THE. NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT.
MAKING THE INDEPENDENT
The labor of preparing an edition of
The Independent is very great, much'
more so than that of any other paper
of the same size. The paper, in the
first place, is printed almost wholly
from original manuscript each week
The current news is all re-written and
condensed. While all current litera
ture is searched, it seldom happens
that an article can be found which is
so written that it can be copied in
these columns. Many valuable things
are found in the purely economic quar
terlies and monthlies, but they are
written in such a style that they
would be incomprehensible to,the ord
nary voter. There is no reason why
political economy, sociology and gov
ernment should not be made "as in
teresting as a novel," as a New York
"literatus" recently said of the writ
ings in The Independent, or at least
easily understood by any one having
a common school education. But the
professors of the craft think that they
must clothe their thoughts in words
and phrases of such peculiar diction
that only the members of the craft wiU
be able to understand. Of all the
writers of universal authority there
are but one or two whose words could
be printed verbatim in these columns,
without violating the rule long since
established that nothing should appear
that was not easily understood by the
ordinary hard working man. These
two are John Stuart Mill and Ricardo.
Any other ( weekly in the United
States could find in current literature
each week several columns that could
be appropriately transferred to its
pages, but it is very seldom, indeed,
that even a column can be found that
will do to reprint in these pages.
An amusing thing that illustrates
this once occurred in this office. When
the assistant editor, who is a thorough
economist and clear writer, first took
up his labors, he was requested to look
over a pile of exchanges, magazines
and newspapers, about four feet high,
and see if he could find a column or
two that would do to reprint in The
Independent. He went diligently to
work and after a day's tussle he hand
ed over two or three columns which
had appeared in those exchanges,
which he said was "all good stuff,
sound economics and readable." But
when it came to be examined it turned
out that some nine-tenths of it had
originally appeared in The Indepen
dent and had been stolen bodily by
the editors of these exchanges and
printed in them as original matter. ;
The amount of reading that has to
be done to prepare for writing one
edition of The Independent is enorm
ous. The columns of falsehoods,
sophistries and disgusting drivel that
must be gone over each week to get
at a grain of truth or common sense,
iz of itself enough to wear a man out.
When an item appears in the Asso
ciated press that seems to be important
and true, it will not do to accept it
without investigation. More than
one-half of such items, it will be
found if a close watch is kept for two
or three days, to be absolutely untrue.
The editorial writing in the dailies is
a delusion and a snare. It is written
by hirelings who must obey orders
from the moneyed syndicate that owns
the paper. Many of these editors are
men of fine abilities, have been trained
in the best American and foreign uni
versities and can put up an argument,
that would deceive any one but an
"old pop." So when reading these ef
fusions, one has to be under a con
stant mental strain to detect sophis
tries and falsehoods.
The result of all this immense
amount of hard work, as the Boston
man said, is a publication that is
"unique."
IIAVE'NT SENSK ENOUGH
It will never do for the labor unions
of this country to adopt the foreign
ideas of the trade unions of the old
world. So large a number of the
members of the unions in this country
are composed of foreign born citizens
about whom still cling the ideas that
the environment of the old world
evolved, one, should not wonder that
once in a while they come to public
notice through the official' action of!
some organization or from the words
of their officers. If the hard lot of
the toilers in the mines and factories
of this country is to be relieved, these
old world notions must be wholly
abandoned. Their advocacy over
there has, after a . century, left the
workers merely slaves and they will
have no other effect here. The wage
workers of this country are not one
thing and the government another.
They are one and the same - thing.
They make the government what it
now is. If they don't like it, they
can change it. If they want an eight
hour day they can have it. All they
have to do to get it is to all vote to
gether and not divide up between half
a dozen parties while the plutocrats
all stick by one party. In Europe
there would be some ground for for
bidding members of unions from en
tering into military service, but in
this country, where the government is
the wage-workers, it is folly to refuse
to protect themselves. It is folly also
to say that wage-workers of this
country are not the government, for
they are. There are ten voters who
work for wages for one who lives on
interest or the accumulation of capi
tal. If they want anything, all they
have to do is to go and take it.
The idea of overproduction adopted
by the trade unions of Europe have
transferred the leadership in produc
tion from the old world to the new.
The idea that wage-workers here must
be antagonistic, not to the party in
power, but to the government itself,
if persisted in, will result as disas
teously to labor here as the false no
tions of trade unions have over the
water. Let labor take charge of the
government, command the military
forces, control the courts- and adopt
such policies as will result in good
for all. This government is your gov
ernment. The reason that you don't
control it is because you haven't sense
enough to all yote one ticket
TWENTY YEARS A CRANK
Dr. Garvin, governor-elect of Rhode
Island, has long been denounced as a
"crank." He was always able to car
ry the town in which he lived, so he
has been either a senator or represen
tative in the Rhode Island legislature
since 1883. While in the minority, for
Rhode Island is always overwhelming
ly republican, b: his persistent nag
ging, he has been able to get several
reforms through the legislature as also
to have the constitution of the state
amended two or three times. Among
these reforms were the overthrow ot
the old landed-property qualification
for foreign-born voters, elections by
plurality vote, a ten-hour labor law,
a factory inspections act, the secre
ballot and the state bureau of indus
trial statistics. The secret ballot and
the law extending the suffrage which
almost doubled the vote, for half of
the citizens were disfranchised, were
the two most important of the bills
that he got through. Meantime he
constantly practiced medicine in the
homes of the poor and thus kept in
touch with the common people. For
twenty years he was a "crank." Now
he will be governor of the state. He
may not be able to accomplish much
in that position, for the governor of
that statehas little power and the
legislature is all in all. There will
have to be something like a revolution
before a reform legislature is elected
for under the old and archaic consti
tution of the state, the legislature is
in the hands of the capitalists in the
towns.
F. P. Compton of the Greeley Citi
zen rejoices in the fact that J. L. White
was re-elected county commissioner in
Greeley county.
3G
3f!
DON'T
Because you bought a harness of . a iiian and got
cheated, is no reason for you to think that no harness
makers are honest, is it? Because you bought some
farm machinery and after you used it last year you
let it stand out doors and get all rusted is no reason
for you to find fault with your implement man, is it?
Because you sent a mail order to Chicago and got
done up is no reason to condemn all Chicago or to
think that all mail order houses are cheaters, is it?
Because we want you to order a suit of us try us
try our mail order system try our goods get, ac.
quainted with our prices. We know that you'll like
us, goods, prices, service and treatment. Try one of
our Fancy Cassimere Suits for $10.00 that we are
showing on page 5 in our catalogue, and if you don't
get your money's worth tell us, and we'll give you
more than enough to square the shortcomings, if there
are any.
Us:
5H52E3S3SZ
15th and Farnam Sts.
A PI. A IN ' BALD LIK
It is perfectly astounding that a
paper like the Springfield Republican
should make a statement about money
that is absolutely false, and that ev
ery uan knows is false. It must be
that it is inflicted with monetary in
sanity. In speaking of the recent low
record in the price of silver it says:
"These drops also reduce by mil
lions of dollars the worth of the
silver money of the United' States."
The silver "money" of the United
States is not worth one cent less than
it was before this fall in silver, and it
is impossible that the editor of the
Springfield Republican does not know
that fact. He would not take any less
for the silver dollars which he has in
his - pocket than he would' before.
Neither is American "silver money"
worth any less in London,, Berlin, Paris
or any other mart of trade anywhere
in the world than it was before. And
the Republican editor knows that also.
Yet he deliberately writes and pub
lishes this plain, bald lie.
Why men will keep up this sort of
thing is past comprehension. What is
a dollar let it be gold, greenback or
bank note worth? How does any man
know whether it is worth more or
less? A dollar is worth what it will
exchange for. Will a silver dollar ex
change for any less wheat, corn, coal,
clothing or anything else than it did
before this fall in the price of silver
bullion? Will it not buy just as much
of any of these things as a gold dol
lar? If a silver dollar is a 40-cent dol
lar because the material in it is only
worth 40 cents, then a national bank
note is a 1-mill dollar. Does the
worth of a national bank note vary as
the price of paper goes up and down?
"Money" is one thing and "silver
bullion" is another thing. The varia
tion of the "worth" of one has no
relation whatever to the "worth" of
the other. Silver bullion varies in
"worth" almost every day, but it never
affects the "worth" of the American
silver dollar. If silver bullion should
go down to 10 cents an ounce instead
of 49 7-8 cents, as it is now, the Amer
ican silver dollar would still be .at a
parity with gold. Any pop school boy
ten years old could tell the editor of
the Springfield Republican why.
Patronize our advertisers.
HORSE COLLARS
mm
ASKYOURPealertoSHOWTi
BEFORE. YOU BUY.
lANUFACTURED by
HARPHAM BR0S.C0.
Lincoln.Neb.
We Are for Women
BEST ON EARTH:
LIHGDLH STEEL RANGE
Made of Rocky Mountaia
Steel and lined with A
bestos. Most Economical
of Fuel. Best baker and
cooker, largest oven of
any range. Top polished
like a looking glass.
Grease will not stick to
it. No blacking required.
Always polished. Can be
delivered anywhere in
United States. Write for
price and what the peo
ple say about them.
AMERICAN RANGE AND HARDWARE CO.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
CATTLE
SHEEP
Live
Stock
Com
mission
Nye & Buchanan Co.,
SOUTH OMAHA, NKBRA8KA.
Best possible service in all depart
ments. Write or wire ua for markets
or other information.
Long distance Telephone 2305
D'
ON'T Set Hens the Same Old Wayj
ana lei lice mu mem on uie nesu
Tiffany's Sure Death to Lice Powder
will kill all vermln,and your hen will bring)
ner Drooa on rre rrom nee. i lnanya rara
KOD Lice Killer "Liauid," guaranteed to kill'
all lice and mites. Instautly kills lice on
colts, calves, and hogs. By oslng our Sprayer a very
lltt le goes a great way. Penetrates all cracks. Spray
bottom of house for spider 1 ice. 1 1 1 a ixnoe.rjul ditin
fectatU. II per gal. can; 65c aJ Ouegallon and
Sprayer, $1.50. Can get it free wii jre no agents by
UUle art for w. Tat Txjfan y Co,LLlncolnt NeU