling; He receives no salary either as a ; member1 of the county' council or as member of parliament, but is supported by his association which pays him what is" equivalent to a thousand ' dollars a year. With this very' meagre income he devotes his life to pltblfc work, and I have not 1 mot "a more conscientious' or unselfish public ser ' ' varit. And yet what Mr. Burns is doing ' on a " large scale, many others are doing in. a lesser " degree,- ; ' ' ' I wish' that' -all the"'citfzens of my country could come into contact with the public men i ,whop T.have met, and. .catchy something of tho, f. .earnestness with whiqh they are" applying them selves to tho solution of tho municipal problems that prQss upon the present generation, it would -certainly increase the velocity of American re forms, and arouse that latent patriotism which only needs arousing to cope successfully with all ' , difficulties. . . Wliile U may seem that tho leaders of mu nicipal government in Europe are somewhat al truistic in their labors, there is a broader sense vin which they are quite selfish, but it is that laudable selfishness which manifests itself in one's desire to lift himself up, not by dragging down others or doing injustice to others, but by - lifting up the, level upon which all stand. Those who add to the comfort ana happiness of their community are making their own lives and prop-r erty more secure those who are endeavoring to infuso. hop& and ambition into the hearts ofr the hopeless and despondent are really working for themselves and their children and working more wisely than those who : re so short-sighted as to . .believo that, the accumulation of inoney is tho i only, object of life. ,: , Let us liope that the tirae.-'tfs near at hand when the successful business :men In tho United States, instead of continuing their accumulations to the very end of life, will be satisfied with a competency and when Jtliis is secured, give to their country tho "benefit of their experience, their in . telligonco and thelr. conscience, as many of the business men ojEngland, Scotland and Ireland . are now doing, w. J. BRYAN. &r JJJ Teaching Boys to Shoot. '"'7? , Tv, a pamphlet issued by tho National League of, Republican clubs, in 1891, and describing "the jprinciples and policies of the republican party" , t Jt was said: "In the affairs of the United States, happily enough, the war department does not cut a conspicuous figure." Evidently "the principles and policies of the republican party" have undergone a marked change' since tho pamphlet referred to was issued In his annual report, Secretary of War Root says that ho knows of nothing more important in the way of preparation for war "than to teach the young meh of tho country to shoot straight;" and he adds that "It is of no use to pay, equipsub sist, rind transport & soldier to the battle field unless ho can hit the enemy when he shoots at him." Mr. Root says that two recent changes in con ditions require that we make continuous and ac tive effort in this direction. One of these changes is "the greatly increased range of the modern, rifles which determines battles while tho combat ante are at a great distance from each other, and . which make practice more necessary for good marksmanship than ever before." The other is "tho decline in the use of fire arms among tho greater "part of our people." Mr. Itodt says that it is not now the case as it once was that every house has its rifle or shotgun, and that every boy 1 is taught to discharge these weapons'; and he ex plains that it is probable that a majority of the young men in the thickly settled parts of the country have never fired a gun and would be quite harmless to an enemy until taught to shoot. He thinks that we should' ndt wait until we are act ually engaged in hostilities, and he recommends an appropriation for the promotion of rifle prac tice and the formation 'of rifle clubs and con tests to which citizens generally shall be ad mitted. It cannot be ddubted that if such clubs were organized, there would be many applications for . membership. T,hq gun is a very attractive weapon and there would be little difficulty in persuading the boy to engage in target practice. And yet is' it to the best Interests of 'this country that the thoughts of r wtir bo ever kept uppermost-in the ' minds of o"ur citizens? Is it to the interests of our government, to thev interests of civilization, that on every occasion the boy be taught that war is one of the chief features of life? Would it not bo better if the boys, of our land could be trained in the ar"t of peace?" Would it not be better if they were persuaded to devote their energies in obtaining an education, not' merely from the text books, but also from humanity's statutes? Would It not be better to teach them that the greatest nation is the ,one that is foremost in peace, that the most powerful government is the one that " . makes every effort to lead1 in ,the goo'd 'order of the World? ' ' , ;" ' , ' ts it possible that'dur boasted civilization has made no greater 'progress, even at this 'day'in the ' presence of The Hague court of arbitration and Within a few months after the czar of all the v Russias made bold to suggest the disarmament of the world, than- that an American secretary,' referring to preparation for war, deems it rieces-'1 sary to say that nothing is more important than "teaching the young men of the country to shoot straight?" '' Is He a "Resistless Force?" The Pittsb.urg Post printed a story to the ef fect that Mty Rockefeller and his associates are devising a. - combination of the steel and railroad interests which will result in a monopoly of the steel t traffic. Commenting upon this announce ment, the Chicago Record-Herald, a republican paper, says that whether the scheme is near per ji fection or not, it points "merely to a natural evo - lution." The Record-Herald draws a striking pic ture when it says: "Mr. Rockefeller's enormous fortune is founded upon the most complete and elaborate system of combination that has ever been established in the country. Very early in his career he conceived the idea of destroy ing competition, and he carried It out with extraordinary skill and a relentless persist ence. His rivals were crushed one after an other in their futile campaign for independ ence, the chief instrument used against them "being the railroad rebate. He should have been an expert in rate juggling before his in vestments made him a powerful factor in tho directorate of railroad companies. "He starts now in this new enterprise with much greater advantages than those which ho enjoyed as the builder of Standard Oil. His methods are. approved by a phenom . enal success. He has a much larger capital at his disposal than any other man in the coun try. He is already credited with a con trolling interest in the steel corporation, he is the owner of vast mining properties and of fleets of lake vessels, and he Is the holder of large blocks of stocks and bonds in many rail roads. "Power to divert traffic follows as a mat ter of course. He can do as he pleases with freight that might make or break a carrier company. His investments play into one an other In such a way that he may favor this or that one as it pleases him. That ho should " VOLUME 3, NUMBER 51, v , giv the enormous steel tonrfage to a pet rail road would not be at all surprising. ti at in his capacity as a railroad director he show 5 be kind to the steel corporation would be 2. in keeping with his old practices." And then, after making this showing this aP?oliows:PaPer mata melancholy confession! "The truth is that he has become a re sistless force in the industrial world and that he will proceed from one monopoly to another regardless of all that is said and done to prevent. If he could live to the age of the patriarchs the United States would come to be merely one of hia appurtenances." Is it possible that in this government pre sumed to be of, by and for the people, the man who has done the things described by the Record Herald has become "a resistless force?" Is it possible that this man ,may "proceed from one monopoly to another regardless of all that is said and done to prevent?" If these statements be justified, then who will say that popular government fn this country is . not in peril 7 This republican paper speaks truly when it says: "If Rockefeller could live to the age of the patriarchs, the United States Would come to be jmerely one of his appurtenances." But, re membering what this man has already accom plished, realizing the great plan he is now un dertaking, and reading in one of the great news papers of the country that he has. become "a re sistless force," and that he will "proceed from one monopoly to another regardless of all that . is said and done to prevent" then, it may be said Mr. Rockefeller need not live to the age of tho patriarchs in order to make the United Slates of America "merely one of his appurtenances." That deplorable condition for this proud government would, at the present rate, bo brought about with in comparatively few. years.- But the Record-Herald is entirely too pessim- x -istic. Mr. Rockefeller only seems to be "a re sistless force." The time will come when the . American people will call him and, all other men who seek to manipulate this government to their own selfish ends toa rigid accounting. Every One May Help. The special subscription offer mado by liie Commoner lias met with a high degree of success. Thousands of Commoner readers have co-operated with the effort to enlarge the circulation of this , publication, and it is desired that every reader who believes in the principles supported by The Commoner will lend a hand. This subscription offer is similar to the lots of five plan presented last year. Cards, each good for one year's subscription to The Commoner, will be furnished in 'lots of five at the rate of $3 per lot. This places tho yearly subscription rate at GO cents each. Any one ordering the cards may sell them 'for $1 each, thus earning a commission of $2 on each lot sold, or he may- sell them at the cost price and find compensation in the fact that ho has contributed to the effort to widen The Com moner's sphere of influence. These cards may be paid for when ordered or they may be ordered a d remittance made after they have been sold. A coupon is printed below for the convenience of those who are willing to assfst In the coming contest. THE COMMONER'S SPECIAL OFFER Application for Subscription Cards 5 10 15 20 25 50 "75 Too"" Publisher Commoner: T. nm Interested in In creasing The Comrnonor's circulation, and de sire you to send men supply ol subscription cards. I agree to ufo my utmost endeavor to bell the enrds, nud will remit lor them nt the rate ol CO cents each, When sold. Name Box, or Street No. P. O. State 'ndlcSto iho number of cards wanted VymnrfctnirXoP poslto one of tho ninnliors printed on cnu or mm " If you believe the paper is (loing a work that merits coura gem cnt, Jill out the above coupon ana mail u encouragement to The Commoner, Lincoln, Neb. r it