me to believe that perhaps you have information that has not yet
been made public. If you have I would be greatly obliged for an
inkling of what it is."
The fact of the matter is, there is absolutely nothing to justify
the charge of a plot to wreck the building, and there is not a bit of
evidence offered to show that the wreck was caused by dynamite.
On the contrary, the evidence is thoroughly against the dynamite
theory. A dynamite explosion sufficient in orce to have produced
the wreck shown in the pictures thereof would have shattered glass
for blocks around. Nothing of the kind occurred, and it is notice
able that not all the windows in the wrecked building were shat
tered. Fire never follows as the result of a dynamite explosion;
on the contrary, a dynamite explosion usually snuffs out a fire.
Dynamite blows equally in all directions ; gas blows upwards and is
usually followed immediately by fire. The Times building was
blown upward, and fire followed on the instant, proving conclusive
ly an explosion of gas.
And the Los Angeles police, who promised us the guilty anarch
ists inside of twenty-four hours have utterly failed to arrest even
a single suspect. And who found the "bomb" in the Otis yard
an hour or two after the Times building explosion? An ex-policeman
who had been discharged for grafting. The bomb he found
he opened himself, and by mistake set the alarm clock off, but no
explosion resulted. It was a fake doubtless planted by himself
or a confederate immediately after the big explosion. Organized
labor in Los Angeles, and everywhere else, is anxious to have the
truth about that Los Angeles horror brought out. How about the
Otis bunch of union haters?
"We are daily in receipt of literature from the San Francisco
boomers of the Panama Canal exposition; also from the New Or
leans boomers for the same show. And the boomers of both cities
are asking for space in this paper to give reasons why their city
should be preferred. As yet we haven't seen the color of any San
Francisco money, nor felt the texture of any New Orleans green
backs. That's one reason why The Wageworker has been awfully
shy on Panama Canal matter. Another reason is that we don't
care a tinker's anathema where the exposition is held, or whether
it is ever held. If it is ever held we expect to be so infernally busy
trying to make a living that we can not even start towards the ex
position gates. The exposition game has been overplayed in this
country. But we venture to suggest to the boomers of the two
cities that they might make advertising contracts with the news
papers of the middle west, and get busy advancing their claims
for preference. We'll bet on the one that uses the most advertis
ing in the most judicious manner.
,Major General Leonard "Wood believes that special attention,
more than has been given heretofore, should be paid to the condi
tion of the feet of infantrymen. For once we find ourselves in
hearty accord with this martial disciple of Hippocrates who was
jumped from a colonelcy to a major generalship because he hap
pened to cure the Strenuous One of a case of gastritis or "morning
after." We regret, however, that Major General Leonard Wood
didn't go much further and advise more attention to everybody's
feet. When a pair of unlanudried feet are slapped up. against the
electric footwarmer in a crowded car, or a similar pair of feet
wriggled around close to your seat in a stuffy theatre on a night
when .the steam radiators are working overtime on such occasions,
which we have all met ' with oftentimes we may easily commend
Major General Wood's idea and pray for its extension outside of
the military arm of the government. r
We've got to fight this county option question all over again,
but instead of getting all snarled up again we beg to submit the
following proposition: Let Dr. Gebhardt of the German-American
Alliance, and Chairman Poulson of the Anti-Saloon League en
gage in joint debate in every considerable town in Nebraska. The
one can explain his idea of "personal liberty" and how county
option will, in his opinion, interfere with it; the other can define
his idea of county option and explain why, in his opinion, it will
not interfere with "personal liberty." While they are discussing
it the .rest of us may find time to attend to business. .
The annual convention of the American Federation of Labor con
venes in St. Louis next Monday. Perhaps some of the members
of the Lincoln Business Men's League have received offers from
' detective agencies" to send a full report of the doings of the con
vention for a consideration. For the benefit of such merchants,
and professional men we desire to state that the sessions of the
convention are open to the public, and that a full and complete
stenographic report of every session will be mailed to any appli
cant by Secretary Frank Morrison upon receipt of 25 cents in
stamps. The American Federation of Labor has no business which .
it desires to conceal from the general public.
After having already voted something like $500,000 in bonds
for a new high school, Omaha voted , $350,000 more last -Tuesday,
and also $400,000 additional for other school buildings. , Omaha
already has one of the finest high school buildings in the west, but
it is too small. Lincoln has one of the worst high school buildings
in the United States, and it isn't half big enough. It is also unsani
tary and unsafe. Yet because of fool jealousies and "tight wad"
tactics we can not get a decent, respectable high school building
in this city. -
. The fact of the matter is, there are too many "middlemen" be
tween the producer and the consumer. The result is that the pro
ducer gets too little and the consumer pays too much and a bunch
of fellows in between make a profit from both, and usually an in
ordinate profit. Business is too complicated. There are tofo many
who profit without producing. There are too many' that get without
working, which means that there are too many who work without
getting. v We need to simplify business; to weed out useless middle
men. Between the high cost of living for the workers and the
burden of providing the menas for defraying the cost of high
living for the drones of society, the wage earners of this country
are getting it in the solar plexus. It is time to pause and clean
things up, and start all over again.
D ABOUT MEN AND MATTERS
One of the tragedies of the compaign just closed is the raw deal
handed to Cyrus Black of Hickman by Mr. Poulson 's " Anti-Saloon -League."
Cyrus Black has been an enthusiastic opponent of the
saloon for years, and he has made many sacrifices for his convic
tions. While Mr. Poulson has been, making a fat living from his
opposition to the saloon, Cyrus Black has been making a precarious
living running a little newspaper in a country town and antagoniz
ing perhaps the largest business element in his community by fight
ing against license. When an opportunity afforded to reward him
for his many sacrifices and his fidelity to the anti-saloon cause,
the sleek and well-fed manager or the anti-saloon forces quietly;
adds more to the burdens the Hickman editor is carrying. The -men
who are gradually putting the licensed saloon out of business
in Nebraska are not the sleek, salaried and arrogant "officials"
of leagues and societies, but thoughtful men who are compelled
to make personal sacrifices of time and money in their fight against
the saloon.
I
The people of Nebraska should be thankful that a man of John
Furse s ability has accepted the position on the state railway com
mission made vacant by the death of W. H. Cowgill. Mr. Furse 's
acquaintance with public men and matters, coupled with his abil
ity as a lawyer and his quickness of perception, especially qualify
him for that most important position. Governor Shallenberger
made no mistake when he made Mr. Furse his private secretary,
and he was equally wise when he persuaded Mr. Furse to accept
a position on the railway commission.
The governor has shown his confidence in Leo Matthews, and
at the same, time rebuked some very unjust attacks on Mr. Mat
thews, by making him private secretary to succeed Mr. Furse. The
attacKs on Mr. lviattnews were made ior tne purpose or covering
up a lot of political work being done by republican officeholders.
Mr. Matthews was merely doing what a" score of appointive officials
and most of the elective officials were doing, but he was picked out
for bitter attacks by a rabidly partisan newspaper. Governor
Shallenberger administered a deserved rebuke to that sort of thing
by promoting Mr. Matthews.
Here's a sample of our antiquated taxing system. A few years
ago there was a lot sale in Lincoln- and two men bought adjoining
lots. One was a speculator, .the other a mechanic. The lots sold