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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1909)
'S "&, -., !, ,f tuM.Wiiii.mmff WiM IfHirfqr.iwwiaWag'gtaU DECEMBER 311909 The Commoner. 13 In 1010 We . are going to accomplish some wonderful things In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. We are going to bust trusts and po litical rings In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. We've rolled up our sleeves and we've spit on our hands To go after grafters who have swiped timber lands, And cinch all the members of tariff trust bands, In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. Wejiave made up our minds to get "rid of the sharks In Nineteen Hundred and Ten; To quit being counted by trusts "Easy Marks" In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. We're bound and 'determined to - rouse up our .pride And quit being donkeys for trust barons to ride; ' We're going to go but and get Joe Cannon's hide , In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. We're going to shake Peary and Wellman and Cook In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. The "polar dash" fellows'll get no pleasant look In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. We'll sinot look for the pole till we finish the Job Of putting off "watch all the inter ests that rob, And stop men like.Aldrich who only '4play hob,' In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. We're going to quit being the po . litical tools, -In Nineteen Hundred and Ten, Of men who make profit from tariff- fed pools, In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. We'll fool 'em a trip and we'll kick up a fuss If they try one again to Joecannon us We'll leave Uncle Joe back in Dan- ' ville to cuss, "In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. Experience, we've learned, Is a mighty dear school, Ere Nineteen Hundred and Ten But there's no better college to care for a fool, In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. So those Who've not learned that they're suckers to vote To bolster up trusts that have 'made -'em the "goat" We'll send to that school, and their progress we'll note, In Nineteen Hundred and Ten. had gooseflesh enough on your body to sandpaper down all the rough lumber in the township. And when you dived feet first in between those icy sheets you just knew you'd freeze to death before you could alarm the household. You shoved your knees up under your chin and held them there until you got a cramp, and then you unkinked long onough to get a frostbite on a couple of toes before you hunched your knees up again. You held your head under the covers until you were al most suffocated, and when you fin ally just had to stick your nose out to get a breath you jerked it back in and broke off an icicle. You lay there and shivered until you won dered why the house didn't fall down, and just before you froze to death you went to sleep. There are some things about the good old days that we love to re call, but just when we get to ru minating over old times and having a lot of fun with ourselves, sudden ly a memory .of the spare bedroom intrudes and bilf! bang! If it hap pens to be the hottest day of sum mer the mere thought of it cools us off for a time. If we had an enemy and we hope we haven't the very worst thing we could wish him would be that he. might have to spend an eternity trying to go to sleep in one of those old-time "spare bedrooms" along about January. Resolved That during 1910 I will not be a grouch. That I will be silent when I can not speak a word of cheor. That I will not give advice that. I do not heed myself. That I will not pass by on the other side. ' rt That I will give what I can, when I can, to help a fellow man. That I will preach only what I practice. That I will look only on the bright side. Tha I will not be envious or no more so than I can possibly help. That I will do my best. That I will not blame others for my own mistakes. That I will cut out grumbling. That I will not speak ill of a neighbor, nor listen to those who do. That if I get the worst of it I will make the best of it. That what I can do for myself I will ask no one to do for me. The Good Old Days ' -We cheerfully admit that In one' respect today has its advantages over yesterday. The "spaTe bedroom" is no longer the- torture that it used to be at this time of the year. The modern fur nace, 'or the base burner, has changed all that. . Geeminy Crickets! Couldn't the spare bed room get colder than Greenland's Icy mountains? If it was ten degrees below zero outside, it was sure to be twenty degrees be low In the "spare bedroom." The sheets were merely thin layers of Ice, and the bedposts were north and south poles with never a sign of an equator between. By the time you had doffed your clothing and donned your "nightie" your teeth had chat tered all their enamel off, and you The Anxious Inquirer "What is this great anniversary you are celebrating?" queried the Heathen who had just arrived on our shores to secure a Great Uplift. "This is Christmas," we answered. "The season of peace on earth, to men good will." "It means, then," continued the Heathen, "that no more will the world know the horrors of war, and that men everywhere will seek only the reign of peace and love?" vnn natch the idea exactly," we exclaimed, wondering at the Heath en's ready grasp. "Yet I note that your nation alone will expend $140,000,000 on its army next year, and $120,000,000 more on its navy." "Sure thing!" we exclaimed. "We always prepare for war in time of naughts, and educating men in tho science of killing one nnothor." O, othor nations do it, and wo must follow suit' wo replied. ir"And your ra,lroads annually kill 15,000 people and injure and maim 75,000 more?" "Well, wo are too buBy to tako much account of human lifo," wo replied by way of apology. "And thousands of hopeless wom en toil from dawn till midnight for a crust and a roof?" "Well, our industrial conditions are not tho best," was about all tho reply wo could make. "And thousands of poor children go brenkfastless to school every morning in this Christian land?" further queried tho Heathen. Wo had to admit 'that such was tho case. "And thousands of men aro killed in your mines and factories every year because employers have discov ered that human lifo Is cheaper than safety appliances?" We could only nod our head in assent. "And thousands of littlo children aro being physically stunted and mentally dwarfou becniiHn mnn n their greed aro willing to coin gold from the proceeds of the theft of tho playtime of youth?" , fTho Heathen paused for our re ply. By this time wo were a littlo im patient, but wo waited for one of two more queries. "And you actually pay some men a premium to oxact toil from widows and orphans?" queried tho Heathen. By this timo wo wore angry. "Look hero, you ignorant Heath en!" we shouted. "If you don't like our way of doing business just got out. You como from a country that wo'll have to civilize pretty soon, and we aro building tho Dread naughts and training tho army that can do the littlo old civilizing Job to perfection. Now git!" And as tho Heathen retired from the scene wo resumed our Christ mas celebration, feeling at peaco with all tho world. Tho Wrong Idea "See that poor fellow over there; the ono who looks as if ho did not have a friend on earth?" "Yes, ho does look like a down and outer, doesn't he?" "Well, you aro mistaken.- I just asked him how ho felt and ho said he felt likd a lord." "So he does. You'd understand if you wero posted on what's going on in Great Britain just now." rtrtA i "And you are building Dread- Thoso Dear Girls "Jack actually kissed me as I stood under the mistletoe last night." "O, dear! Now I've got to pay Jack." "What do you mean?" "O, I bet him a box of cigars against a box of gloves that ho wouldn't have tho nerve." This explains why they no longer speak. Something Missed When wo arrived at tho office wo started to work, but somehow or other there seemed to be something lacking. We couldn't seem to get started. Everything went wrong, and for the life of us we couldn't ascertain tho cause of tho trouble. The fountain pen" worked; the Stenographer was good natured; tho steam heat was working well but something was lacking, and finally we stoppe'd try ing to work and plunged Into thought. Finally we located the trouble. We had actually reached the office without having been stopped on the street and "tagged' for something or othor. Having thus located tho troublo wo realized that it was no uho try ing to continue, so wo hastened down town and pormlttcd ouruolf to bo fixed out for tho day. Brain Leaks "Soft snaps" usually have a pain ful "como-back." Wo'd rather rldo a hobby than stick in tho mud. A littlo Christmas candle can brighten up a lot of territory. Some people who are looking for tho worst of It soldom need spec tacles. Tho oldor wo get tho moro wo aro convinced that Santa Clauso Is tho real thing. Tho cost of living continues to incroasc, but, thank goodness, wo " aro still living! Wo pity tho man who has favor experienced tho pleasure of making k child feel happy. No sweeter music was over heard than tho happy laughter of children on CluiBthias morning. Tho man who puts off good rcspL lutlons until New Year usually fdrr-T gets them before tho year is old. Ono good feature about 1910 is tho opportunity it affords us for do ing much better than wo did In 1009. Tho man who said that December 21 Is tho shortest day In tho year forgot January 1. That Is tho "shortest" day for most of us, Tho worst part about this Dr.,, Cook business Is that it gives Walter ' Wellman a chanco to say "I told you so." Mi .i 1 THE DREAMERS You count them as an Idle class, "Vr1l fnlt thnm rt 41m lnciunK Virnrwl Who 'mid your roaring lntereataVI'lill' wiui none to give mem mm or heed ' ' But, dreamers, dreaming as thoy go, They aro the first, tho pioneers; They plant the seeds that swell and grow Unto tho grand results of years: Thoy are the salt of earth; in fact, Tho dream Is father of tho act. Utility, with giant hand, " - A now force trembles through thc'' land, ' &' A new creation springs to light, But back of it tho dreamer dreams And what utility hath wrought Through all tho tides of time but screams From out tho dreamer's busy thought: - The builder builds, tho dreanjeijJays , The broad foundations of tho davf.-y. Tho grand achievements of the years; Tho march of commerce, swift and true Tho message thattlfulfillnient hears, The marvels that tho times Imbue Oh, mock the dreamer not! he sleeps Upon the roaring rim of things, And it Is through his dream that sweeps The thought from which tho deed upsprings: Ho deals in fancy's pliant clay, Ho dreams the 'darkness into day. He dreams, and men catch up the fire; He dreams, and down the grooves of time To broader beauty worlds aspire, To higher uses nations climb, He dreams, and something of his hope, Some light that flashes from his star Throws the Iron engine's lever ope, Bids the world-builders build afar: Tho dreamers, dreaming iaun manes ; fj fact, They are tho fathers of tho act. Baltimore Sun. i iy U4wU.