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Vol. XVI.
LINCOLN, NEB., AUGUST; 25, 1904.
No. 14
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REUNION
Tremendous Outburst of Populism
n.t Formal Notification of
WATSON AND TIDBLES
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Cooper Union, the historic monu
ment tor the populism of the venerable
Peter Cooper, was thronged witu thou
sands of the tried and true, at ilie for
mal notification of the people's party
candidates for president and vice-president,
Watson and Tibbies. Every
seat in the historic hall was filled
long before the ceremony began.
Hundreds of men who have in the past
two campaigns been conspicuous "Bry-
, an democrats", were conspicuously in
evidence. No small number ol .the
vast throng were women, and their
interest the proceedings recalled
to mind ihi old days ol : yulism,
- when the valiant wonic -rl the land
joined in -the enthusiasm devoted to
the principles of liberty. v
' A notable" feature of the gatnering
was the rising of the vast audience to
cheer the name of the late Henry
George, to whose memory Mr. Watson
paid an eloquent tribute. The single
taxers, the followers of the illustrious
Henry George, were much in evidence.
Alfred G. Boulton of Brooklyn,
chairman of the meeting introduced
Judge George Samuel Williams of In
dianawho in an eloquent speech,
teeming with the principles of staunch
Americanism, notified Mr. Watson of
his nomination. ' . .
In addressing Mr. Watson Judge
Williams , said the convention that
nominated him was . made up oi un
selfish, self-sacrificing patriots, who
attended and participated in its delib
erations solely through a high sense
of duty. .
The purpose of the 'convention, he
. continued, was to take one more step
in the evolution of progress, which
is to finally bring us to that? ideal con
dition of society where the laborer
shall receive the full fruits of his la
bor, and an injury, to one shall be the
concern of all.
'h While the band played ''Dixie," and
' men and women stood upon seats and
cheered and waved flags, Mr.. Watson
c?me to the front of the platform to
make his speech. It seemed as though
every person "in the building was a
devoted follower of the well-known
Georgian. It was five minutes' before
the demonstration quieted down suf
- ficior.tly to allow Mr. Watson to begin.
n " His first sentence; delivered In splen
did voice, won his hearers, and until
his -last word applause and cheering
interrupted Ills speech. His fearless
utterances, biting. wit and ready an
swer to frequent interruptions made
his speech an impressive one to his
listeners, anch he was cheered ; again
and again after he had concluded.
Mr. Watson -wore ablack sack coat,
dark trousers and a narrow black . tie,
with a turn down collar. He did not
speak rapidly, and his speech occu
pied more than an hour in , its de
livery. His gestures were frequent and
characteristic. He was perfectly at
home with his audience, which was
made up of men of .all walks of life
and political creeds, "and his references
to government ownership of pv.blic
utilities and his attacks upon both the
republican and democratic parties in
the present campaign never failed to
win responsive applause.
: Mr. Watson refered to William Ran
dolph Hearst, and again the audience
rose to its feet cheering. There were
hisses for Theodore Roosevelt and
Judge Parker, a howl of derision for
G rover Cleveland and David B. Hill,
and a storm of howls and yells for
August Belmont and-Senator, Patrick
McCarren.
"What democratic principle or ideal
does the national democratic party,
as it is at present- constituted, stand
for?" asked Mr. Watson. .
"None, none," came the answer from
all over the hall.' "It standi for
graft.'" came a shout from the back
of the hall, and the word was taken
up and repeated all over the hall.'
"The candidate up the Hitduria' river,
having without trial prejudged, the
ease oi' t Ua : Colorado miners, declared
that the origin 6f the troublo the
uaa of dynamite by union miners,"
Bald Mr. WftUui.
At thin point thf re wan noine con
ftukm ami three cheer were called
(or and given for union Ialor , '
Mr. Watson spoke as follows:
In this-era when so many men wear
their political beliefs loosely, in this
time when the voter who went to bed
a democrat having prayed for free
silver before closing his eyes awakes
in the morning and finds himself un
der the necessity of clothing himself
in the irrevocable gold standard, or of
having no democratic ' garments to
wear it is something to be able to
say, I belong to a party which has
.never struck its flag.v which -will not
desert its creed, which stands today
just where it stood on the day of its
birth, which glories In Its principles
in the hour of defeat, which believes
it has a message to mankind and a
mission to perform, and which will
never cease the struggle to restore 'our
government ' to the democratic ideal
of . the wise men, the good men, the
great men" who. framed it.
Unless I am entirely mistaken, there
wa3 never a time when- the plain
people of America were so dissatis
fied with the conditions and the ten
dencies which prevail. There Is un
rest, distrust, grave apprehen&'.on ev
erywhere. In vain do the subsidized
organs of monopoly preach good times,
universal prosperity, general, content.
Deep down, in their hearts the masses
of the people feel that the reins of
power are slipping out of their hands;
that those who fill the high places are
not soJ anxiously concerned about the
weKare of the-common people as they
pretend to be. In spite of all that
can be done by a partisan press, the
fact, can not be concealed from the
eyes of the average citizen that the
vast preponderance of all the wealth
pioduced in this land is transferred
by legalized robbery into the hands of
a few; that the courts are run in the
k i . Ml'.' SS3-- -
f 1
Hon. George W. Berge.
The self-made man who does not.
presume too much upon your toler
ance by worshipful remarks . of his
maker is always a welcome visitor.
The subject of this sketch is' such a
man, and the fusionists of Nebraska
are proud that the maker- of this self
made man is thei standard bearer.
In the year 1864, it was on the 21st
of July, as summers 'ripening breath
was just beginning to gild the fields,
near the city of Peoria, 111., a sturdy
couple , of German stock. , embraced
each other over the cradle of their
second child, to whom they gave the
name of George W.
The early life of the child was not
materially, different from that of the
average young American in moderate
circumstances. He attended the schools
of his district six months in the year,
toiling as alUsuch children must toil
during the balance of the year. Later
on he attended the normal schools at
Valparaiso. Ind., and at Dixon, 111.,
after which he taught school for a
period of six years.
After studying law In the office of
S. IL. Bethea, now United States dis
trict attorney for the northern district
of Illinois, and J. W. Watts, who was
at that time dean of the Jaw faculty
at Dixon, Mr. Berge was admitted to
the bar before the appellate court, of
Ottawa. 111., in the spring of ISM.
Within a few months thereafter Mr.
Berge became a resident of Lincoln,
Neb., where he has resided ever place,
practicing law, and where he has
host of warm and ardent admirer.
During the early days of Mr. Berge
practice of law, m (con were tardy In
coming In, as told In these columns
JaM week by tte venerable "t'ncle
Jake" Wolfe, he found It neeesnary to
return during a part of the time to
teaching. He taught near College
View, near Lincoln, .for the . better
part of a year. '
" Mr. Berge cast his first vote in Ne
braska for Hon. John Power for gov
ernor and Hon. J. V. Wolfe for treas
urer, since which trnr he has -been
closely identified with the growth and
interests of the people's party. He
was the nominee of the fusion forces
for congress in 1900, and although 'de
feated, ran ahead of his ticket, espe
cially in Lancaster county, wnere he
I " . . . -v 4 1
received a larger vote even man me
Hon. W. J. Bryan. This fact testifies
to the esteem in which Mr. Berge is
held by those who know him best.
Mr. Berge is a proficient German
scholar; a -member of the Methodist
church, and was during the years 1891
to 1S93. inclusive, president of the
State Epworth league. He is also a
member of the A. O. U. W., Modern
Woodmen of America and other like
societies.
' Mr. Berge was married In 1893, to
a popular young woman of Audubon,
la., with whom he attended 'college
at Dixon, III. Mr. and Mrs. Berge
now live In a comfortable home In
Lincoln, which' if Illumined by the
cheer of a bright little boy of sixteen
.months.
If elected to the office of governor of
Nebraska, as is confidently predicted
by thousand: of republicans all over
Nebraska, Mr. Berge will enter that
high offlc tintrameled by bargain or
promUvs. HI hterllng German Integ
rity, hi high honor ns a man. hi
scholarly attainments, and hi Mrong
conception of official duty and hi
conscientious devotion to high Ideal
of government, will make hi official
llf a memorable one In the state of
Nebraska.
interest of the few; that the law-making
power is manipulated by the few; ;
ana that while both the old political
parlies pretend to devote themselves
to the interests of the common people,
ibey are both financed by Wall street,
both dominated by Wall street, both
willing and the servile tools of Wall '
street.
Tell me that the people of this
country are resting easy under condi
tions like- these? Tell me that the
confidence game being played upon
thorn by the wily leaders of both the
old ii.Utlcal parties creates no angry
discontent:
The man who comforts himself with
that It lief ha3 no conception what
ever .the true feelings of the Amer
ican people. Do you need proof that
the masses are ready to rush to the
support- of any leader who Is. brave
eiioifh to challenge the right ot the
corporations to rule this land?.
Se.) how they rallied to W. R.
Hearst. .Because he had taken aides
with .the masses, because he was de
nouncing oppression and pleading for
the rights of the common man there
was from ocean to ocean an upheaval
In his. favor which astounded the pro-'
fesslonal politicians and strained all
of the resources of political strategy
to defeat that noble-hearted champion
of the Jeffersonlari democracy.
To every American -citizen a ques
tion of supreme importance is this:
Does the government still represent'
the ideals of those who framed it? Is
It the government which the states
man planned, for which the orator
pieaded, and to establish which" the
soldier, shed his blood? Is it still a
government of the people? Does It
respond to the will of the people? Is
its chief aim the Welfare of the peo-
pie? Is it run in the interests of the
great mass of its citizens? In other
wor'ds;Us it ' truly a democratic re
public? .
From the depths of my heart I be
lieve, that such a government is what
the American people want and mean
to have. I believe that seventy-five
per cent of our citizens are firmly
wedded to, the, old doctrines of popu
lar self-government as they were in
the days of ; Samuel Adams, Patrick
Henry and Thoma3 Jefferson.. '
' Since human society was organized
there has been-r. a constant struggle
between two principles of; govern
ment; one of which-seeks to concen
trate power, wealth and privilege in
the hands of a class; the other which
strives to have the benefits of the
state shared by all alike.
At the very beginning " ot our his
tory the two antagonistic principles
clashed. , The one was represented by
Alexander Hamilton, who had no con
fidence in the people, no love for the
people, no sympathy with the peo
ple,, but who believed that wealth
should be taken Into co-partnership,
with the government, given control V)f"
its laws, given command of its pol
icies, and thus the favored few, be
coming identified with the govern
ment, would give it that ' kind of
strength which, according to his the
ory, it needed. Devoted as he was to
the English model, utterly scouting
the idea that the people were capable
of self-government, he brought all the
powers of his magnificent intellect,
and of his Indomitable energy, to the
Introduction of measures to evolve the
moneyed aristocracy, which, according
to his Ideal, had the right to govern.
On the other hand came Thomas
Jefferson proclaiming the principles
of democracy. With the Idea of hu
man brotherhood, with a perfect faith
In the great body of the people, and
with a constitutional love of right and
justice which made class legislation
abhorrent to him, he challenged the
doctrines of Hamilton, and struggled
to hold the government true to the
principle of 'equal and exact Ju&tlcs to
all men."
Tonight, fellow citizens. I ask you to
take thl simple question home to your
heart and your consciences. Which
I the party, and who Is the candidate,
that proclaim the principles of
Thomas Jefferson, and Roes forth to
fight for the great ma of the Amer
ican people? Is It the republican
party? How can any sane man aa-