SEPTEMBER 15, 1904
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
PAGE 9.
CHILD WORKER!
According to census figures just pub
lished, every fifth cild in the country
between the ages of 10 and 15 years is
a greadwinner. Of these juvenile wage
earners every third child is a girl.
There are 1,Z50,178 children regularly
employed. This is an increase of 33 1-3
per' cent in ten years. Alabama has
jhe highest percentage of child labor,
finding work; for 27.2 per cent of her
"children, while Massachusetts has the
lowest, having only 0.5 per cent of her
juvenile population at work.
Victor Hugo said: "He that sins
against a child sins against God.4
Think of it. One out of every five chil
dren of the tender age of from ten to
fifteen years is a breadwinner. And
.then think further. One out of every
three of these little children is a girl.
Think of it,, mothers , and fathers of
this land. And then think still further.
These figures show an increase in the
number of these little toilers for the
past ten years of 33 1-3 per cent-one
third more children of these tender
years pushed out into the world to be
come "breadwinners" than we had in
the preceding ten years. And of these
ten years, mind you, eight have been
dinner pail," "McKinley booms,'
"standing pat," "letting well enough
alone," etc. Well enough, indeed, with
these appalling figures confronting us,
These figures say that in Alabama
more than one out of every four (27.2
per cent) of her children of this age
are at work, jsvhile in Massachusetts
. one out of every two hundred (0.5 per
cent) of her children of this age are
toiling. But the figures do not say
that in Massachusetts largely live the
Izinfrc! nrV n rnm T li nrtrr m ilia r Vio
southland where these little cildren's
lives are being confiscated to mammon
They do not say that while these little
infants are earning dividends for idlers
. in the north these idlers with pious
faces sit in the pews of fashionable
churches, and plead for contributions
from these same little children to send
to the "little heathen children, who
know not Christ." And while .the lit
tle ones in the orient "learn of Christ,'
through the sweat of the little faces of
our own balmy southland, who do
know him, our own little ones starve,
Think of the playtime of these little
ones sioien away; rrom nome ana ten
der influences divorced; education de
nied; health broken, and life-crushed
out, and then say that you tremble not
for your country; Nations can no soon
er violate the laws of God witn im
punity than can a single man. The
avenging sword will be swift and sure,
for "he that sins against a child sins
against God."
The United States government
charges -3,000 per cent more for carry
ing a package through the postomce
from New York to Brooklyn than the
uerman government does for carrying
the same package to the remotest part
of Hungary, and the German govern
ment does it not at a loss but at a
profit. The enormous charges of the
United States government make it pos
sible for the privately owned express
companies to get all the business and
pile up enormous fortunes for the priv
ileged few. Thats the result of gov
ernment by corporations for corpora
tion ana a condition that the peo
ple's party was organized to overthrow,
A SCIENTIFIC RAMPAGE
John Brisbin Walker has somewhere
inhaled the same idea as Premier Bal
four. He says: "Because we have had
a false conception of matter the world
has been obliged to grope its way for
ward." As far as one educated in the
theories of the past can understand,
to these gentlemen, matter is electric
ity, and the electricity is not matter at
all. Then they say that ejectrlcity is
not a form of energy, electricity can
not be manufactured, matter is com
posed of electricity and nothing else.
That seems to be about the same kind
of a mix-up of ideas as occurs in a
Christian Science meeting when some
member gets up and describes a dis
ease that any one will Immediately
recognize as typhoid, pneumonia, or
dyspepsia, toll how he was cured with
in a few hours, and then declare that
it tt&s all a IS?, a mortal error, an il
lusion, a "claim." that there la no sub
stance in matter and no such thiiTg a
dijjeasa at all. All that we can do, if
wo know the man and know him to bo
of good character and always truthful,
ii to say we believe that you were hick
and that you were in some way uud
denly -cured, but it Is impossible for us
to harmonize uh contradictory atato
tuenUlhat Is that you Here nick and
not lick loth at the tamo instant of
time.
Sir O'lm led ce, T. n. S. rtin to
hare got Into the tame boat, but he
trl. to explain matter. II flay: f
thrt atom! of a iubstann no such that
they io: Ucttj tbrr Hint as
many electrons as hydrogen gas has,
we call it sodium. If each atom has
200 times as many as hydrogen, we call
it lead or quicksilver. If it has con
siderably more than that, it begins to
be radio active. Matter then appears
to be composed of postitive and nega
tive electricity and nothing else."
But electricity is invisible. In vi
bration it produces light, but light is
not electricity. Matter is visible. There
is something that we see. Is sight
an illustion a mortal error? Have all
the scientists gone on a hysterical ram
page? THI BUTCHERS' STRIKE ENDED
I The big strike of the packing trades
has finally been declared off, in order
to preserve the unions intact, as stated
by President Donnelly. Mr. Donnelly
stated that his men had lost the fight.
Why did they Jose the. fight? They
lost it because thousands of other hun
gry tnen were on the outside waiting
for them to quit; so the hungry ones
could get a chance. By why was it
that there were thousands on the out
side? Because, and only because, un
just economic conditions haw made it
possible for monopoly interests to lock
up the resources of nature and prevent
all men from applying their labor to
mother earth for the purpose of satis
fying their wants. Yet there are some
rascally self-constituted leaders among
organized labor, apparently in the em
ploy of labor's foes, that use their
whole effort todiscourage and prevent
the discussion r of economic questions
in unions. But until the unions do
take up these questions and understand
them, and then fight for simple justice
at the ballot box, strikes will occur and
then, after the men have lost millions
in wages, it will be. declared - off, to
save the. union, Mr.-Donnelly began
to see the truth, and he was right in
advising a cessation of the struggle.
Let us hope that , he will see a little
further now, and encourage his men
to strike where striking counts.
It is estimated that this strike cost
the men $5,000,000 in wages alone, and
that the loss to the packers was $7,000,
000 in loss of business. In addition to
this tremendous loss, we must consider
the loss to the public in the Increased
price of packers' products. Half of
this sum. If expended to educate the
stupid asses of the nation against vot
ing for their masters' nefarious econ
omic schemes, would have accom
plished ten thousand times more good
for all concerned than this costly
strike.
It seems that Dr. Dubois, professor
of neurology in the university of Berne,
has been running up against electrons,
or some such thing as Avell as Sir
Oliver Lodge and Balfour Dr. Dubois
says that "a complete cure can take
place only through a change in men
tality." They call this "psychothera
peutic treatment." This sort of thing
is more distracting than politics. When
we lay down to sleep and begin think
ing over some of the new scientific
theories, we can easily conjure up a
world that does exist and does not ex
ist both at the same time. We can say
over and over again, "Matter is elec
tricity, electricity is not matter," until
we go to sleep
HAVING CON VICTIOKS
Rooseveltin his letter of acceptance
says: A party which, with facile
ease, changes all its convictions before
election can not be trusted to adhere
with tenacity to any principle after
election. A party fit to govern must
have convictions."
That Is brought as an accusation
against the democrats and is well
founded. But it applies with equal
force to the republican party. If the
republicans ever had convictions upon
any subject except that of the tariif,
it should be pointed out. It started
out with quoting part of the declaration
of independence In Its first platform.
It has completely reversed its "con
victions," if It ever had any on that
subject, and instead of insisting that
all governments derive their just pow
ers from the consent of the people, it
has adopted tho very opposite policy
and defends a government by force.
On tho money question it made at
quick and "farllo" a chaii a-? th
democratic party baa done. The most
logical and eloquent Rpmhes ever
made In congress fur Mmciallsm cre
undo by William McKlnlcy and he
made a change with Bich "facile tast"
hat Mark llanna was able to elect tho
nald MTKInlcy president tf the tolled
Mates t'cause he was a elngle told
standard man.
The republican party will make an
antl-trtint campaign, chlllt IN trut
butter a tho great friend of th peo-
to an.1 when the tarn pa I km 1 over, It
will make a c hacg "with fad! eaV
and tho trusts will not be disturbed. In
thU retard the two old panic i ire a
win-like 0.3 in every thing eh.
The Month of August
Is generally considered one of
the dullest months of the year,
but in the case of the
Bankers Reserve Life
Company
Of Omaha, Nebraska.
it proved to be the best month since
its organization; with two exceptions.
1904 IS THE BANNER YEAR
FOR THE BANKERS RESERVE.
FIFTY additional lacal and sqecial agents wanted.
For terms and particulars address
B. H. ROBISON, President.
222C
ffiiMMMawmftir
Farm Insurance
A Speciality for Twenty Yearo
- Established 1885
After a loss, you need the money. Therefore '
when you insure your property; Patronize a
Company which lias the cash to pay your
claim as soon as adjusted.
FARMERS AND MERCHANTS 1 INSURANCE CO.
" i '
. ' ' " : - ''. ' ' -: '
Lincoln, Nebraska.
Has paid to policy holders over $850,000.00
Premiums written 1903 $314,272.49 Asset? 389,lT2.12
A tested Home Company.
" " - '
Fire, Lightning and Tornado Insurance on city and farm property
JAILS "WITHOUT OCCUPANTS"
Dixon county, Nebraska, built a jail
a year or two ago, but it has never had
an occupant. Compare that sort of a
community with the police courts of
our cities crowded every day with
scores of unfortunates. Reflect that
they are all human beings, all, or near
ly all of the same rare and then try to
think out what causes the difference.
Is it because in the country there is
always an opportunity to get work?
Is it because that opportunity to work
always provides food and clothing and
none ever go hungry? Yet the wealth
per capita In the country la Insignif
icant when compared with the city.
Wherever there are millionaire, there
ai always paupers and criminals In
largo numbers. Where wealth Is more
evenly distributed, even though there
may not be so much of It, there are no
paupers and few criminals. There are
many county farms In the west that
mct had a permanent occupant. The
concentration of wealth la few hand
brings with it evils and suffering be
yond calculation. To fmht that ac
cumulation the iffipk'n party enters
the arena. It would ieera that every
lover cf his country should t In Its
rank, A nation Cllnl with criminal
and pauper It t wrak nation, no mat
fr what ItJ wealth may be. Walth
ra t make a nation prrat. It li
free, Independent men, though they
may be poor. There la something
greater and more powerful than dol
lars. .
W. W. Astor of London made visit
to New York the other day. No one
paid any attention to hira on the
steamer or after he landed except a
newspaper reporter to whom Astor im
parted the information that ho was
continually adding to his real estate
In that city. That Is the kind of a
man the pops would like to get after.
He takes out of the people of New
York every year several millions of
dollars for which he gives no return.
It goes to Hngland to be spent therev
except what Is used to Increase his
holdings In New York city, and most
of It comes from the poor. No wumief
that there are paupers In New York
by the tens of thousands. Astor re
pudiated America and becarao a Brit
Uh subject several years ago.
IOMK Did LtlKO
It always will bo a wonder to honest
men how republican editor can have
the face to He after the manner In
which they are to prona to do. Now
here h the tuning News of IJncolu
whUh lava:
"When thi fulonlt wer In power
tlmii were hard and far cf political
drfrat rompelM the party leader to
kep ftriripiUtlcc 0od. It UM Lwt,
