Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 1907)
tytf' rr( k 6 The Commoner VOLUME 7, NUMBER 45 K , N5 r.iK The Commoner. ISSUED WEEKLY. William J. Buy an Editor mid Proprietor. JllCIIAJUl li. MlCTCAUPIS Acsoclnta Editor. OlIAnLKSW. BttYAN FqbllRhor. Edltorlnl Booms and Business Ofllco 324-330 South 12th Street, Entered at the PostoHIco at Lincoln, Neb., as second-class matter One Year - - Sl.OO lx Months - - .50 In Clubs of Flvo or moro, , Per Year - .75 Three. Months - 85o Einjflo Copy . - - 5o Samplo Copies Free. Foreign Postage 62 CcntsExtra. 'SUBSCRIPTIONS can bo sent direct to The Com- moncr. .Thoy can also bo sont through newspapers which rhovo-advertiocd a dubbing1 rate, or through local agents, where sub-agents have been appoint ed, All remittances should bo sent by postofllco - .money order, express order, or by bank draft on Now York or Chicago. Do not send individual checks, stamps or money. DISCONTINUANCES It is found that a largo majority of our subscribers prefer not to havo their subscriptions interrupted And thoir files broken in case thoy fail to remit before expiration. It Is thoreforo assumed that continuance Is desired unless subscribers order discontinuance, either when subscribing or at any time during tho year. Presentation Copies: Many persons subscribe for friends, intending that tho paper shall stop at tho end of tho year. If instructions aro given to that effect thoy will receive attention at tho proper time. RENEWALS The dalo on your wrapper shows tho tlmo to which your subscription is paid. Thus January 31, 08, means that payment has beon re ceived to and Including tho last Isbuo of January, 1908. Two weoks are required after money has been received before tho dato on wrapper can bo changed. CHANGE OP ADDRESS Subscribers requesting a chango of address must give OLD as well as NEW address. .ADVERTISING Rates furnished upon rtppllca- tion. ' Address all communications to uc THE COMMONER, Lfncoln, Neb. ' ' Mr. Watterson should Advise the "Star eyed" to consult an occullst. Also the opponents of the quantitative theory of money have been compelled to retire from the arena of public discussion for the time being. The re-election of Tom Johnson means that the Cleveland election had no national signifi cance. Had Burton been elected it would have been different. Golden Rule Jones' toga seems to "have-. fallen upon Brand Whitlock's shoulders. Wil liam H. Taft should visit Toledo and learn the secret of transfer. Federal Judge Grosscup might have en tj6jWgjrrthat jury from inducting him, Injunc- xion uu ucuer luuuuuu uuyb oeen reauuy issued iDy 1-uu.uriu juuges. The morning after Mr. Burton gaily re bounded from his congressional safety net and smiled as pleasantly as could be expected under the circumstances. Republican organs mourn because Oklahoma shows a preference for being called a southern state. After gazing awhile at Pennsylvania can you blame Oklahoma? John Hot Air Is an Indian who is holding down an allotment in Oklahoma. A lot of his namesakes are holding down jobs in the pro tective tariff department. One peculiar feature of the present crisis of the vociferous silence of those who were' wont to point to the Dlngley tariff as tho safe and" sure bulwark of .our prosperity. Augustus Heinze attributes his ,fai,lure to the fact that he imparted a business 'secret to a lady stenographer. The Adamic excuse does not seem to grow weaker with age. "It is a vile aspersion" said President Roosevelt at Oyster Bay Tuesday when asked if he had not voted for a democrat. Goodness, are we to have still another class of undesirables? , BuJ ,U is Prottv expensive business, this thing of keeping men like. Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Morgan on hand all the time just for the purpose of having them lhandy ,in a financial crista. THE OLD SILVER DOLLAR An Admirer of "Old Cart Wheel" Writes Feel ingly of tho Poor Fellow's Many Vicissitudes and Return to Favor (By James J. Burns in Denver News.) The biography of this noted if not honored individual shows him to be of Low German ori gin. The founder of the family was named Thaler, the son of Joachimsthaler. He was born in the fifteenth century, and since that time his descendants have settled in almost; every' civilized country on the globe. In Italy the family name is Tallero; in China, Tael; in Hayti, Gourde; in Japan, Yen; in Tripoli, Mahbub; in Ecuador, Suone; in Peru, Sol; in Spain and Spanish-American -countries, Peso. In the United. States,. Great Britain, Canada andvother -English-speaking countries, the. pat ronymic is Dollar, the early English spelling being Doler. Like all other families transplanted to a new country, there has entered an admixture into the blood. In the United States the strain is only nine-tenths pure. But, unlike that of other families, the crossing of the breed was enforced by law. Also, by law, the United States government insists that each individual member of this family shall weigh exactly 412 troy grains. Otherwise he shall not be eligible to civil service examination nor to "change partners" in the rhythmic dance of commerce. THALER IN DISGRACE In 1873 the American representative of the house of Thaler fell into disgrace. He was a jolly, rollicking, big-hearted fellow, who had come to be known under the sobriquet of "Cart- "wheel." iSome busybodies .had made complaint to his Uncle Samuel that he "was a veritable spendthrift. The old man was told that unless he stopped this extravagance he would become bankrupt. There were some few who questioned the motives of these Jeremiahs. They insinuated that more regard was had for certain Shylocks than for Uncle Sam. They contended that the prodigal's bounty had be.en used in releasing a countless horde of other nephews from the debtors' dock and that the products of only the Shylocks had been hurt. They insisted that the beneficent aid given to the deserving many far outweighed the harm to the cut-purse few. Also there were those who brought the captious ob jection that "Cartwheel" was tod big for his size. And again others who thought him too poor for his wealth. All these objections were thought to have been sufficiently answered by the accused one's friends, and they relied upon justice vindicating him. JUSTICE GOES AWRY But, as has happened often, both before and since, what was seeming justice went awry. Uncle Sam waxed wroth. His wisest and warm est friends advised not only disownment, but " even banishment. They loved the old man so well that his hurt was their hurt, and they mingled their tears with his. In their unselfish patriotism they went so far as to suggest meas ures by which a recurrence of such troubles Should fall upon themselves alone. They would take charge of the qjd man's cash all of it even to the making of it. But Uncle Sam would not assent to this self-sacrifice. He was still strong in body and vigorous in mind, and could not think of allow ing his friends to burden themselves with his troubles. He would be obliged to them for their always acceptable and thoroughly disinter ested advice. Later on he might accept their proffered aid, but not "now. He needed work to -relieve his mind of the family dlsgracer The atomy of ancient Greece had fallen on his house. His coat-of-arms was threatened with the fell abatement mark. He was disgraced, dishon ored. He would, sear upon the scapegrace brow thebrand of sammatha and cry "Avaunt!" In the meantime Miss Columbia had packed poor "Cartwheel's" grip, and he was told to go away by the hack stairs. There were some dis tinguished "senators and representatives in the front parlor, through which he would have to pass. It was more than possible that they would be embarrassed by his presence. And so down tho back stairs, with a final admonition to be ware of the dog, the outcast went away Into the apoious realm of desuetude. THE COURT OF TIME While his friends deplored and denounced tho .summary measure meted out to him it is said that ."Cartwheel!" himself, uttered never a word. It is possible that he trusted his vindl. cation to that court which never errs in judgment the court of time. w A short while later Bill Bryan found him lying in a ditch, all ragged and dirty and bat tered, ana with but fifty cents between him and starvation. Bill tried to lift him and nut him ?n1isfeet . He sfcrggled strenuously and faithfully, and would have given the best heifer on his farm to have accomplished his purnose But it was all of no avail. The task was inl superable. HThe poor outcast would so have to lie until further holp availed. Would so havo to lie, unmindful of the beauties of the star strewn deep, unheedful of the strain of tho cricket's song tunefully "stitching the threads of night." Bill sorrowfully shouldered his sack of-corn and trudgingly wended his way to tho mill, leaving the erstwhile prodigal to slumber the leep of the exheredate eremite. A few .days ago ..the telegraph announced that "Cartwheel" had been seen back east. Ho was still trusting in God and, according to re port, there were countless others who were willing to trust in him. He was togged out in a new suit of clothes, looked spic and span, and the mark on hislinen showed that he had come from Denver. Rumor also has it that while Uncle Sam has not forgiven, he is inclined to relent. Also, some very respectable persons were seen to em brace him and were seemingly sincere in tho act. THE GLAD HAND WAITS We are glad to hear all this. We are of tho few who have always had confidence in the hon esty, .integrity and -well-meaning of this forcibly estranged one. We were once fairly well ac quainted, and our great regret is that circum stances should arise to thwart our endeavor to ripen into intimacy than formal friendship. As we remember him, one of the dis tinguishing characteristics of "Cartwheel" was his unaffected democracy. He was neither ser vile to the rich nor haughty to the poor not frowning to the one nor exacting of the other. He was seemingly as well pleased while sitting on the bare table of the impoverished widow as when nestling midst the silks of rny lady's boudoir, and gave his services as readily to the, one as to the other. His word was ever as good as a govern ment bond. We never knew a merchant to re fuse him credit. He was never 'asked for se curity. The soft words and fair promise of others oft times failed their end his never. Although credited with being a good talker, his words were few and always to the point. His most distinguishing characteristic, how ever, was his absolute Ipyalty. We never knew him to fail a friend in need. Like others of our kind, our cruise through life has not always been on balmy seas. The vicissitudes of fortune have sometimes left us stranded on the rocks. But we never knew the time when this big hearted fellow was by us that he failed to serve us to the full extent of his capacity. We can recall instances, at certain periods of our life, when he was" the only friend we had ol. earth the one only friend upon whom we could im plicitly rely for a bed for the night and a meal for the morrow. So here's to you, old "Cartwheel." May you live long and prosper. May- your progeny become as the sands of the sea. You have been nothing but good to us, and we believe you have been harmful to no one. Captious critics have carped, and may carp again; selfish interests have ranted, and may rant again; but we trust that the good sense Df Uncle1 Sam will eventu ally restore you to that place to which your lineage and your merits entitle you. .THREAD - - The thread trust announces net profits of upwards of fifteen million dollars for the past year. .Avdividend of twenty per cent, together with an -additional bonus of ten per cent will be paid stockholders. - Referring to these facts the Norfolk (Va.) Virginian Pilot says: "This doesn't look like the recent advance of one cent a spool in the price of thread was needed to enable the trust to earn a fair and legitimate return on its in vestment, But it does strikingly- illustrate the blessings of our policy of inordinate tariff pro tection. Thirty per cent to the possessors of 'swollen' fortunes and the tpoor seamstresses pay the bill." , Lr jv ; JAtujMJ).y