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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1903)
MARCH 19, 1903. THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT. MR, IREEKAN OTIS WILLEY r Very often a case is lost because the contestant proved too much. That is the way with the argument of Free man Otis Willey who writes a hook for the. plutocratic propaganda so of ten mentioned in The Independent. He says: "If you consider the matter care fully, you will not doubt that, as of ten as it can be shown that a cor poration, or the stockholders of a cor poration, have acted In an oppressive way, just as often can it be shown that an equal number of non-chartered concerns, ' and- individuals not connected with r corporations, have acted in the same manner." Now this book is written to combat public ownership and socialism, and by this argument he proves the case for the socialists. That is exactly what they say. Private ownership of anything is oppressive and results in great wrongs. There are the two things: Individual ownership and corporation ownership. Mr. Wiley says one is just as bad as the other. It therefore follows that the only es cape is socialism. . If the National Economic League can't do better than that they hai just as well quit. They can't defend trusts and corporations in that way. They are furnishing the socialists with new ammunition. That is, how ever, aside from the facts. It is a bald statement without any attempt at proof. Simply a plutocratic assump tion which the people are expected to swallow without stopping. to taste it. When did a private individual raise the price of wire nails 200 per cent? When did a private individual mere than double the cost of glass? When did an individual coal miner or owner produce a coal famine and dou ble the price of coal? These things and thousands more like them have been done by corporations. We-wait for Mr. Willey to cite cases in which individuals ever did such things. That is the sort of literature with which the plutocrats are flooding the country. What are reformers doing to counteract it? Not long since' The Independent printed a report from a minister con cerning; the awful degradation and ; moral foulness of some of the New ' England villages. Now the same re port comes from England. In wha ever country Mammon is worshipped the same-results follow. The race cannot advance and ' must ." degenerate whenever the gathering of money is considered the highest ideal to which man can aspire. Love of country, love of home, the desire to be useful, must be the ideals instead of the gathering of millions. Public rob bers must not be held up to the youth of the land as the highest type and the ones after which the youth should pattern. The Rockefellers and Mor gans must be dethroned and in their stead must be installed those who have not devoted their lives to rob bery, and extortion, or the conditions reported in the New England villages and in England will spread all over the land. NEBRASKA ECONOMISTS Nebraska is generously represented in the -list of "editorial associates and contributors" of the National Eco nomic League, whose avowed object is "To instruct the people that if we are to continue to lead in the .. world's industries and keep Am- erican labor and capital remun ' eratively employed, it must be through the organization of indus , try into LARGE UNITS, directed by the best talent" Which, translated into the vernac ular, means "trusts, directed by Mor gans and Rockefellers." This is the league whose editorial manager, Mr. Mattox, wrote to a Mis souri banker some time ago that "Only by the literature that was sent out by the republican party and auxiliary organizations edu cating them (the people) - to the danger of the election-of Mr. Bryan, was the country ., saved - from that disaster." Nebraska is represented in the league by the following Nebraskans and former residents as "associate editors and contributors": Geo. E. .MacLean, president state university of Iowa, formerly chancel lor of the University of Nebraska. Gen. Charles F. Manderson, solid tor B. & M. R. R. ' , . W. S. Poppleton, attorney, . Omaha.' Francis A. Brogan, attorney, Omaha. Those acquainted with MacLean and Manderson, of course, understand why they should ally themselves with an organization like the league, but the question naturally arises, Why is W. S. Poppleton training with a crowd that put forth such heroic efforts to "save" the country from the "dis aster" of electing Mr. Bryan? As much editorial matter appears in The Independent each week as in the six editions of any of the dailies, and the topics discussed are often a week or ten days ahead of the dailies. ROSE WATER FREAKS OF MIND In the Bee of March 17, Mr. Rose water says: "If any man or set of men should deliberately concoct a scheme to set the town on fire or blow up its public buildings with dy namite, the community would rise up as one man to have them thrown into prison or lynched, but when men set deliberately, to work to undermine and destroy self-government,- the : people tamely allow them to proceed with their devilish work. And yet this is precisely what has been going on at Lincoln for the last sixty days under the leadership of John N. Baldwin, the head pusher of the most rotten lobby that has ever infested the state capitol." In The Independent a short time ago there appeared an article entitled "Freaks of the Mind," which has oc casioned some comment , Does it not appear strange to the ordinary, sane man that after Mr. Rosewater suc ceeded In electing this republican leg islature that .he should talk in that manner? He .knew that the railroads .named the candidates, that they paid most of-the -campaign, expenses, that John N.. Baldwin was their represen tative and practical . manager of. the campaign ' and - what things that it was , proposed to do , if the republi cans succeeded and yet he supported Mr. Baldwin and the candidates that he had selected. He could , have as easily prevented the election of a re publican legislature as he did that- of Dave Mercer , to congress. He could have helped the-citizens of Nebraska choose a legislature to whom the railroads would have concluded that it would have been no use to send a lobby, that would have enacted laws forcing the railroads to pay their just share of taxes and have given the state an honest and economical government as had been done from 1896 to 1900. But he chose to sup port the candidates and the party that all men knew would do just what they have done if they were elected. Now he writes a column of the same kind as appears at the head of this article denouncing them. Would not sanity have directed that it was better to defeat this crowd than to elect them and afterwards in dulge in ineffective denunciation of them. That J. Pierpont Morgan Is a low down perjurer has been well estab lished during the last few weeks. He went before the taxing authorities and solemnly swore that he owned only ?400,000 worth of personal property. It now turns out that he has $7,000, 000 worth' of paintings, statuary and other works of art Men of that de testible character are the men who dominate the republican party and to a large extent the church. Morgan Is a shining light in the Protestant Epis- r tr JL AFT Great Sale..,. I IS SUITS AND OVERCOATS nn.Wn Astg Closisg Oat Sale Values Never Offered in Omaha Befor Ovr 450 Mn't Salt mt $5.00. These suits come in cassimeres, cheviots and fancy worsteds, in plaids, stripes, pin checks and plain colors, all lined with a fine farmer's satin lining and we have over 25 different patterns to select from; one of the biggest bargains over offered in men's suits; worth up t - to $10.00; clearing sale price (mail orders filled) Hfy Uv) A OcMilna All Wol AWtten Suit at $6.7. - These suits come in brown and oxford gray, are lined with a fine Italian cloth and well made throughout: they come in all from 34 to 40; also in stouts and slims; none worth less than djr $12.50; clearing sale price (mail orders filled). ...... .... ....U.y Over 5fO Hen's Suits te be Clowd Out at 17.80. ' These suits are made in the very best fabrics, in latest shades and patterns, round or square cut styles, slims, stouts and extra sizes, heavy serge lining.padded shoulders, hair cloth front interlining, the greatest as sortment of suits ever offered at such a remarkably low price; dJ eV none worth less than $15; clearing sale price.mail orders tilled v y vf A Genuine All Wol Overcoat at $6.75. v ? 1 ' These overcoats come in brown and oxford gray, in long and me dium lengths, medium weights, lined with a fine Italian cloth lining and well made throughout; they come in sizes from 34 to 50; none worthless than $10.00, and up to $12.00; in this great clearing (f sale (mail orders filled) .. . , . . . 5U J MEN'S PANTS In all-wool cassimeres and Oxford gray mixtures, in all size from 32 to 48 waists; 30 to 3G lengths; none sr worth leas than $1.75; sale price (mail orders filled) 4) 1 UU 500 pairs of odd suit pants, in all sizes and colors and all wool fabrics in black, clay worsteds, cheviots, cassimeres, blue serges and fancy worsteds; none worth less than $2.50 and $3.00; s d sale price (mail orders filled) P I ) U Mail orders FILLED PROMPTLY. Send for new free spring cat alogue of clothing, HAYDEN BROS. 9 WHOLESALE SUPPLY HOUSE, OM AHA. BUY SEEDS You'll need them soon. We are heavily stocked with White Clover, Blue Grass, I iguana anu otner neia seeas, and carry a fine assortment of Landreth's Garden Seeds. LAHR'S HARDWARE 103a O STREET. copal church!" When' such facts as these ; are made known all over the land is it any wonder- that" there Is 'demoralization' "and degeneration ev erywhere? 1 Why. is hot "Morgan prose cuted for'perjury like any other criminal?-' Because the courts and admin istrators bf the law are worshipers of Mammon and they will not bring an accusation ' against one of the - chief votaries of their god. ' '-; Those subscribers to The Indepen dent who are from a year to. three years delinquent for subscription should now show their, appreciation of the generous treatment they have re ceived by sending in the amount due without longer delay. Everyone knows that The Independent has been building during the past year. It has taken more money than anticipated and we are just now extremely short of cash.' We do not want to embarrass you by sending the account to some collector in your locality, but unless those who are delinquent pay prompt ly we shall be compelled to do so. In the past we have always been gen erous in extending time and exeept for the' actual need of funds would not be so insistent for prompt pay ment now. In the courts the railroads always seem to have a sure thing. If they want an injunction against the work men that Injunction never fails to ap pear upon request The courts enjoin the workmen from walking on the highway, from listening to a sermon, from quitting work, from talking, from giving charity or anything else that the roads ask them to enjoin. Now the injunction goes outside of the employes' ranks and for the first time one has been issued forbidding certain men to sell unused portions of railroad tickets." The managers of the roads sometimes have troubtewlth legislative bodies," but .- they never have any trouble with the courts. When they want a decision that a railroad is private property and that the farmers can't put .up an elevator near . the tracks, - then they get one of that kind. When they want a de cision that a railroad is a "public" highway and- that all the laws apply ing to public highways applies to the roads, they get that kind of a deci sion. When it comes to the railroads and the courts it is: "You take the buzzard and I take the turkey, or I take the turkey and you take tha buzzard," every time. ! When the railroads are In a case, the court never talk turkey at all. Some ot the absurdities of the gold standard spell-binders were about as glaring, . as the human' mind could conceive, as, for instance, "intrinsic value" and "dear money and high prices." But Mr. Freeman Otis Wiley has outdone the wildest republican spell-binder who ever roamed over the rural districts of Ohio. He says that the Pilgrim" and Puritan colonies which settled in America were , cor porations just like the steel trust and Baer's coal combination. Then he remarks: "There would have been a great opportunity for an anti-monopolist to characterize the Pilgrims and Puritans and pronounce their im mortal voyage a money-hunting scheme." No doubt the mullet heads who believed that we could only pros per as the volume of money was de creased will believe this just as read ily as they did the big-mouthed repub lican ' spell-binders, . j(J ,J
