8
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
FEBRUARY 18, 1904.
tht fiebraska Jndependen
... Lincoln, tltbraska.
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T H TIBULEf!, Editor.
C. Q m YP. A KCE, A woclBle Editor.
F. D. EAGER, Iitudneea Manager.
PRO r. WILL'S SOCIALISM
The Independent is an admirer of
Prof. Thomas E. Will, president of the
American socialist college,. Wichita,
Kas. It believes that Independent
reaaers will derive much good from
reading his article concerning "the
robber who takes all that is deft,"
which appears elsewhere in this issue.
Prof. Will has a happy . way of ex
pressing himselfa goodatured,
"jollying" style, which is. in jhreat
contrast with the acrid, acrimonious,
venomous writings of man so-called
"scientific" socialists, for example,
those of the DvLeon school. Yet if
there be anything reaily "scieutific"
about socialism, The Independent is
inclined to believe that the De Leon
Ites give by far the belter presenta-
tion. Eliminating from S. L. P. writ
ing the unnecessary harshness which
has really no place in scientific writ
ing and it is-much more consistent
"than the happy-go-lucky "socialism"
of Prof, Will.
' The Independent takes it that Prof.
Will although he does not. say as
much is a firm believer in the Marx
ian theory of 'surplus value" and tne
Marxian interpretation of Ricardo's
value theory in general. This infer
ence is drawn from Prof. Will's state
ment that
"Bourgeois public ownership
.fnnld Inavo coma rf tya ri-vliht- re
, in full swing."
And who would comprise this
"some?" Well he mentions "real
estate men," thus making a happy bid
for single taxers' support. But he
ciiiiiuuj uyi iuc iaiv iuai lie
really includes in this "some," every
employer of labor, . every-person who
"exploits" another through the -surplus
value" system of robbery. In
other words, e'very man who hires an
other and pays him wages is an "ex-,
plotter," in reality as Prot. Will
means, but.does not say directly "the
robber who takes all that is left," or,
stated more nearly in accord with
"scientific" formula: the original rob
ber who takes all, but is compelled to
divide the swag later on with the
other robbers. For Prof. Will neatly
covers up one of the fundamentals of
socialism in his article, the fact that
(if socialism be really "scientific")
thero can be no "exploitation" or rob
bery, except in the way of "surplus
value." In other womis, the laborer
is the only "producer." If he is a
wage-worker, his employer robs him
of all but a living; but the robber in
turn is compelled to dl.ide up with
other robbers.
Now, the farm-owning- farrner-rae-eording
to "scientific" socialism not
being a wage-woiker, rannot be ' ex
ploited." But he may or may not
himself be a robber, accordingly as he
docs or does -iot employ others to la
bor for him. If he docs, ho is "one
of the robbers" who must be com
pelled to quit stealing.
It U to be noted that Pi of. Will
fails to agree with himself all tho way
through til 4 article. "The producers."
he pays, "must conquer the power of
government. They must ttk our
A Mi the. public utilities, ALL the nee
mlilen of life, and operate them l
Wlmdy In tho Interest of the ciU'e
people. Nothing short of UiU tan
powlhly da lh work," ,
Now, that I a Rood tt tu nt of a
ready "u lentlPc so-l.illni. Nothing
rhort of taklrtf over "all the 1101 vn l
tlc of life" ntwt their operation "ml
Uutliy 1 Hi Ii'ten-ut ( all tAe o
ple UI do the wurk," But, sjr Prof.
Will,v"will it be necessary that all
private industrial activity shall be
done away, that the 'government' shall
run ALL the farms, ALL the shops,"
etc. "Not a bit of it, Is. big repiy,
way: isn i a larm one or tne 'nec
essities?" . And does It make any dif
ference whether it is la little SO or
Lord Scully's third or half an entire
county? It would from a populistic
standpoint, but The Independent fails
to see any difference from the View
point of social'sm.
In order to allay the fears of the
"little farmers," Prof. Will assures
them that "we are not proposing to
confiscate one of your farms." That
may be correct; but if it is not done,
then socialism Is, after all, nothing
nut "bourgeois public ownership," or
state capitalism. If there is ;no dif
ference m classes or business, such as
between a railroad and a bakery, a
bank and a farm, except In magnitude
of the business transactions, then any
scheme which takes in Scully's land
and operates it "collectively In the
Interests of all the people," but al
lows John Doe to keep and operate his
80, is only a half-way measure that
lacks much of being . denominated
"scientific." It niay.be ProfWill's
socialism but it is a denial of the
fundamentals upon which he professes
tobase his science.
. ; Bourgeois public ownership" is the
sneering term Prof. Will applies to
populist demands. The same thing, if
called "socialism and advocated by
him and his following is much more
desirable. ; Surely Shakespeare was
mistaken. There is something in a
name,- Populist "skunk cabbage,' un
der his skillful manipulation, becomes
a socialist "rose! .
Populists affirm and socialists deny
that there is a well-defined practical
line of division between those indus
tries which must be owned and oper
ated by the public and those in which
individual initiative is more desirable.
The populist position on "value,"
money and kindred subjects is in har
mony with this view. The socialist
'surplus value," "crystallized labor,"
wage-worker "exploitation" theory is
nconsistent with any such division.
All industries are alike, if they are
carried on by wage labor; and .the
ones in which wage labcr is not em
ployed are "too little to count"
As The Independent has said before,
the socialist program has an attrac
tion for the .propertyless 1 wage-woi It
er, but it presents nothing for the
farm-owning farmer or other business
man; who operates-in a small way;
Such 'men seek protection from the
robberies of the railroaos and banks
and other institutions receiving spe
cial privileges directly from the gov
ernment or indirectly from those who
are thus favored. Prof. Will's effort
to gather together propertyless wage
workers and "middle class" property
owning bueine:s men cannot succeed.
f he abandons his "proletarian" pro
gram, he abandons socialism, no mat
ter how persistently he keeps the
name. Populism is sufficiently ad
vanced ground for the "bourgeois"
element Prof. Will is trying to gather
under the wing of socialism.
Dr. Reemelir inquires, "What hotel
will you stop t.t in St. Louis'" The
Parker committee is called to gather
at the New St. James, and the Butler
committee will doubtless meet there,
too. At any rat3.the New St. James
will be a convenient place for all to
gather. Once there, exact informa
tion can be learned.
HKX BLUNT
The Independent acknowledges re
ceipt of Speed Mosby's book. "Ben
Hunt," regarding which Mr. Bartley
made inquiry some weeks ago. It is
reserved for review later.
The opening chapters give promise
of a political novel of great merit
perhaps, too great for the scheming
politicians who are so faithfully pic
tured therein. As a general rule the
jolitical novel especially if written
with a purpose, is rather poor stuff,
but Mr. Mosby a sole, purpose as far
as we have read seems to be nothing
more than to picture actual conditions
and let tho reader draw his cwn con
clusions as to how the evil may be
eradicated.
Kvldently Mr. Moaby has spent some
time in tho state's service. His de
scription of life at the state house
is too realistic to be the mere dream
of & novelist. Ill chapter on "The
Auditor,'" tho meeting of tho toard
of equalization, the auditor' heavy
mn.fl nnt how he disposed of It after
JkUUng an ncknowlcdpmc nt ;f a
Wabash r fr "mynelf and 2
fririidn" to Buffalo, the tthrewd rail
road tax agent plan for raMng the
railroad nwmment a trtflis In order
to Keep down nubile rhnmr ml how
ii wns heruhl'Ml s a great victory for
"the people" -tlies are uo life-like
one could tmot Imagine that Mr,
iii:(iiiniiiiiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiHiiiniii:ii!iiiiii!iiiii!iiiiiiiiini!iiiniiiiiiiiiii ini
I Special February Combination
We Pay the Freight.
- We will deliver the following $10.00 combination to any towns 5
in the State of Nebraska, freight prepaid by us, any time during the
month of February, 1904. Reference: Firs National Bank or The 5
Independent - . - ss
O
50 lbs. best granulated sugar... $1.00
6 lbs. choice prunes... .50
4 lbs. nectarine , . ... .... . .50
25 bars good laundry soap...... 1.00
2 lbs. high grade tea 1.00
6 lbs: gilt edge coffee , 1.00
3 pkgs. Celluloid starch... .25
4 lbs. fancy bright apricots." . . .50
4 lbs. fancy 4-Crown large raisins .50
4 lbs. fancy Mucr peaches...... .50
12 lbs. fancy Japan head rice... 1.C0
2 cans 16 oz. Cream , of Tarter
baking powder ....
3 pkgs. 10-cent soda.
3 pkgs. 10-cent corn starch
3 pkgs. ,10-ceqt gloss starch.;..
1 lb. pure black pepper
1 bottle lemon extract.".....;...
1 bottle vanilla extract
3 cans 10-cent Phoenix lye.....
5 doz. clothes pins
3 bars 10c Rising Sun stove polish
........
.50
.25
.25
.25
.25
.10 .
.10
.25
.05
.25
: All the above for.. $10.00 55
: ifde7.for, customer ont8lde of the 8tate of Nebraska and oa line of railroad
: , entering Lincoln add 75 cents to pay part of freight. rauroaa
1 Branch & Miller Co. i
i - Box 2X2, Cor. 10th &P St., Lincoln, Neb. What we advertiso we do S
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Mosby had spent tome time in Lincoln
gathering material for- his story.
but, there this is not a review:
merely an acknowledgement. "Ben
Blunt" is from the press of the Com
mercial Printing Co.; St. Louis; 382
pages, bound In cloth. No intimation
of the price is given, but it is prob
ably 1.50. Write to Speed Mosby,
Jefferson City, Mo., for price, and get
a copy if you are interested in learn
ing inside secrets' of the average state
house, for it is apparent that Mr;
Mosby has drawn his rjictures from
life.
Particular attention is called to the
page advertisement of Hayden Bros.
In this issue. The Hayden Bros, store
is by far the largest in the state and
The Independent desires that readers
as far as possifcie send their mail or
der to that store. The goods will be
found entirely satisfactory and the
prices much lower than elsewhere.
Please mention The Independent when
you write.
HIS FULL "JUTY"
According to the socialist doctrine
of "economic determinism," a repub
lican congressman from Nebraska
must be as smooth as a snake doctor
to keep his constituents from rebell
ing. He must ostensibly "represent"
an agricultural constituency, but must
in reality work for the interests of
the "dominant" class which just now
happens to be the plutocratic-manu-
tacturing-bankmg-trust-railroad ele
ment.
There isn't anything that the Hon
orable Elmer J. Burkett, of the First
Nebraska district, can do for his con
stituents, except to grab for a few of
the towns a new postoffice builJiug
and along towards spring send out a
few packages of back-numbtr garden
seeds., When he votes on any really
vital public question he must stand
with the crowd who dominate Amcii-
can politics. '
I am Jnst In receipt of the follow
ing Interesting communication, which
it gives me pleasure to print, Inas
much as it shows that notwithstanding
I am one of tho modest of moss-
backed "pops," yet nevertheless the
Honorable Klmer J. is not too busy to
look after my economic welfare. Of
course, he had no way of knowing that
I buy all my garden seeds from the
Grlswold Seed Co.becauso I want
something that will grow and, thrte-
fore, I am Jut aa much obliged by
him for th favor. n though the five
varieties of vtsetab!o seeds he crv.l
were really fit to plant. In hU forth
coming campaign to become tho picud
poj.aeiu.r of Senator DlittUh' "toj;a"
(whh h In ludc th postoflke fran
chise), I de Ire to 8-11 my word of to
tunony that th? HotiouUo Kltn-r J.
hn done hU f lit "Jut)' by his con-
tituent -!uofar R4 M p.rty won.d
permit him to do go, itartn t we lad
our garden seeds?. What more could
we ask?
"House of Representatives," Wash
ington, D. C, Feb. 9, 1J04. Mv Dear
Sir: I take pleasure in informing you
that I have this day requested the de
partment of agriculture to send you a
package of vegetable seeds (five va
rieties), which I trust will reach you
in due time.
"If I can serve you further at any
time It will afford me pleasure to do
so. Very truly yours, .
"E.J. BURKETT.:
New York Notes
New York, Feb. 8, .1904. tEditorial
Correspondence. The New York
Times, after holding my article con
cerning populism over a week, did at
last publish ft The article7 appeared
on the 24th page in a very inconspic
uous place, not at all in that part of
the paper where such replies to its edi
torial course usually apear. However
I am duly thankful. 1 waited over a
week before I sent it toiThe Indepen
dent. The Post has paid no attention
to it. All the prominent men that I
have met here, who do not worship at
the throne of Mammon, make the com
plaint that they are voiceless no pa
per or magazine in the east will pub
lish anything that attacks the rule of
plutocracy at the root. How Mc
Clure"s Magazine came to print the
Tarbell and Stevens articles criticising
the Standard Oil trust and boss rule
and corruption in the cities is too loug
w itu nere. ine prospect is. that -the
magazine wili be shut out of dis
tribution by the great news company
that has a trust in the distribution of
all literature that goes on the news
stands all over the country.
Among the papers that are de
nouncing Bryan in the most severe
terms are the following published in
the south: Wilmington bta-, N. C:
Knoxvllh, Sentinel,. Tcnn.; Norfolk
landmark, Va.; Vlcksburg Heraid.
Miss.; Charleston Post, S. C; Nash
ville Banner, Tcnn.; Birmingham
Banner, Ala, They are sayirj mean
er things about him than wete evfr
said In the gold standard papers In tne
east. There are many -mote than
those enumerate of the same tort.
That goc to kbow jhal the ;.tiiraio
flared upon tho democratic party In
the smith by the pupulht., tvho live
there has been n.tlrely cotrcct Or
Slake the Old Guard.
One of tli tnmi dMInguUhnl writ
ers In the t'n'ted stat s Mid to ma
UH nlht at a dinner jartv: "New
York 1st In the d.-ptU of poverty. '
Thi iman 1 1 of ,.op!e j;o ban Won
well -to-do are absolutely hungry. They
till live In flr.o apartment and are
well tlrred, but that cannot Unt lotif.
At a tilth U t nlfcht I a playing a