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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1905)
Ufis Nob r a oh o. Independent I'AOK 1 MARCH 16. 1005 - ".., ... - I v v "t 4 y Proportional Repretentation (Thirteenth Article.) It seemed to me that thoughtful ob servers of politics would find much of value In the actual political conditions which prevailed in a populous country like Belgium when a fair and proper system of representation was put in operation. That Is why I devoted the space of the last two articles to it. And the elections of May, 1900, were dealt with, because, those being the first elec tions under proportional representa tion, the contrast between new and old conditions would stand out sharply. I now conclude the Belgian part or the subject by some reference to subse quent event3. In the spring of 1902, some political rioting took place in Belgium. I wrote to Count d'Alviella, asking the signifi cance of .these disturbances, and the following is an extract from his reply: "The recent agitation was directed exclusively against the plurality of votes, viz.: the second and third votes attributed to the holders of certain qualifications based on marriage, prop erty, the payment of taxes, instruction, .etc., thus giving certain classes of vot ers two and three votes eacn. ."When, in 1894, the Catholic party, which had been in power for some years, introduced universal suffrage, thus increasing tenfold the number of electors (from 144,000 to about 1,500, 000), the plurality of vote3 was added as a restraint. But the opposition parties (liberals and socialists) have gradually come to the conclusion that this system, as it is carried on, has for result not only to secure undue advan tage to the rural . class and therefore to clerical influences, but also to favor the fraudulent distribution, by the par ty in power, of the second and third votes. "Hence an agitation for the aboli tion of the plural vote, in which the lihM-ai nartv showed itself willing to co-operate with the socialists under these three conditions: U) -inscription of the principle of la representation nrnnnrtinnnelle in the constitution; (2) No female suffrage (which the liberals, rightly or wrongly, believe to be a tool in the hands of the priests); (3) Re rmirsfi to lesal and pacific means only. "'The socialists assented to the first two conditions, but not to the third, and soon began a revolutionary agita tinn ,whih was easily suppressed by the government the liberals keeping aloof. ' The general election louowea, -imfi as micht-be .expected under, the circumstances, showed an increase of the Catholic votes," especially at the expense of the socialists. I belong my self ,to; the, liberal party, but I have tried to sum up the facts as impartially and intelligibly as I can." The reader ought to be reminded that the plural voting referred to is no part of proportional "representation and has nd necessary connection with it. The beneficial results of proportional repre sentation have, been manifested in spite of he existence. of the vicious method rf nluVal votlnff ' - 1 This historical summary is continued to the "autumn of-1903, by another let ter, from Count d'Alviella, who writes from Court Saint .Etienne, Belgium,, in September of that year. He says : "Thfi abnormal clerical majority re duced to twehtyjn 1900, has been slightly-increased by the elections. of 1902. -1 have given you tne reasons in the. letter where I explained to you the causes of the j riots and their re latfrm ttt 'otir electoral system. The TiAYt4 General ' election' , (in half 'the .vvitntrtfi fcriVbftake'nlace in the - sum lWlAMb. J "T i l ' - mer of 1904.: ; r do, hot' foresee a great change in. the relative strength of our three parties.' ; "The' intervening or by-elections we-TP. abolished in 1900. They were in consistent, with 'the principle of our proportional i system, under tne jnew law, the electors choose, at each general election and by the same ballot, a cor number of suppleants mem bers, :.Fho,; in the' case of an elected member dying or giving his demission, simply .walk into his seat, by the .order of tirp.cedehce.. You have all these de tails in the law, whose text, I believe, la in vour nands. .. ... " "Whiie the chouse' of representatives la eniirelv elected by proportional rep resentatkm,; as well "as ninety-six mem- . bers of the senate, out of one nunored rci twelve." there are still twenty-six cpnatnrs. elected by the 'consells pro- vinciaux' according to the old 'propert vinMaui' according -to tne old ma- inritv sVstemv and the 'conseite provln Manx' are themselves elected by ' the same systems By. a-strange irony-of fate I ain tnyeelf one of those senators; while my friend the burgomaster of Brussels, who j3'one of the last and staunchest liberal ; adversaries of la representation .proportionnelle, has been elected only 'through the appli cation of the proportional principle. At least, In this case, one can not say that our convictions proceed from the way we got our seats! "The 'Counseiw Communaux' are elected according to a law voted In 1S93, which was the first step but a very insufficient -one towards propor tional representation. (See pages 87 to 32 of my book.) That law provides that whenever there is an absolute ma jority all the seats shall be given to the most favored list, and that propor tional representation will only be ap plied in case there should be no such majority.- By enacting this provision, the clerical party wanted to prevent the introduction of liberal and socialis tic elements in the numerous com munes where that party hold the ma jority of votes. But, as a regular ne mesis, its policy of selfishness has brought about this result; that In most of the towns, and even rural communes, where the clericals are in a minority, the opposition parties (liberals, social ists and christian democrats) join to gether to bring forward a coalition list, and thus wrench from the clericals their due part of proportional represen tation. By these tactics we hope to force the government into such an al teration of the law as will make la rpnresentation nronortionnelle the ab solute rule in communal (municipal) as well as in general elections." Finallv. the matter is brought down to last year by a brief letter of Count d'Alviella, dated July, 1904, wnicn wiu fittingly conclude this article: "We have had this year a new gen eral election, and you will be glad to hear that it has been again a peneci success from a proportional point of view. Even the beaten ones loyally abstain from imputing to la represen tation proportionnelle the responsioii- ity of the ill which has neiauen me country by their failure! "I send you two pamphlets which will tell you more than I could put in a letter. One is written by myseir in the lihprar interest: the other by Mr. Bertrand, member of parliament, from the socialist point of view., as to me Catholic party, its newspapers declare themselves perfectly satisfied with the results." . ROBERT TYfoYJJN. Toronto, Canada. Socialism's Expected "Take-over" Editor Independent:- According to socialistic authorities should that so- called reform prevail in any given lo cality everything there m the nature ture of business for profit must be stopped as all industries would be conducted by and under strict socialis tic management. Therefore every shop, factory, plant or other concern where work is done by hired men, women or boys, as now, and paid for by indi viduals or firms, would be "taken-over" and stowed away in the warm, safe, quiet bosom of socialism. The "take over" would also include farmers and hnrtirnlturists. No matter what pro tests there might be, or who should make them, the transfer must be made. Thenceforth whenever an individual citizen does. ' or makes, anything for someone else, he must receive no profit therefor. To do so would be a viola tion of the rules and aims of the so cial isti. ukase, and therefore make the offender liable to expulsion, or some thing worse. hi How would such an economic re strictine machine' work? Let 'us sup pose It should break out in California, for example, vve will suppose tnai m the next, general election the state so cialists should carry this state, by an unchallenged majority. Would hot the minority still posses a few natural rights that the majority would be bound to respect? They surely would. But now comes in the "take-over" scheme, of which so much' is said and written. How would it operate? The state of California now contains nu merous mills, factories, ironworks, etc., of various kind3, and also agricultural and horticultural outfits" of great value. The entire wealth of all those costly equipments is enormous. Perhaps the total value of all such outfits for the production of more wealth would reach a billion dollars. To establish them all and put them In running order has been the work of many years. Is it presumable that the owners of all these industrial outfits would, with out meeting stubborn resistance, per mit socialism to "take-over", those pos sessions and fall into line? Hardly. No such injustice" could be pushed through without a war. It would mean cruel, relentless- warfare. As to the final outcome, no jnortal man can fore tell what it would be.' " The-real fact is a fact generally overlooked by dreamers and superficial enthusiasts that any man, anywhere, has a natural, an-inalienable-, right to empldy some other man to work for him, for such compensation and under such conditions as the two men can agree upon. That being the case It fol lows that any greater number of men have the same natural right to employ a greater number of men to work for them even though the employers are organized as a corporation. Tresent corporations in this country are largely corrupt and oppressive, it is true; but that is because they are upheld by pub lic officials of immense wealth and In fluence. Acalnst all such political in famy I am as strongly opposed as any other man can be. But I predict that socialism will not prevail in any state of this union during the ensuing five hundred years and probably never. I have not one word to offer in extenu ation of our present trio of highway robbers flourishing under the guise of philanthropists and statesmen. Their names are really monopoly and greed. It is monopoly and greed, and not com petition and industry, that create pan demonium. There Is, however, a sure way open for crushing out this pre vailing system of plunder. The people can throw off the yoke if they will. It can be done with the ballot, backed by moral courage. But the man who thinks he sees so cialism "taking over" the private prop erty of even one state in this nation must possess supernatural mental vi sion. If his physical sight is equal to his mental outlook he must be able to see through a stone wall ten feet thick. RALFH 110 YT. Los Angeles, Calif. The maximum freight rate law in Kansas has already been heard from. Under its terms the Webster Refinery comnanv shinned from Humboldt its first car load of oil on Monday. It paid. under the new enactment, 2 a car as against $78 a car under the former scheme of extortion a trifling differ ence of $51 a car. That's all. Kansas City Star. (In Nebraska, a republican legislature has killed all freight rate bills.) A SAFE AND CONSERVATIVE HOME COMPANY The late Wm. D. Fitzgerald, the owner of the Fitzserald Dry Goods company, was a policyholder in the Securitv Mutual Life insurance com pany of Lincoln, Neb. He had a ten payment endowment policy for $2,000 on which he had paid five annual premiums. The, company paid his widow the face of his policy the same day the proofs of death were present- j ed. In a letter to Mr: N. Z, Snell,! president of the company acknowledg ing payment Mrs. Fitzgerald says: "I often heard Mr. Fitzgerald, in his lifetime, speak very favorably of your company. He was a great believer in developing and patronizing home in stitutions. And the prompt payment of my claim under the policy for $2,000 which Mr. Fitzgerald held in the' Se curity Mutual Life satisfies me that it merits the confidence which he had in it." The Security Mutual Life Is a strong conservatively managed old line life company for Nebraska people; and, the only company doing business in this state that secures its full liability by a deposit of first class securities with the auditor of public accounts of the state. ' ' Good Location for Populist Paper We can give any good populist who is interested, the name of a location where a small local populist paper will be given, by one firm, at least $100 worth of advertising and $200 worth of job work per year. The Indepen dent. - ; r - MOT! No One Bui Yourself if You Don't Get Well When SicK. AH we can do Is rive advice. Of course thatf s easy. But our advice is really worth a littla more to you than moat people, for wej offer to rlv you the first bottle of oun medicine free, if it falls to help you i TVe could not afford to do this unless cur medicine was good. Such an offer,; on the wrong kind of medloine, would! put a merchant prince In th poor house.) Dr. Miles' Nervine, however, as years; of experience have proved. Is a medi cine that cures the sick. ' Those whom it cannot benefit less than one in ten thousand we prefer to refund their money. AH we ask of you is to try Dr. Miles', Restorative Nervine for your complaint If you suffer from sleeplessness, nervous exhaustion, dizziness, headache, mus cular twitchings, melancholy, loss of memory, weak stomach, poor blood, bilious troubles, epilepsy, St VJtus Dance,, etc., we will guarantee to benefit 1 you or refund your money. You are the doctor. "My son Bert when In his 17th year, became subject to attacks of epilepsy, no serious that we were compelled to take him out of school. After several physicians had failed to relieve him, we rave Dr. Miles' Nervine a trial. Ten months treatment With Nervine and Liver Pills restored our boy to perfect "alth."-MIt JOHN S. WfLSON. Ifcimty Co. Clerk, Dallas Co., Mp,. j DIAMONDS! We can sell you a diamond for 110.00 or for $300.00, and at all prices between Let us know your want and we will gladly srve you. n. G WOLFF, 139 So. 13th St. Lincoln, Nbi m 0O0Q NO EXCESS CHARGES on Nickel Pltvte rioad - , Its trains are composed of the best equipment, consisting of through vesti- buled sleeping-card, in both directions, between Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York. Boston and intermediate points, with unexcelled dining car serv ice, meals being served In Nickel fiate dining cars on the American Club Meal Plan, ranging in price from.S5c to $1.00; Mid-day Lunceon, 50c. Train No. 2. leaving Chicago at 10:3o a. m., daily, has through vestibulted sleeners for Boston, via Nickel Plate, West Shore and Boston . & -.Maine Roads, and through vestibuled sleepers to New York and intermediate points, via Nickel Plate and both the, Lack awanna and West Shore Roads. t Train No. 4, leaving Chicago at 2:30 p. m., daily has through vestibuled sleeping cars for, Buffalo, New York and intermediate points. Train No. 6, leaving Chicago at 9:15 p. m., dally, has through vestibuled sleeping cars for Fort Wayne,: Cleve land, Erie, Buffalo; New York;and in termediate points, arrivng at "New York' City early the second morning. tfatps always the lowest. Write or call on nearest ticket agent, or. John Y. Calahan, General Agent, Nickel Pinn ttnad: No. 113 Adams St., Koom 298, Chicago. Chicago Depot, La Salle and Van Bur en -Sxs. Fast train service to Chicago, over the double-track railway from the Missouri River to Chicago," connecting at that point with all lines for all points East. ;" '. '" ;., , The "Best of Everything! Modern train equipment and every appliance to insure the safety and comfort of patrons. ; . : ' "! ' i Ticket and (oil information on ; t i ,1 i ; applicatioate - r-" ; f R. W- MoGinnia, Gen'l Agt.' 1024 O St. Lincoln, Neb. Chicago & North-Western Railway. SHERIFF SALE Notice is hereby tnveu that fey virtue of an order of Bale issued by the Clerk of the District Court of the Third Judicial District of Nebras ka within and for Lancaster County, to an ac- , tion wherein Richard P. Spelts is plaintiff, and James W French. Jr., Defendant. I will, at 2 o'clock, P, M on the 28th day of March A. P.. v.z vat Annr nf th (Inurt House, in t.hft City of Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, offer for sale at public auction the following described Lands and Tenements, to-wit: Lot numbered four (4) in Block numbered forty eiKht 4M) : in Bethany" Heights. Lancaster County, Nebraska. .. Given under my hand this 23rd day of Febru ary A. D. 1205 ''NICHOt)AS ress. Sheriff. The greatest opportunity for ..easy money making on a big scale for small investors' is presented in" the Kansas oil fields. Oil experts have pronounced the Kansas field as' the most productive of high grade oil found anywhere In the world. Comparatively few wells fail to produce on a big scale and-almost none are entirely "dry."