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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (May 19, 1904)
MAY 19, t! The Philosophy of Freedom An Open Forum for Single; Taxers PARABLE OF THE MOOLEY STEER Editor ' Independent: Many years ago on the old farm we boys had the care of the cattle. . There was a mooley steer in the herd which was driven about by the other cattle and deprived or his rignts in a manner that shocked our boyish sense of justice. The other cattle took delleht in driving him away and appropriating his share of food. We set our wits to -work to overcome the evil. T.vlne un in the barn loft was huge pair of horns taken from a Texas steer. We took that pair of horns and strapped them securely on mno flv a head. Next morning when the fodder was scattered out over the yard and the cattle were let out to feed, the young bloods that had been In the habit of nlnmriner at mnnlfiV OU Sight. Seeing the immense horns, shied off and gave him plenty of room. He was allowed to enjoy his break fast in peace. Alas! Our plan was a oUi.ro fn tho.re was one fellow who was braver . or more shrewd and seemed to see through the iraua. ne .-o-trwi fnr mnnip.v with a snort and Plat vvu v , cored him unmercifully. Arming against oppression noes noi make for peace. We now knew that radical measures were necessary. We caught up the belligerents and dehorned them. Equality of oppor tunity thus secured we had peace in our barnyard ever after. " - The great body of labor may be lik ened unto our mooley.- The politicians, labor leaders and smart alecs are tying horns on em. Labels, boycotts, strikes; closed shops. Dehorning the land monopolist by the single tax will give equality of op portunity, guaranteeing to labor its full product,, thus securing peace in our social organism. L. E. HUGGINS. , Omaha, Neb. "WHO WILL EARN THE MONEY t Is a question asked by The Indepen dent in commenting on the BlnSle ax measure that passed in the British house of commons lately. As all wealth is produced by labor, the mon ey to pay the,. tax will be earned by the laborers, just as all moneyis earned for payment of taxes and for all other , purposes under any system of government But although labor produces all wealth it does not get all it produces, the landlord claims a large portion at present and it is out of the landlord's, share that the single tax will.be paid. Under the present system the laborer has not only to earn his own wages, rent for the landlord, interest for the capitalist, but taxes besides. Under the so called single tax labor will be relieved entirely of taxes, and what -it now pays to the landlord as lent will go to the state' for revenue. As long as governments require revenues, the revenue must be earned by labor, no matter whether the revenues are de rived from single or multiple taxation or for services rendered. JAS. S. FATON. Toronto, Canada. . -.' MAJORITY RULE. - Editor Independent: Recent devel opments in political science as well as a careful analysis or political his tory reveals but one peaceful method by which governments may progress toward the ideal. Political systems develop as do other departments of science. fOld theories and practices must give way to new. Trust rule, machine rule and boss rule being the fruitage of an unrestricted representa tive system has evolved aa a natural sequence, a system of restricted rep resentation. This system, under the titles of "direct legislation, optional referendum" and "majority rule" but more properly designated us "the peo ple's veto and direct Initiative." fur nishes the check which at this period in the development of a democratic government, ha become Imperative. fly its adoption the rrutu and con. dlton t tint now nm obtainable onlv by sanguine revolution can and will be produce.! by iwacefuj evolution. Prof, fleorg II FhtMey, memW of the bureau of economic renearth, In r!rcMlr 1uel by the department of rt preventative government, thMi "Th" Improvement In pUHetl len are of fur-rrmhlne Importance, and rmtt wm result In the overthrow of lrut rule In the nation, the over l r iow of mai-hta nil tn the itate, and th overthrow of bout rule In our eltion. Kntlshtened maiorttv ml U t.i prevail throughout the land an, In ilt near future, and every t!at la society will be. benefited, for "on the whole and in the long run we must all go up or down together." The outlook , is startling. A great political change is nearmg completion, and one that is more far-reaching than any that has ever occurred. Hereto fore, the laws, except where the di rect ballot prevailed, hav.e been con trolled in the interest of the few be cause the power of the many has been delegated, but with the adoption of the right to a direct ballot on prac tically all laws, special privilege will be terminated and the promotion of the welfare of the whole people will receive every possible assistance which science can give. This change to en lightened majority rule is the twen tieth century revolution, and is tak ing place so quietly .that only a few are realizing it. In a non-partisan way, and chiefly as the work of organ ized wage-earners and farmers, there is being ushered in the golden age that of peace on earth and good will to men. The trusts and all forms of machine rule are to be shorn of their evil features. That such will be tne result ia no mere theory. The system has been developing in this country for more than a century, and with such ex cellent results that no return to the rule of the few has ever occurred. , Here then is the open door to all economic and political reform. It is the final necessary step in the onward march of advancing nations. "With new powers born of progress forces have entered the world that will eith er compel us to a higher plane or over whelm us, as nation after nation, as I civilization after civilization, have been overwhelmed before. But if while there is yet time we turn to lustice and obey her, if we trust liberty and follow her. the dancers that now threaten must dissapear, the forces that now manace will turn to agencies of elevation." ;V Let those who still hopefully face the front lend their energies in battle for this fundamental reform. E. 0. BAILEY. Central City, Colo. : P. 8. For a full history and analy sis of this non-partisan system of ma jority rule, also for a full description of the present-day- developments lh practical politics,, address the Bureau of Economic Research, 53 Bliss Build ing, Washington, D. ? C. Plea en close ten cents to pay the cost of liter ature. The bureau . hopes that every officer of the Grange, the Unions and other non-partisan organizations will familiarize himself (herself) with what is taking place and help to has ten the change., Course of Lectures For the Lincoln Qas & Electric Light Co. FREE COOKING LESSONS In New Demonstration Hall (over the company's offices). Tuesday, 10 A. M.; Thursday, 2:30 P. M., and Friday evening, 7:45. LOUISE WHITEMAN PALMER, Demonstrator. You are invited to come and bring your friends. 8 ,Ml inn a HOT MWTfS ' IP 5 8 Labor Cincinnati, O., May 14, 1940. Her bert S. Bigelow, pastor of the 1 Vine Street : Congregational church, In dis cussing the subject "Labor," said: Zangwill, in his "Mantle of Elijah," has made a splendid plea for peace and industrial freedom. Zola, in his novel entitled "Labor," has voiced the same protest against the present wrongs of men and pleaded for a new society In which labor, free and joy ful, shall be the psalm of life aud the waiLof poverty and the curae of war shall no longer 'mingle with the laughter of the children. It Is well for the world that the great novelists are beginning to take for their heroes men who win glory, not by vanquishing their fellows-men, but by tolling for their freedom. It is well for the world, saddeued by poverty and pcVverted by luxury, that the prophets are growing in number who proclaim t. ner social conscience to which the present Inequalities are and ever shall be Intolerable. Zola's hero exclaims: "Ah! what misery may be prtMluced by labor, men changed into wulvea by overwork, by Injustice, by tread m hard to earn, and that must be shared by other starving creaturea!" Zola' hero awpa away the benev olent plana of the phllanthropSut mho f omuls libraries am! lecture hall. "All thU U charity, not JmrtU-. Th( thine might go on lor year and yeari without hunger ever fiaalng, without poverty tvrr blng abolished. No, no There t no ntant of relief poswlble! We mut strike at the root of the vur ronjrretwmen ahuuld read thta book before they dlpi of the anarchUU, for Zola hat olret the problem, Itta ananhlit U thoroughly tonvirtrd and bewtnea an ardvut lfei.der of law and l-' r ' ' Sfw cc. Do You Need Hot Water? The Best Way is the Gas Way, Day or night: Always Ready. Quick - Clean Convenient Economical No Home Complete Without a Qas Water Heater. & We Sell Gas Ranges and Gas Water Heaters at Absolute Cost and connect them Free. Phone 75. W Lincoln Gas & Electric Light Co. 9 8 order. Note how this miracle is wrought, O, congressman! By sweep ing away the injustice which makes a man's life barren and his heart bit ter. : -1 Whether this kingdom of God on earth, . this reign of brotherhood, this triumph of justice and peace, will come about as Zola believes, is a ques tion upon which honest men differ. But come, it must, in some way the city in which labor is all joythe hap py city ttfat is to be realized at last "in the religion of life ; the religion of humanity, freed ' at length from dogmas" the city in which men shall build and not lack shelter, in which they shall sow and reat and not faint of hunger, in which they shall weave and not shiver with the cold. The noblest conception of God is that of a Father who loves all of his children. It follows that men are brothers, and that the fruits of justice and love between man and man na tion and nation are proof ol a vital religion. Lands under irrigation and cultlva- ' tion. $25 and upward per acre, in cluding water. One-fourth cash pay ment required, balance in five annual payments, interest at 6 per cent. Su gar beet factory accessible to these lands, same quality of soil as the famous Greeley Valley where farms are selling from $250 to $300 per acre. The oldest and best water right in Colorado. This land is selling rapidly. If you want some, apply early. Write for full particulars. WOODS INVESTMENT CO., Sole Agents In Eastern- Nebraska. Ofiice, Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln, Neb. The Proper Spirit There seems to be a growing dlspo vtVov In Nebraska to patronize our home institutions. Upon examination It will be found that la the spirit which has builded up some of our most progressive and entcrpnslng titles. It has become noticeable to what extent our home fire Insurance compa nies are securing busiuesa. An ex amination of the flgu.ea will nhow that more than $l(KMxj,000 are car ried by them. One of the atroncest Institution of this kind la the Nebraska Mercantile Mutual Innurance company, whose i jfte ii at 13-H) I street. It will be found upon Inquiry among their pntrone that thy are ll sat la fled that the rout of the It.tnirance U reasonable aud that Ut and prompt adjustment of the !( are made. Irritated Land Thousand of acre of the moot fer tile mctr beet, potato, grain and at falfa lands In Colorado attualed In !j:an and Wahloron lountke along the Murllnrton U. II and I'aloa l'a clflo ft, IU Abundance of water. Wind Storms The season for tornadoes, cyclones, and wind storms is now at hand. The need of carrying protection against loss by . wind storms the past few years has s become more of a necessity than ever before, because of the fact of so many destructive- storms. The Western Cyclone Ins. Co. is a Nebras ka company managed by well known Nebraska men who are a guarantea. to the policy holders of fair and hon est dealings. Call or write the Home Office,- 118 South 10th fit., Lincoln, Neb., the only company doing an ex clusive cyclone Insurance business in the state. 'Favor Tha Indspsndsst If you are looking for a suitable monument to mark the Jong resting place of a relative or friend. The In dependent requests as a peial favor that you write to Kimball Uroe., HCS O at., Lincoln, Neb., for their beauti fully Illustrated catalogue of monu ment. It's free an 1 thows all (he neweat delna. iVm't put il off, Ik, oration !ay It near at band Attend to the matter now and have a rltar conscience In the knowledge that ytti have renumbered the departed In A fitting manner. The Independent haa known the Kimball llro. for many year. They are entitled to ) patron, (live them a trial and Tie Independent will guarantee latli'at lion. When you write for the rata togue iUae mention The ladefca deoU 3f