I.
1 II 11 I . K IKAULA C.lJIINl.ll Ol I I I I 7
L1W
VOL. 6
lixcoiJs', Nebraska, September is, if09
8 PAGES
.O. 24
AY:
Interesting Comment .
Concerning Prohibition
TIME FOR PLAIN TALK.
Edgar Howard in Columbus Telegram.
Nebraska, ia face to face with a
prohibition campaign right now
There is no use- waiting for the fight
until next year. It Is here now.
In an address delivered in his home
town a few days ago ex-Governor
Sheldon announced that he had
burned all bridges behind him. and
was now an out-and-out prohibitionist.
This announcement means one
thing certain namely, that Governor
Sheldon will be a candidate for the
republican nomination for governor
next year, and It means that he will
be the tepublican nominee on a prohi
bition platform. There Is no mistak
ing IL Circumstances have made Gov
ernor Sheldon the most popular re
publican In Nebraska. He Is In dead
earnest. He is In the campaign right
now.
Confronted by such a situation.
what is the duty of the democratic
party in the state? As The Telegram
views the situation the duty is plain.
T) nartv should begin at this mo
ment to plan to present to the people
next year a candidate and a platform
pledging allegiance to the present Ne
braska liquor laws. The party should
speak plainly to the people, leaving
nothing to be guessed at as to the
course It will pursue. It should nom
inate for a governor a man who is
known to be a lover of the law one
who Is opposed all the time to prohi
bition, and In favor all the time of the
present liquor laws and their strict
enforcement.
There Is no other way to defeat
prohibition in Nebraska. It will come
as certain as the year 1911 shall
dawn, unless steps be taken now to
- stop it. The personal ambitions of
men must not be permitted to stand
la the way of the welfare of Nebras
ka. The welfare of the state demands
a rigid enforcement of present liquor
laws, and the certain defeat of stat
utory prohibition.
It the republicans will nominate
Governor Sheldon on a prohibition
platform (and that's what they wBl
do) It will be no child's play- to de
feat him. And if he shall be elected
he will carry a republican-prohibition,
legislature with bni.
Governor Sheldon and the prohibi
tion program can be defeated if the
democrats of the state shall display
horse sense in nominating their can
didates. Democrats dare not enter
the contest with a gubernatorial can
didate who advocates a '"personal lib
erty" which spits In the face of the
law. The democratic candidate for
governor must be o posed to prohibi
tion, but he must be in favor of ex
isting law. The people of the state
will defeat the prohibition program if
. the democratic party will give them a
fair chance, but we warn the demo
cratic leaders that the fighting demo
cratic workers in Nebraska will
never stand behind a democratic can
didate for governor who advocates the
repeal ot the daylight saloon law.
They cannot be Induced to support a
democratic candidate for governor
who encourages the open and flagrant
violation ot our present liquor laws
regarding the sale of liquor on Sun
day. The daylight saloon law and the
Sunday liauor laws have come to
wjy, and a democratic candidate who
is known to be opposed to those laws
will never know that he is in the run
ning against ex-Governor Sheldon.
Nebraska Is not a prohibition state,
bat it can be made a prohibition state
in a hurry if the democrats shall be
so foolish next year as to nominate
for governor a candidate who openly
announce himself as opposed to the
exiting liquor lawn. This seems to
be the program of the interests in
Omaha, and the so-called "Personal
Rights League." but we warn them
that the militant democracy out in
' the state will not stand for the pro
gram. We sound the warning now,
so that the bosses shall not be in a
position to sar that they did not hear
It in time to avoid making a fatal
mistake
MUST CHANGE LEADERSHIP.
F. A. Kennedy in Omaha Western
Laborer.
The Western Laborer believes every
man has the right to drink what he
pleases. It also believes every man.
has the
right to think what he
pleases.
On the ground that we have the
right to think what we please we
want to say a few words of warning
to the business interests of Omaha
on the seriously threatening advent of
prohibition in Nebraska. That the
danger of prohibition is serious is
based on our observations and on the
judgment of men who have their hand
on the public pulse of the whole state.
The prohibition agitators are splen
didly organized. They have clever.
experienced leaders and generals.
They have been making swift strides
toward the goal of their ambition for
three years. They are full of confi
dence, and they have reason to be.
They confidently believe they will put
a prohibition amendment through the
next legislature, and today It looks
very much like they will be success
ful. They are unopposed by any or
ganized effort on the part of the anti-
prohibition voters of the state. They
are pressing their propaganda work
to the front and making converts by
the thousands.
On the other hand, what are the
anti-prohibitionists doing? Compara
tively nothing. The Omaha and South
Omaha brewers are scrapping among
themselves over the sale of a few
extra kegs of beer and seem to lose
sight of the fact that the issue in Ne
braska today is not how many kegs
of beer they can sell, but whether or
not any beer at all will be sold.
Prohibition will not be beaten by a
carroom session wherein a represen
tative of a brewery calls the boys up
to take a drink while he knocks on
Lincoln, damns Elmer Thomas and
sends the preachers to perdition. The
gang will agree with him so long as
he buys. The same gang would agree
with Elmer Thomas if he laid down
coin on the bar and made a speech
against the saloon.
Prohibition will not be beaten by a
campaign made in confidence by Rob
ert O. Fink.
Prohibition will not be beaten with
a monthly paper called The State that
bears no name at the head of its edi
torial columns.
Prohibition will never be beaten
while the state and town is plastered
with Stanford White-Evelyn Thaw
pictures of evil suggestion flaunted in
the faces of the daughters and moth
ers of Nebraska. These dirty, sug
gestive creations are supposed to in
crease the sale of beer, but as a mat
ter of fact that only Increase the
ranks of the prohibition party.
Prohibition will never be beaten by
the Nebraska brewers' association on
the expenditure of a Canadian quar
ter. Prohibition threatens Nebraska and.
It will take a general, and a clever
general to save the state. The busi
ness men of the state must take hold
of this question and organize on busi
ness lines. They must select the very
best man in the state to command
the fight and his word must be law.
The brewers of Nebraska must learn
to give money and take orders. They
must learn that they are a nine-spot
in the campaign against prohibition,
and not the whole deck.
We suggest that the business in
terests of Omaha wake np to the
seriousness of the prohibition wave
and put Gurdon W. Wattles. Robert
Cowell or Thomas Byrne at the head
of the anti-prohibition movement.
Then let the general direct the army.
There must be a campaign of educa
tion made In the country papers of
Nebraska. The anti-prohibitionists
can present good, sensible, honest bus
iness reasons why prohibition should
be defeated and these reasons must
be prepared and put before the people
ot the state through the country
newspapers.
The change in the sentiment of
union men in this state on the liquor
question has been very great. Twenty
years ago the union men were all
anti-prohibitions. Today they are not.
There Is indifference among the Om
aha union men on the question and
out in the state a large per cent of
the members are actually favorable
to prohibition.
. For instance, take the sentiment
that came out of the June convention
of the Nebraska State Federation of
Labor.
The Bee's report of the state feder
ation proceedings says:
"P. J. Ford of Omaha moved to
strike from the constitution a clause
endorsing the strict enforcement of
the laws of the state. The debate in
stantly turned onto the regulation of
the liquor traffic, and L P. Copen
harve .of Omaha led the fight for the
clause. Mr. Copenharve assured the
delegates he believed in personal lib
erties, but he wanted it distinctly un
derstood the saloon was no longer the
poor man s club. He believed the
saloons were entitled to protection
under the law, but he denied anyone
the right to violate the law. The mo
tion by Delegate Ford was lost by a
vote of 50 to 10."
The vote shows a surprising sen
timent against the saloon and it
shows the direction ate union men of
the state are going.
"the secretary of the state federa
tion informs us that ninons out in
the state are affiliating with the state
body to a much larger extent than
are the unions of Omaha. He says
the leather workers, railway clerks.
street car men, stereo type rs and elec
trotypers. horseshoe rs, machinists and
barbers are the only Omaha unions
that have sent dues to the state fed
eration and become officially connect
ed with it. Why has not the brewery
workers' onion, and all the other
anions closely allied with that busi
ness, become members of the state
body? Do they imagine that a reso
lution adopted by the Omaha Central
Labor anion win beat prohibition, or
is it because they are indifferent and
don't care whether prohibition car
ries or not?
There is still time to organize Ne
braska and beat prohibition, but it
will take brains and money to make
the campaign. The fight must be in
the open and on the square. The
people of Nebraska must be shown
by facts, figures, cartoons and argu
ments that prohibition will injure the
state. The gum shoe tactics and the
offensive bill board pictures must be
abandoned and the state press must
be used to educate the people to beat j
prohibition. About 10 per cent of the
people of Nebraska are prohibition
ists and about 10 per cent are di
rectly interested in the saloon busi
ness. The big crowd between those
two will decide the question and they
are gettable. ,
WHAT WILL HE DO WITH IT?
If Not for Booze and Cigarettes How
Can He Spend It All?
In Monday morning's State Journal
appeared the following "want ad:"
WANTED Printer; all-round man;
for country office; single man pre
ferred; no booze or cigarettes; $7
per week, board and room. Record,
Diller, Neb.
It is manifestly unfair to offer an
"all-round printer" that much money
and then make it practically impossi
ble to spend it. What on earth could
an "all-round" mechanic do with so
much money, anyhow? After paying
for his laundry all he could do would
be to store the rest away in a barrel
in the cellar, and it wouldn't take
long to exhaust the available supply of
barrels. And why prefer a single
man when there is a such a glorious
opportunity to acquire a whole family
and add it to the census of the city?
If we had a little time to spare we
would loiter on the road to Diller and
watch the procession of "all-round
printers" hiking in the direction of
that city for the purpose of annexing
that job.
LABOR TEMPLE COMMITTEE.
Will .Resume Meetings, Beginning
Monday Evening Next Week.
The directors of the Lincoln Labor
Temple Building Association have
been resting on their oars for several
months, bat are now determined to
get together and do a little business.
Secretary Ih ringer has mailed out no
tices of a meeting to be held at the
labor commissioner's office next Mon
day evening. There have been many
LIABILITY LAW IS UPHELD
The employer's liability law, en-
acted by the legislature of 1907, has
been declared constitutional by the
United States circuit court of ap
peals. The law makes railroad cor
porations liable for injuries sustained
by employes even though the injur
ies were the result of the acts of a
fellow servant. The law, however,
applies only to the train service.
Ozro Castle, an employe of the
.Missouri racinc at Auburn, lost a
foot and averred that the accident
was due to no carelessness of his
things operating against a campaign
along Labor Temple lines, but several
members of the .directorate feel now
would be a good time to resume.
With that end in view the meeting
of next Monday evening has been
called. All members of the board are
asked to be on hand promptly at 8
o'clock, and a session of an hour will
be held.
To those who may be inclined to
be critical of the directorate it may
be said that even if no progress has
been made, nothing has been lost.
The association has a thousand dol
lars in hand, and pledges for almost
as much more that can easily be col
lected. A lot of the criticism comes
from men who have never contributed
anything but criticism to the project,
and some of it from men who have
bought a single share of stock at a.
dollar a share and had ten dollars
worth of sport '"kicking" on the way
things have been handled. The men
who have the most money invested in
Labor Temple stock are not saying
a word.
Any stockholder is privileged to at
tend the meetings - of the board of
directors, and are cordially invited
to do so.
STREET RAILWAY MEN.
Hold Special Meeting and Head Off
a Neat Little Scheme.
The Street Railway Men held a spe
cial meeting Wednesday evening to
take cognizance of what appeared to
be a neat little scheme to create dis
sensions in the ranks. The employes
of the old Traction Co. were being
told that the employes of the old
White Line were framing np a scheme
and the old White Line employes
were being told on the quiet that the
old Traction men were forming a lit
tle inside combine.
It didn't take long to settle that
little matter when the men got to-
gether and compared notes, and the
enort to create internal trouble uiea
a bornin.
It is said that some of the Traction
Col officials are blaming-Ben Hilliard
for the organization of the employes.
Hilliard was superintendent of the
"White Line" and resigned when the
consolidation took place. There are
surface indications that some of the
present "brass collars" are frightened
lest they be pried loose from fat jobs
in order to make place for Hilliard,
hence their efforts to create trouble.
The Traction la management can
take it from The Wageworker that
Mr. Hilliard had nothing to do with
the formation of 'Division No. 523.
Emmett T. Flood and Louis V. Gnye,
the former a general secretary of the
American Federation of Labor and
the latter a state organizer of the
same body, assisted by local union
ists, are responsible for the organi
zation in part. The real responsi
bility rests upon the Traction Co.
management. At Wednesday even
ing's meeting the following resolution
was adopted:
Resolved. .That any rumors eman
ating from any source in regard to
Ben Hilliard having any part in the
organization of the A. A. of S. and
E Ry. E local No. 522 are entirely
without foundation and that he has
not now and never had any connec
tion with the organization, either in
aiding, abetting or advising the forma
tion of the same.
"J. E. TJMPHRES. President.
"C. E. DA M E WOO O. Sec'y."
Ben Commons, general organizer of
the' Amalgamated Association, is in
Lincoln and will remain a few days.
While here he will hold sessions with
President McDonald and General
Manager Humpe.
JOB'S COMFORTERS.
Floyd McKinney of the Western
Newspaper Union chapel is laid np
with a couple of boils, and will prob
...
ably be absent from duty for several
days.
T
own, but to the failure of a fellow
employe to properly inspect a car
appliance. The lower court awarded
damages and the corporation appeals
to the United States court, attacking
the constitutionality of the law.
While the law is upheld the case is
remanded for a new trial on the
ground of error in the lower court.
It is some satisfaction, however,
to know that the liability law has
been held good. The law is not as
broad as it should be, being limited
to the train service, but it is a start
in the right direction.
Some Coi
tent About
Matters in
Did the fact that Lincoln Is a "dry
town" tend to lessee the attendance
at the state fair? The answer to
this question will cepencT tipon the
point of view. Tpbse opposed, to a
dry town" will assert that it did.
Those who favor a "dry town" will
point to the fact that despite three
horribly rainy days the total attend
ance of the week was 'only about 10,
000 short of last year, which was a
record breaker both as to weather
and attendance. And so the discus
sion will rage the anti-drys contend
ing that despite the bad weather the
attendance would have been much
larger if visitors had been assured of
plenty of opportunities to quench
their thirst, and the anti-wets Insist
ing .that a lot of people came because
they were assured they would not be
annoyed by drunks and undue exhi
bitions. But all of ns will agree that
it was the biggest and best state fair
ever pulled off in Nebraska or any
where else.
Lincoln is pitifully lacking fat pub
lic comfort stations. A few months
ago a society presented a handsome
fountain to the city, and for weeks
there was an exhibition of opposition
to having it placed where It would
be of service. That a city the size
of Lincoln, with its pretensions of
civic pride and enterprise, should
have found it necessary to set a lot
of unsanitary barrels and tin cans
around the street corners to supply
drinking water, is a burning, disgrace.
The city owns its own water works
system, and it ought to have a dozen
or more watering troughs and drink
ing fountains distributed around the
central part of the city. And as for !
public comfort stations well, as long
as the city Is lacking in this respect I
no one should enter serious protest I
if public decency is offended with!
great regularity.
"Until the Christian people of this
community assist in securing a half-
holiday for the toilers, they have no
right, to seriously object to Sunday
amusements."
So said Miss Mary McDowell from
the pulpit ot the Frst Baptist church
the Sunday morning ' before Labor
Day. And The Wageworker is violat
ing no confidence when it informs the
good church people of this city that
they are going np against. a good
game in the very near future. Unless
they get busy and provide the half-
holiday, or cease their opposition to
Sunday base ball, there may be some
retaliation at the polls when next
Lincoln is called upon to vote on the
question of saloon or no saloon. A
lot of workingmen who never frequent
saloons, and who would vote against
license under ordinary conditions,
may make np their minds to make
Lincoln "wet" next spring as a sort
of rebuke to those who refuse to give
the workers a chance to see ball
games without losing a half-day's
wages. As for this humble little labor
paper, it cannot see the difference
between witnessing a ball game on
Sunday and hitching np the family
horse and taking a Sunday afternoon
ride before going to church.
The editor of The Wageworker has
been around the country some in his
time, and he is willing to confess
that when it comes to decorating for
big occasions Lincoln Is in the never
was class. Fair week saw a few
flags flung out. bat otherwise there
was nothing in the way of an at
tempt at decorating. Say what yoa
will about Omaha, that bnrg has ns
skinned to a frazzle along these lines.
i " J . " .
1 the war of decoratiner is no there
and see what they've done to make
things look good to the Eagles. Or
get np there daring the Ak-Sar-Ben
festivities. WeTI venture the asser
tion that the Paxton hotel, or the city
hall, will have more decorations than
Lincoln had the entire length of O
street last week.
Last Saturday the street commis
sioner's department attempted some
thing in the way of dragging the un
paved streets. A couple of very light
drags were run along North Thirty-
third street, and by taking a close
look after they had gone by one
might have been able to see that
a drag had been run along there.
But as for doing any good it would
have been just as well to dress the
street down with a feather duster.
In
But it cost the- city about $ a day
for the two teams and two mea ea
gaged in the work. And we often
wonder why the streets are not
cleaner and in better shape-
If the Lincoln Traction Co. had per
formed its part as wen as the motor
men and iron doctors performed their
during fair week, there osM have
been little room for eompiaiat about
the transportation service. Bat the1
Traction Co. signally failed to per
form its part. A trailer left the rails
at the fair grounds, and instead ot
throwing it over into the ditch the
management kept a score ot cars aad
1,500 people waiting for an hoar aad
a half while the wrecking crew was
being hurried together aad seat to
the scene. Half the cars were take
from regular runs to accommodate the
fair traffic leaving 21). Wi citizens to
get along as best they could. Iszt
it about time President McDonald aad
his board of directors hurry back from
their summer vacations? If not to
listen to the grievance of the em
ployes, to at least give aa Imitatiow.
of an attempt to give the city some
thing better than a jerk-water system
of street railway? By soaeezfng some.
of the water out of its stock the com-
pany might be able to rua a term
boats to the fair ground next year,
leaving enough cars at hand to do
the ordinary work ia the city proper.
The Star very properly eater pro
test against the "grouch" who to al
ways looking for something to eom
plain against ia the matter of public
entertainment. Are the restaaraat
men of Lincoln a set of thieve aad
hold-ups? Aa outsider would Judge
so by reading one of Liaeota's daily
papers daring the week or tea day
preceding the fair. And sr the peo-
pie who rent rooms a set of grafters
looking for a chance to bilk, tbefr
guests? it would seem so from
frantic folmiaaijoas ot that saase
paper. Who expects to go to a hie
fair or exposition aad Eve as cheaply
as ordinary? Who expects to get fato
a huge crowd aad not be called ape
to pay extra prices? People who ex
pect that sort of thing ought to re
main at home, or else bring tbea
grnb with them aad sleep standing
up on the corners.
Don't it beat an how import it
makes men to pia a tia star apom
their manly bosoms aad give thear a
little brief aathority? A lot of "spe
cials'" in the city aad at the fair
grounds last week were huge mkea.
St. Joseph has just voted to adopt
the commission plan of grareraawat.
Bat your attention is directed to the
fact that the charter St, Joseph ac
cepted was submitted to a rote of the
people for acceptance or rejection.
Lincoln ought to be apea the com
mission basis and would he today
had an attempt beea made to force
a charter upon the people without
giving tsem aa opportunity to vote
for or against It, Let's have a vote
next spring upon the eommissioa pCaa,
and then let the people hare a chance
to vote upon any charter that may be
prepared.
Merely as a suggtstfem to Kesvra.
St oner tt Despain; Why aot have Sea
day ban games a la Epworta Assem
bly? That is, sen the tickets the day
before and refuse to accept moavy at
the gate oa Sunday. Thea pay the
players donate salaries for playing
Saturday or Monday aad let (hem ptay
for the foa of it oa Sunday, That
would be going the Epworta umrm
bly attractions one better, for we
haven't beea informed that any of tit
eminent lecturers refused to accept
pay when they worked oa Sunday,
Think it over!
School Is again in
thousand or more chBdrea are cooped
np ia a high school building that Is
not only an architectural disgrace bet
a veritable fire trap. Every time yoa
bear a citizen boasting about our
spleadid school system Just walk aim
around to the comer of Fourteenth)
and X street and ask aim to take a
look. Gosh!
The Rock Island will aot elevate tt
tracks through the city be
cause of the expense. Of coarse hu
man life is aot expensive. Under oar
present industrial sjsteia hums life
is the cheapest thing oa the market.
7