8
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
JUNE 4, 1903.
the fiebraska Independent
Cinceln. tttbrssks.
LIBERTY BUILDING.
1328 0 STREET
Entered according to Act of ConjrrtMof March
j, 1879, nt the Postoffice at Wncoln, Nebraka,a
cecond-ctus mail matter.
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY.
FIFTEENTH YEAR.
$1.00 PER YEAR
When making . remittance do. not leavt
tnoney with iiewa afenciea, pommasiera, c
to be forwarded by them. . They, frequently
forget or remit a different amount, than waa
left with them, and tbt subscriber faila to get
propercredit . . -
Address all communications, and auk all
draft, money ordera, etc, payable to . ...
the Utbrask Indtptndtnt,
Lincoln, Neb.
Anonymous communications will not ba
noticed. Rejected manuscripts will not bt
returned.
T. H. TIBBLES, Editor. '
C. Q. DE FRANCE, Associate Editor.
F. D. EAGER, Business Manager.
KARL MARX EDITION
Pursuant to our promise made In
The Independent of April 9, we now
' " 1 itl.' it 1 . M T..1 ft
auuouiice mat uie issuui juiy
1903, will be known as the Karl Marx
Edition and devoted to the presenta
tion of socialism exactly under th
same conditions as surrounded the is
sue of our Henry George Edition.
That 'is 'to" say, the entire issue witl
he given over to the socialists. They
will write the articles and be in fact
the editors. 5 All that the present edi
tors of The 'Independent will do will
o if xtraAa tfirrmp-h tho trinniiarrint:
look after mere typographical errors,
read the proofs, and fill every avail-,
able inch of s"pace aside from tho
advertising with socialist doctrine as
the socialists themselves understand
it. ; :"'-. 'V . "
As was said in our issue of April 9,
"The Independent is not inclined to
' adopt the modern fad of issuing a
multitude of 'special editions'," and
only' after serious consideration wa3
the Henry George Edition undertak
en. The undoubted success of that
gives us encouragement to take up the
Karl Marx Edition with a will and
make it as great or even greater a
the socialists themselves.
The Independent at the outset de
. sires no misunderstandings regarding
either of these editions" It is a pop
ulist paper and has taught populist
doctrines for more than fourteen
years. .. It recognizes in both socialists
and single taxers men Inspired with
strong desires for the enlightenment
and betterment of the human race.
Jefterson democrats, Lincoln republi
cans, Karl Marx socialists, Henry
George single taxers, and, . Thomas
Watson populists can all agree that
"equal rights tq all special privileges
to none" is what they are all striv
ing for. Their, disagreements are over
the best methods of securing the equal
rights and abolishing the special
privileges.'
So while The Independent stands
editorially as a champion of the
methods proposed by the populist na
tional platforms, it has never yet re
fused its columns to an earnest man
who was trying to reach the ' same
goal by a different route. And thesa
two special editions are doing in a
larger way nothing more than The
Independent has done right along.
What shall be told to Independent
readers in the Karl Marx Edition is
left wholly to the socialist's, but The
Independent believes some light on a
few points would be of great benef.l
to its readers In the way of giving
them a clearer idea of the socialist
belief. The theory of "surplus val
ue," the class struggle, and the ma
terialistic conception of history, of
course, will cover the fundamentals;
but a little touch of the Utopian would
be valuable not a bald statement of
What will happen, "under socialism"
(for that no man knows), but rather
along the lines of practical suggestion
as to how things might be done. For
example, the objection against "di
rected supply" as opposed to the hap
hazard undirected or "unconscious
supply;" where to draw the line be
tween consumption goods 'and capi
tal; how, to equalize the Inequalities
in location of homes, etc., are simply
suggestive.
Sample copies of the Karl Mai.x
Edition will be mailed to lists of 'ad
dresses -at the low price of . $1 pjr
hundred, either singly or all to ono
address. If ten thousand are taken;
the paper will be enlarged to 24 page?,
and an addition 9 pages for every ad
ditional ten thousand. This barely
covers cost of producing the paper.
: The democratic state -central com
mittee is called to meet at the Lin
coln ' hotel, Lincoln, Neb June 23,
1903, at 2 o'clock p. m. to fix time
and place for holding a state conven
tion. ; " -: - ' ; ,'
SECRETARY EDGERTON
James Arthur Edgerton, secretary
of the people's party national commit
tee, called on The Independent Mon
day and spent a few hours talking
over the political situation with a
number of leading populists who gath
ered, there to meet him. j
Mr. Edgerton is no stranger to In
dependent readers. Many of his
poems have found a place in our col
umns .and in the hearts of those who
read them. For a number of years hV.
has been a member of the editorial
s'taff of the Rocky Mountain News,
Denver, in which paper his "Sido
Veins" has scored a decided success.
He was on his way to Denver, re
turning from the press writers' meet
ing at Baltimore, and took occasion
to stop off a few hours here his
former home. In fact, we have not
yet relinquished our right to claim
Mr. Edgerton as a Nebraska poet
and populist. V ;
v Speaking of the mission of the peo
ple's party, Secretary Edgerton takes
much the same view as that, enter
tained by The Independent: that there
is room for a radical reform party in
spired by faith in principles of justice
rather than held together simply by"
spoils of office. He believes that the
socialist agitation will in the end help
rather than hinder the growth 6f the
people's party, because, in his judg
ment, the co-operative commonwealth
will not come as the result of a single
capture of government machinery at
the polls, but rather a step at a time,
through public ownership of rail
roads, telegraphs, etc., taking in coal
mines, etc., later as the .necessities
compel action. He believes the so
cialist cry of class consciousness is
dangerous, as. inviting class hatred
rather than accomplishing what con
scientious socialists wish it to accom
plish. ' - .-,r
Mr. Edgerton is inclined to believe
that the time is not yet ripe for the
populists to accomplish much more
than to keep their fires burning and
ready for action. The next epoch, he
believes, will be marked by a general
uprising all over the United States
similar to the movement in the early
nineties in Kansas and Nebraska.
This epoch will be ushered, in by
some thought-producing incident For
example, a general railroad strike in
the next few years would set the
whole United States afire for public
ownership. The tinder is dry now
a spark would ignite it. When this
comes the people's party, if kept in
working trim, will win in a whirlwind
of enthusiasm.
He considers a split In the,- demo
cratic party next year inevitable, but
is inclined to believe that William
Randolph Hearst will in great meas
ure be the real disturbing factor, be
cause Hearst is the moving spirit
among those democrats who are so
cialistically inclined men who want
public ownership and the like, but arc
not "class conscious" socialists. He
regards it aa almost certain that the
Boys.
Good Clothing for
Clothes that you find in the clothing stores of
the good class are clothes that are built "to
wear. They're good clothes made out of good
eubstantial materials well put together. You'll
seldom find a good clothing store that handles,
clothes ' in which the wear is sacrificed for the
sake of show. A cood looking suit for a child
can be 'made of handsome cloth that's poor,
trimmed with shoddy silks and satins, cotton
ribbons and potato buttons. They won't wear.
Clothes that are made for us are made to wear
while they last, and -last while they wear.
You'll find no shoddy about a "Nebraska"
boy's suit. In calling your attention to our
boy's suits, we suggest looking on page 14 of
our spring and summer catalog. We want to
impress upon yo.u one point wear. These
suits are marked to sell for $2, and sell for a
great deal more by your home clothier . ... ...
democratic convention will avoid tak
ing these steps toward socialism and.
hence, a split seems certain -Secretary
Edgerton expressed pleas
ure because of the work being done by
The Independent toward brushing up
the populist organization and prom
ised at an early date to prepare an
article for publication covering the
whole ground as he views it. When
this comes The Independent will issue
a special edition of probably ' 20,000
additional copies and place in the
hands of populists who need waking
UP. .' ..; ' , -. .
In the meantime The Independent is
hearing from the populist national
committeemen and others regarding
the party's status in the several states.
Let us hear from populists every
where. Out of -the counsel of many
comes wisdom. Make The Indepen
dent a meeting place for the first pre
liminary conference its columns are
open.
Socialists have the opportunity to
edit the Karl Marx Edition of Th3
Independent (July 23, .1903). just as
the single taxers did the Henry
George Edition.
: TOLLOWS THE FLAG
Justice Harlan's "dissenting opinion
in the Hawaiian " manslaughter case
(Hawaii vs. Osaki Maukichi) contains
the following strong arraignment of
our present anomalous position, grown
out of the Philippine muddle:
"The 'opinion of the court," he con
tinued, "would mean that the United
States may acquire territory by ces
sion, conquest or treaty and that con
gress may, exercise sovereignty do
minion over it, outside of and in vio
lation of the constitution and under
regulations that could not be applied
to the organized territories of the
United States and their inhabitants.
It would mean that, under the influ
ence and guidance of commercialism
and the supposed necessities of trade
this country had left the old ways of
the fathers, as defined by written con
stiutions, and entered a new way, in
following which the American peo
ple will lose sight of become indiffer-
ent to these principles which hai
been supposed to be essential to real
liberty. It would mean. that if this
people do not retrace their steps, if
the principles now announced should
become firmly established, the time
may not be far distant, when, under
the exactions of trade and commerce, J
and to gratify an ambition to become
the greatest political power in all tha
earth, the United States will acquire
territories in jvery direction, whicti
are inhabited by human beings over
which territories to be called 'depen
dencies' we will exercise absolute do
minion, , and where inhabitants will
be regarded as 'subjects' to be eon
trolled as congress may see fit, not as
the constitution requires, nor, as the
people governed may wish. Thus will
be engrafted upon1 our republican in
stitutions,' dominated by the supreme
law of a written constitution, a col
onial system entirely foreign to the
genius of our government and abhor
rent to the principles that underlie
and pervade the constitution. I stand
by the doctrine that the constitution is
the supreme law in every territory, a3
soon as it comes under the sovereign
dominion of the United States for
purposes of civil administration and
whose inhabitants are under its entire
authority and jurisdiction."
The class "struggle see Karl Mars
Edition, July' 23, 1903.
ANOTHER CORPORATION VICTORY
The courts are rapidly forcing public
ownership of franchised utilities upon
the American people. Philadelphia
undertook to compel the change from
overhead wires to conduits by means
of a heavy tax. The A. & P. telegraph,
company-eally the Western Union
went into court to test the law, but
was beaten until the United States
supreme court was reached.
Justice' Brewer said that there wa3
no question as to the right of the
municipality to legislate for a tax oS
this character, but it did not follow
from this fact" that a municipality is
not subject to any restraint in such?
charges. In this case, he said, the
cost of the maintenance of the tele
graph lines was less than one-half thai
charge made by the city for supervi
sion alone and he added that the tes
timony in the case indicated that the!
city had undertaken by the imposi
tion of an unreasonable tax to fores
the telegraph company to put its
wires under ground. "We do not:
say," he said, "that a city has not by,
virtue of its police powers k authority
directly to compel the removal of
wires from poles to conduits, but it
may be questionable whether a city;
can seek the same results by an ex
cessive and unreasonable charge upoa
overhead .wires"- A - 1 ,r