Ufa Hobraskfe, Independent
page a
JUNE 1, 1905
needed in Nebraska and In the entire country, that shall be fearless and
independent in its attacks upon railroad tyranny, and in its demand for
political and economic reforms.
The Independent will continue to be an open forum for all who be
lieve they have something to say that will advance the cause of good
government in the state or in the nation. The editor has established a
department under the heading "Letters From the People," and he solicits
from every man and woman, whatever may be his or her shade of opinion,
letters on the social and economic problems of the day. ,1
, The Independent will carry on its campaign against railway and corpor
ation tyranny and other abuses with a resolute purpose It does not expect
quarter from its enemies and it will not be disheartened by the injustice
of those who should be its friends. Wherever there are advocates of a
"government of the people, by the people and for the people," wherever
special privileges are condemned and good men hope for the uplifting of
the commonwealth from the mires of natidnal, state and municipal corrup
tion, The Independent will find its friends and staunch supporters. Stand
ing as it does on the threshold of a new era, it cannot forbear to express a
sense of elation at the fact that the grand army of reform has already grown
to such magnificent proportions in this beloved land of ours.
DRIVEN TO ABSURD ARGUMMENTS
1 1n an effort to evade increased taxation, and, if possible, to secure a
lower valuation, the Union Pacific Railroad company sent to Lincoln an
assistant tax commissioner, who submitted a remarkable plea for the wonder
and entertainment of the state board of assessment. He contended that the
board had no right, when fixing the assessment, to take into consideration
inter-state traffic. It was his view that the board should be guided solely
by local business in determining a railway's value for taxation purposes in
Nebraska.
The taxation experts of Nebraska railways spend many hours of mental
stress in an effort to discover arguments that will cloud the minds of the
people. The argument, however, presented by R. J. Clancy,' now the Union
Pacific's assistant tax commissioner, but a few months ago a suave and
subtle lobbyist, will scarcely cast a shadow, it i3 so tenuous and intangible.
If Mr. Clancy's proposed basis of valuations were adopted the assistant
tax commissioners of every railway between the Mississippi river and the
Pacific coast would probably be able to show that the stockholders of . .their
roads were subjects for charity. In Nevada, for example, the Central Pacific
might claim from the state a rebate in excess of the amount of taxes paid
and be able to show that it was losing money every day on local business.
1 " The tax commissioners of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific in
Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, , Nevada and California have probably agreed
on this argument and will doubtless use it, whenever necessary, in all these
states. They may even have some success in persuading assessment boards
not to increase the valuations of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific, but
the tax commissioners of the Union Pacific will never try to convince the
stockholders of the road or the investing public who will be asked to buy
the $100,000,000 of preferred stock recently authorized at Salt Lake, that
the value of the road is to be estimated by the local business.
If only local business were considered , by the prospective purchasers
of stock they would be alarmed lest the Union Pacific were bankrupt, but an
investigation would show them that the great earnings of the company come
from the inter-state traffic and that this inter-state traffic is an important
factor in determining the value of the propery. v
, PASSING OF THE GRAND ARMY
The veterans of the civil war are falling before the blades of the Grim
Reaper almost as fast as th3y fell in those bloody days of Gettysburg
and the Wilderness". "Soon4 the Grand Army of the Republic will have
vanished from the earth, and those who strew with flowers the graves
of the nation's heroes will see no forms in faded blue or gray among the
throngs that will still love 'to honor the men who fought in the greatest
war . since the world began. The coming of that Decoration day wnen tne
last veterans of the north and south shall be sleeping upon the quiet hill
sides wiir bring to the nation indescribable sadness, but it will also bring
the hope that as the soldiers of the blue and gray sleep together in peace
aiuvug iuc uu vr o luat 1 ua v ucia ovctcci ci uu iui;ui nuu xixxycn new
hands, their children will dwell together in unity and love unto the-remotest
ages. -''-''-.'I :. ' :'
; The tragedy which has just been enacted in the Sea of Japan makes
the heart sick. In such, an hour few men feel like appealing to the "Lord
of the far-flung battle line." Their lips instinctively breath a prayer to the
Prince of Peace that the -war spirit may vanish from the earth and that
wars-niay cease forever. ' . - . , .
- In this land of ours the gallant sons of warrior sires wili ever be only
too eager to surrender their live i that the nation may not perish, that
It may continue to shed the light of liberty over all the world and to teach
all people the truth and beauty of our idoals. But as we should entertain
the hope that our country may never again be severed, by civic strife, so
we can have no nobler aspiration than to work in the cause of peace
that the nations, Christian and non-Christian, may be led to adjust their
differences in a spirit of love and brotherhood. "
M CAN BE ENFORCED
Attorney General Brown Can Place the Maximum
Freight Rate Schedule of 1893 in Effect
and Prevent Railway Extortion
' In a statement which will be found on another page of this Issue Attor
ney General Norris Brown contends that the maximum freight rate law i3
practically dead, and intimates that It would be a useless task to attempt
its resuscitation. On the other hand, the Hon. C. J. Smyth, former attorney
cranoroi nf MoVim elm hpiipvps that the United States suDreme court could
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easily be induced to take. up the case and grant Attorney General Brown
the right to show that present conditions in Nebraska justify the applica
tion of the law. ;
The Independent wishes to reiterate its contention that party jealousy
and petty politics have too long prevented the people of Nebraska from ob
taining good government. Attorney General Brown has suddenly been con
verted to the belief that the commodity rate bill, a republican measure, is
constitutional and is just the kind of a rate reduction law that the legisla
ture should pass. This is in line with Gov. Mickey's reported intention of
calling a special session of the legislature to" consider railway regulation
and rate reduction. In none of the newspapers which have advocated the
special session has any measure other than the commodity rate bill been
approved. " . . " .
To The Independent this unanimous republican approbation of a meas
ure, which was' regarded as a joke during the regular session, appears to
be a political plot to restore party prestige. Even if the law should be de
clared constitutional, which is unlikely, three or four years would be con
sumed in litigation before it could be enforced. -;
The maximum rate law has been tested by exhaustive litigation. It is
; true that a federal injunction prevents its immediate enforcement, but
the attorney general could sweep away the injunction in comparatively short
time if he made the required showing, and if Hon. C. J. Smyth is correct
in his view, that the reductions under the Newberry schedule would in
no case be greater than twenty per cent, Attorney General Brown would
find it easy to prove his case. ,
The attorney general's plea that the non-existence of the state board
of transportation, which, was . finally abolished in 1901, would prevent the
law's enforcements is ill-considered. The transportation board was given
no power to enforce the law, which was effective per se,. The jurisdiction
of the board was .limited to. minor details. ..At the direction of the ; court it
could raise a rate which the court had found to be unjust and unreasonable.
Its only other power was to reduce the rates on any class or commodity in
the schedule of rates .fixed in the act, whenever it should seem just, and
reasonable to a majority of the board. lf The passage of the law placed in
effect the schedule fixed by the act and 'the board was merely empowered
to lower the rates to "a point below this schedule whenever it considered
such a reduction just and reasonable. .But the maximum schedule was in
effect without any action . being taken by the board, and if the federal
injunction should be. dissolved the maximum schedules would be in effect
even with no board existing." ' ". ' . . ...
' The people of Nebraska should insist on the enforcement of the New
berry law. They, should condemn all political stratagems designed to delay
or prevent its enforcement; If any state officials allow party considerations
to stand in the way they should be made to feel the weight of public
resentment. With "such a law on the statute book the people have it in
their power to control the railways, and they should not permit the attorney
general to blind himself to his dutyv . .". . .
' f; If the people of Nebraska will awake to a realization of their power they
"will "be as successful in their contest against the railways as the citizens
of Philadelphia and Chicago have been in their contest against ring rule
and corporation 'tyranny.. ;;' ;" '..l-...v '
I i ;-.; ; 'v.,-'.,; -. TAFT AS "AN APOLOGIST, "j
Secretary Taft has evidently been selected as spokesman for the admin
istration. His friends regret that the genial secretary, while fulfilling his
delicate task, has been forced to appear so often of late in " the role of
apologist. Only a fortnight ago, speaking for the Panama canal commission,
he shattered the tariff idol with one ruthless blow, but a few , days later
was compelled to explain that the administration would try to be as ortho
dox on the tariff question as the emergency permitted.
Scarcely had the secretary turned this ponderous somersault when the
treasury deficit began to cry loudly for explanation. On May 17 it had
"reached the enormous sum of $36,753,556. The public sat bolt upright and
took notlcer and the secretary was sent to Columbus, O., with instructions
to touch upon the subject diplomatically. In his speech to the Ohio repub
licans Mr. Taft said that if next year should witness a repetition of the
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