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.
