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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 1904)
DECEMBER 23, 1904 The Commoner. r.m Single Tax Theory Being Worked Out Fairhope, Ala., was founded for the purpose of testing some of tho theories that have been suggested as proper remedies for the existing evils of our civilization. Academic discussion and political methods had failed to bring about their adoption. .The public would not commit Itself to" any" of these untried theories, no matter how logically per fect' they seemed to be or how plaus ibly their advocates were able to pre sent them. The business world refused to per mit the foundation of its structure of wealth to be replaced by mere theo ries untried in the past and unguar anteed for the future. It must needs deal with elements upon which it could calculate by the rules that it had learned from experience. It had too much at stake to take chances. This is the root of that conserva tism which, while it hinders the world from progress, more often, perhaps, preserves it from disastrous reverses. The majority of men are not idealists or inventors. The ne cessities of existence compel" them to bo realists and imitators. ' Therefore the public is Conservative. '"i- Idealism and' invention are,v indi vidualistic 4' manifestations. "Hence it is that evils fDy "individual .Interests are evolutionary In 'their growth and steal upon the public insiduo,usly, while reforms whidh waitfprjjftnlted action come geneAlly from revolution when evils can be;;nV longer, prne. The inventor wtip would profit by some new Idea" fn 'machinery mllst needs make at ledst a Worlrin& inoVtal of it, before" 'he s&fr hope to'Jnerest his feUbw man' Infais invention? And 6byreafSbne'd,5th6''i)rbm,oters of iairnope. ,it was tnougnttnat a com munity which might atidpt the re form.' theories which' they advocated and b.ecome a working model of them would do more to .advance them than any amount of dogmatic teaching or political effort. Accordingly, a company was formed and a site chosen on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay about midway between the "little village of Battles and Montrose.. A Bmall tract of land was secured140 acres at first to which has been since added about tori times as much. The title to this land was vested in the company which, by reason of its ownership, could dictate to those who might live upon it, the terms and con ditions of its use. No attempt ' Was to be made to evade or circumvent the laws of the land. All of the duties which they enjoin were to be fully met but the privileges which they confer with tho ownership of its lands were to be administered by the company in the interest of all its-users. The ownership of the land being made public; property, Henry George's theory of the single tax was to be illustrated by the' collection of a rent out of which rail taxes and all public expense is borneV These public ex penses consist o, such local public services as the community may from time to time require the company really standing in the same relation to the people on its lands as would a local village or township govern ment. In tho Internal administration of the company's affairs, the principles of direct legislation, are embodied through a full application of initia tive and referendum, and equal voting 3Met$hiig 3alsdm Cures COVGHS COLDS CROUP privileges are accorded to both sexes. Tho imperative mandate which is de signed to enable an doctorate to de pose an OfllP.nr tV norvnnf whnh i. i no longer satisfactory is also a part of the system. Thus tho promoters of Fairhopo de sign tO dGmntlRtmfn Hv a nrnt.1, 1 ,,,. the principles of the single tax, gov ernment ownership, direct legislation and equal suffrage. Other ideas are also incidentally worked out in their experiment. Membership in tho company does not bring to Its members any pecun iary reward. The item of profit is en tirely Glimlnnf-fHl Tht nrtrnnlvnttnn has no other purpose than to promote luo uppiicauon or its principles for tho purposes of demonstration. Fairhopo was founded about ten years ago In what was then a wilder ness, with disadvantages greater than fall to tho lot of ordinary communi ties, but it has steadily grown through them all from a population of less than a score, until today it has a vil lage and farming community of about four hundred souls. It has business and tradiner fanilittaR far in nrlvnnpo of most villages of its class, and a public servjeq that is so far as the writer knows, unequalleq. Its success is so marked, that its Droiectors al ready claim for it tho demonstration of its principles and predict fqr it a Dfijuant auiure. kl , It is my -purpose to nrenaro for your readers a, series , of short ar ticles setting forth in detail Its meth od of dealing with each of tho prob lems it b.as jmet and the. success with which iti'.has) been attended,) . My next iwillt give in detail its meth od of administering the land. J. Bel langeGj in -Farm Stock and Home. Strewn with Broken Hopes The loss of the presidency was probably not an overwhelming disap pointment to Judge Parker, for he could hardly have been under any serl ous delusion regarding his chances of success. But tho way to tho great office is strewn with the broken hopns and shattered ambitions of those of his predecessors who had given up their lives to the pursuit of the prize only to lose it in the end. The list begins with John Jay, who sacrificed his prospects by negotiat ing an unpopular treaty with Great Britain. It ends with Thomas B. Reed, for Mr. Bryan was the leader of a forlorn hope both in 1896 and in 1900 and he accepted defeat with fortitude. While there ""were disappointments of aspirations early in the history of the country, tho first case was that of Henry Clay, the brilliant "Harry of the West." Clay was passed over in 184Q, because his membership in the Masonic order and his tariff views made him less "available" than Wil liam Henry Harrison. Four years later he secured the nomination only to be defeated by the first democratic dark horse, James K. Polk. Webster was another leader who was sacrificed to the exigencies of the popular demand. In 1848 the whigs deserted their chiefs and went over to the military hero, Gen. Taylor, although the Massachusetts states man according to all precedents, was entitled to the nomination. Again, In 1852, Webster lost to another soldier, Gen. Winfield Scott. In I860 G07. coiwnrii nf New York was the re publican leader, and tho logical choice Salmon P. Chase was another man with a presidential, ambition which coin in 1864. Defeated at that time, ho looked forward four years to tho domocratlc convention, which rejected him and named Gov. Soymour. To avengo his defoat his daughter is re ported to have induced Conkling not to fight tho decision of tho electoral commission awarding Louisiana's vote to Hayes. For Mr. Tildcn had boon tho real nnwnr hnhlnil Rnvmmp'u nnm- ination. Thus a grudge over a defeat llClned to donrlvn thn flnmnnrnHn nnn. didato in 1876 of his victory. Horace ureeiey succumbed In 1872 under his crushing defeat and died a few dajs auer tno election. Blaine was defeated for tho nom ination in 1876 by the cutting off of the gas from tho convention hall, which thus compelled tho adjourn ment over night and gavo his oppo nents timo to arrange a winning combination. His loss of tho presi dency, eight years later, duo to the Burchard indiscretion, left him a broken man. Tho brilliant Reed hoped for tho nomination in 1896, but it went to his more astute adversary. The acquisition of tho Philippines alienated him from his narty and finally forced his withdrawal from po litical life. Theodore Roosevelt is one of the very fow brilliant party leaders since the time of the Virginia dynasty whose long term of public service has been rounded out with an election to tho presidency. Kansas City Star. The Chickasaw Government Tho " Chickasaw government is al most an exact replica of tho admin istration of affairs in tho state of Mississinni. tho former homo' of the tribe. The Chickasaws proudly assert that their laws are the most perfect found among Indians. Their law. maklng body is called tho Chickasaw legislature, and its organization is an exact pattern of tho average state legislature. There is tho house of representatives and tho senate, with a speaker of the former and president of tho latter. Martin Van B. Cheaue, a veteran leader in the nation, is presi dent of tho senate. The head of the nation is Gov. Johnson, a most able man, who before tho intervention of tho United States would have pos sessed all of the powers of a gover nor of a state. Tho Chickasaw government is sep arated into three divisions, tno leg islative, executive and judicial. The nation is divided Into counties and each has its county seat. Tishomingo being tho county seat of Tishomingo county. There are four judicial dis tricts, and county, probate and su preme courts. These courts have been shorn of most of their ppwer by the United States, but are still in exis tence. Each county had its sheriff 'and a jail, where prisoners were kept. Ex ecutions were made by hanging on gallows, modeled after those used in tho states. Murder and Jarceny, after a third offense, was punlshauie uy death. Martin V. B. Cheadle, president of the senate, says there are two polit injii narties in the Chickasaw nation, the progressives and tho nationals. Tho progressives oppose tne poncy oi tho government in allotting lands and are loth to give up their government. Tho national party, of which Mr. Cheadle Is leader, believes that the nation should assist the United States mvom mont in every way In settling tribal affairs In line with Its present nniinv Tf: favors the sale or ail trinai property, Including surplus lands, to desert tho ship that ban carried ua safely over, and I bcliovo that most of Uio nationals will oo republicans." Mr. Choadlo Bays that tho- national party represents tho majority element In tho Chicnasaw nation. Knnsoa City Journal. Army Transport Service ' Tho report from Washington that congress Is to do away with tho army transport service, so that tills busi ness can bo, handed over to prlvato owners of stenmshlps, J8 of particular interest at this time, owJng to tho comment made on tho quartormaster'n sorvlco In tho annual report which Secretary Taft has just given out for his department. In that report it la stated that four of tho eighteen ves sels belonging to tho army transport sorvico wero employed in keeping yp monthly sailings between San Fran cisco and Manila. Four other vessels wero used in tho intor-laland sorvico at tho Philippines. Secretary Taft states thnt tho total expenditures on account of tho army transport sorvico lor tno year wero 13,074,02!. If from this total is deducted tho coat of run ning tho Burnsldo, which was used exclusively through the year as a cablo ship, and tho cost of running tho dispatch boats Ingalls and Kanawha, tho remainder, which Is the real coat oi tho transport service, is $2,803,800 Tho qunrtormaster-goneral reports that this Is over $600,000 loss than tho lowest rate offered by commercial lines for the same service. That' ad ' vantage Is to Uc abandoned and tho army transports laid up at tho gov ernment docks to rust out their lives, while Uncle Sam pays prlvato Individ- uals for performing transport services far moro than ho has been ablo to do this business for himself. It I often argued by thoso who favor shipping subsidies that ono reason why wo should havo moro vessels under tho American flag Is for their usefulness In time of war, either as auxiliary cruisers or for tho transportation of troops. Would not even this samo argument apply with even greater forco In favor of a retention oftho army transport service, a service that would always have a number of ves sels in condition to transport trodpa without obliging Undo Sam to pay any such charges as were run uj. against him in some cases for thoj purchase or hire of ships during tho Spanish war? Boston Herald. ' - The Largest Flower Tho Rafflesia is a strange plant, says American Gardening. It grow in Sumatra and derives its namo from! of his party. J he government, and the division of element caused his defeat and r ade tne tove nossible tho nomination p Lincoln, "off "iJ m'0f the n ' "rirhmi asked if most of the memWrftbf, 4the national' party" do not a presidential ampiuon ZllVnUev ot the republican XenoSateion " of Lm- par, Mr. Creadle said: "We will notl Sir Stamford Raffles, governor of Sumatra, at ono time, and his friend,' Doctor Arnold, a naturalist. They wero tho first white men to discover tho wonderful plant. It is said to bo tho largest and most magnificent flower in the world. It is composed of flvo, roundish petals, each a foot across and of a brick-red color, covered with numerous irregular yellowish whlto swellings. Tho petals suround a cup nearly a foot wide, tho margin of which bears the stamens. . The cup Is filled with a fleshy disk, tho upper surface of which Is every where covered with projections like miniature cow's horns. The cup when free from Its contents would bold, about twtlvo pints of water. Tho flower weighs fifteen pounds. It la very thick, tho petals being three quarters of an inch In thickness. With Its beauty one is lea to expect sweet ness, but Its odor Is that of tainted beef, and Doctor Arnold supposed that even the filed were deceived by tho smell and We'n; depositing their egga In tho thick dLi'c, taking it for a plec of carrion. ' " J 1 II I r "" I !SV