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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1904)
AUGUST 23, 1904. "THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT What Honest Lobbying . Can Do Editor Independent: 1 To many people theword lobbying Is as a red rag to a bull. To a few people in Missouri it seemed the only way to get any real .legislation. So a few of the faithful organized a direct legislation league some three or four years ago and got a direct legislation amendment introduced . into the leg islature and 'they were able to bring enough influence to bear' to get it to a vote. Of course it was defeated. Then they paid a small salary to one of their number. Mr. S.; L." Moses, and his expenses. Mr. Moses is. a lawyer, tactfcul, able, thoroughly devoted "man. He traveled back and forth over the state saying they would do all . they could to kill off every man who was renominated who. had voted against direct legislation, no matter what his party and that they would throw all their strength to th9.se candidates who would pledge themselves to, direct leg islation. His position was invulner able. , Hei wanted no office, job or con tract for himself and they, could not hurt him that way." He did not openly espouse any party though I personally know he has strong political convic tions. Some of the men he opposed Called him some rather hard names' but he smiled back and 'said: "Come out for direct legislation and we wont hurt you." He did not -oppose or advocate candidates on other grounds than direct legislation and he mainly -tried to prevent the nomination of candidates opposed to direct legisla tion. He traveled up and down and back and across " old Missouri for a year with this singleness o, purpose and back of him was shrewd, patient, semi-invalid, Dr. Wm. P. Hill of St. Louis ' and others, financing, writing letters, pulling wiresf Toward the end, the trade unions, under Mr. Sarman's lead, commenced questioning candi dates on direct legislation. , When the' legislature was elected, only one man who had voted against the direct legislationjamendment in the previous legislature, was re-elected and a majority of the legislature were pledged to vote for a direct legislation amendment that should have a 5 per cent condition 'for a referendum peti tion and an 8 per cent for the initiative. But the 1903 Missouri legislature was the culmination of the corruption in Missouri and rottenness in legislation. Of course the venal politicians did not want direct legislation and they only pledged themselves to it because they did not well see. how they could help it. Of course they did not intend to .keep these pledges, and their mas ters, tne Drioing corporations, om not mean to have it either. But Moses and Sarman, aided by some others, camped on their trail for three or four months and by hon est lobbying they forced the legislature to pass a direct legislature amendment. It was a hard fight and less deter mined and tactful men would have been beaten but Moses and b'arman hung on; even when an adverse vote was given and it looked as if the amendment was finally killed, . they got it reconsidered. Of course the poli cians did all they could to emasculate the amendment and have hugely suc ceeded. Instead of living up to their pledge of making the percentage five for the referendum and eight,for the initiative petition, they made them ten for the referendum, fifteen for the in itiative and twenty per cent for con-r stitutional amendment initiative peti tions. Not content with this, they made it that these percentages must be gotten in every congressional dis trict in the state and there are six teen. .But it was the best the direct leg islation men could get and they took it. Seven of the honorable members who voted against it are either in state prison er under indictment or in for eign countries for their-health. Now it goes to the people for a vote and quiet but determined Dr. Hill has per suaded the democrats to put the fol lowing in their state platform: "We congratulate the people of the state -on the fulfillment of the party's pledge, made, in its platform two years ago, to submit for the' voters' approv al a constitutional amendment which, if adopted at the November election, will always secure to the people a veto power oyer bad legislation, as weir as a means of initiating' new measures when desired, thus rendering ineffec tive the results of corrupt methods, in legislation and lessening the induce ments to the same." And then he visited the republican convention, having previously pulled some wires and here is the result in the following plank from the republi can, state platform: " ; "We condemn the insincerity of the democratic party in proposing; a plan of initiative and referendum so cum brous as to make its operation imprac- ticable ,and we are in favor of a just and honest measure that shall give to tho perple -of this state the largest coiitio! of and participation In legis lation and government." ' He has also gotten letters from the state chairman urging their voters to vote for it. Thus much has persistent honest lobbying, but back of it Is the growing sentiment of the people which this lobbying focussed on the legislature. - . . A large-majority is wanted for this amendment. If you can aid in in crea3lag its vote, you will aid the di rect legislation movement. If you are in another state, can not you follaw this, example. , s ELTWTEED POMEROY. . f'sw Yoik Correspondence, New York, xug. 19. All New, York is in a state of Excitement thio morn ing oVer the great populist meeting held in Cooper Union, last night. Wall street had supposed that such an at fair a3 that was one of those things that could never happen. The great hall was packed, and long before the hour of opening the doors arrived, people crowded around the entrances. When the doors were finally oyerted the masses of the people erowcll in nd within live minutes every seat was taken. A string, of policemen stood around the walls and prevented the aisles and corridors- from filling up as that Is against the law in this city. There was an overflow meeting which was addressed by local speak ers. It was a most ybriiliant and intelli gent audience anU was in full-sympathy with the spiftUers fnm the be ginning to the end. When Mr. Wat wm and Mr. Tibbies appeared upon the pl.Ut'jrni, the audience ro.se to Its feet and cheered., for many nnr.utos. E;uh person had provided himself or herself" with an American flaj, and while thVy shouted they waved the iwx. No speakers, even during the exciting campaigns of IWtt and ever had a more enthusiastic recep tion in this great city. Mr. Bolton, the grca labor leader or Brooklyn, was chairman. Judge William of Indiana made the formal niotU of notification tu .Mr. Vutson and Mr. Jay W. Forrest of Albany, N. Y. notlneit Mr. Tibbies, Uvea thee Introductory peeehes were cheered. at almost every senieiue. There were many distinguished men present from n Ijotntn state, some ot whtn ha t seat on th pUtf.irm and sum in th tody of the audience. AIT tit great da I lie. were represented In the pre eat. There are twelve pa pen liXe York city alone that will openly support the Watson and Tib bles ticket. The promoters- of the meeting were all former Bryan democrats. The over whelming success of the meeting was chiefly due to the enthusiasm, hard work and good judgment of Judge Seabury and Mr. Pallisser of New York city and Messrs. Forest and Mahony of Albany. ". Mr. Watson made a great . speech and was often overwhelmed for some minutes with prolonged cheers. Mr. Tibbies was the last and the fourth one of the evening, and the hour was 11 p. m. He did not attempt a set address and spoke for only a short time, but it was received -also 'with round after round of applause. After the speeches there was a re ception at the Union Square hotel. For an hour or more Mr. Wataon and Mr. Tibbies stood at the lack end of the parlor and shook hands with the throng as they passed rapidly by. The New York city dailies treated the meeting with great respect and gave fairly full report.-.. The Hearst papers printed Mr. Watson's ypecch in full and most of them printed cuts of both of the populist candidates. The managers of loth the old par ties are dazed at this populist uprls ins; In the eaot. I'very New England s;aie, as well as New York, New Jer sey, Delaware and Maryland will have full electoral and state tickets In the field. One of the meat distliiRul.thed men in New Jersey ha. consented to auept the populist nomination for governor. Prominent ru n are comlm; into the movement hi Connecticut and Ma-s.i hiueiu. Strange as It may seem, the poplo' party Is on Its feet a! I uvtr the eastern part of the ratted XUteH J. T. FliAMI ON. OF COURSE ..!.' '. - : - . . , You are coming to the . STATE FAIR. When you arrive in Lincoln you are cor dially invited to make our ware rooms ; YOUR HEADQUARTERS. ' Away from thenoise and dirt where rt is quiet, cool and restful. Ask to see the large bran now upright piano we are offering during Fair Week for $148. A second hand Weber Piano' inline condition for $50 and many other equally tempting bargains up to the highest grade in ex istence. - . . ' ". ' " . -. : .. . A magnificent array of new organs for $35, $40, $50 .na $05. Don't Forget the Name and Place, " . MATTHEWS PIANO CO. 1120 OSt. - - Lincoln, Neb. POl'Pl.l.HT li.ATPOnMJ - And thoe of -all othef partes, complete, Including those if IWI. Pi Ice. font pil I. :,V, Address The In J-peadent, Uaeoiu. Neb, , " Maryland Jeffarsonian The people's party is looking up in Maryland. Hon: P. A. Naille has been made chairman of the state committee and Messrs. Naille. H. F. Magness and R A. Chapman, members of the. na tional committee. Under direction of Chairman Naille the work of secur ing the necessary 500 signatures, to a petition for placing the electoral ticket on the ballot, is being carried forward vigorously. As an .indication of the trend of thought among the reform democrats of-Maryland, the following communication tcv. the Baltimore American is reprinted. Its authpr, Thos.-O. Clark of Baltimore, is well known to readers, of The Independent. Mr. Clark said: f , . "To theEditor of The American: The failure of the Parker candidacy is now apparent to everyone. The two campaigns of Mr. Bryan were distinc tively educational, and ever since his first notable tour of the .country, there have been thousands of thinking men in every community who have definite ideas in politics, and who will refuse to ' vote for any man who does not embody , their views. : "The ' nomination of Judge Parker has left thousands of these men with out a political, home. Most of the progressive thinkers favor an enlarge ment of governmental powers in the control of those great necessities of civilized society, the railroads . and the telegraphs, and" in the establish ment of postal savings banks and a parcels post. Those .who advocate these basic reforms have a strong ar gument to support' their view3, for they can point to England, Germany and Switzerland, where vthey are in daily operation. "One of the strongest planks in the Chicago and Kansas City platforms was that favoring direct legislation, or the placing of the law-making power in the hands of the people. This is considered the basic reform by many profound students of political economy. The almost universal corruption In legislatures, which prevents the enact ment of many laws necessary for the general welfare, simply because pow erful corporations oppose them, and at the same time the passage of many laws favoring these predatory combi nations, at the expense of the people, calls for some method by which the government can be brought nearer the people. Direct legislation i.s that rem edy, for by it the people can literally rule themselves and thus eliminate the political Ijoks and the lobbyist. In the last platform of the democratic prty no reference is made to direct legisla tion. "The limitation of the powers of the federal judiciary within thelr'proper bounds is another of the vital reforms demanded by the Kansas City plat form and now passed over In contemp tuous fcUence. "Those who denounce ai anarchists any uho would nbridRe th wopo of the federal courts nro. as a rulo of that cki.s.s which profits by the usurpa tion of royal power by federal Judges who Imprison raen without dut proc ess of la ' and trial lv Jv.ry, anl I tutu It aAin?t Iho deoUel vh tlms 'of corporate grfed tho 'injunction' to obey thedr masters and ularve. "if an Knllh Judijo dared to deny a Ilrltlsh subject the right of trial by jury .there would I e an uproar In that country which would tinon Im pros that functionary with the Idea that I'nfclUhtnen are not disposed to surrender any ct those UlK-rtles fur 1 which cas of blood lave been hed in the past. Yet In free America it has been frequently done. . "The real anarchists are those who uphold tyranny and counsel men to submit to it. . It is entirely possible to have respect for law and a. desire for an unbiased judiciary at one and the same time. ' x : - . "The 'beef strike at Chicago and the reign of terror in Colorado are not dealt with inthe St. Louis plat form as seriously' as they deserve. When it is realized that these men in the stockyards had been earning about $7 per week and had been notified of a reduction in that meager wage, con sumers of beef at high prices will have hard work to bring themselves to sym pathize with the 'beef kings.'' In Colo-. rado, whatever the faults of the min ers, the crimes against them far ex ceeded their own. Military . satraps imprisoned men in spite of-orders of court to release them, and 'Injunctions', failed to work when launched against bayonets. ' " 'i. - "The money Question has been ig nored by the democratic managers, thereby implying that it is-no longer an Issue, in spite of the fact that the last republican congress seriously, con templated a further surrender of the governmental function to issue money and to control its volume by allowing banks to issue notes based on their assets, the destruction of -the legal tender qualities of the silver dollar and ! the establishment of 'branch' banks of issue, thus contracting the suddIv of real monev while increasing the government's obligations, the inevitable-effect of which must be the issuing of bond3 by the government and to still further enrich the credi tor class at the expense of those who produce the nation's wealth. "The control of the money volume is a dangerous power to be placed in pri- i. A .vs. ImmI V.lr. l.fnJ rt 'sound money' real democrats will al ways oppose themselves, The money question is the most important of all economic problems, and its rightful solution will never come from those who deal in money as a commodity. "In view of these facts and of the infidelity of the democratic party to true democracy, many thousands of true followers of Jefferson will support the people's party ticket this fall. The peoples party has promulgated a plat form which deals with all the press ing problems of the hour in a Jeffer sonian manner, and it appeals to all true democrats. If the effotts now go ing on are successful the party will have an electoral ticket on the Mary land ballot this year. It is to be hoped such will be the case, and that thoso who desire to vote for Jeffersonian democracy may have an opportunity oC s doing. JEFFKUSGNIAN' Watson's Napoleon. Among Mr. Watson's writings one of the roost interesting Is hia history of Napolcou It is a splendid study of a great genius. There does not live a man who will not be enlarged In his thinking proc esses, there does not live a boy who will not be made more ambitious by honest study of Watson's Napoleon. If you want the best obtainable, most readable, most Intelligent, most genuinely American study of thU great character, read Watson's hl lory of Napoleon. The book retail at $2.25. At that figure The Independent la prepared to supply its reader. Address all or ders t The Uneadcnt, Lincoln, Nb, 1