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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1903)
2 THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT. MARCH 5, 1903. uate Egypt. With a nominal ruler she still dominates Egypt and the ' canal of Suez. She has extended Egypt to the sources of the Nile and the Soudan, expelled Marchand and his Frenchmen, annexed the African republics and opened the way for her railroad from Cairo to Cape Town. "Whatever this octopus seizes "Perfidi ous Albion" never lets go, unless the tentacle is severed as by our heroic fathers. To capture Castro, set up their tool, the rebel Mator, as presi dent of Venezuela, extend Venezuela over Colombia and the isthmus, would give to England control of both inter oceanic canals and commercial and political supremarcy in both hemis pheres. This would be done without violating the letter of the Monroe doc trine which she devised to protect her commerce in the South American re publics from the "holy alliance." She would no more colonize South America than she has Egypt, though dominat ing both through the control of their - nominal rulers. . The crux of the Vene ' zuela situation is control of the At lantic and Pacific canal. With this control goes commercial, financial and political supremacy. With the decad ence of Venice and Genoa the center of commercial activity passed from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic un der Portugal, Spain and England. It eeems about to move to the Pacific. ,' In addition to this glimpse of his tory, here are some present facts: In the beginning of 1902, England and Germany made their demands upon Venezuela and rested. Then came the rebel, .Matos, with headquarters at the neutral island of Luracao, plentifully supplied with ammunition of war, ' waging the most violent civil war Venezuela has ever known. When he was defeated after a seven days' fight by Castro in October last and his cause hopeless without further aid, the allies descended with their war ships upon Venezuela. They seized her navy so she could not act against Matos in intercepting munitions of war. In their blockade they have excepted the ports under control of rebels. They have allowed ships bearing ammuni tion of war to pass the blockade of the Orinoco and carry them ammuni tion to points occupied by rebels. Am munitions have flowed in from neutral Curacao through the rebel post of La Vela; opposite this post is con nected uy w or iz mues or ranroau with.. the ancient city of Coro to be used by rebels for a base of supplies. Since the blockade the rebels have gathered and renewed their activity plentifully supplied with ammunition of war, Castro is placed between the two fires of the rebels and allies. Meanwhile our canal treaty with Co lombia all ready to sign was suddenly held up until Colombia, threatened by the allies to make her abandon the treaty, found her only safety was in our protection and signed it. Our republic has no such treacher ous and vindictive foe as the ruling class of England; they tied our hands by saddling the Philippines upon us. They persuaded our imperialistic tories that by making war upon the Filipinos they could create a standing army to protect them from the people when they objected to their fighting them to starvation. If it was Germany alone with whom we had to deal we could without trouble. The rulers of Eng land doubtless keep their ulterior pur pose in the background with the kais er, compelled by President Cleveland to use the kaiser, when the chest nuts are picked, as usual, he will be dropped. It is this ruling class that with a smiling face and hand outstretched in friendship makes its opportunity to stab to the heart. This class, preach ing peace and good-will, enforcing at the cannon's mouth their tribute from the nations of a never-ceasing flow of gold into their polluted coffers. It is this class with whom we have to deal, a treacherous, perfidious, vindictive, relentless foe. Treacherous in peace, bribing and luring into financial pit falls, that they may reap the fruits of progressive industry as their spoils. Always relentless, both in peace and War, cheating and pursuing their vic tims. Robbing in peace, "pig stick ing" in war; Burglars at home, bur glars- aDroaa, tne burglars of the world. Robbing in the dark and mur dering if resisted. Yonder for the gold of South Africa, now in Venezuela. Robbing in the islands of all seas. Rnhhinsr in thp nriont rnhhinn- in iho L , - - - - - '11 VUV Occident. Everywhere converting the toil and s"weat of industry and blood into gold. '.A ray of God shines upon them. In its radiance the mists of their great ness vanish. When President Cleve land prevented England from Egyp tianizing Venezuela, he secured a niche in the temple of fame which "neither wasting ruins, nor the im potent north winds and the series of years and the fights of time can de stroy" when his financial' heresies are remedied and forgotten, the words of Horace, Non omnia moriar," I shall not wholly die, may be applied to him. An onlooker thinks December last, when Matos renewed bis activity, we should have cabled to Castro an air liance offensive and defensive against the rebels, ordered Dewey to stay and hold the rebel port of Vela, not block aded, and prevented shipment of am munition to rebels. Sent 10,000 United States troop3 to La Vela, held the rail road and occupied Coro as a base against rebels. Putting rebels between two fires, as Castro now is, and dis missed our English Secretary Hay. The allies could not properly object tc this alliance to create a stable gov ernment that might pay their claims. It seems best to seize the bull by the horns and hold him before he starts to gore us. The war cloud in Eu rope's back yard gathering by the mobilizing of a quarter of a million of barbarians to keep Macedonia quiet under the Turk doubtless prevents present hostilities here. A few weeks will determine the action of England's ruling class. It seems important to recall this glimpse of history and these present facts to the attention of the many thousand patriotic readers of The Independent, whether we have present war or continued peace. Those who have lived through the losses and anxieties of our civil war can look upon such a war without alarm. If war is hell, like the lightning it is a purifier. It sifts the chaff from the wheat. F. W. ANTHONY. Mattawah, Mich. IHE SENTINEL SQUEALS Indiana Paper Vxed Democratic Paper Hand In Glova With "Economic Lajrn" of Plutocrat! Editor Independent: The Indianap olis Sentinel is disturbed by the ref erence to it that I made in my letter to the Clark County Citizen (published in The Independent of January 22, 1903,) and expresses itself as follows: . "Dr. Flavius J. Van Vorhis, recent ly an officer of the Indiana Protective Tariff league, in a letter to the Clark County Citizen says: Everybody knows that as be tween Bryan and Cleveland the Sentinel is for Cleveland; that as between what Bryan represents and what Cleveland represents the Sentinel is still with Cleveland. 'As to which it is to be said that the Sentinel is a democrat, and 'as be tween Bryan and Cleveland' is for the democratic party first, last and all the time. "As between what Bryan represents and what Cleveland represents the Sentinel is for what both represent; among other things the Monroe doc trine, free institutions and self-government everywhere under American jurisdiction, a tariif for revenue only, and rigid repression of monopoly. Messrs. Cleveland and Bryan are equally sound on all these proposi tions, and they are the vital questions of American politics today. They dis agree about silver, which is not a live issue and cannot become such under existing conditions. "To keep forever harping upon the differences which once divided the party upon this question is to play in to the hands of the trust combine that now controls the government. No bet ter method of perpetuating its power could be devised, and the men who are doing this are . consciously or uncon sciouslyand many of them, we think, with deliberate intent doing the work Mark Hanna especially wants done." The charge that anybody is helping the trusts, "consciously or uncon sciously," comes with bad grace from this trust-controlled sheet. If, when I call attention to the tin warranted assistance given by the treasury department to the New York banks, or if, when-1 mention that the government dare not make these banks obey the law, or if, when I point out that the most powerful opposition to tariff revision comes from the bank interests, or if, when I insist that the financial question is a very live and urgent one, I am helping the trusts, what is the Sentinel doing when it as sociates itself with an organization clearly intended to advance the inter ests of combined wealth? It will occur to most people of av erage intelligence, when they know the facts, that the Sentinel ought to "sing very low" in any attempt to stigmatize any one as a "trust helD er." In 1899 there was organized a hum bug "Economic League." Its principal office is now at 13 Astor Place, New York. Its avowed purpose is to con vince people that all those, who see and call attention to the danger of the "concentration of wealth in a few hands," and all who are opposed to corporation and trust monopolies are "socialists" of a type dangerous to our institutions. This league has, for some reason, kept out of sight. It is only recently that anything has been known about it. It was a concealed factor in the campaign of 1900. Its lusty asser tion that it is "absolutely non-partisan and non-sectarian," will deceive no one. The influences that control it are well known not to be embarrassed by either political principles or moral convictions. I have on my table a bunch of its literature sent out with a letter dated February 18, 1903. It was not sent to me, of course. It was intended only for those whom it sup posed to be controlled by selfish busi ness interests and cupidity, and whom it therefore expected to sympathize with its deceptive purposes. Mr. bamuel E. Morse (by the grace of Cleveland, late consul general to Paris), chief editor, president and con trolling stockholder of the Sentinel, is a member of this organization of trust advocates and supporters, and a mem ber of the press committee. His name is prominent on the let ter head with the names of Lyman J. Gage (late secretary of the United States treasury department), presi dent of the United States Trust com pany, 40 Wall street, New York; Gus tave H. Schwab (of steel trust), man ager of the North German Lloyd S. S Co., 11 Broadway, New York; Dav id M. Parry, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, Indian apolis, Ind.; S. N. D. North, secretary National Association of Wool Manu facturers, Boston, Mass.; Harry S. New, editor and publisher of the Ind ianapolis Journal (rep.), and many others representing like interests. With this literature is a booklet of 125 pages that, from beginning to end ing, is filled with sophistical argu ments in favor of corporations and trusts. It points out that there is a growing public sentiment against them, and sounds the alarm to all Combinations of wealth. The pur pose of this so-called "Economic League" is to counteract this swelling tide, and to convince the masses that trusts and corporations are only con ducive to public welfare; that con centrated wealth is a blessing, and trust magnates public benefactors. Among this batch of stuff is a "par tial list of sustaining members," head ed by J. Pierpont Morgan & Co., Aug ust Belmont, Levi P. Morton, John V. Farwell & Co., The Standard Oil Co., and others too numerous to set out in full. This is the crowd which the Senti nel's chief editor has associated him self, and furnishes a complete explan ation of the conduct of this paper dur ing the campaign of 1900. In the face of such a damning disclosure of inti mate relationship with trust support ers and trust magnates, it is surpris ing temerity for the Sentinel to pre tend opposition to such combinations, and to stigmatize any one as "help ing the trusts." The Sentinel does not deny the truth of what it quotes from my letter, but seeks by ambiguity to avoid it. It says that "as between Bryan and Cleveland" it "is for the democratic party." It does not even say that it is for democratic principles. The Sen tinel needs to be reminded that thoughtful people are becoming sus picious of those who find it necessary to be continually reiterating the dec laration of their allegiance to party. What is wanted is allegiance to demo cratic principles, and not subservience to plutocratic influences. The asser tion of the Sentinel that it is "a demo crat" reminds me of a law case in this city a few years ago. A dealer sold a man a watch, and gave him a statement that it was a "gold watch." There was so little gold in it that it would not respond to the test. The dealer came into court and admitted that there was very little gold in it, but insisted that "gold watch" was a trade description, and that it was not meant by it that the watch was made out of gold, but that the particular brand of watch was named "gold." The Sentinel names itself "a demo crat," but some of its readers are in doubt about its containing enough of the "principle" to entitle it to call itself democratic. It seems- to think that it has made a crushing disclosure when it refers to me as "recently an officer of the Indiana Protectice Tariff League." Why, bless its trust-infected soul, it was worse than that. It was while serving as an officer first as secretary and then as vice president of the American Protective League, with headquarters in New York that I got an insight into the situation and be came convinced that, the contest be tween the eastern "protective" and "free trade" leagues was no better than a sham and a pretense, kept up to conceal the purposes of the finan cial combinations behind them. I re tired in disgust in 1896, before the meeting of the Chicago convention, and am not disposed to assist trust magnates, republican leaders, and democratic reorganizes to repair this damaged ambuscade of the eastern financial combinations with whic& the Sentinel has allied itself. When the editor is able to ride two horses going in opposite directions, there may be some hope that the Sen tinel will be able to follow both Cleve land and Bryan. They are inherently, antagonistic in principle and purpose, and will not harmonize. The pretend ed belief of the Sentinel that they agree upon ail questions but one is absurd. Cleveland is a representative and supporter of plutocracy and Bry an of democracy. Cleveland supports and defends the financial combina tions, while Bryan is opposed to them. Cleveland favors the special privileges accorded to the New York banks, Bry an does not. Cleveland is in favor of surrendering to the banks the prero gative of government to issue money, Bryan is opposed to it. When the chief editor of the Senti nel is associated with such men as J. Pierpont Morgan. August Belmont, John D. Rockefeller, Lyman J. Gage, David M. Parry, it cannot hide itself by sticking its head under the Monroe doctrine and the tariff question. Ev erybody knows that what I said in my letter (from which the Sentinel quoted) is true, and that the Sentinel is for Cleveland and what Cleveland represents, and is opposed to Bryan and what Bryan represents. FLAVIUS J. VAN VORHIS. Indianapolis, Ind. 1 Corbtn Roasts Hearst The following is copy of a letter mailed to Mr. Hearst by J. S. Corbin, liberal democratic candidate for lieu tenant governor cTf New York last year. It speaks for itself: Gouverneur, N. Y., Feb. 14, 1903. W. R. Hearst, N. Y. American: I am disgusted with your yesterday's issue. To neglect to report Bryan and Tom Johnson at Columbus, is little short of an outrage on your democratic read ers. If you would give a little more news of the sort indicated, and a good deal less divorce, murder, police and mil lionheiress drivel, your thinking con stituency I am sure will appreciate it. Do not think for a moment that the real democracy of the state will per mit Bryan to be obscured by the re organizing crowd which centers ten blocks below you in that pit of hell Wall street. You are showing a lean ing toward that element (which has twice defeated us) in your political aspirations, and you are making a mistake. The road to democratic success lies in driving the Clevo'ands, Gormans, Belmonts and McLeans out of the party and substituting twice as many workingmen. Plutocracy and democ racy will not mix. You can't ride a golden calf and a thoroughbred Jcffer sonian in the political arena. They will throw you if you try it. J. S. CORBIN. l is a Pity To Stay Sick, When a Postal Will Bring Help. Please note this offer again. Send no money just a postal, stat ing which book you need. I will mail you an order good at any drug store for six bottles Dr. Shoop's Restorative. You may take it a month on trial. If it succeeds, the cost is $5.50. If it fails, I will' pay the druggist myself and ,your mere word shall decide it. Just think what that means. It proves that I have faith in the remedy, and faith in the honestv of people. It shows that I have learned how to cure these diseases, else the offer would ruin me. Let me convince you. You are wait ing when you should be well. When the test is made, I don't want a pen ny, unless you are glad to pay. My success comes from strengthen ing the inside nerves, which operate the vital organs. I have spent my life in learning how to do it. A weak organ means weak nerve power. It is like a, weak engine that needs more steam. To doctor the organ is use less; what it needs is power to act. My Restorative alone brings back that power, and in most of these diseases no other way can cure. My book will tell you why. Simply state wh'e'i hook you want, and address Br. Bhoop, Bax 940 Bucine, Win. Mild cases, not chronic, are often cured br one or two bottlei. At all drusgisti, rocs no. 1 ok tvriPKpnu POOK NO. O THU HEART FOOK NO. : OK THU KIDHr ROOK NO. 4FOR1VOMIK. BOOK NO. & TOR MSN. imM HOOK NO. C ON RmCMATISM