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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1913)
i '(nf."WOffl Irf ll 4 . The Commoner VOL. 13, NO. 29 24 s. P- members of tho American Bankers' association on tho Glass-Owen cur rency bill, September 2. Only two (members of tho bankers' committee, James F. Forgan of Chicago, and Sol Woxlor of Now Orleans, gavo their views. Tho administration currency bill is well on its way through tho house. At tho tlmo Tho Commoner goes to press tho reading of tho bill for amendment was completed, and -Its passage, with no material chango from tho form in which it was drawn by the banking committee, was predicted within a few days. The sonato and houso conferees, settling points in tho tariff bill, in disagreement botween tho two houses, are making good pro gress, and it is likely that the tariff bill will go to tho president foi- his signature in a short time. Isaac It. McMIchaol, ex-chief of pages of tho houso of representa tives, testified boforo tho houso "lobby" investigating committee that ho was paid $50 a month dur ing three sessions of congress from 1909 to January, 1912, by Mulhall, for services rendered. McMichael also testified that he kept Mulhall in formed as to the status of bills in tho house. That the now parcel post system will result in a largo postal surplus, amounting to probably $10,000,000 for tho current fiscal year, was tho prediction made in a spoech in the houso of representatives by Repre sentative Dadd J. Lewis of Mary land, lie prophesied that it was only a question of time before the parcel post would absorb 90 per cent of the express business of the country. Tho good roads ofilce of tho de partment of agriculture announced Its intention of employing a publi city export, to be supplied by the civil service commission. A new eligible list will be created to ml vacancies that may occur. The po sition pays $8 a day, and tho appli cant must bo at least twenty-fivo years of ago and havo had at least five years' experience in newspaper work. Tho competition is open to men only. HYPNOTIZED t-V.. .tn.1,1 A. mo ubui, w own ana operate u public utilities. A preliminary rl part of the federal rural credits com. mission from Senator Fletcher ua chairman, was read. This commission has recently returned from an ex tensive investigation of the farming and credit systems of eighteen European countries, and has estab lished permanent headquarters at Washington. It will make recom mendations for a system of rural banking through which farmers may obtain loans, and finance co-operative buying, selling and producing organizations. -Brooklyn Eagle. Gleaned from the Month's News Cleveland's new homo rule charter was upheld by the supremo court of Ohio on August 26 by a tie vote, 3 to 3. Tho decision follows a suit brought to test a ruling of Attor ney General Hogan, who had de clared unconstitutional tho preferen tial vote and the primary elimination feature of the charter. The system provided by the now charter is con sidered an advance even beyond non-partisanship. It gives the voter the right to namo a first, socond and other choices until he has indi cated in their order his opinion of tho relative merits of the various candidates for any office. If there is no majority, the second and other choices are added to the vote until some candidate does receive a majority. the governor designating September 3 and 4 as days for statewide com munity road work. VASTLY IMPROVED Tho Commoner, as a monthly publication, is vastly improved with its additional pages and its cleverly arranged departments. One now feature- that strikos us as attractive and of much value is tho "work of the president's cabinet." This, as Charlie Bryan would say about a piece of politics, is most probably "inside information." Certain it is that no one could get more about tho work of tho cabinet in the same tlmo than tho secretary of state, and this department alone is worth the price of admission. Tho Omaha Ne-braskan.' A skyscraper whoso topmost tower will rise 901 feet above the curb is planned for erection in New York city by the Pan-American states association. According to the plans it will be constructed wholly of ma terials from tho Latin-American re publics, and will overtower the Wool worth building, the world's tallest habitable structure, 150 feet, and will be ready for occupancy with the Panama-Pacific exposition In Cali fornia in 1915. The cost of tho structure is estimated at $9,000,000. Tho palace of peace, built at The Hague at a cost of $1,500,000, do nated by Andrew Carnegie as a home for tho permanent .court of arbitra tion, was dedicated on tho 28 th of August, in the presence of the royal family of Holland, and a distin guished gathering of diplomats and publicists. Tho president of the Car negie foundation placed the palace under the care of the diplomatic corps, of which, for the purposes of the gift the Dutch, foreign minister is made president. The retiring foreign minister, Van Swinderen accepted the custody of the building and ex pressed the conviction that the open ing of the great structure added an important page to the history of arbitration. An estimate of the cost in money of tho Balkan war, recently mado public in London, contains tho following figures: Turkey's expen ditures to July 1, 1913, were $180, 000,000; Greece spent $80,000, 000; Servia, $70,000,000; Bul garia, $100,000,000; Roumania, $70,000,000. In addition to theso figures, it is estimated that about $400,000,000 was expended in bring ing the armaments up-to-date. Ferdinand August Bebel, long tho leader of the German socialists, died in Zurich, Switzerland, of paralysis of the heart. He was born at Cologne, February 22, 1840, and was considered one of the most eloquent of German orators. IDIOTIC In a little Scotch highland village there was a "simple" man, who sometimes out of his blighted mind brought words of wisdom. He used, every Sunday, to sit in solitary and stupid state in tho gallery of the village kirk, and listen to the long winded old preacher who droned through tho same sermon nearly Governor Major of Missouri Is the author of a new "good roads" idea that is destined to give a decided impetus to the good roads movement all over the country. An earnest and practical effort was made in every county in that state to im prove conditions by means of two "good road days," August 20 and 21, which were designated by the governor in a proclamation. Gover nor Major, who personally took a hand in the work, says he will ask the governor of each state to set aside these dates in August next year as good road days. Governor Hodges of Kansas came into Missouri to help, and it is estimated tnat 50,000 men every Sunday of the year. One Sab- were actually engaged in building bath the minister stopped short in his sermon and spoke feelingly to his congregation. Said ho: "I danna believe there's one mon awake and listening to the dooscourse ex cept the eedlot in the gallery!" For a moment there was silence. Then the vacant-minded one leaned over tho rail and shouted: "And if I hadna been an eediot I'd ha' beon asleep too." Cleveland Leader. and repairing highways, bridges and culverts, cutting weeds and rrush and digging ditches. Farming opera tions were suspended in many places and business and professional men joined in the crusade, tho idea be ing to have everybody, t. far as pos sible, work in person, and not by proxy. Women volunteers furnished meals and helped feed the toilers. Arkansas has already followed suit, Tho governors and ex-governors from twenty-five states attended the conference of the "house of gover nors" which met at Colorado Springs, Colo., August 26. The first of these conferences was called by President Roosevelt in 1908, and was so suc cessful that they have boen repeated every year since. Various important stato problems were discussed with a view of obtaining tho friendly co operation of each state in matters of common concern, and affording r.n opportunity for an exchange of in formation on subjects lying within state jurisdiction. Franklin K. Lane, secretary of tho interior, repre sented President Wilson. He out lined tho policy of his department toward western land settlement, told what is being done to reclaim arid lands, and stated that tho govern ment has expended $80,000,000 in reclamation projects, and should ex pend an equal sum within the next decade. He also described the farm co-operative credit system and recommended its adoption and ex tension. Governor Hodges of Kansas and Governor Hunt of Arizona, both advocated tho abolition of the two? house system of legislative covern- kment and the substitution nf n single-chambered legislature subject to the initiative, referendum and re call. Governor O'Neal of Alabama advocated the Increase instead of the curtailment of legislative powers. Governor Dunne of Illinois spoke on the control of public utilities, and told of the enactment of the law which gives every city in his state The Imperator, of tho Hamburg American line, the world's biggest ship, caught fire on the morning of August 28, while lying at her dock in Hoboken, New Jersey, and burned for five hours, despite the efforts of the ship's fire-fighting corps, tho entire fire department of Hoboken and assistance from New York fire boats to extinguish it. The 1,500 third-class and steerage passengers and 1,100 of the crew escaped in jury, with the exception of one of the ship's officers, who lost his Hfo fighting tho fire. The blaze caused damage estimated at $50,000. Colonel William C. Gorgas, chief sanitary officer of the Panama canal commission, has accepted the invita tion sent him by the chamber of mines to undertake the improvement of the sanitation works in the Rand, South Africa, subject to the approval of tho United States government. Dr. Marie Piacenza, an Italian ex plorer, has succeeded in reaching uio summit of Mount Numzum, a &&f 00 0-foot peak in the Himilayas. The twentieth universal peace con gress opened August 20 at ine Hague, over 950 delegates represent ing all civilized nations, being present. Mrs. Julia Lorillard ButterfleW. .ii t nrtoi -nnnlnl Biittenioiu bequeathed all but $780,000 of her $3,000,000 estate to the interna tional committee of the Y. M. u - for work in the army and navy. Emile Ollivior, famous French statesman, premier of France under Napoleon III, and senior member oe the academy, died at Annecy, Fiance, August 20. Tho Pilgrim's monument, a me morial of the tercentenary of in departure of tho PfImf 'S? Southampton, England, for AnwcB; was unveiled August 15 by Walt Hines Page, the United State ambas sador. It is a column erected on w site of the pier from which the . n grims 'embarked on the J MajWBe Ambassador Page dedicated" monument with an oration, in he quoted James RussoL Lowe i saying that the Pilgr tee were owj colonists, who wont .in; search or u instead of gold. The monranfl signed by It. M. Lucas, is of sw ' .:" !l?'. i i T L n jjjLiiSyigj ..ttfc .,j .,