JUNE 25, 1903.
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
POPULISM TTOBI.D WIDE
The daily press furnishes the peo
ple with misinformation in incalcula
ble amounts. Nine-tenths of the peo
ple in the United States have been led
tc believe that the social democrats
in Germany were promulgating the
same ideas that are advocated in this
country by such socialists as Way
land and DeLeon. The plutocratic
vriters have made it a point to hold
up to , the people" the horrors of Ger
man socialism. From time to time
The Independent hns referred to the
movement in Germany and told its
readers the real facts about the re
forms that the social democrats were
advocating." They are the same de-
. mands that the populist party makes
in this country. It is not Karl Marx
socialism at all.
The truth is that populism is world
wide. It involves fundamental prin
ciples that apply to all mankind. It
is found in New Zealand, in Aus
tralia, in Germany in every part of
the world where men are making ef
forts to abolish special privileges'.
Whatever name it goes by, it is the
same thing.
The Independent is surprised to see
the dailies at last admitting the truth
about the advance that populism is
making in Germany, for that is what
Is meant by the large increase in the
social democratic vote in that country.
The Chicago Record-Herald says:
"The social democrat party.: is
' no longer clamoring f or - Utopias, - -and,
indeed, its platform does not "
show direct demands for those ,
projects which in ordinary discus
sion are called socialistic. t It is
rathe? the great liberal party of
- Germany,, and its leadership is
admittedly stronger and more ef- '
fectivc than that of any other
party." r V
The populists of the United States
can learn, many things which will be
to their advantage from their breth
ren in Germany. The German organ
ization is a thing U copy from. Ev
ery member pf the party is enrolled
and subscribes a smaii sum lowaru
the expenses of the party ana tor me
circulation of literature. There is no
scramble among them for offices, but
a common effort for legislation that
will be of benefit to all.
MAKE THE POOR PAY IT
The heartlessness of the corpora
tions and the rich is so great that
the thought of it discourages us com
mon toilers who like to pull our full
share. The great dailies and corpor
ations of Chicago fought the public
ownership of tho street car lines un
til they were whipped by the votes
of the common people. Now they are
trying to so arrange that public own
ership will shift the-taxes that they
have been paying onto . the wage
workers who are the principal pa
trons of the street cars. They each,
-and all insist that the present exorbi
tant fares shall be maintained .and
that the city shall lease the lines and
the lessees pay to the city 20 per
cent of the gross income, which shall
be applied to reducing the present
rate of taxation. That is a robbery of
the poor that equals the present sys
tem of private ownership. The street
car lines of Chicago, and every other
city, should be operated by the mu
nicipal government at cost and tares
reduced to that point. Why should
the countless thousands of wage
workers, men and boys, women and
girls, be made to pay excessive fares
eo as to reduce the taxes on the Chi
cago corporations and sky scrapers?
That is exactly what these Chicago
dailies propose to do and the propo
sition is so Tin just that every- honest
man gets discouraged whenever "he
thinks of it. As far as any relief or
benefit to the common people is con
cerned, the street car companies
eight a3 well have been given their
S9-year lease. It is about time that
Dr. Taylor, Darrow and some of the
ether Chicago populists and believers
In populism were heard from. This is
simply a scheme to shift more taxes
upon the poor.
The whole object of the municipal
ownership of street car lines was to
reduce fares, if fares are not to be
reduced the work has a!l been in vain.
The only result will fco a reduction in
the taxes of the rich. But as the
farmers of Nebraska rejoice in-paying
the taxes that the railroads should
pay, perhaps the wage-workers of
Chicago will also rejoice that they
will have the privilege of paying
taxes for the rich.
THE f Ol'RTH OF JPI Y . . .
Following a custom adopted several
years ago, The Independent this week
publishes on its hrst page;the founda
tion stone of American liberty the
Declaration of Independence in plen
ty of time so that the paper may
reach every home ' and be read
on the, 127th anniversary of the
birth of our republic. It is to be hoped
that' every reader of The Independent
w ill take the time "to read every wor .l
of this Immortal document some time
during the Fourth of July. The grand
truths enunciated can never grow, old.
THE DENVER CONFERENCE
A letter from National Secretary J.
A. Edgerton announces that the St.
James hotel, - Denver, will be head
quarters for those who attend the con
ference of reformers he called to meet
July 27, and that the meeting place
will be either in the hotel or near by.
He believes,, Jhat either the whole na
tional committee or . the executive
committee of the people's party should
be called to meet the 29th at Denver,
so the conference may have time to
get through before the committee
meets.
The action taken at the populist
committee meeting here Tuesday
ought to induce Chairman Butler to
act. If he fails to do so by the 10th
of July, Vice Chairman Edmisten
should take the action himself. The
members of the committee should not
be prevented from holding a legal
meeting simply because of the dog-in-the-manger
attitude of the national
chairman. They elevated him to that
office and the power to create in
cludes the power to stroy.
Secretary Edgerton expresses the
hope that Chairman Parker may also
call a meeting of his mid-road com
mittee for the same time and place.
SLOW COACH DAILIES
The dailies continue from a month
to a year behind The Independent in
furnishing the news in which the peo
ple are interested. They are on time
when it comes to murder trials, di
vorce cases and unusual, calamities,
but those things in which the people
are 'vitally interested get scant space
and are usually a long time in getting
into their columns. The Independent
has kept its readers informed concern
ing the work of the trans-continental
railroad managers to' delay and de
feat the construction of an isthmian
canal. For the first time after all
these years one of them makes edi
torial mention of these conspiracies.
The Chicago Tribune has at 3ast
mentioned it, and says:
"Newspaper correspondents sta
tioned at Bogota, the Colombian
capital, write that American rail
way companies, which fear the
completed canal would divert
much of their trans-continental
traffic, are back of the delay. A
band of expert lobbyists fresh
from their labors at Albany, Har
risburg, Springfield (111.), and Jef
ferson City (Mo.) is described as
descending on Bogota, accompa
nied with heavy bound casks. Pa
per is not a popular medium of
circulation in South America."
Even if the Colombian congress
ratifies the treaty under pressure from
the present administration, that is
not at all conclusive that an isthmian
canal will be built In the near future.
The railroad managers have still
other cards up their sleeves.
Five months trial trip, 25c.
uu
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DAVID RICARDO
Curiously enough David Ricardo is
a sort of god-father to a number of
"schools" of political economy. By
him the populists prove their paper
money theories. According to Henry
George, he is the original discoverer
of the "marginal" utility idea,, which
is predominant in the ' Austrian
school. 'And the Marxists irefer to
him in proving that labor is the act
ual foundation of value. .
The whole trouble is that Ricardo
was .careless in expressing his ideas.
The ideas are clear. enough when one
can get at the kernel by tearing off
the husk of ill-chosen words. This
done, and Ricardo undoubtedly be
lieved value to be matter of ratios.
He did not believe that the value of
commodities is determined by the
value of the labor exerted in produc
ing them. He spoke of labor as reg
ulating value in the long run by
means of competition, and the social
ists interpret him as meaning -that
labor creates value. . -
FUNDAMENTAL ERRORS
Two fundamental; errors run
through every work, however learned
the writer .may be, in all socialistic
literature. " The first, and the one up
on ': which almost every argument is
based, is the assumption that theri
was among all mankind in primitive
conditions the" common ownership of
property, and especially of land. The
ruth is that man had to advance far,
before he could conceive the idea pf
the common ownership of anything.
It is not a primitive concept, but one
that developed after long association.
Most of these writers with a little
investigation, especially those of the
United States where they have been
in contact with man in primitive con
ditions ever since the first white man
landed on these shores, could have
easily learned the truth. There is
nothing owned In common among
American Indians and never has
been. Every knife, spoon, bowl,, ket
tle, horse or dog, had an individual
owner. The idea that two or more
persons could own a horse in common
was one that, no Indian could compre
hend. That same thing- is true of men
in primitive conditions all over the
world. Therefore for socialist writ
ers to assume that in the primitive
condition, men owned property in
common, is to assume a thing that"
never existed anywhere in the world. '
As" far as the ownership of land la
common or' individually, that was an
idea that no primitive man could un- t
derstand. They could not conceive
how It was possible that man, either
collectively or " Individually,' could
have a proprietary right to a part o
the earth's surface.. They could- not
conceive how land could be property
at all, as a knife or bow or arrow was
property.
The second error of socialist writ
ers is the assumpt.on that all wealth
is created by one thing, namely, la
bor. While labor is the prime factor
in the creation of wealth, there are
other things that create wealth be
sides labor. The association of peo
ple in large masses creates millions
of wealth wealth in which the labor
cost does not enter. Houses, goods,
food products, all become more valua
tle. It is a fundamental error to say
that labor alone and unassisted by
anything else, produces all wealth.
The proper and decent thing for Re- '
gents Von Forell and Kenower to do
is to announce in a public manner .
some time before the meeting of the
populist state convention that the
pressure (ff'business will make it im
possible for them to accept another
nomination for the offices that they
now hold. , . r . -,
"First liberty,' then glory; after
that wealth, vice, corruption, barbar
ism at last" From the reports con
cerning the thieving contracts in the
postoffice department, the purchase of
legislatures and city, councils, it
would seem hat we had reached the.
stage of corruption. How long it will
take to reach the next stage no one
can tell. We have had our years of
liberty, glory and wealth.. Vice and .
corruption surround us. What next?
0, Land! O, Land!- ,
For all the broken hearted
The mildest herald by our fate al
lotted ; ,
Beckons, and with inverted torch ;
doth stand
To lead us with a gentle hand
To the land of the great departed, '
Into the Silent Land.
v ' Longfellow. "
V ft