WAGlWOEKBi
THE
VOLUME 7
LINCOLN. NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, JUNE 24
NUMBER M
BILLY MAJOR'S
THE SAME CONTAINING A FEW
MATTERS OF MORE OR LESS
Not knocking on anybody, but I do
wish Lincoln had about 'steen thousand
more citizens like the Woods Bros, and
their partner, Mr. Boggs. If we had
'em there would be something doing all
the time something calculated to
make Lincoln grow like the proverbial
bay tree. I like men who are willing
tc take "the gambler's chance" and
stake their money on the bet that the
town will grow up to their enterprise.
Every time I look at that Rogers' tract
and think how the people who own it
are snitching on the rest of us; and
every time I look at the young tract
and seo how the owners of that are get
ting all the benefits of a city and refus
ing to help pay for them when I look
at such people the only thing that keeps
me from cussing until it sours on my
stomach is to turn my attention to such
bully good boosters as the Woods Bros,
and their partner Mr. Boggs. Of
course, "Woods Bros. & Boggs are out
for the money, and I'm hoping that
while they are boosting Lincoln ahead
they'll make somuch they'll have to
haul it to bank in a hay wagon. What
Lincoln needs needs right now is a
number of funerals, thus making way
for a generation that will do something
more than sit around like warts on a
' pickle and let a lot of us sweat them
richer and richer. Elm Park, Franklin
Heights, Sheridan Place and Peek's
Grove make a quartet of monuments to
the enterprise and unbounded faith iii
Lincoln's future of the Woods Bros,
and their enterprising partner, Mr.
Boggs. Here's hoping their like and
their tribe will increase.
Glory be! Here comes the Traction
Co. attorneys with a single tax argu
ment that is unanswerable. When I
read the following from the protest of
the Traction Co. against its assessment
I jumped straight up into the air and
sang the Doxology :
"There is every reason for taxing
real estate to the full limit and no rea
son for laying excessive tax burdens
on street transportation ; the real estate
of this county has appreciated in valua
in the last fifteen years approximately
four-fold; this increase is purely a so
cial value; it was not created by the
labor or thrift of the individual owner,
but is the result purely of the growth
of the state and the nation. On these
unearned values the owner is permit
ter to demand an income, and high
rents based on the enhanced valne of
real estate have greatly increased the
cost of living to the general commun
ity. Because this unearned value in
real estate is a free gift of the commun
ity, the owner should in all fairness be
required to contribute liberally to the
revenues of the state."
That's the milk in the cocoanut
the men who create the values get noth
ing in return. The men who profit by
the increased values do nothing to cre
ate them. While the great body of
workingmen give without getting, the
few get without giving. And. the only
solution of the problem, the only way
to make everybody bear their just bur?
den of taxation, is to levy the taxes on
the value of the land for use and occu
pancy, thus putting an end to the fool
ish system of taxing enterprise and
putting a premium on sloth.
One way for the workingmen of Lin
coln to make a start towards getting a
larger part of what they create is to
vote for the park and high school
bonds. That will make the big prop
erty holders come across and give back
to the public that ereated the values
some portion of what the general pub
lic has created. I'm for the park and
. high school bonds, first, because I have
a Rooseveltian family of children and
I want them to have playgrounds and
a decent high school. I'm struggling
to do my duty to my city, my state
I
1
and my nation by rearing a family ot
children and doing my best to make
them eredital'k citizens. And I'll be
blest if I don'i think thosj pjple
whose only family jfs a pu i'.og and a
fountain syrinpi. ought to come across
and help me a little. They'll help, too,
if my vote will suffice to tarry the- park
high school bonds.
I wish I could get Charles Landers
to tell the public through The Wage
worker all about the recent "Lincoln
Industrial Exposition." Mr. Landers
has a mighty interesting story, and it
would fit in almighty well with the ac
tion of a lot of Lincoln "boosters" who
ignored the Lincoln musicians and
went out and hired a little country
band because they could get it cheap.
Speaking of "boosting for Lincoln,"
what do ou think of a bunch of men
who would chase off on a " trade ex
tension excursion" right at a time
when Lincoln needs every "booster"
at home? It looks to me like a lot of
fat-headed work had been performed
in dating that "trade extension" trip
the week before the bond election, the
very time that every man who is a
A CLOSING WORD.
Mr. Workingman, The Wage
worker, edited by a workingman
and published by workingman,
makes an appeal to you to line up
on the side of municipal progress.
You, above all men, are interested
in the development of a worthy
park system and the erection and
maintenance of a, modern high
school. .The high school is as far
as you may, in reason, hope to
send your children on the educat
ional road. The parks are the
most in the way of scenic attract
ion and healthful recreation that
you may, in reason, hope to give to
your children. Yon may not send
them to college, for the industrial
system that has been foisted upon
us demands that your children
enter the lists of the breadwinners
almost before the bloom of child
hood is brushed frm their cheeks.
That .same, industrial .system '
makes it impossible for you to
give them the joys of summers in
the mountains or at the seashore.
But it is within' the bonds of pos
sibility for you to give them the
advantages of a high school ed
ucation, and you should see to it
that they have an opportunity to
take advantage of it to the limit.
It is also within the bounds of pos
sibility for you to give them a
chance now and then to get close
to nature's heart in beautiful
parks provided by the municipal
ity. And you can make those who
have grown rich from the profits
of .your toil share with you the
burden of expense.
It is a duty you, owe to your
selves and your children to share
natters so your children may have
"uperior high school advantages,
nd plenty of opportunities to
fearn nature at her best in the
chaded dells and on the grass
growu slopes of pretty parks.
The opportunity to secure these
things is at hand. It all depends
upon you. If Lincoln is to have
a modern high school and hand
some parks it will be because the
workingmen of Lincoln blaze the
way with their votes. .The bonds
can nqt carry without the votes
of the workers. The rich and
childless are not going to tax them
selves for the benefit, of the child
ren of the poor. But we workers
can make them come across. They
owe it to us, and we ought to seize
the opportunity to collect the debt
Work for the bonds, talk for the
bonds and vote for the bonds.
Every one of us would reap good
ly profit by losing a day's work
on June 30 and gaining all the ad
vantages that are offered to us
and to our children.
Let's make it unanimous for the
bonds.
DOPfe CARD
UNBIASED. OPINIONS ABOUT
INTEREST TO THC PUBLIC
ALL TOGETHER NOW.
For a bigger and better Lincoln.
For a city beautiful. For a city
full of happy children. For a city
of health and happiness. For all
t - at goes to make life worth living
1'or better business. For better
opportunities for earning a liveli
hood. For all that is best in the
lives of men and women let us
get out and work for the bonds
that will provide our children with
a modern high school and all of us
with parks.
The defeat of the bonds means
a black eye for Lincoln. The suc
cess of the bonds means a black
eye for the detractors of Lincoln.
Let the other fellow wear the dis
colored optic.
Let every wage earner vote and
work for the interests of himself
and his little ones. That means
working and voting for a modern
high school and an up-to-date park
system. .The future of Lincoln is
being weighed in the balance. The
scale will tip according to the
votes of the workers. The voting
of the bonds means a bigger and
better Lincoln; the defeat of the
bonds means stagnation and dry
rot. .
Under which flag, Mr. Workman.
"booster!' at heart as well as a boost
er" in name ought to be at home at
tending to the larger business on hand.
I have my doubts about the sincerity of
the man who claims to be a "Lincoln
booster" and then skips out of town
at the very time when boosting is
most needed.
Of course John E. Miller is for the
bonds. Mr. Miller is a business man
and he knows what good business is.
He' has been a consistent advocate of
parks for years. I had the honor of
serving for over two vears on the park
commission with him, and he not only
gave his valuable time to further the
work, but he gave money. Mr. Miller'
is shrewd enough to know that a hap
py and contented working population
makes the best possible customers. I
am not giving Mr. Miller credit for be
ing a philanthropist ; I am merely giv
ing him credit for enlightened' selfish
ness. When more men realize that they
servetheir own interests best by serv
ing the public interests best, then we'll
have a better and happier state of so
ciety. '
I know several big property holders
who are opposing the bonds on the
grounds of taxation. You hunt them
up and this is what you will find : You
will find men who own a lot of prop
erty that has been made valuable by
the toil and sacrifices of others work
ingmen like myself. They did not do a
single thing to enhance the value of
the property. They either inherited it
or got it on mortgage foreclosure, or
got ut when land was so cheap as to
be practically worthless. Then they
sat around on their hunkers and
watched it grow into value by reason
of the work of the community at large.
Now that they are asked to contribute
a little to the public that has made
them rich,, they put on a pitiful look,
talk in lugubrious tones and whine
about "taxation." That class of peo
ple gives me a feeling of lassitude in
the lumbar region.
The workingman who fails to seize
the opportunity to make these leeches
on society give back a part of the un
earned increment is, in my humble
opinion, a sucker. Who put the value
into the Tucker estate at the corner of
Thirteenth and O ? Who put the value
into the property at Thirteenth and N,
known as the Fraternity block? Not
the Tuckers or the Sharps. It was you,
Mr. Workingman and Mrs. Working
woman. If it had not been for you
those valuable properties wouldn't be
worth any more today than Uiey were
twenty years ago. Come on, now; let's
make the people who have waxed rich
from our communal enterprise come
back with some of it and give your
children and my children splendid
(Continued on page 2)
! HITTING THEPOLTTlilL PIPE !
9 A FEW STRAY BITS OF GOSSIP CONCERNING MATTERS THAT
HAVE TO DO WITH RUNNING THE OTTY COUNTY AND STATE
Governor Shallenberger has defiinite- ;5;'
ly announced that there will be no ex nif..
tra session of the legislature. The de
cision of the governor is based on ex
isting conditions and upon the law. In
the first place, those who agreed to get
enough legislative pledges to insure the
enactment of an initiative and refer
endum amendment failed, up to June
20, to get the required number of
pledges. Secondly, it would have been
necessary to call special elections in
three or four districts to fill vacancies.
Thirdly, it would have been impossible
to -call the session, secure action and.
have enough time before the primaries
to secure the endorsemnt of political
parties so as to permit the referendum
amendment to be voted on a straight
party ballot. All these things, taken
together with the enormous expense o
an extra session, influenced the gover
nor to decide against calling it. Gov
ernor Shallenberger gives his reasons
in a terse but comprehensive statement
to the public.
The Wageworker urges union men
to watch Senator Burkett's vote on
the Dodds bill, which prevents the pos
tal department from discriminating
THE CRUCIAL MOMENT.
Lincoln is facing the crucial
moment. June 30 will decide
whether Lincoln is to take a for
ward step, or whether she is going
to stick in the rut and become a
back number. On. the result of
the bond election hinges more than
a park system and a modern high
school. Upon that result hinges
the whole industrial future of Lin
coln. It means either progress or
retrogression; either development
or stagation; either a better Lin
coln or a dead Lincoln. There is
no use mincing words. It is time
to "talk turkey."
The defeat of the bond propos
itions means notice to all the world
that Lincoln is realy to hibernate
for all time to come ; the success of
the bond election means notice to
all the world that Lincoln is de
termined to forge to the' front.
The defeat of the bonds means
notice to all the world that Lin
coln is content to die of -.civic dry
rot; the success of the bonds
means notice to all the world that
Lincoln has side-traced the "kick
ers" and the "knockers" and is
out on the main line headed to
wards industrial and civic develop
ment to the highest possible degree .
June 30, 1910 will be a day long
to be remembered either for weal
or for woe. If you are interested ,
in Lincoln's future; if you want
Lincoln to be a bigger and better
city; if you want to put Lincoln
in the forefront of progressive
communities, vote for the bonds.
If you want Lincoln to remain in
the ossified class ; if you want civic
dry rot to take the place of pro
gressiveness ; if you want to give
notice to the World that Lincoln
lacks enterprise, vote against the
bonds.
There is no middle ground
either you are for a bigger and a
better Lincoln, or you are against
a bigger and better Lincoln. .If
you favor progressiveness and fail
to vote that way, you are giving
aid and comfort to the enemies of
progress. Yeu owe sit to your
self, to your families, to your
neighbors and to the community
at large, to get out and work from
now until the polls close in favor
of progress, civic improvement
and civic right busness. Let's
make it so nearly unanimous that
the back cappers and the knook
ers will be too thoroughly dis
couraged to ever again try to
block the onward march, of Lin
coln towards greatness and civic
beauty.
The bill has
unless some
r jimciiu. uuiues iu me rescue it win uie in
the senate. The labor press has hard
sledding enough without the postal de
partment lending its aid to the capital
ists to crush the representatives of or
ganized labor.
Numerous petitions asking W. J.
Bryan to be a candidate for senator
are being circulated, and thousands of
signatures are being appended. Noth
ing would please us more than to see
Bryan in the senate, fighting alongside
LaFollette and Cummins and the rest '
of that little band who think more of
the interests of the people than they do
of party or class. Gosh, if we only had
in the senate a Roosevelt from New
ork, a Bryan from Nebraska,, a Folk
from Missouri, and' a James from Ken
tucky, to line up' with LaFollette of
Wisconsin, Cummins and Dolliver of
Iowa and Bristow of Kansas ! Wouldn't
a bunch like that raise merry hades
with the champions of predatory
wealth? Wouldn't it make the Aid
riches and the Hales and the Penroses
walk the plank?
The attempt to amend the constitu
tion of Oklahoma and strike out a lot
of safeguards provided for the works
of that state was defeated by a decisive
vote. Who defeated the scheme ? Or
ganizd labor. Every capitalistic com
bine and public service corporation
joined in spending money like water to
secure the adoption of the amendments.
The only financial support given the
opposition to the amendments , earns
from organized labor. The unions of
Oklahoma put up 5 cents per capita per
month for four or five months, and with
the fund thus collected the expenses of
the campaign were paid. And organ
ized labor won out over the capitalist! .
and the corporations by a majority oi
upwards of 40,000. That 's what can ba
done by concerted effort on the part
of the workers. The Oklahoma union
ists did not charge their leaders with
being "grafters" or with "working
political schemes," or with "trying to
deliver the labor vote" to this or that
party. They are not that kind of un
ionists down in Oklahoma, and that's
why they accomplish things. The Ok
lahoma incident is a mighty good ob
ject lesson for Nebraska unionists.
Speaking of. Oklahoma reminds , us
that the labor commissioner of that
state is fleeted by the people, not ap
, pointed as a mark of political favor.
He is a state officer on an equal basis
with other state officers. And he has
some powers that make it possible for
him to accomplish things in behalf of
the workers. Charley Daugherty, a
union printer, is Oklahoma's first labor
commissioner. He is a candidate for
re-election, and after the splendid rec
ord he has made he ought to be re
elected by a majority so decisive as to
leave no room to doubt that organized
labor is willing to back the man or men
who do things tow the cause of labor
Charley Daugherty has more thar
made good, and if his majority isn'i
upwards of 50,000 it will be an indict
ment of the good sense and loyalty o
Oklahoma wage earners.
Of more importance to Lincoln than
the success of any party or any pa
tisan candidate ths fall, is the success
of the bond propositions on June 30
Let's forget all about parties and can
didates for the next few days and de
vote our every energy to putting Lin
coln in the progressive class. Let's al
low the politicians to chortle all alone,
and the party managers to sit and
twiddle their thumbs undisturbed,
while we of Lincoln get out and give
the world a practical demonstration of
the fact that we are determined to
(Continued on page 2)
"against,; the labor press,
passed : the house, but
