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The Nebraska Independent
NOVEMBER 22, 1906
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THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDtNl
ESTABLISHED 1889
J. M. DEV1NE, Editor
FREDERIC O. BERGE, Business Mgr.
- Published Every Thursday
1328 O Street
Lincoln, Nebraska
Entere4 at the postofflce at Lincoln,
Nebraska, as second-class mail matter,
under the act of Consress of March 3, 1879.
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THE INDEPENDENT,
Lincoln, Neb.
PERFORMANCE IS DEMANDED
The republican party of the state
of Nebraska, In convention assembled
in August last, promulgated a plat
form recognizing the demands of the
people of t the state for specific legis
lation, and asked to be commissioned
to perform the same, promising, if
so commissioned, a good and faithful
performance of its covenants without
any equivocation, mental reservation
or evasion of any kind whatever. The
commission asked for was granted,
and the people now demand that the
pledges then so freely given be re
deemed in good faith. If this be done,
then that party will have established
its right to again ask the people for
their confidence, otherwise it can only
look forward to merited defeat.
Parties are only means to ends.
This fact, however, which has been so
long obscured on account of the preju
dices naturally engendered by the civil
war, is now becoming apparent in the
shifting scenes of politics wherein a
few leaders who voice the demands
of the times are commanding the al
legiance of the voters of both parties,
while the honored party leaders of
yesterday are being relegated to the
rear as re-actionaries belonging to the
past. .
"At the birth of each new era
With a recognizing start
Nations wildly look at nations
Standing with mute lips apart
While glad truths' yet mightier man
child Substitute the word parties for that
of nations in the foregoing stanza and
the present political conditions will
be fittingly portrayed.
When justice and freedom speak
political parties must with uncovered
heads stand "before the mighty pres
ence of God's words thundering
through the mouths of those who bear
the image cf their Creator, and such
as heed not the sound are doomed.
The republican party of Nebraska
attracted the attention of the voters
of the state early in the year claim
ing to have . had a- visitation of the
spirit of truth and to have received a
warning of the evil of its ways, and
its organs announced that it had en
tered upon the work of self purgation.
Men who" were leaders in its ranks
publicly confessed the party sins of
yesterday, proclaimed themselves
conscience racked and begged for an
opportunity to do deeds meet for re
pentance. Their- prayers were heard
and Jheir petitions answered, and they
now stand before the bar of public
intelligence stripped of all excuse for
tho future.
The battle within the party was
fought valiantly, and the victory of
the reformers in the republican state
convention was decisive and complete.
The so-called progressives put to rout
the old party warhorses whose should
ers had become bent and whose locks
had turned gray in the service of cor
porations, and put at the helm young
men whom they swore to be without,
guilo and pure of heart, possessing
the courage of lions, and the zeal of
crusaders. The campaign made by
the republican candidates was clean
cut, and aggressive. The speeches of
the leading candidate were replete
with facts and sound argument upon
the Issues involved. And, as the dem
ocrats and populists were contending
for the same things that the republi
cans were contending for, the rivalry
between the fusion leaders and those
of the republicans wag as to .which
could present the grievances of the
people against the railroads in the
most intelligent and forcible manner,
each seeking to attract the voters to
their respective standards by furnish
ing them with convincing evidence of
their own superiority over the other
in point of knowledge concerning the
issues, plans for accomplishing relief
from the evils complained of and of
good faith in their professions. j
Thus, the party receiving the com
mission from the people have all
doubts removed as to the de
mands of the people, and are there
fore inno position to hesitate, split
hairs or cavil. Their duty is plain,
their command imperative, and the
people are looking on and will brook
no dallying in the matter of perfor
mance. The incoming republican
legislature and governor will proceed
at once to fulfill the pledges of the
party in both spirit and letter, or they
will call down upon their individual
heads and upon their party the con
tempt of honest men of all parties.
The fusion members of the legisla
ture are also on trial. It is their duty
to prepare bills and introduce them
covering the demands of their party
platforms and to insist upon their pas
sage, to the limit of their power. It
will not do for the minority to mani
fest any lack of interest in the service
of the people because of being in the
minority. They are under obligation
to the people to prepare, introduce
and urge the passage of such meas
ures as they themselves would enact
into law if they were in the majority
instead of in the minority. And after
the members of each party have in
troduced their bills it becomes the
duty of all of the members, regardless
of party, to unite upon the best and
the wisest measures for the good of
the people of the state. If the repub
lican majority shows bad faith in the
incoming legislature, that party will
pay the forfeiture in the following
election. . And if the minority fail
in demanding gcod faith of the ma
jority by introducing bills embracing
their own ideas of adequate legisla
tion covering the pledges of their
party platforms they and their parties
will not escape blame.
Let the game of politics be laid
aside and all members enter into
friendly emulation as to who can best
serve the interests of the taxpayers
and voters of the state.
THE PROFESSIONAL LOBBY
If the incoming legislature intends
to carry out its party pledges in good
faith its first act will be to pass a law
excluding all persons known to be
professional lobbyists from the state
house during the period of the legisla
tive session except at public hearings
given by committees of the legisla
ture. Such a law should also make it
a crime for professional lobbyists to
furnish entertainment of any kind to
members of the legislature during the
legislative term.' The term profes
sional lobbyist can be defined in such
manner as to cover all persons who
are in" the employ of public service
corporations, and others who as repre
sentatives special interests seek to
unduly influence legislation.
The professional lobbyist employed
by the railroad corporations, the tele
graph and telephone companies, the
Standard Oil company, the. elevator
and lumber companies are known . to
the party leaders and to the public
and it is time the state house was rid
of them and all of their kind during
the legislative term. And it is also
time to call a halt upon the entertain
ment of our law makers by lobbyists
in all of the various forms that have
been practiced in Lincoln during past
sessions of the legislature and to
make it a crime for men seeking to
influence legislation to extend any
courtesies to members of the legisla
ture that are not extended by them to
all other persons, if the parties ex
tending such courtesies are in the
employ of corporations, firms or in
dividuals who furnish the means usfd
by them in ingratiating themselves
into the favor of legislators.
Missouri and other states have laws
to protect their law making bodies
from the assault of predatory inter
ests through professional lobbyists,
and if the incoming legislature in Ne
braska means to keep faith with the
people its first step must be to clear
the atmosphere of the corrupting in
fluence of the professional lobby that
has disgraced our legislatures for
years.
The incoming administration must
bear in mind that the people are
aroused as never before, and that its
every act will be jealously watched
by its friends, who demand that it
avoid the appearance of evil in any
and every form. Public service cor
porations or others seeking legisla
tion or the prevention of legislation
have no rights before a legislative
body except to appear before its com
mittees and make known their wishes
and gives the reasons therefor. This
right all have and none have more.
The professional lobby must go.
MISDIRECTED EFFORTS
The stupidity of the American toil
er who has been lulled to sleep by the
cry of protection to American labor
by the party that has embroiled us in
our Philippine muss in its efforts to
advance the purposes of adventurers
who would make China the workshop
of the world if the Chinese would, as
they expected them to do, permit of
their country being exploited by for
eigners, is only equalled by the stu
pidity of democratic statesmen whose
obtuseness on the tariff question pre
vented them seeing and exposing the
game of the hypocritical protection
ists. The darkness of the average
American mind on the tariff question
surpasses all understanding. The
tariff question beyond cavil has been
more discussed with less intelligence
than any other question. And the
funny thing about it is that our people
generally think that they actually do
know considerable about it, which they
do not.
The democratic statesmen of a half
century seem to have been consti
tutionally incapable of grasping the
tariff question. And the rank and file
of the republicans have depended upon
the democrats to raise valid objec-
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