x n 11 i 11 i i ii i ii ill ii i lit il l ii iiii i ii i ii i i
GEORGE W. BERGE, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Volume 18
Lincoln, Nebrawlat, October V), 1905
Number 22
Goal of State Education Should tie Character and
jot Ming Vp of Wealth ;
" Those who make a profession of discontent almoM alwuy at
tribute their misery to lack of riches. They believe that wealth U
the source of all happiness and when they think of Homothjiig that
wilt make them happy they naturally look for happiness in those
objects that money can buy. Like Chancellor Andrew of the Ne
braska state university they conclude that "after all the main Ihhig
is the piling up of wealth." They are accustomed to my "money
will do anything," and they never seek happiness in lhoo thing
that cost nothing.
To such men the beauties of nature make no appeal I heir m
not the life that finds,
tongues in tree,
Books in Ihu running brook, sermons in stones,
And good in everything.
The pleasures of the intellect and I ho imagination, the poetry
of domestic ties and joys, the inspirations of self-sacrifice, the kindly
services of friends, the mystery and enchant ment of romance, Mug u
psalm of life they cannot understand. Whether they succeed or
fail in their pursuit of wealth their spirit is locked in a prison from
which escape is impossible. If they remain poor they cry out eui'os
upon existence because they have not laid hold of the 'money that
will satisfy Jhoir desires, ' if they grow rich it U 'Mill with thh
false ideal of happiness constantly shadowing their hoiiI and Mitif.-
out the light of the higher life. Theirs is the waddest self
sacrifice the world knows, for they sacrifice the bent that is in them
for the worst of all delusions. This does not apply to all who M.rive
for riches, place or power, but to those only win; think that moM, of
our misery comes from lack of gold. Any philosophy which louche
tlu. flu; iling up of wealth is the main thing in the life of t lie
ii dividual or of society is founded -upon a quicksand. If our uni
versity education holds this to be the sum and crown of wisdotij then
university education becomes a peril to the nation. It is true that
all men must earn their bread in the sweat of their brown and (hat
much labor must be expended in this world to provide food and
raiment for all who have their being on the globe. Hut that Miould
rather teach us that laW is the main thing and that the piling up
of unwieldy fortunes that will benefit one family at the expense of
ttn thousand families is a great danger to neiety. The piling up
of vuabh Js good only when it is accomplished by fair moans, when
it dre not rob a million to enrich one, when it is not obtained by
fraud and deception and when the one who seeks wealth necks it
for (Im p'd it will do his fellow men.
Only the riches that are distributed are good, in economies as
ivi-11 a in MoraU bonded wealth is an evil, and mi too is the wealth
(bat t ion as-cd by diMioneM means, When we say (hat a billionaire
U n In-n.-iit t society Uvauo he give employment to thousands ami
produces wealth for millions we Mmuld not forget (hat (best! thou-
.nd would l employed and thu wealth would l produced to
mre advantage if the capital involved were controlled by many
It. in on. millionaires rather (ban by one ruthless billionaire who
found a hetrlh-s hvMciu of finance (he chief law of which is the
anted of the fittest.
"S. k liiM the Kingdom of (Im and His justice" is a better
Maxim lb o lhi loiuh m miw which tell u (hut "ufn r all the piling
up of wealth m the main thing." If the pursuit of wealth U the
rhit f object of all men (ben (be world UOht continue to bo a seething
ob(rn of di-eiiuli ut, for Vw nan will iulii wealth. A philosophy
wbi h It idii'i men t -m I. eaitcoleuiot U of vastly more value to
(he university student (ban (he philosophy which commands him to
iifii- wi-ihh. The Utnr philosophy will tenh the youth to hvo
J A rtv and htfe ppivdou, to demand fair de ding for his fellow
lu-tu iM will fur bin If, (o Ioe virtue inure than gold, and In love
lii.4 neighbor as himself, Then will he wish to sacrifice himself for
the good of his fellow men and desju'so to sacrifice his fellow men to
knelil himself,
If th in were the guiding 'principle of slate education in 'Ng
Imifrkfi a bribe of a few paltry thousands to silence criticism and to
'gain discriminating favors would bo rejected with auoin.
Good of General Industry
True Basis of Railway Rates
Whenever the people of this country have nought for means to
cheek corporal ion abuses they have been confronted by threats,
Inllliii'dalioii has been a mighty weapon in the hands of corporate
veal th.
A few day ago President Samuel Spencer of the Southern rail
way iiddivwd the Newark Hoard of Trado on railway regulation.
I Mm mailt agrniiicnt was that if the interstate commerce commission
wore given power to fix reasonable rates the time would come when
nil rate would bo government rates and could not be changed until
changed by Ihu commission or a court. President Spencer declared
that "Mow but steady paralysis would creep into the industrial,
nrterieH," and that the ''transportation systems would gradually bo
become numb and rigid." lie added: .
" "All rule would soon be machine made only and commerce and
industrial centers now acknowledging no bounds for the ultimate
distribution of their products would find themselves operating in
narrower ami narrower zones, finally circumscribed by governmental
edicts as to where the wares should go."
President Spencer has here drawn a most discouraging picture
of a nation paralyzed industrially by government regulation of
railways. His argument recalls the threats made in, other days, and
still repealed, that a reduction in customs duties would close our
great mills ami render idle thousands of workmen in all lines of
industry, Today we Hud our trusts founding branches in Europe
because of retaliatory tariffs. Instead of lowering our tariff wall
and thus inducing foreign nations to remove their retaliatory duties
we maintain our tarilfs intact with the result that our manufacturers
establish European branches for the employment of foreign lalorers,
id I hough under a lower tariff and the consequent removal of retalia
tory foreign t a rill's they would be able to expand their industries at
homo and thu.- afford more employment for American labor.
An examination of the railway rate question will reveal a strik
ing parallel. It is, of course, admitted by all that the purpose in
giving the interstate commerce commission power to fix freight tariffs
is to lower railway tariffs. In what way would lower freight rates
paralyze the country's business? Is it not a fact that high freight
rales produce a restricted Ira (lie and that low rates produce an ex
pansive I radio?
At present the export business of (he (Tinted States is seriously
ivM rifled by high froiuht tariffs, letter freight tariffs would per
mit our exporters to Mup goods from the central and wofern states
to !urope and compete with Kuropean goods, tanver freight rates
would expand our oxjHrt main trade and would stimulate the pro
duction of grain, Lower freight rates would also expand the area of
.main cultivation, fur the jmoivr hnds would then le cultivated.
In only one way could huMucs U restricted. Lower ftvvht
rates might mem less revenue for the railways. It would In YaMt,
however, for the Mudcnt of th. railway question to lesp at the
eoucluMeu thai railway revenue would ievtw.irily le le. Uvause of
lower tarilfs, There would, of omre, U h profit on each toa