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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1905)
OCTOBER 19, 1905 5&4 Nobraoko. Indopondont PAGE 5 terestlng as those that show that republican administration has increased the total tax burden from $2,335,843 for 1897 and 1898 to almost $4,000,000 for ' 1905 and 1906. These are some figures that taxpayers will find it hard to forget while studying the figures that ' do not explain furnished by the republican state committee. By the way, have the members of the Nebraska legislature, who insisted on a (specific declaration from Mr. Burkett as to his position on the president's plan of rail road regulation before they would elect him senator, turned in their annuals in response to the declared sentiment of the party in state convention? It is a poor rule that will not work both ways. Fremont Tribune. G. W. Berge, who spoke at the populist rally in this city last Saturday, is one of the few public speakers who are able to discuss burning public questions from the standpoint of the citizen rather than the partisan. He recognizes the fact that industrial and eco nomic evils affect the members of all parties alike, hence he appeals to men's reason instead of endeavoring to arouse their preju dices. He commends LaFollette, the re publican, with as much heartiness as he does Folk, the democrat. Too many spell-binders of all political faiths, offend by indulging in coarse abuse of their political opponents. The calm and candid discussion of public questions is what the people need and what they appreciate. And as the News has re peatedly insisted, citizenship is above par 1 tisanship and the fair minded man wUl wel come the truth when presented in a candid way, no difference who delivers the message. Stromsburg Weekly News. LIFE INSURANCE REVELATIONS , From day to day new revelations of life in Burance dishonesty are made public and afford Interesting glimpses of modern methods of busi ness management in great enterprises. A former general agent of the Mutual Life, is out with a statement that the Mutual Life maintained a wine cellar at Albany for the entertainment of . legislators. Another method employed to gain the good will of the legislators was an arrange ment with a firm of New York tailors, by which any legislator "in need of a suit of clothes or an overcoat could go to the tailors, pick out the cloth he fancied, be measured and have the bill charged to the account of the Mutual Life. The New York World states that taking only the testi mony of insurance officials te following facts have been, proved: 1. That the three great life insurance companies, the New York Life, the Mutual and the Equitable, jointly maintained a lobby fund for the corrupt influencing of legisla tion and the insurance departments of the various states; that John A. McCall super vised the expenditure of this fund through his man Andrew Hamilton; that the policy holders' money was used to pay lobbymen without legal warrant and in violation of the penal code. 2 That the money of the policy holders was given to political committees, which, as Governor Folk says, is embezzle ment. 3. That false books of account were kept in which these illegal payments did not appear. The falsifying of books of account is forgery. 4, That officers of the companies, Mr. Perkins in particular, acted as trustees in dealing with themselves as individuals to their personal profit at the expense of the trust funds in their keeping. This Is a flag rant violation of law. 5. That subsidiary corporations were formed at the expense of the policy-holders, and that the trustees as stockholders in the parasite corporations used trust funds for their own benefit. 6. Tat the McCurdy, the McCalls, the Hydea and the Alexanders paid themselves vast gums of the policy holders' money and paid over other vast sums to their relatives. That even the bare forma of voting this money to themselves were not always complied with. 7. That annual statements were made to the Insurance superintendent which were not true, the making of which is a crime and tho cert mention of which by the superintendent was official misconduct. 8. That money due the old policy-holders a dividends earned whs taken to make un deflclenclen on tho new business caused by extravagant expendi ture. !. That official. John A. McCall anions others, borrowed money from llfo Insurance companies of which they were officers, in violation of the insurance law. 10. That leading officials were guilty of forgery, of obtaining money under false pretenses, of embezzlement, of perjury, of issuing false statements and of ouicial corporate mis conduct. It is discovered by an arithmetical com putation that Mr. Richard McCurdy's salary is equal to the combined wages of the presi dent of the United States, the vice president, seven cabinet officers, the chief justice of the supreme court, Admiral Dewey and the lieutenant-general of the army. Mr. McCurdy is a valuable man. The incident is not with out a practical bearing. Worth being merely economic and measurable only in dollars, it should be easy to find the best man for pub lic office. Mr. McCurdy is worth three of Theodore Roosevelt, about ten chief justices and at least twenty secretaries of state. Why not get rid of the entire list and create a :. poobahship for Richard McCurdy? It would be simpler, more economical and safer. Mr. McCurdy being three times more capable, for -instance, than Mr. Roosevelt, the chance of the country suffering from politicaUmistakes would be only one-third, and if at the same time he should act as Admiral the navy would be, say, eight times more certain of victory. The science of politics is largely a study of human capacity, and nobody will deny Mr. McCurdy's capacity. He is most capacious. It is so much greater than that of any officer of government that there can be no question of the policy of making his Too-Bah.-St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The mad race for business engaged in by the three New York life insurance compa pies had its logical and natural sequence in enormous salaries to the men who could get the business, and in the fall of these men who succumbed to the tremendous temptations incident to the handling of immense sums of money.' And yet, notwithstanding their al most incredible extravagance and errors, the fact is conceded by everyone that these three life insurance companies are solvent and abundantly able to fulfill all their contracts. The loss to the policy-holders is simply in the diminution of their dividends. On the other hand, there are dozens of life insur ance companies which have been governed, some of them for half a century or more, by honest and conservative methods, paying , moderate salaries, making sound investments and accepting only high class risks in writing their insurance policies. These companies rank among the safest and best financial in stitutions in the world. They are in no wise concerned in, or affected by, the methods employed by the New York companies, and their business should not suffer, nor should prudent and conscientious men fail to take advantage of the opportunities they offer for the comfort and support of themselves and. their families, because of the crimes of a few frenzied financiers in New York. Kan sas City Star. CAMPAIGN IN OHIO The exciting campaign in Ohio, which threatens a shifting of political power, is de scribed impartially by the Kansas City Star: Outside of New York city the most in- ' teresting political canvass of the year is the fight of Governor Herrick of Ohio for re-election. Two years ago Mr. Herrick beat Tom Johnson by more than 100,000 votes, while last year the state went for Roosevelt by one-fourth million plurality. It might be supposed from theso figures that the gov- ernor would be insured another easy and overwhelming victory. But the democrats, If them do not really anticipate the election of their candidate, Mr. J. M. Pattlson, at least relieve that he has a fighting chance. And there Is no doubt that Herrick has made many enemies in the last two years by his attitude, toward corporations seeking special privileges, bv his action on a popular local option measure and by his relations with r)nss Cox of Cincinnati. While all these In dlctments are likely to count more or less, the fight on the governor bv tho AnU-Snlnon league, which Is powerful in Ohio. U giving tb republican orcanhation It crea'fst onTlety. 1 nt year a bill was pasxed by tho Ohio 'legislature authorising voters up to the number of 5.000 to form a district about tbrlr hoo and to exclude saloon from It bv a tnHlorlty vote. Herrick lnlsed on cuttlnsr iown the mailmum number of voter In a district to 2,000. This action exasperated the church element and the governor has been denounced by numerous religious bodies. It is on this disaffection that the democrats are chiefly relying. The feeling Is strong enough to cause uneasiness among the re publicans. For instance, a recent canvass of the faculty of a large Ohio college, showed that only two of the fifty-four voting mem bers intended to vote for Herrick, though probably every one voted for Roosevelt. How far this disaffection affects the rank and file of the party It Is, of course, impossible to; say. . But the walkaway of 1903 will hardly ' be repeated. DISTRACTED STATE OF CUBA The troubles which have arisen in Cuba be tween the moderates and liberals suggests a state of affairs which is not reassuring. The- editor of Public Opinion says: The present state of affairs in Cuba Is not reassuring. The moderate party with which President Palma last winter affiliated, holds absolute control of the machinery of government. It has strengthened itself by means which are certainly unfair. Office holders belonging to the liberal, or opposi tion, partv have been turned out of their . places wholesale; even local officials, as in the case of liberal mayors, have been sum marily removed by the central government, and their places have been filled by mod erates, appointed by the Palma machine. On the least suspicion of "dangerous" hostility to the government liberal leaders In all parts of the country 4 have been imprisoned. Gen eral Jose Miguel Gomez has resigned the liberal candidacy for the presidency on the ground that a fail election is impossible. A prominent liberal member of congress, who was shot bv the pol'ce at Cienfuegos, is variously apserted to have been murdered in cold blood and to have been killed only after be had killed one of the policemen who were trying to arrest him. The onlv full reports of this and other disorderly condi tinns come from moderate sources, and are obvtouslv one-sided. But even under white wash affairs look bad very bad. WASTE IN GOVERNMENT PRINTING The waste of money consequent upon the liberal policy of public printing which haa been in vogue for several decades has attracted much attention and has given rise to suggestions for reform. - On this point the Outlook says: A certain number of government reports and other public documents, congressional departmental, and scientific, ought to be issued and read by the taxpaving citizens of the country. But the inevitable tendency on the part of both the reclp'ent and the dis tributer of free books and documents is to be wasteful. In addition to a very largo number of volumes and pamphlets on all gor's of subjects, the United States pub lished in 1904 fourteen periodicals, of which three were dailies, three weeklies, one bi . monthly, and seven monthlies. The problem is, how to distribute all this prmted matter to those readers who ought to have the ma terial, and how to keep It from being given - extravagantly and uselessly to those who ... a ii. - ncim u Mr Tlnsnlter suerests that "the object of most federal publications could be attained at a verv small part of the present cost If they were sent i lsi.-arioo anA rmhlta institutions and UUIY " certain important newspapers which agree to review them, and sold at a nominal sum to following plan: I et a list of all publications all others." We add to his suggestions the. issued bv the United States, whether periodi cals, books, or pamphlets, with a very brief mention of their contents, be posted once a week In overv nostofflce In tho couwrv. Txt a small price be fixed for each publication. A rrloe which Is sufficient to pav onlv a fractional part of the cost of manufacture will be a!o sufficient to deter the aimless and Inherent reader from asking for the pitHlrnHnn. This purchase at tho wpVii tPflv be made bv affixing stamps to the order, which pmv then be mnllcd to the envirn tr.ent Pi'ntln oWc. the rWred book or pMiM-t rom'rts brk to the purchncr by tU Whatever Pl?n of wnomy and re trnch"nt In adopted. It In. ft anv rt, Clnr M,t wr must n n tb fPMMV n n sertn.m fmMcn t an arlv dav. If rotw prow ii linen not rramdo with tho irM-n w hope tho taxpayers of tho country will.