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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 1905)
i i, X5h9 Nobraoko. Indopcndoat OCTOBER 26, 190S i ! 1 1 ! I ft ! i OOOOOOOOO)OCM5OOOOOOOOO0OOOO0OOOOOOOOODOOOO0OOOOOO0OO0OO o Current Comment on Leadina Tonics a FAG 4 CAMPAIGN IN NEBRASKA The most important contribution to the lit erature of the present campaign in Nebraska dur ing the last week was Chancellor Andrews' re ply to the reform candidates for regent of tho state university. It reads: As candidates for the regency of the state university would certainly not make in tentional misstatements, Messrs. Cole and Lightner must be themselves misinformed. First The chancellor does not in any way "apologize for predatory wealth," and has never done so. Not a word from him can Justly be so construed. His utterances . on the subject, which are numerous, have been pronouncedly on the other side. See his book on "Wealth and Moral Law." Second: He is not under the slightest obligation to John D. Rockefeller in any way whatever. No citizent of Nebraska, not even Mr. Cole or Mr. Lightner, could be less so. He has never received from Mr. Rockefeller, directly or indirectly, a single cent's worth of benefit. He has no debt to pay or favor to ask. Third No such thing as Mr. Rockefel ler's educational board exists. The general education board is a United States corporas tion, made up of strong and independent men. No one acquainted with them could for an in stant suspect any among these of subserv iency. The board existed and was doing noble work years before Mr. Rockefeller's $10,000,000 gift, which forms by no means its whole fund. Fourth The state university is not an applicant for aid from the board, bu'. at least four prominent Nebraska schools are so, rep resenting as many of the , largest religious denominations in our state! Others, will ap ply. In view of these facts many will think it not improper for a Nebraskan to be a mem ber. If, however, the regents, present or fu ture, do not wish their chancellor on this board, they have only to say the word. No, Judge Letton has not returned his passes, so far as this office is aware. Beat rice Sun. Don't be fooled about the republican schemers at Lincoln doing anything to re lieve the people from the iron grasp of the railroads and corporate wealth. They voted down every measure in the last legislature which was in the interest of the people and they will continue to give you high freight rates and still higher taxes till the people put them out of power. Lyons Mirror. There's going to be a revolution in the politics of the country. The exposures of offi cers in the government service, the ! corrup tion of state legislatures by railroads and other corporate interests, the fattening of trusts by means of the tariff, are influences which will cause the honest western repub licans to divorce themselves from the dis honest elements of the eastern wing of the party. They will get together with the lib eral element of the reform forces of the west and south and then there will be a needed cleaning out of the Augean stables. They will turn the rascals out. Auburn Herald. It is true that fusionists did not do all that was expected of them when they had control of the state government a few years ugo, but they passed the Newbury bill, which has been construed constitutional and which a republican attorney general promised to at tempt to enforce and ias so far not done. They gave the people the Australian ballot law. They saved hundreds of thous. nda of dollars to the state uy more honest manage ment it state institutions. They passed the Horn law, that has saved Hamilton county enough money to almost or quite build tho court house and effected a like saving to other counties and the state, besides great ly purifying politics. They may not havo done what they should, but they have done almost all that hua been done for the people In the way of good legislation. Remember this fact when you come to vote and, if you can recall how much Hamilton county' nharo of state taxes ued to be under fusion adminis tration, you will find that it has been more than doubled since republicans got into pow er. You may be a republican and yet think it almost a necessity that there be an opposi tion party in the state. If so, vote to en courage their candidates in an off year like the present, when there is little political significance in the election. The fusionists have some good men as nominees. When you think them better than your own vote for them Hamilton County Register. Judge Letton owes it to himself, to his party and to the voters of Nebraska of all parties to take the public into his confidence. If he has failed to surrender his passes as yet he ought to say so. If he has surrendered them he should say so, and tell when that interesting event occurred. The World Herald, in perfect good faith, puts these questions to the republican nominee: Have you surrendered your railroad passes? Have you surrendered all of them? If so, when did you surrender them. If not, are you going to surrender them? If so, when? World-Herald. The insurance companies would not have to spend so. much money on the legis latures if they would only issue passes. York Democrat. Hastings is as absolutely hones'; and im partial a jurist as I ever hare Known and expect to know. He Js one of the ablest lawyers in Nebraska. No evil corporate in fluence has ever been able to approach him, much less affect his actions. Like Caesar's wife he is above suspicion. As commission er of the supreme, court, while I was chief justice, .1.: learned to respect and honor him for his unwavering integrity, his profound knowledge , of the law and his deep and sin cere sympathy for the masses of the peo ple. Chief Justice Sullivan. REGULATION OF RAILWAYS ' . The president's speeches in the south have intensified interest in the campaign for railway regulation. The president is still rather vague in his recommendations. His strongest recom mendation with reference to railway , regula tion was made last spring when he urged con gress to give the interstate commerce commis sion power to fix rates, which should take effect at once and remain in force until changed by the court. The president seems " to abandon the idea of having the rate go into effect immediately, but he advises ex peditiousr.ess in the regulation of rates. He makes a valuable suggestion when he declares that the government should have the power to inspect the books and accounts of railways for the purpose of finding out whether the rail ways have been giving all shippers "a square deal". His views are stated in the following extract from one of his speeches: I do not believe in government ownership of anything which can with propriety be left in private hands, and in particular I should most strenuously object to governn-ent own ership of railroads. But I belteve with equal firmness that it is out of the question for the government not to exercise, a supervisory and regulatory right over the railroads, for it is vital to the well being of the public that they should be managed in a spirit of fairness and Justice toward all the public. Actual exper ience has shown that It is not possible to leave the railroads uncontrolled. Such a system, or rather such a lack of system, is fertile In abuses of every kind and ;.uts a premium upon unscrupulous and ruthless run ning in railroad management; for there are some big shippers and some railroad man agers who are always willing to take, unfair advantage of their weaker competitors, and they thereby force other big shippers and tig railroad mm who would like to act de cently into similar acts of wron and Injus tice, under penalty of being left lu-hlml in the rao fur suceima, Government supervi sion Is needed quitp am much In the intercut of the big shipper and of the railroad man who wants to do right as in the interest of the small shipper and the consumer. Ex perience has shown that the present laws are defective and need amendment. The effort to prohibit all restraint of competition, whether reasonable or. unreasonable, is un wise. What we need is to have some admin istrative body with ample power to forbid combination that is hurtful to tne public, and to prevent favoritism to one Individual at the expense of another. In other words, we want an administrative body with the power to secure fair treatment as among all ship pers who use the railroads and all shippers have a right to use them. We must not leave the enforcement of such a law merely to the department of justice; it is out of the ques tion for the law department of the government to do what should be purely administrative work. The department of justice is to stand behind and co-operate with the administrative body, but the administrative body itself must be given the power to do the work and then held to a strict accountability for the exer cise of . that power. The delays of the law are proverbial, and what we need in this matter is reasonable quickness or action. The abuses of which we have a genuine right to r complain take many shapes. Rebates are not now often given openly. But tl jy can be given just as effectively in covert form; and private cars, terminal tracks and the like must be brought under the control of the commission or administrative ody, which is to exercise supervision by the government. But in my judgment the most Important thing to do is to give to this administrative body power to make its findings effective, and this can be done only by giving it power, when complaint is made of a given rate as being unjust or unreasonable, if it finds the complaint proper, then itself to fix a maxi mum rate which it regards as just and rea sonable', this rate to go into effect practically at once, and to stay in effect, unless re- f versed by the courts. I earnestly hope that ' we shall see a law giving this power passed; by congress. Moreover, I hope that by law ( power will be conferred upon representatives of the government capable of performing the duty of public accountants carefully to ex amine into the books of railroads, when so ordered by the interstate commerce commis- , sion, which should itself have power to pre scribe what books, and what books only, should be kept by railroads. If there is in the minds, of the commission any suspicion that a certain railroad is in any shape or way giving rebates or behaving improperly, I wish the commission to have power as a matter of right, not as a matter of favor, to make a full and exhaustive inv stigation of the receipts and exDenditures of the rail road, so that any violation or evasion of the law may be detected. This is not a revolu tionary proposal on my part, for I onlv wish the same power given in reference to rail roads that is now exercised as. a matter of course by the nation:! bank examiners as reerards national banks. My object in giving these additional powers to the administrative bodv representing the government the In terstate commerce commission, or 'whatever it may be is primarily to secure a real and not a sham control to the government repre- sentatives. The American people abhor a sham, and with this abhorrence I cordially sympathize. Nothing is more inlurlous from every standpoint than a law which is merely sound and furv. merely pretense, and not canable of working out tane;lhlf results. I hope to see all the power that I think it ought to havo granted to the government, but I would far rather see only some or It granted, but really granted, than see a pretense of granting all, In some - shape that really amounts to nothing. TAX ON INHERITANCES The Omaha World-Herald commends the law for a tax on legacies and Inheritances and gives tho following resume of Its principal features: By the decision of tho Nebraaka supremo court the act of 1fti, providing for n tau on legacies and Inherit nnecH has now been de clared valid. .The decision is highly Impor