8
The Nebraska Independent
JANUARY 17, 1907
fHE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT!
ESTABLISHED 1889
J. M. DEVINE, Editor
FREDERIC O. BERGE, Business Mgr.
Published Every Thursday
1328 O Street
Lincoln, Nebraska
' Entered at the postofflce at Lincoln,
Nebraska, as second-class mail matter,
Under the act of Congress of March 3, 1879.
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THE INDEPENDENT,
Lincoln, Neb.
TO READERS OF THE INDE
PENDENT I have sold The Independent to The
Independent Publishing Company, and
hereafter the paper will bo run by that
company. I am moved to take this
action because I find that I cannot
give the time to the paper that I
should and at the same time attend
to my law practice, which demands
my entire attention. Then, again,
my brother, who has been business
manager of the paper, in a few weeks
will go east to engage in business
for himself and without him it would
be additionally difficult for me to run
the paper.
During the time that I have owned
The Independent I have tried to make
it a champion of the peoples' rights
as against the greed and corruption
of the corporations and other selfish
interests' that are continually endeav
oring to steal away the government
from the people. I have tried to
make it absolutely an independent
paper. I may have made mistakes,
but I have honestly tried to seek out
the truth and tell it and let the chips
fall where they would. I have been
criticised by both democrats and pop
ulists for not making it a party organ.
I did not do it because I would rather
be a galley slave than run such a
paper. What we need is more inde
pendent papers and less partisan
organs. Truth and the sacred rights
of the people are more important than
the Interests of any political party
and it was this righteous cause that
The Independent has tiled to serve.
The ownership uf The independent
has brought no financial gain to me.
It has been a great personal sacri
fice to me. Hut 1 have reward enough
In the hundreds of letters of commend
ation and encouragement from my
fellow-citizens all over the country,
and also in the consciousness that
all the political parties in Nebraska
last year were compelled by the force
of public sentiment to pledge them
selves to carry out the specific re
forms I battled for two years ago in
my race for governor. What we want
Is these reforms for the people and
not any office for any individual or
thn supremacy of any political party.
I am glad to say that The Inde
pendent will continue to be an abso
lutely independent paper and battle
for the peoples' interests as it has
done in the past. It will be enlarged
and improved in many ways and its
readers will be given even a better
paper than I was able to make it.
I desire to thank all readers of The
Independent for the cordial and loyal
support given me while I have owned
the paper. My relationship with the
subscribers has been a very pleasant
one and in returning to niy profes
sion I take with me the many "God-speed-yous"
given me by the readers
of this paper.
GEORGE WT. BERGE.
SOLID OR VENEERED, WHICH?
The Nebraska legislature has the
external appearance of virtue. Whether
or not it is composed of genuine ma
terial or is simply wearing a mask of
pretense and hypocrisy will soon be
known. The republicans have an over
whelming majority in both branches,
and are consequently able to redeem
every pledge made by the party in con
vention and on the rostrum. Will
they do so? Let us hope they will for
the good of the stale.
The Independent believes in the
honesty of purpose and good inten
tions of an overwhelming majority of
the voters of all political parties. The
hope of popular government will have
disappeared from the earth whenever
any considerable minority of the vot
ers of a great state can be found to
violate their conscience in an election.
The rank and file of the republican
party are honest men, having only the
good of the state at heart. The offi
cers that were efected by the party
last autumn, were elected upon a
pledge to enact certain and specific
laws in absolute good faith. The peo
ple expect specific performance of the
pledges made without equivocation or
evasion of any kind whatever. Will
they get it? If they do the party
will have a just claim to the future
confidence and support of the voters.
But if it be found that the party lead
ers were insincere In their profession
of reform, or are faint hearted In per
formance, then, In that case the party
will pay the forfeiture In the next
election.
When the voters are lethargic and
Indifferent upon Issues the party spirit
dominates the mind and they are in
dulgent toward their representatives
In office. But when they ne urousd
and determined they are exacting in
the extreme and are incapable of con
doning a betrayal of the trust they
reposed in their representatives.
The members of the majority will
be wise if they remember that in the
last election the party took advanced
ground, and succeeded in convincing a
majority that the new leaders were
right, and that the old leaders were
in league with the corporations that
had been plundering them for years
The rank and file of the party respond
ed to the call of the new leaders and
hurled the old grizzled veterans 6f
the party from place and power.
Absolute good faith alone will give
the present leaders any future stand
ing with the men to whom they owe
their present positions.
What do the voters expect, and on
what do they insist? First, effective
legislation that will save them at least
ten million dollars per year in ex
cessive railway charges. Second, that
the free railroad pass evil will be
abolished root and branch, leaving no
loopholes through that pernicious evil
can be no longer practiced. This can
not be done without outlawing the
newspaper mileage contract, and, the
half rate fare for ministers of the
gospel. There is no honest reason
why newspapers and ministers should
receive subsidies from the railroads.
And we assert ,that the newspaper
mileage contract is given as a subsidy
to the press and that the half fare to
preachers is intended as a subsidy
just, as much so as the free passes
that are given to executive legislative
and judicial officers of the govern
ment. No half way measure will do.
The free pass in all of its forms is
not only intended as a bribe, but it
has proved to be efficient as such gen
erally. The free pass must go, root
and branch.
The next thing that the people de
mand is the enactment of a state wide
primary law for the nomination of
candidates for office. Such law to be
so framed that it will include the feat
ures that have been found good in
other states such as Arkansas, Wis
consin and Texas whe're primary laws
are now in force and effect. The
question of railroad taxation will un
doubtedly receive proper attention.
But the people will jealously watch the
action of their members of the legis
lature upon legislation effecting rail
road rates, passes and taxation, and
in an especial manner will they note
the attitude of members on the pri
mary election law.
The people generally regard the re
publican reformers as unseasoned tim
ber liable to warp, crack or twist when
put to the test of any considerable
strain. It behoove thorn to prove
that their profession of reform are
not a thin veneering upon a green and
unsonsonel base, because If they fall
to satisfy th honest demands of the
people for nllcf from railroad govern
ment and railroad extortion their ca
reer will be as short as it will be inglorious.
CANNOT ESCAPE RESPONSIBILITY
The minority in the state legislature
cannot escape responsibility for . fail
ure to enact the laws demanded by the
people, unless they will be able to
show that they exhausted every re
source at their command to secure
such enactments. It will not do to
shirk any of the duties of a legislator
on the ground that the responsibility
forlegislation rests upon the majority.
It is the duty of. the minority to pre
pare and introduce such-bills as they
themselves would enact into law, if
they were in the majority. To do less
than this is to fail in the discharge
of duty.
It affords the minority no sufficient
excuse for indolence or neglect of
duty that they are not adequately rep
resented on the committees intrusted,
by the majority with the preparation
of bills. They must. bear in mind
that all bills must pass, the commit
tee of the whole before being put upon
their passage in either house. If the
minority are thoroughly prepared with
amendments to offer in the commit
tee of the whole, they can challenge
the majority party to furnish enough
votes for the amendments they offer
to perfect the bill and strengthen it
in every essential particular. Upon
their amendments they can at the
propert time demand a roll call and
make a record to go to the people
with. ,
But in case they-neglect "to. prepare
and offer such amendments, they will
forfeit the right to even offer adverse
criticism upon such measures as the
majority may see fit to enact into law.
A legislativebody is a place for work,
strenuous work. And the minority,
knowing the demands of the people
as they do, by intelligent and, unremit
ting effort, may Jbe able to force the
adoption of their amendments and thus
improve the character of the laws that
finally pass.
It sometimes happens that minori
ties in legislative bodies adopt a
course of negation and criticism, but
such course is always regarded as evi
dence of bad faith, and is never pro
ductive of good either from a party
standpoint, or any other.
This country is entering upon a
period of constructive legislation for
both the states and the nation. In
dolence, or inefficiency in a legislator
at such a time is unpardonable. Op
portunity is ever open to the minority
to voice the demands of the people,
which if they succeed in doing with
greater precision and force than I
done by the majority, they win laurels
Individually and strengthen their
party.
Note the work accomplished by tho
great iAKolletto. practically HurIo.
handed and alone In the last Bessloni
of the United States senate. Every
bushel of grain that Is marked"! (hit
