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The Nebraska Independent
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDEN1
ESTABLISHED 1889
J. M. DEVINE, Editor
FREDERIC O. BERGE, Business Mgr.
Published Every Thursday
1328 O Street
Lincoln, Nebraska
Entered at the postofTlce at Lincoln,
Nebraska, as second-class mall matter,
under the act of Congress of March 3, 1879.
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THE INDEPENDENT,
Lincoln, Neb.
A SUBSIDY FOR SHIPPING
"Ignorance gives a sort of eternity
to prejudice, and 'perpetuity to error."
The serious consideration of a meas
ure to subsidize shipping, as a means
of re-establishing the United States
as a maritime power is a travesty up
on the Intelligence of the American
people. That President Roosevelt has
fallen into the trap of the ship- subsidy
grafters is a sore disappointment to
his friends. It exposes his limitations
Intellectually, and puts in eclipse the
hope of millions that they had found
a deliverer who was proof against the
wiles of the cunning but unscrupulous
cabal whose influence has dominated
the government at Washington for a
generation prior to his own installa
tion as the executive head of the na
tion. The coarseness of Roosevelt
and his brusque and bullying manners,
have added to, rather than detracted
from, his popularity, so long as the
people believed that his every act was
animated by the sturdy purpose of a
"square deal" for all. ; His many good
and brave deeds thrilled his country
men with joy unalloyed, and the feel
ing grew upon them that in the presi
dent they had found a leader ofsuch
rugged honesty, ripe intellect and
dauntless . purpose that his mistakes
and blunders were interpreted as evi
dence of gitilelessness, and invested
him with added charms for the aver
age man.
To the millions of admirers of Theo
dore Roosevelt, therefore, great, in
deed, must be the disappointment fol
lowing the disillusionment caused by
the recent message wherein,, through
ignorance as gross as U is inexcus
able, the president, champions the
cause of the ship subsidy grafters and
promises to use the power of his great
office for the enactment of a law to
enable them to plunder the treasury
of the United States.
The indictment we bring against the
president is a severe one, that of ig
norance of what he is doing. The
charge of corrupt intent is not made
against President Roosevelt in this
connection, or in any other. The tea
son is we believe him to be an honest
man and an honest public official. But
we do charge him with gross and 'In
excusable ignorance, whereby he falls
the victim of the designing and un
scrupulous, to whom he now prom
ises , aid in plundering the people's
treasury, when the possession of only
such intelligence as we have a right
to look for in the average voter, would
have made it impossible for him to
do so.
Before proceeding to submit proof
of the serious charge of ignorance that
is here brought against the president,
attention is called to a power that ex
erts a commanding influence over the
lives and acts of all men, except such
as are possessed of the highest intel
lectual endowments, or such as are
so fortunately organied that reason
sits in judgment upon all things be
fore" being accepted by them as true.
The power alluded to is that of pre
conceived opinion, or prejudice, the
sway of which Is absolute over small
minds, and against which men of the
greatest intellectual calibre have, to
be ever on guard, so insidious is its
workings. To this power, beyond a
doubt, is due the exposure of the
president's intellectual limitation in
in this instance, because the blunder
he has committed is one that offers no
challenge to intellect, beyond that of
the most meagre equipment and at
tention.
As proof that a subsidy on shipping
would be nothing more nor less than
bare-faced fraud and robbery, let it
first be known that under our naviga
tion laws foreign built ships are re
fused registry under the American
flag, and that if Americans buy ships
abroad and register them under a
foreign flag they cannot be used in
the coast-wise trade of our own coun
try. Second, iron being the material
of the modern ship our tariff on iron
increases the cost of an American
built ship over the ship built in foreign
countries by at least thirty per cent.
Next, let the fact be known that the
material of which many foreign built
ships are constructed is manufactured
in this country and sold abroad at
prices averaging about eight dollars
per ton less than the same material
can be purchased in this country, and
we have a good and sufficient reason
why American built ships cannot com
pete with foreign built ships upon the
trackless ocean.
Thus is furnished a demonstration
that is within the grasp of the ordi
nary mind that the extortion of the
steel trust stands In the way of, and
renders impossible the building of
American ships for ocean trade in
competition with foreign ships, and
that the remedy lies in removing the
tariff from steel and iron and amend
ing our navigation laws so that foreign
built ships can obtain registry under
the flag and laws of our own country.
The enormity of the proposition to
tax Americans to subsidize American
shipping, while denying American
registry to foreign built ships, and
maintaining a tariff on steel that in
creases the cost of the American ship
over thirty per cent, becomes mani
fest when we consider that the Amer
lean steel trust produces the material
entering into the construction of
ship's at less than sixty per cent of the
cost of like material in foreign coun
tries. Therefore, if the steel trust
would' sell the material entering into
the construction of ships at even a
good round profit on Its actual cost,
ships could be built in America at a
much lower cost than in any other
country, which would inevitably re
suit In our leading the world in ship
building, and in giving the nation a
merchant marine that would more
than save the $175,000,000 per year
that Americans are now paying to
ioreign snip owners lor - carrying
freight and passengers.
Can it be possible that President
Roosevelt is ignorant of these facts?
We prefer to believe t&at he is rather
than to charge him with being under
the influence of the steel trust.
The way to foster and promote
American shipping is plain, but the
obstacles in the. way are great, chief
among which is the Ignorance of our
people of the economic questions in
volved. This ignorance is due to party
prejudice, which" is the mantle of
charity. we cast over President Roose
velt In his advocacy of a. subsidy for
shipping, Njmpaling him on the horn
of the dilemma that we think best
accords with his revealed character
CALIFORNIA AND THE JAPANESE
The demand of the Mikado's govern-
ment that its subjects be permitted to
mingle with the children of San Fran-
Cisco, indiscriminately, in the. public
schools, rejecting the- segregation of
the races in separte schools, other
wise equal, as an insult, is beyond
the bounds of reason. The demand is
an improper one, and is unreasonable.
It is a matter of regret that the Japa
nese nation takes such a view of the
case, and it Is to be hoped that the
eulogistic and pacific tone of the presi
dent's message touching upon the
question may serve to allay the fever
ish sensitiveness of the Japanese peo
ple over the question of racial equal
ity sufficiently to enable them to in
vestigate and learn that the question
they have raised does not come with
in the purview of the national govern
ment at all, but is a question wholly
belonging to the people of San Fran
cisco and the state of California.
It Is entirely within the rights and
powers of the state to make such
school regulations as it sees fit to
make, or to make none at all. San
Francisco or any other town In Cali
fornia, or any other state is competent
to make regulations segregating the
school children by age, sex, or other
wise not in conflict with the state
laws, and the general government has
no power to compel any change of
such regulation upon complaint of resi
dents of different towns in the state,
or of other states.
The general government cannot ex-1
DECEMBER 20 v,
iii, me K-h. .ul ..t .. .
out 1). i . ! !L"'1 K''.r.t
nation ;., :,riy 01
. MU,,,"fe against the,
SO 111 (.v!V.,-,,,l l"e 1
un. Tile treaiv J
I "U'a lrom the cons,,,,
l' - as its other power, j
a treat v in ,.i,;.u ., M
' ,U11" ie United StaJ
govern,,,,". W0Ul" J
1"-m-s wanted to it h I
stitution ist fan ot ils I
"m" u,u'- (he supreme court.
The Japanese undoubtedly do
conmreheni ttio f,..i.,. ....
, . mat mepJ
i eiijoj unner our government qJ
government possess only such po
ers as the people save to it, while
.Tanan tin. n.m,.t
,.w only S8(.
rights ns the government has se?
ht to confer upon them. The as
umcunu, wmcn in a we
ability accounts for the failure of th
Japanese to appreciate the ri
the states, and the minor subdivision
thereof in all matters of a strict
local character, such as regulate:
governing school matters.
The suggestion that local laws ha
ing a much wider scope than sch'
regulation segregating the children o
distinct, ami divergent races may w
be made w ithout contravening trea
rights is without foundation in fact
or in reason. Several states have law
against the inter-rrarriage of whit
persons with persons that are eithe
black or yellow. Who will confer,
that, such a law is in conflict wit
treaty rights, or that the general gov
ernment would have the right to entei
into such state and compel a
gard of such a law?
In the city of Washington, R C.
our national capital, the whites an
the blacks have separate schools
This citv is governed by the presides
and congress and the members of our
supreme court have their residence
there. The action of the city ot Wash
ington in segregating the ennuren a
school on the lines of race is a recog
itinn nf the riclit of local authorities
so to do, and more than that is a
recognition of the wisdom of so do
; whoever the future may have
iVa irnOt.
in store for the people oi u
ern nations as the penalty of arous
ing Japan and China from the A4
of ages, it is premature for the Mis-
ado to press the San Francisco
fmtlior, as they mm
tion any
calm investigation learn that no
treat;!
rights have lieen
iolated.
SEAMEN FOR THE NAVY
The importance of strong and el
.!r, tfcol
.ntn Mil I
navy is oonimens --
f -,-wt a nation has V
. ..: that the!
of war. And, lean...,
.i iinl-l
of national righteously-
Jim fliyi
.., is vet in we
,dl 1 ., .i ) time!
An not believe tnai
, ..,, an effective
arnvt'ii "- ,i
protecting the
abroad ami oi na
tive
extent
in
era
vers
tance
has
can
zens
shores,
The
with
remind
armor
lean seamen n
, . nossible f
suggestion " " ' t I
an in .be J
- ofH
. namelv. toe " ftel
--r, r