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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1905)
'"lSJWmWPJ.lPUlWl)lIIP"' "'Tr 'wwwtTw"TwiTn--'r;' ti "iT. The Commoner. JTTLT 5 juiuidn rjMA r "" " . ... CURReNT VOPICSJlif AT THE recen'; session of the Texas legisla ture a primary election law was passed. This law contains an initiative clause as follows: "Section 140. "Whenever delegates are to bo se lected by any political party to any state or county convention by primary election or primary con vention or candidates are instructed for or nomi nated, it shall bo the duty of the chairman of the county or precinct executive committee of said political party upon the application of ten per cent of the members of said-party (who are legally qualified voters in said county or precinct) to submit at the time and place of selecting said delegates any proposition desired to bo voted upon by said voters, and the delegates selected at that time shall be considered instructed for whichever proposition for which a majority of the votes are cast; provided, that the number of 'voters be longing to said political party shall be determined by the votes cast for the party nominee for gov ernor at the preceding election; and provided further, that said application is filed with the county or precinct chairman at least five days before the tickets are to be printed, and the chair man may require a sworn statement that :he names of said applicants are genuine; provided, further, that all additional expense of printing any proposition on the officiul primary ballot shall be paid for by the parties requesting the same." WALTON PETEET, editor of the San Antonio (Texas) Dispatch, referring to the initia tive feature of the Texas primary election law says that it is highly important because it will enable the voters of the party to make party platforms. Mr. Peteet says that "the credit for this provision is in large measure due to Hon. M. A. Kennedy, of Mart, Texas. Mr. Kennedy was a member of the lower house and the adoption of the initiative paragraph was due "more to per sonal efforts than to any widespread sentiment although . of course the education of the public generally has prepared the way and lessened opposition." THE AUTHOR of the initiative feature, M. A. Kennedy, of Mart, Texas, referring to the measure says: "You will observe that it simply applies to parties holding primaries or conven tions for nominating delegates or candidates. The sole object of this clause is to Lcure an expres sion from the voters direct on platform demands. In this state for several years past a committee of thirty-one has usually made the platforms for the dominant party, and the result has been the party platforms are looked upon with suspicion and alarm by a great- many legislators and others. Becently the salaries of district judges were in oased $500 annually 'in the name of the people ul 'Texas' when not one-fifth of them wanted the ciiange. To meet this condition is the reason why I prepared the feature alluded to. I don t look for it to be invoked for a few years yet, but ultimately it will be used in two-thirds of the counties in the state. It is also a safe propo sition, that three years, from now it will be in voked against th- delivery of the Texas demo crats to our friends Belmont, McCarren et u. Whilst the idea, so far as placing it in the elec tion bill was concerned, was original with me, still there was on a final show-down absolutely no opposition to it. True, it was left out of the senate substitute for the house bill, but the house put it in the bill by a unanimous vote and in the free conference committee it was agreed to with surprising unanimity." A CLUB has been organized at Caruthersvillo, Pemiscot county, "Mo., -hose purpose it is to aid in bringing about a reduction in the prices paid the railroads for the transportation of the mails. Corydon Garrett, editor of the Pemiscot Press, one of the leading spirits in this organiza tion, says that they have communicated with sen ators and congressmen, and in many instances have had much encouragement, though some mem bers are evasive while others have not taken the troulle to reply. THE Lh3ACRS of this club have gathered con siderable valuable information. One of the club members writing to The Commoner explains: "The rate of pay on 'star routes' for carrying tho mails is not per hundred nor per ton; star route bidders are informed that they are supposed to carry all tho mail (be it largo or small) from ono- certain point to another certain point for so many dollars, the amount being their bid, and as many as may wish can make a bid to carry the mail, but ono whose bid is the lowest gets the contract for four years, at the end of which time the contract is relet to tho lowest bidder. Thus it is that tho pay on star routes aro being continually reduced every four years. Tho amount of mail carried on star routes varies from 50 to 500 pounds, but no attention is paid to the amount of the mail; it is the trip which i3 supposed to bo paid for. All postofllccj that have star routes are supplied with a book showing every star route in the state that said postofilce is in and the distance and amount paid on each route. From such books you can get the desired information on star routes. Now the pay to railroads for carrying the mails is di erent, they are paid twice for carrying the same mails, oce per hundred pounds per mile and onco per car mile. Go to tho postmaster and ask for his postal laws and regula tions of 1902 1 see sections 1,104, 1,1GB and 1,160 on pages 536 and 537 and you will find that tho railroads are .allowed from $42.75 per mile per annum for carrying 200 pounds of mail to $192.37 per mile per annum for carrying 7,000 pounds of mail. Now in addition to that see section 4,004 R. S., act of March 3, 1873 and you will find that the railroads receive' from $25 per mile per an num for furnishing a forty foot car in which to carry the mails to $50 per car per mile per an num for furnishing a sixty foot car In which to carry the mails. Thus you will see the railroads are paid twice for the same service." IN ORDER to show what this double pay amounts to, this same authority says: "Sup pose on a line 100 miles long the railroad com pany should carry an average of 200 pounds jf mail daily; tha would amount t $42.75 per mllo per annum and in addition to that suppose tho car furnished for carrying this 200 pounds -f mail be a forty foot car that would be $25 per mile also, whic'i would be a total of $67.75 per mile per annum for carrying 200 pounds of mail. Suppose again that a line 100 miles long carry ; a average of 2,000 pounds of mail each day; that would be $128,25 per mile per annum and the same size car that it took to carry the 200 pounds of mail will also carry the 2,000 pounds of mail at not one "cent more cost to tho railroads for carrying tho 2,000 pounds of mail than it cost them for carrying the 200 pounds of mail, and I see no reason why this government should pay them any more. The total cost for carrying 200 pounds of mail per hundred pounds and per car is $07.75 per mile. The total cost for carrying 2,000 pounds of mail both per hundred and per car is $153.25 per mile." Notwithstanding the fact that it costs the railroad company not one . cent more to carry the 2,000 pounds of mail than it does to carry the 200 pounds of mail still they are paid almost $100 per mile more for said ser vice. It is a great puzzle to my feeble mind why we should pay per 100 at all for carrying the mail if the amount per car is right and vice versa why we should pay per car at all if tho amount per hundred is right. Now it seems to me that tho wiser plan would be to do away with the rate per hundred per mile and leave the rate per car per mile stand what it is as it is easy to see that the only additional pay the railroads should re ceive for carrying the mail is when the amount should be so much that it should become neces sary to attach en additional car. Another fact which should not be overlooked is that the ex press companies get their express carried on r.li railroad lines at a less cost than this government pays for the cars in which the mails are carried. It seems to me that it should not cost this gov ernment any more to have the mails carried than it does cost the express companies to have the express carried. The amount of express carried over every railroad line Is much greater than the amount rof mail." JUDGE HOLDOM of Milwaukee recently made a temporary order, giving a two-year-old child into the custody of his mother. The parents disnuted for the possession of the child. In mak ing the order Judge Holdom said: "There is nothing that would compensato for tho loss of mother-love and protection, and this court has to do with tho wolfare of tho child and not tho parent." Tho newspaper reports say: "Whllo tho hearing was going on the boy, who was In charge of Mrs. Krausc's brother, toddled over to his father, whero ho sat cooing and laughing at his mother across the courtroom. As counsel re tired to draw up terms for a settlement, Judge Holdom came down from Che bench and took tho child in his arms. The baby laughed and pattod his cheek. 'I don't seo why In the world you peo ple can't get along with a baby like this to play with,' said tho judge shaking his head. By tho order of the. court the father will be allowed to see his child as often as lie pleases. The mother is forbidden to take the child from under tho jurisdiction of tho court until some definite scttlo moi ' of tho case Is made." THAT an alliance between tho United States, Groat Britain and Japan is not unlikely to bo developed In tho near future Is tho opinion expressed by the Washington Post. The Post re fers to this as "a great and exciting Issue," and says: "In its self-evident greatness it will, If or when it comes, dwarf all other questions of for eign or domestic policy. In its capacity to pro duce excitement it will have no equal. If any suggestion as .o national policy could be depend- ed upon to excite, to startle, not to say shock, the people of this country, it would bo the propo sition, seriously pressed, of such a departure from tho counsels of Washing .on as that. To the con tention that our unfortunate, our deplorable de parture from traditions and precedents In acquir ing sovereignty over the Philippine islands and their 8,000,000 of people necessitates this depart ure, as one false step calls for another, the people may not have a satisfactory answer, for they see that In the event of war with Japan our reten tion of tho Philippines would be extremely diffi cult, if not quite impossible. But no argument would rcconcllo this nation to any foreign alli ance. The people, not only tho 'plain people,' but the other kinds, with few exceptions, would rnako any administration or party extremely uncomfort able if it should attempt to consummate such an international compact. Still wo think the Issuo is coming is well on its way, and will arrive be fore many months shall have passed." THE ASSESSOR at Newport has discovered and listed for taxation $13,313,100 of per sonal property which has not been taxed before. Referring to this fact the Saturday Evening Post says: "Tho amount of the tax, if grossly meas ur. " In dollars and cents, is a bagatelle to Now port, but the galling fact that these particular owners of personal property were unable to es cape paying these taxes must sadden and hu miliate them as often as they recall it Intrud ing its grinning head at their richest feasts and derisively poking them in the. ribs as they Ho on their downy beds. It is something that few self-respecting property owners can stand. Many millionaires have been driven from their homes by it, and gone wandering from state to state, and township to township in order to escape." ONCE THER71 was a resident of Chicago who listed all her personal property for taxa tion. Recalling the instance the Saturday Even ing Post says: "The local newspapers put it on the front page under scare heads. Such a thing had never happened before. People date reminis cences from it now, as from the, year of tho great fire, or tho winter of the deep snow. Opin ion was divided. Some thought this miraculous property owner waa merely eccentric, others arg ued for insanity. It was pointed out that tho total personal property returned for taxation was less than it had been thirty years before when the city had a third of the population and a sixth of the wealth. The episode made a record, as they say in sporting circles. To date nobody seems ambitious to match it. There is tnfliqg formality in connection with the personal prop erty schedule. It consists of the affidavit 2t the bottom where the property owner does solemnly swear that he has listed above all his taxable possessions. On account of this some timorous gentlemen draw their balances out of the bank the day before, put the money In a safe deposit 11 'I 4 m is ii m , At. & i- & gvdwuSgiMg j- . :-