W W I Ml II .11 11 I i 13 II i I IJ II II II 14 II
Vol. XIV.
LINCOLN, NEB., JAN. 15, 1903.
No. 34.
V
THE PHILIPPINES
What tb Independent Has Said About
the Horrible Condition Tbere Con
fiormed by Got. Taft
While the dailies have maintained
a studied silence concerning the ter
rible conditions fn the Philippines,
The Independent, has kept its readers
fully posted on that, and many other
subjects, about which the readers of
the dailies are in total - ignorance. To
gather this news h?,s been a great la
bor. Some of it bas come from pri
vate letters, somf from a few un
guarded sentences fn the censored dis
patches and now and then a line or
two in an official report By the use
of a little intaition, some common
sense and a cl'se watch on every av
enue of information; The Independent
readers have been kept informed of
the facts. Now everything that The
independer I has said has been con
firmed, aTid more than confirmed, by
the official report 6f Governor Tafl.
It would be hardly possible to suppress
this report, and, in fact, it is not at
all necessary, for the next national
election is nearly two years distant,
governor Taft says:
"Were there prosperous conditions
In the Philippines it would not be a
troublesome matter to deal with the
ladrones, but when want and famine
are staring people in the face the lif i
of the freebooter forms to the desper
ate and the weak a very great attrac
tion. Natural discontent with the
government when suffering is at hand
promoted as it is by cholera, restric
tions and the high prices of rice and
other commodities, which have beer
greatly enhanced by the depreciation
of silver, might well have caused a
-new outbreak of the insurrection."
, All these things have been printed
in The Independent from time to
time, while the other papers have kept
silent, Governor Taft tells of the con
ditio js that have made the island pur
chase about $15,000,000 of food, and of
the effects war has had upon agricul
ture, almost the only source of wealth
in the islands. The greatest blow to
agriculture, he says, is the destruc
tion of about 90 per cent of water buf
falo, on which the cultivation of rice
is almost wholly dependent
The Independent was led to believe
from vhat information it could get
that the "destruction" of the water
buffalo was the effect of an epidemic
of the rinderpest, but it now appears
that that was not the case at all.
They were celiberately destroyed bv
our army. The plan of Governor Taft
for the relief of the Filipinos is thor
oughly plutocratic and imperialistic-.
Tb.3 independent submits it without
comment:
First 'The establishment of a gold
standard in the islands and of bank
ing corporations empowered to issue
circuiting tank notes uuder proper
safeguards.
Second The reduction of at least 75
per cent of the Dingley rates of duty
upon goods imported into the United
States from the Philippines.
Third An amendment of the Phil
ippine act so that the additional lim
it upon lands which may be sold to or
be la-Jd by individuals or corporations
from the public domain shall be in
creased 25,000 acres, or in the alterna
tive so that the government shall ba
given the power to lease for sixty
years upon competitive biddings from
the public lands aggregating in any in
dividual or corporate lessee not morf
than 30,000. It says this legislation is
necessary to the development of the
islands, 'and as the government is of
fering 65,000,000 out of 70,000,000 acres
. In the archipelago there is no danger
of concentration of ownership in in
dividuals or corporations.
Fourth That the Philippine act
may be amended by repealing the lim
itation which forbids an individual or
corporation from holding an inter
est in more than one mining claim.
' Fifth That all bonds issued by the
insular government under the author
1 ity of the Philippine act shall be free
from state, county and municipal tax
ation in the United States.
Sixth That an amendment be made
to tha Chinese exclusion act giving
. the power to the government by law
to admit a fixed and limited number
of Chinamen into the Philippine isi
l ands, who are certified to be skilled
laborers; on the bond of the employer
that for every Chinese skilled laborer
employed he will employ a Filipino
apprentice and that he will return the
Chinese skilled laborer . thus intro
duced within five years after his ad
mission to the country and that he
shall pay a head tax of not exceeding
$50 for each Chinaman sa admitted to
the insular government tbmeet the
expenses of the enforcement of these
restrictions. The commission thinks
unlimited admission of Chinese would
be unwise.
Shortly after election the Omaha
World-Herald opened up its "Public
Pulse column to the socialists and
asked them to give their ideas in as
clear a manner as possible. A goodly
number of the "Kangaroos" and De
Leonites responded, as well as a num
ber of those opposed to socialism.
Among the latter was Rev. John Will
iams. Then Dr. II. S. Aley of Lin
coln, in a three-column communica
tion, undertook to tell the reverend
John that what he (the reverend)
knows about socialism wouldn't fill a
very large volume; but the doctor's
lecture was, he says, badly blue-pencilled
by the World-Herald, and he re
ports the whole proceedings . to the
New York People. .
After a "much needed rest," as he
expresses it, W. H. Stout has resus
ciated the Saline County Independent
at DeWitt He has bought a printing
outfit from the Crete Vidette, and
purposes to "wear no party halter,"
Stout knows how to get up a good
newspaper, but he is not in a very
good locality to receive the support
he deserves:
Money and the Taxing Power
BY W. II. ASIIBY.
All Rights Reserved.
CHAPTER III.
Man in his efforts to obtain that
exclusive individual possession of
wealth, toward which he is incessantly
compelled by the primordial impulse
of self-preservation, expends in those
efforts the stored up energy already
under the dominion of his will. If we
consider the process we find that he
expends that energy in overcoming
adverse forces which stand between
him and aCcess to the things endowed
with the power of beneficial service
which he seeks. In the industrial pro
cess of p r o d u c t i o n, he expends
his energy in overcoming the adverse
forces of nature . interposed between
him and the objects he seeks. , These
obstacles over which man triumphs by
expending his own stqred up ' energy,
may consist of form, or , space,
or ; t i m e. He applies his energy : to
the task of compelling it to change' it
form to another capable of serving him
beneficially by supplying his needs.
He expends his energy in transporting
it from a distant point in space to an
other, where it' becomes accessible to
him. He dries, or preserves, or cans,
or fre3zes it, in order to save it for a
period of time In which it shall pos
sess the tame capacity to serve him.
Let it be observed heie that all en
ergy thus expended in overcoming ad
verse forces of nature, in all the pro
cesses above indicated, produce as
their effect an increase in the
supply of wealth.
Seeing that it is an axiom of sci
ence that all energy expended must
produce an effect somewhere, and that
no energy can be expended without
producing its proper result, it is vastly
important bera simple as it seems
to note the fact that all human ener
gy expended in overcoming the ad
verse forces of nature, in all the vari
ous phases of production, reappears
under the form of supply of
wealth.
This seems so apparent, so self-evident,
that argument is superfluous.
Let no one hereafter, when it rises to
destroy some idol, repudiate it for the
s.ake of saving that idol!
Given, man with his limited store
of energy under the dominion of his
own will, which he is free to expend
efforts to obtain dominion over things
endowed with capacity to serve him
beneficially, by supplying his needs;
given, the universally accepted doc
trine of the right to exclusive indl
- .dual possession of those things thus
endowed; given, something of the na
ture of government, which guarantees
the exclusive possession of that thing
in its quiet and orderly possession
and restrains all comers from the ex
ercise of any violence or unlawful
stratagem to deprive him of that pos
session; given, these conditions and
the primordial impulse which drives
man to activity and what must be
the result?
His energy expended in overcoming
the adverse forces of nature has re
sulted in the production of whatever
the supply of wealth may at a given
time and place be. But this wealth
under the conditions is the exclusive
possession of him who holds it, guard
ed by the powers of the government
Force cannot here be employed even
to obtain bread to prevent starvation
One in possession can only be de
prived of that possession by his own
consent. ' Whoever seeks that posses
sion must find some peaceful mean
to induce him to relinquish it of hio
own free will.
So far as the supply of wealth al
ready existent is concerned, the strug
gle is no longer one in which man
must expend his energy to overcome
adverse forces of nature; it is now a
struggle in which he must expend his
energy to overcome the adverse
possession of another, or to
retain that possession if it be his.
Adam Smith has pointed out with
clearness that every exchange of
wealth is finally resolvable into an ex
change of service. Each party to ev
ery exchange seeks to obtain domin
ion over wealth which he can compel
to serve him more beneficially than he
could the wealth, possession of which
he consents to relinquish. It is only
when each of the two parties to the
exchange agree to make it, that any
exchange is made. There is no ar
biter, and there is no compulsion. Un
less both consent there is no ex
change, because the government guar
anteed each in the quiet and orderlv
exclusive possession of that which i.
finds him possessing.
The struggle thus shorn, by th
presence of the constable, of violence,
no longer results in wounds and
bloodshed. The energy expended, re
strained by government from taking
the form of violence, no longer mani
fests Itself under the form of murder
and highway robbery.
That energy expended by men under
these restrictions to obtain or retain
exclusive possession of the supply o'
wealth cannot but manifest itself un
der some form, and the form which
under those conditions, it does neces
sarily take it what is called the
force of demand. This force of
r mand is the effect of the energy ex
pended by men, under the restrictions
named, to overcome the adverse ex
clusive individual possession of the
supply of wealth existent at the given
time and place, and to retain it.
Thus it becomes manifest that while
the supply of wealth Is the form un
der which energy expended in over
coming adverse forces of nature in
production reappears, the force of de
mand is the form under which energy
expended is overcoming adverse ex
clusive possession of existent wealth.
reappears. It is thus seen that ener
gy expended for one of these objects
becomes antagonistic to that energy
expended for the other. The energy
expended in production can never pro
duce as its effect the force of demand.
No more can energy expended to ob
lain or retain exclusive possession pro
duce as its effect supply of wealth. The
two effects are as totally different
forms as any in nature and, under the
forms of "supply and demand," are
recognized opposites. It should be
pointed out that but for the retention
among men of the system of exclusive
individual possession, a system In
herited from the lower animals and
plants, thfre could be no expendit.ur-3
of energy in overcoming adverse in
dividual possession, and, consequent
ly, there could be no force of demand
(To Be Continued.)
SOCIALISM
Address of Chancellor Andrews Befor
Nebraska State Bar Association
Chancellor Andrews of the University
of Nebraska last Friday afternoon de
livered an address before the Nebraska
State Bar association on the subject
of socialism. , It will be Interesting
reading for everybody, but especially
instructive to those populists who be
lieve that present-day socialism is
simply an advanced step from popul
ism. The "collective ownership of all
the means of production and distri
bution" is essentially different . from
the public ownership of railroads and
other services of that nature. The
chancellor's address in full Is as fol
lows: If I have any special qualification
for discussing socialism it is that of
sympathetic opposition. I was once as
near being a disciple of Rodbertus as
I could come without baptism into the
rhnrfh. T thmitrM T saw? in Roriher-
tian socialism, socialism scientifically
wrought out and applied, a remedy for
the most glaring social evils.
In time and upon study, however,
the system which had seemed to me
so desirable grew to look quite other
wise, ths difficulties connected with it
assuming -vaster and vaster propor
tions, until in my thought they tow
ered above and outnumbered those
necessarily Douna up witn me present
order. I was thus converted to the
opinion that society has greater hope
A 1 1
or reiorm on ire general Dasis oi m-
aiviijuamm ir.au uy nying to tne un
known thougi. inevitable ills accom
panying a socialistic regime.
None the less I retain for the man-
her of thinking which so long engaged ;
me a respect which most of its oppo-
nem.3 do not have. I cannot condemn '
socialists as is commonly done. Not
only are the majority of them true
philanthropists" at heart, but their-
ideas and ideals are worthy the most
careful, thought. . Indeed, one not,
versed in Marx's reasonings can hard-'
ly be called fit to discuss any leading '
social theme. I rejoice in socialist stu- '
dy and agitation; vast net good must '
issue from it . .
Few can help going far with the so- '
cialist3 in their Indictment of present
industry; much wealth without merit,
mjch poverty without demerit, cross
purposes in production, inducing glut,
scarcity, waste and injustice; idle ,
wealth that might be supporting in
dustry but is not; enforced idleness
and poverty; fraud In trade, and the
tyranny and menace of corporate pow- '
er. These and such evils exist and
they are grave. Usually socialists do
not overmagnify, them. If such dis
tresses are curable, all wish to know
ho v..
Most wise people whatever their
styio of social thinking sympathize
withcsocialism in wishing the public '
power, when necessary, to extend more
or less its economic function. Now
and then of course some one still de
nounces as dangerous, per se,-regard-'
less of place or circumstance, e. g., the
municipal ownership of street rail-,
ways. It is hard to see why this is'
more a peril than the owning of
schools or of water or gas works by"
cities. There is nothing alarming,
either, in the proposal that govern-'
ment should purchase and work mines.'
Public ownership of mines is in con
tinental Europe the regular thing, as
Is the public ownership of railways. -
If the question were merely wheth
er or not it is aesiraoie ror govern-,
ment to possess and administer cer
tain indispensable public utilities it,
would not be worth discussion. The
thoughtful , people are few, however
opposed to socialism, who do not be .
lieve that government will In time,
take over a great many of the pro
ductive agencies now in private hands. "
Government might go a long way in
this without even an approach to so-,
cialism. Socialism would not be
reached until all material instrumen
talities for the production of wealth
had passed into the state's hands,
or at least so many of them that indi
vidual initiative in its present and
historic form had ceased to function.
Nor need anti-socialists have any
radical quarrel with socialists over
Fabianism. Call the Fabians social
ists, if you will, they are of a very,
innocuous stripe. The three great ten
ets' of orthodox socialism, that econ-