FEBRUARY 15, 1906
56? Nobraoka. Indopondont
PAGE 9
cuse for not ' doing this in view of
the vote he received. His commis
sion from the - people is all that ne
can ask. If Roosevelt does this, a re
alignment of parties may follow.
Will he do it, or, is he simply mak
ing a grandstand play? Many things
indicate the latter. He Is a stand
patter on the tariff, notwithstanding
its abominations and the demand
within his own party for relief, and
many of his appointments to the very
highest positions within his gift are
the very ones that would he suggested
by Standard Oil & Co., those he es
says to overthrow. -
Roosevelt has, however, accom
plished some good. It is too soon yet
to anticipate the, condition the public
mind will be in at the end of his
term! It is certain, however, that if
he maintains his popularity to the end
of his term, it -will be impossible for
Standard Oil & company to put one
of their dummies into the White
House as his successor. Roosevelt
and Lawson together have accom
plished other things that "are of great
value to the country. The shackles
that held millions of partisans in in
tellectual bondage have been broken.
Ten years ago, on railway trains, or
in, hotels, in any portion of the coun
try among a group of men all strangers
if by chance one of the number would
make a remark deploring the change
taking place in our Industrial sys
tems, and suggest that competition
in industry was being displaced by
industrial desportism, every republican
present would at once challenge the
statement, deny the, fact, and instantly
show resentment to what they con
sidered an attack upon the republican
party; ' Such is no longer, the case. So
much is a distinctive gain. . .
THE ISSUE
Elections always turn upon one is
sue, never upon two. It matters not
how many wrongs are waiting to be
righted, or how many issues are dis
cussed in the. newspapers, one always
Issues are not macre or unmade by
political parties or conventions. They
are born of conditions, and, whenthey
are ripe, woe unto the political party
that fails to recognize them. When
an issue is due it cannot be set aside
or evaded. The action of a political
party in seeking to, evade an issue,
when it is due, is on a. par with
the wisdom of an ostrich, who, upon
the approach of danger, hurries its
head in the sand as a means of
safety.
The elder Cameron of Pennsylvania,
credited with being the most consum
mate politician of his day, ised to
remark, that, "The only sure way of
leading the people in politics was to
follow just a little behind them."
What issue occupies the front place at
this time? What reform are the peo
ple demanding today? The answer is
so plain that none may mistake it.
It is to rescue the government from
the control on monoply and restore
it to the people.
'
In the forefront of monopoly stands
the railroad clothed with despotic
power over industry and commerce.
Being . as indispensable to commerce
as are the common highways of themand the armies, but unless theydidates named should stand for the
country, and possessing the power to
tax commerce, and to discriminate for
or against those engaged therein it
is able-to build up or tear down com
munities and individuals. The rail
road has abused its power in every
conceivable way. Its motto has al
ways been to "tax the traffic all it
will bear." It has discriminated in
favor of favorite cities, towns and in
dividuals and has become a gigantic
machine of injustice and oppression.
In the wrongful exercise of its power,
it has built up and fostered monopolies
through a system of rebates and dis
criminations. It has finally, with the
aid of its pampered pets and kindred
monopolies, seized the governments of
states and the nation in order to aug
ment the work of plunder and per
petuate its power. -Favored shippers
who receive rebates are generally ac
tive and willing tools for the rail
road in politics, and shippers in gen
eral to avoid the disfavor of the
railroad are silent regarding them, for
fear- of , persecution, by being dis
criminated against and driven out of
business. .In addition to the horde of
attorneys, lobbyists, special employes
and others who derive their incomes
from the railroad, the free pass as a
means of bribery is perhaps the most
potent 'instrumentality it employs in
politics. The free pass acts as an
an anesthetic to the conscience, and
thus honest men by thousands un
wittingly become the victims of a
bribe. It is accpted openly as a bribe
by the venal and freely paid for in
political services.
.''
The, abuse, of power on, the part of
the railroad has at last reached the
limit, and the people of the country,
from one end to the other, are cry
ing out'Halt!" The railroad issue
is here. Who doubts it? Look at the
election of 1904. The republican
party leaders hated .Roosevelt, but
were powerless to prevent his nomina
tion, and when nominated, the demo
cratic and populist leaders were un
able to hold their party vote. In Ne
braska, two candidates were actively
supported on election day that year,
Roosevelt for president and Berge for
governor. Roosevelt carried the state
hyJ(,682 plurality, and Berge received
30,174 more votes than the combined
votes cast for Parker and Watson.
Why this strange anomaly? It may
be asked. Not strange at all, neither
is it an anomaly. Roosevelt ordered
his attorney general to dissolve the
Northern Securities, company, a con
solidation of competing railroad lines.
This is why Roosevelt was invincible
in the year 1904. And Berge with an
eloquence and power seldom equated
in the 'arena of politics, charged the
responsibility for railroad government
in Nebraska to the free pass bribery
system and the professional lobby.
This accounts for the phenomenal
votes cast for Berge, for phenominal
it was in the. towns wnere the fusion
candidate spoke during the campaign.
W7hen an issue is due and finds a
voice, the people recognize that voice
as unerringly as swarming bees recog
nize the voice of their queen. When
the people are ready for , war, the
heroes of their former battles and
triumphs .may come forward to com
grasp the new situation, the old heroes
will be cast aside and new ones created
for the occasion.
Renew your subscription to The In
dependent.
Our latch string is always out, call
on us when you visit Lincoln.
Nebraska republican state officials
reprimanding railroads Is" a case of
"Satan rebuking sin." ,
If Ross Hammond were physician to
the senatorial joker of the State Jour
nal, he would prescribe a European
trip. '
The air is full of rumors of gigantic
railroad consolidations. The frenzied
financers do not seem to fear the "Big
stick.'" .'. ?. '
The Independent ' will stand up for
Nebraska, and it will not mistake the
interests of a ring or clique for that
of the state either.
McCarthy scored on Warner oh the
Third congressional district, and it
was several days before Warner dis
covered that the joke was on him.
Chairman Allen of the democratic
state committee has made elaborate
arrangements for a dollar dinner to
be given under the auspices of the
committee at the Lincoln auditorium
on Tuesday, March 6. See particulars
on another page in this paper.
Outside the Free Pass Holders', bri
gade, the people of Nebraska are of
one mind on the question of railroad
rate regulation. How do they enjoy
being represented in the United States
senate by railroad senators that need
so much watching at a time like this?
All that Senator Aldrich has to do
to secure the votes of the Nebraska
senators to his amendments to the
railroad rate law now under considera
tion in the senate, is to couch them
in diplomatic language. A diplomatic
statement is a lie so phrased as to
escape' detection.
President Roosevelt Is standing
upon extremely dangerous grounds.
He has the confidence and support of
the people. They believe in him. He
may make blunders and they will over
look them. But he must not forget
that the more ardent the love the
more furious the jealousy, if cause
for it be found. He must so guard
his conduct as to avoid the suspicion
of insincerity. The moment the pub
lic mind questions hi3 integrity, that
moment his power Is gone and his
opportunity lost to him forever.
The candidate is of more import
ance than the platform.
The principles and policies de
manded by, the people, are often ex
pressed In the platforms and resolu
tions of conventions, ror tne purpose
of fooling the people and securing their
votes for candidates that represent
exactly f the , opposite. When politics
are conducted honestly, the platforms
adopted by conventions and the can-
same principles and policies. It is
difficult to fool the people on the plat
form, but they have been frequently
fooled on the candidates.
One of the Nebraska railroads, hav
ing a 'mileage upwards of 1,000 miles
in the state, shows net earnings, above
all expenses, taxes Included, of $5,500
per mile last year. Still the railroad
refuses to pay its taxes upon a valua
tion for assessment purposes many
millions too low in comparison with
the assessment of other property.
The conduct of the Nebraska railroads
in refusing to pay their taxes is tho
most foolish move that we have ever
known them to make. They are pros
pering and piling up profits beyond
the dreams of averlce, and yet re
fuse to pay their taxes. .
Wall street is said to be the most
sensitive and correct barometer ' of
financial weather in' existence. It has
the reputation of having thoroughly
discounted every financial storm that
has occurred in forty years, long be
fore the general public had the least
suspision that such a storm was com
ing. The fact that stocks and bonds
have been soaring to higher and higher
levels during the past year, and that
they still continue their upward courso
does not indicate that the powerful
interests that direct the course of tho
New York stock market have any
fears that the railroad rate bill now
before congress will interfere with
their schemes of blunder. '
The press of the country generally
in commenting upon the vast fortune
left by the late Marshall Field , of
Chicago, make special mention of the
belief that his fortune was acquired
honestly, that is,., by methods con
sidered legitimate. Why is this de
serving of universal mention? Is it a
hitherto unknown or uncommon thing
for a great fortune to be legitimately
acquired? Are all the editors of the
country of the opinion that none o
our other multi-millionaires secured
their great wealth by honest means?.
What other inference can be drawn
from the fact that they all call at
tention to the case of Marshall Field,
unless it be an extraordinary and dis
tinguishing one. How does Rockefel
ler and Carnegie and the others, en
joy seeing Marshall Field's memory
immortalized upon such grounds?
Send $1.00 for a year's subscription
to The Independent and receive Mr.
Berge's book, "The Free Pass Bribery
System," free as a premium. This
offer will remain but a snort time. .
The publishers of The Independent
want agents everywhere to canvass
for subscriptions and sell Mr. Borge's
new book, "THE FREE PASS BRI
BERY SYSTEM."' See advertisement
of book elsewhere in this paper. We
receive hundreds of orders through
the mails. It is the only book writ
ten upon a subject in which the peo
ple are just now vitally interested.
The people everywhere will want the
book. Ex-Governor Larabee of Iowa
ordered ten books before same were
off the press. We receive orders from
all parts of the country. This book
is a seller. All you have to do is to
tell about it. You can make $100 per
month. Write at once for terms. '
THE INDEPENDENT,
Lincoln, Neb.