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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1906)
8 The Nebraska Independent OCTOBER 25, 190 THE NEBRASKA INDtPtNDtNl ESTABLISHED 1889 J. M. DEVINE, Editor FREDERIC O. BERGE, Business Mgr. Published Every Thursday 1328 0 Street Lincoln, Nebraska Entered at the postofflce at Lincoln, Nebraska, as second-class mall matter, Under the act of Congress of March 8, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS 00 Ye..r Subscriptions Must be .50 6 Months ?idtn Advance. .85 3 Mouth ra,d ,n Aavance' Subscriptions Can be sent direct to The Independent. They can also be yit through newspapers which have adver tised a clubbing rate, or through local agents, where sub-agents have been ap pointed. All remittances should be sent by postofflce money order, express order, or by bank draft on New York or Chicago. Change of Address Subscribers re questing a change of address must give tht OLD as well as the NEW address. Advertising Kates furnished upon applica tion. Sample Copis sent free to any address up on application. Send for Sample Copies and c'ub rates. Address all cummunications. and make all draft, money orders, etc., payable to THE INDEPENDENT, Lincoln, Neb. AN IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT The public knows more than any body. And when the public mind fully recognizes an evil in the body politic and becomes restive under the existing regime the halo that formerly sur rounded party leaders dissipates and vanishes almost in a night, when the people cease to have more interest in the men whom they once idolized, but who fail to meet the requirements of the hour, then they have in the bird's nest or the almanac of the year that has passed. Those who fail in the newly applied test of fitness must sink from sight and yield the scepter of leadership to those who voice the living breathing spirit of the times. Note the number" of dazzling politi cal lights of a decade ago that are now on the political junk heap, where both great political parties are repre sented by emminent leaders whose names, less than a dozen years since, were household words in connection with the presidency. Depew and Platte still occupy seats in the United States senate from the Empire state while aside from the power of their votes as senators their influence in their own state or in the country at large scarcely exceeds that of an Egyptian mummy. David B. Hill, ex- governor and ex-United States sen ator from New York, the acknowl edged leader of his party a decade ago, is now practically forgotten and utterly destitute of influence. While the evils that these leaders stood for still flourish and yield gold en harvests of extortion and plunder to trust barons the word that spells their early doom is written on the universal American heart, and we are now amidst the shifting scenes of politics that is forming the line of battle for their final and complete overthrow. Political parties, accurately speak' ing, accomplish but one purpose and then die. It is only in a very gen eral sense that they survive, what is left being a mere shell that carries the name and but little more. The party of Cleveland was not the party of Jefferson any more than the party of Hanna was the party of Lincoln, the claim of each to the traditions of the party in whose line of succession they followed having long since ceased to be little more than mockery. Prior to the Chicago convention of 1896, bankers and money mongers were able to hold both parties in subordination to their policy of money contraction and property confiscation. While in both parties were found able defenders of the rights of the people, it was not until after the populist party had arisen and defeated the re publican party in Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada, and the democratic party suffered defeat at its hands in North Carolina. And Alabama and the masses of the whole south were turning to the new party that it was possible to reconstruct party lines so as to deal with the money question. The political re alignment of 1896 was equivalent to the formation of new parties and must have so remained had the question at issue not been taken from the domain of politics by the accidents of dis covery aad invention. The money question being removed into the indefinite future by the in flux of new gold from the mines, into the monetary circulation with the prospect of an increasing supply for many years to come, the new align ment of 1896 practically disappeared through the return of voters to their former affiliations. But, the lesson of 1896, when party traditions and party lines yielded before the pressure of an enlightened public opinion, re mained for the enlightenment and in spiration of the masses who were so soon to be confronted with the great est of all questions, that of freeing themselves from the deadly grasp of monopoly, which had developed, con federated and seized the governments of states and the nation without either of the parties being able to utter more than a faint and insincere pro test against it. The democratic party gave Bryan a renomination, but its Belmonts, Ryans, McCalls, Whitneys, Taggarts and Duffys made his defeat sure, and in the next national convention gave the party a corporation candidate se lected by Belmont and Ryan with the approval of Rockefeller, Morgan and Company. But, here again the fates, that defeated the money changes in their hour of triumph by revealing to man enormous deposits of gold and the knowledge of a cheap process of extracting the same from the rocks, interposed in behalf of the people, and party lines melted away, the demo cratic masses rushing to the support of Roosevelt, whose nomination the corporations were powerless to pre vent, but whose election they hoped to defeat. Here again, as in 1896, party lines were swept aside, but this time it was the people who tri umphed. Out of the election of 1904 much good has corce. Roosevelt, half states man and half fakir as he is, has ren dered a service to his country of in estimable value, chief among which is the weakening of the ties of party prejudice, proving the existence of the evils which Hanna so vehemently denied and Inaugurating the irrepre Bible conflict between monopoly and the square deal. Roosevelt failed to give the country a satisfactory rate bill, which he had the power to give, but preferring party to country missed his opportunity to win imperishable fame and acquire the power to command the support of his countrymen to the obliteration of party lines. But while not measuring up to his opportunity he yet possesses the power of forcing both political parties to squarely meet the issue in the coming national election. He has created a demand in the opposition that only Bryan or Hearst will satisfy and can only be met in his own party by the renomination of himself or the nomination of the more radical and honest LaFollette. THE NEW YORK CAMPAIGN The campaign that is in progress in New York state is novel and origi nal, no prototype of it being found in our history. William Randolph Hearst, the gubernatorial candidate of the Independence League, and of the democratic party, is displaying quali ties and characteristics that are truly Napoleonic. And, should he chance to win he must per force become the most interesting personage in the en tire country. At this writing the outcome is the merest conjecture, with the monied interests massed against Hearst and their votaries, in desperation, seek ing to influence the tide of opinion by the most reckless betting of money offering large odds on their own can didate. But, to the calm observer the chances of Hearst's election appear to be at least even with that of Hughes. Mr. Hearst has the support of the laboring classes generally and his cause is championed in particular by the labor unions whose friend he has always been been, and whose cause he has never failed to champion in all of their contests. In addition to this Mr. Hearst has always been first in extending relief to the victims of disasters from flood or flame, either at home or abroad, which has won him hosts of admiring friends. Personally it appears that Mr. Hearst is lacking the elements of pop ularity. He is known not as a good and genial fellow, but as a man of force who does things that command the attention and the approval of the people of his own city and state, and of the nation as well. He is pre eminently a man who does things, not small things, but great and difficult things, a man who conceives and exe cutes great undertakings, knowing neither fear nor failure. Therefore, his movements command serious at tention, and he draws to his support men of all classes and conditions who would refuse to respond to the call of a man less positive, aggressive and strong than himself. He has made it patent to all that he is a force to be reckoned with in whatever undertak ing he engages in. In business he is a unique and in teresting character. He has literally broken into fields that were apparent ly so fully occupied that it seemed folly for any one to attempt to divide the business with those who seemed to have it so securely in hand, and suc cessfully established himself In each as a rival to be watched and feared, This he has done in a business, that of publishing daily newspapers, which involves almost infinite detail requir ing the highest order of business ability, until he has become the Colossus of the "newspaper world, oc cupying a commanding position in the journalism of the cities of New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, besides controlling one or more magazines. Mr. Hearst in addition to success fully conducting his numerous publi cations, acting the part of philanthro pist and giving encouragement and aid to labor organizations, maintains a private legal bureau to aid the de partment of justice of the national government in the matter of bring ing to justice violators of the national anti-trust law. When the famous coal strike was on three years ago and the poor people of the eastern cities were perishing from cold while the coal trust was profiting by prolonging the strike through doubling and trebling the price of coal Mr. Hearst had his attorneys investigate the ownership of all of the anthracite coal mines, and he furnished to the president of the United States conclusive evidence of the existence of a gigantic trust consisting of the coal carrying rail roads in combination as both owners of the coal mines and common car riers. He furnished President Roose velt with the evidence upon which the New York Central and other railroads Club Offer Any one of the following will be sent with The Independent one year for the club price: All subscriptions begin with the cur rent number unless otherwise ordered. Renewals received are entered for full year beginning at expiration date. DAILY PAPERS Regular With Price inde pendent Omaha Daily News 1.50 2. 00 Kansas City World, (Daily except Sunday). 2.00 1 75 WEEKLY PAPERS Weekly Inter Ocean.. ..1.00 1 9K The Nebraska Farmer.. 1.00 25 Commoner 51.00 $125 Cincinnati Enquirer ..... 1.00 f'35 Vnnth's Cotrmanion 1 7c ' r Sunny South 50 " - Harper's Weekly 4.00 3 05 The New York Tribune Farmer i.oo 1 1n The Wor!J, '10 (Thrice Weekly) 1.00 . Atlanta Constitution, " (Thrice Weekly) t.00 50 Harper's Bazaar t.00 l ite World-Herald, (Twice a week) 1.00 American Granger Bulle- 3 tin and Scientific Farm er ,. 1.00 1 9c Kansas City Star .25 -'f? 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