APRIL 19, 1906
PAGE 9
Nobraoho. Independent
being at all times for sale, the ex
change power of a single unit is gov
erned by the whole number of units
in existence. And price levels are
high or low as the total number of
money units in existence is great or
small.
Therefore, a given money volume
makes a given price level for all
things. However, things remaining
the same an adition to the money vol
ume will cause prices to rise, prices
being an expression of the relation
between money and other things. If
the money volume be "diminished,
o'lher things remaining the same, it
follows that each unit of money must
be stretched to cover more value and
to perform more work than before,
causing prices to fall.
Falling prices is the bane of indus
try ' Investments are made in terms
of money, and profits and losses are
reckoned in money terms. Hence a
change ' in the value of money itself
disturbes all values and . upsets all
business calculation..
Money, the unite of price, is also
the. unit of credit and liability, there
fore fluctuations- in the value or ex
change power of money, transfers
property from one person to another
without rendering any equivalent
therefor. If the fluctuation occurs
through a diminishing money supply
with its accompaniment of falling
prices, debtors are robbers by being
compelled to sacrifice more of their
property or goods to obtain the money
to pay their debts, and the stocks of
material in factories and merchandise
in warehouses and stores must be
sold at lower prices and at diminish
ing profits. ,
If these condition continue enter
prise becomes, .the unerring road to
tatikrupte-i ; Under such circum
stances the: law' of self preservation
impels men to-curtail business in or
der to avoid loss.
The natural instinct of all is to ac
quire the article that is increasing in
Value and to dispose f articles that
are decreasing in value, and when
prices are falling everything is depre
ciating in value except money, which
is appreciating. Under this condition
production is reduced to a minimum,
labor goes unemployed and distress
becomes the general lot of mankind.
At such a time the philosopher of
despair cries out, over-production, be
cause he sees goods piled up unsold
which, idle labor has.no power to pur
chase, and the wail of distress is
heard on every side.
The prosperity that . now abounds
everywhere is due to the phenomenal
increase in money supply from the
gold mines. The argument that under
modern methods credit takes the place
of money does not effect the case,
credit merely enables, a given volume
of money to do more work than it
could do. before. But credit itself is
in terms of money and expands and
contracts as the volume of money ex
pands and contracts. Credit bears a
certain relation to money. Without
money there would be no credit.
At some future time this, phase of
the question will be fully discussed in
these columns. '
' President Roosevelt evidently pre
fers the white wash brush to the muck
rake in the Cortelyou-Bliss life insur
ance campaign fund matter. But an
African cannot be made white by the
use of' whitewash.
Bailey is a senator of .the United
States.
Bryan and Bailey -a suggestion in
euphony.
The effecls of Bailey's speech was
instaneous.
, Railroad ownership of public officials
in "Nebraska must go.
The demand of. the. hour is for the
public ownership of public officials.
John D. Rockefeller is . again' at
large. The . process servers -did not
barm one, hair of . his -head.
.Governor Cummins of Iowa is mak
ing a canvas of -renomination on a dem
ocratic platform. It is unnecessary
to say the federal gang and the free
pass brigade are. against . him.
With an overwhelming majority of
intelligent voters having interests in
common in our stat, nothing but bad
management can account for railroad
domination. There is something
wrong somewhere.
The name of George W. Berge at
the head of the democratic and peo
ple's party tickets next fall will prac
tically insure the election of an anti
railroad legislature, and a democratic
United States senator.
WThen the muck rake stirred up the
Cortelyou, Bliss Perkins, Andrew
Hamilton life insurance steal-campaign
contribution scandal, it exceeded the
limit and President Roosevelt could
not longer stand for it.
Anti-corporation voters are in an
overwhelming majority in both politi
cal parties, and party lines are no
longer strong enough to hold the
voters away from candidates in whom
they have implicit confidence.
Senator Bailey has spoken. The
country has heard him. His amend
ments are to be voted upon and Pres
ident Roosevelt and his republican
friends in the senate will please take
notice that the people are interested
in the result and are looking on.
If the estimates contained in over
one thousand letters recently received
by The Independent frbm all parts of
the state are correct, George W. Berge
is stronger by twenty-five thousand
votes than any other candidate than
can be named in opposition to the re
publicans. If President Roosevelt is handi
capped by the brains of his own party
being against him, why should he fat
ten Spooner his enemy on federal pap
and starve LaFollette his friend who
has proven his superiority over Spoon
er by whiping him and his machine to
a finish in Wisconbln?
If the president and his man Gar
field are possessed of just sufficient
capacity to discover criminals, tat
lack the ability to either punish them
or stop them in their career of crime
against the public, we fail to see why
he should object to the magazines
taking a shot at them.
Since Senator Bailey threw himself
Into the breach and clarified the at
mosphere of the doubts and fears, cre
ated by the ingenious corporation sen
ators President Roosevelt is afforded
an opportunity to save the rate bill
from defeat and save his own repu
tation. To fail to do this will be fatal
to his future.
. President Roosevelt professes the
principles that LaFollette stands for,
and Spooner fights against every prin
ciple upon which-Roosevelt's popular
ity is based. Under such circum1
stances 'it ' is difficult to understand
why Roosevelt is using the power of
his administration to build up Spooner
and tear down LaFollette. Something
wrong.
President Roosevelt made a nice
talk at the laying of the corner stone
of the annex of the house of represent
atives. His inheritance tax sugges
tion is all right. ' But we wish to re
mind him that prior to this last utter
ance of his he was a long ways ahead
of the game in the matter of promises
and lamentably in the rear in the mat
ter of performance.
The people of the state of Nebraska
will elect George W. Berge governor
this year if given a chance to do so.
Letters from all parts of -the state
from voters of all parties are be
ing received at The Independent office
daily, by the score, expressing a pref
erence for Mr. Berge over all others
for the position, and giving estimates
of his superior strength over any other
candidate that can bo named, in their
respective localities.
District Attorney Jerome of New
York who has steadfastly refused to
prosecute the life insurance thieves
who stole the money of their policy
holders and gave it to Cortelyou and
Bliss to elect the republican ticket in
-1904, was the first to set up a howl
about the muck rake. If the president
ha& a notion of standing pat on the
life insurance campaign fund scandal,
would it not De bter for him to
leave the muck rake talk to others?
There are plenty yof corporation
democrats, and anti-corporation re
publicans. Traditional party lines on
the corporation question are not a
safe guide, neither were they on the
silver question. Therefore, the indi
vidual voter of all parties is com
pelled to carefuly scrutinize the can
didates his party offers him and not
to blindly follow a party name lest
by - so doing he may cast his vote
to further principles and purposes to
which he is opposed.
The confederated monopolies will
meet their Waterloo at the polls as
soon as either one of the political
parties gets its lines straight on the
corporation question; and tfie people
are satisfied that the corporations ho
longer dictate Its nominations. The
corporations in the republican party
were unable to prevent the nomina- -tion
of Roosevelt, and all their money
would not have sufficed to compass his
defeat at the polls. Unfortunately
for the people, however, he is a weak
man, merely capable "of causing the
enemy considerable annoyance, but in
capable of doing them serious damage.
President Roosevelt now knows, it
he did not know before, that the rate
bill with the Bailey amendments
added will be constitutional. He also
knows that , the Bailey amendments
will add great strength to the bill.'
And, if the is at all discerning he
must know that the reception of Mr.
... . I .... , , - t '
Bailey's speech by the country Is such
that, to refuse to work with Mr, Bal- '
ley and; to divide - honors with him
will be to commit a blunder that will
engender suspicion of. his own sincer
ity. If he is really conscious of the
true cause of his orn popularity, he
will immediately join drives with Bat
ley to perfect and pass the rate bill,
and hold himself in readiness to veto
the bill should it pass with vicious
amendments added.
The genesis of a political party la
fhe coming together of a body of men
for a common purpose. A political
party can always be depended upon
to- carry out in good faith the object
for which It was formed. But when
new issues arise they do not divide
opinion on old lines, and a new align
ment necessarily follows. For in
stance, when the slavery question was
ripe for solution every attempt of ex
isting parties to deal with the ques
tion proved abortive. When the sil
ver question became acute, both of
the then existing parties split, and a
gold democrati national convention
met at' Indianapolis and put up a de
coy ticket to catch the votes of 'party
gugeons, while the national committee
and candidates of the party worked for
the success of the republican ticket.
At the same time a silver republi
can national organization gave Bryan
over a million votey. Again in 1904
Roosevelt received nearly two million
votes of former democrats because he
was considered by such voters more
likely to resist corporate aggression
than would the regular democratic
candidate. Today we see Tillman and
LaFollette working side by side in the
United States senate. What difference
can be detected in the principles of
Folk and LaFolette, or Bryan and
Cummins ?
The publishers of The Independent
want agents everywhere to canvass
for subscriptions and sell Mr. Berge'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
telf about it. You can make $100 per
month. Write at once for terms.
THE INDEPENDENT, Lincoln, Neb.
