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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1907)
The Nebraska Independent JANUARY 24, 1907 yers on tho judiciary committee and practically all of the lawyers of the house, are not opposed by all attor neys by any means. As a matter oi fact, some of the leading men at the bar of the state have been asking for important court reforms for many years, and have always been turned down by the lawyer members of the legislature. One of the most brilliant of all the attorneys of the state, a former member of the supreme court commission, tried repeatedly to secure certain needed reforms in court pro cedure, and was disgusted to find that every time the judiciary committees tackled the subject they rrade matters worse instead of better. In sheer dis gust he announced a few months ago ' that he would nevr make another at tempt to secure this kind of reform in Nebraska. If the Brown bills go through against the protests of the at torneys he will no doubt feel that the general membership knows more about justice than the men who are sup peso t to make it a specialty. A professor in the university of Ne braska has just declined a tender of a similar position in a state institu tion in a rich state toward the east. Tha offer was an urgent one and was baited with an increase In salary amounting to several hundred dollars a year, besides an opportunity to equip a large and costly new building with apparatus to suit himself. The profess or hesitated two weeks, but sent his declination last Sunday. He wants to stay in Nebraska because he founded his department here and wants to tay with it until it is permanently estab lished with a building of its own. When the members of the legislature learn more about these cases of loyalty to the state, they, will understand why people who know the most about the university are so strong in advocating its interests. The professor who made this sacrifice refuses to allow his name to be published. With a railroad commission to see that the rule is enforced, a law such as. Senator Phillips proposes giving publicity to the names of all pass us ers is highly, desirable. In fact, since there are numerous exceptions to any anti-pass law that is likely to be en acted. , such as ministers and employes including railroad lawyers, a publicity provision is essential to the best opera tion of an anti-pass law. The bill in troduced by Senator Phillips applies al so to free transportation of freight. No harm and some good would result if it . applied also to free service by all other "public 'service corporations, ' express, sleeping car, telegraph and even tele phone, gas and street car companies. One part of the program of the lum ber dealers' meeting in Lincoln is, a discussion of why lumber is so high 'in price. To what extent Mr. Frederick Weyerhaeuser figures, to what extent the narrowing of supply and enlarge ment of demand and the price of la bor, also whether any lumber trust this side of Mr. Weyerhaeuser and the railroads has a finger in it; these are points which we hope will be cleared up by a public discussion. It would be interesting to know further how soon the substitution of brick and cement may be expected to check a further rise in lumber prices. Recent advices have it that the glass bricks which were at first a failure on account of their cost are again coming into the market. thi,s time cast hollow and ac cordingly much less expensive than before. These bricks are laid in a ce ment made of a special glass, which seals tho wall hermetically, making a wall proof against damp, sound, heat and cold. With glass, stone and clay competing for wall space how much longer can lumber keep "going up?" Two facts seamed to be established twynnri dispute in the debate in the house of representatives on Monday over the wolf bounty question. Repre sentative Armstrong showed that the present wo'f bounty law is costing the state sixty dollars a day, a matter of about twenty thousand dollars a year. IlcpHfentatlv Do ran gave his word that wolves are very destructive !! northwestern Nebraska, and Represen tative Capl'n knew of a farmer who .st three o-.vs In a ulnir'o nlffht from coyott-H. The caso would huve beet, nmdo complete out for a single lack Nobody secnn to have trlei to rstab IIlt a Ciinn " Hon between the two f;iei. the wolf bounty tml the wol.'. We know thai eoyote nro Uolrurt he of eattW In Nebraska, as Im, wm knnv, iht tjn Ulk iM-no. Hut Is th wolf bounty thirtieth' f coyote any iuio ih.m It U dcxtiu tlvft of t!:o n.ni .tIW H,;mm'' That Is tho que, tlnti ll.nl m t mx to wed proof, uni n iu n n on vhU h proof ha b 'ti sin Kui.uly UvWI.ur, In rus the rUoVneis h.vi. a t.-cnw portable, that ilif Wunt litorea!' ItutU-ad of drrruo th numVt f wnlve. and If m U-j-rr. ntatUv i'oiw mijciosK e;wmru Ne i,tl . k.i b in too tnueh la iy about up prot-ii.ittoui. wnd tb vel nIkmiM t!t. n firt lwe th wolf loui !v l" I w,mH it, th" tu'8Mioti i nw In id r Ih t tho mom y appropriated anil pwu b. hi mu w:i i'' f voriitb li lht olvm; distributed west of tho hurt dredth meridian, say, according to child population instead of wolf popu lation, as the temporary school fund is distributed. POLITICAL Members of the house of representa tives at Washington appear in a better light while voting increases In their own salaries than they did a couple of weeks ago when trying to induce tho senate to take the initiative in the matter. It is to the interest of the constituents of any member of con gress that their member be paid a liv ing salary. It should be possible for a poor man to serve in congress without undergoing humiliation or extraordi nary temptation by reason of his pov erty. Most people realize this, and it is not likely that any considerable re sentment will be manifested through out the country if the senate passes the house bill increasing congressmen's sal aries from $5,000 a year to $7,500, and the president signs it. Massachusetts legislators are consid ering the advisability of establishing a board of chiropody to regulate the practice of corn doctoring. The plan has the advantage of creating three public positions, one for a regular phy sician and two for chiropodists to act as an examining board to determine who shall be permitted to tamper with the ailing Massachusetts foot. It is remembered that Senator Davis of Minnesota came to an untimely death by essaying to cure his own corn; a convincing argument against allowing people to prescribe for their own or their neighbors' feet. Since the aban donment of the attempt to make bar berlng a learned profession in Ne braska the field for boards of exam iners has not widened as it might have done. Here is a suggestion. While the decision of the United States supreme court a short time ago, in the Cleveland traction case, was held to be a divided victory, not alto gether Satisfactory to either side, the effect seems to have been to place the traction interests hors de combat. They have offered to surrender, would ap parently be glad enough to get their franchises renewed on a three cent fare basis, and Tom Johnson remains, after a six years"" battle of injunctions and the fiercest kind of political war fare, the hero of the heap. Cleveland is apparently to have three cent fares with universal transers,and-a larger share for the t city in the profits than was received when 'fdres''"'were,1fiV'e cents. . Iowa's endorsement of Senator Dol liver, the withdrawal of the charges against Senator Gamble in South Dakota and the election of Bailey in Texas clear the winter's sena torial field of all but two contests, These are in New Jersey and Rhode Is land. Senator Bailey was chosen ... yes terday, but'an 'election may not' end his case. Senator Dryden has secured a caucus nomination in New Jersey, but with enough republican members stay ing out of the caucus to leave his fol lowers in the minority. This is the real contest of the season, something like a principle being involved in the action of Colby and his followers in refusing to swallow the life insurance senator. The sham battle in Rhode Is land will be kept up until such time as Senator Aldrich is ready to notify Messrs. Wetmore and Colt as to his choice between them. Exactly what form has been given the bill governing campaign contribu tions just passed by the national house of representatives is not made clear by the reports. The senate last year sent over to the house a bill dealing with the subject of corporation contri butions, and the passage of a bill on the subject by the house promises that some sort of law dealing with the mat ter will take effect before another na tional election. TJio house bill as passed forbids corporations having national charters, such as national banks, to contrlbuto to any campaign fund what ever, local or national, and forbids any corporation whatever to contribute to ituidH tiaed In tho election of national official, such us congressmen and presidential lectors. If tho bill In Us tiiml form provides In addition for com plete publicity of all contributions from whatever ourc for us in national ainpalgrt.i it will leave little to b" d' sired. The houo committee, has d' kkd to o hark to tho nilrital purpo.io of tho fret weed bu.lnow, appropriating iuonty only for the purrhano of "rare mnN to U distributed by tho depart ment of URrli niuttv." Hut tho com iislileo foeomtnend't that tho ortKln.il appropriation, a quarter f " million dollar, bo net u.iilo for thl purpose. If hU amount eould be cut down to a f.nv thousand dollar- tho country would b moro imprfHMt with tho Kuod faith of th commit too. Not t! Iiwt Important of tho cn t. t In tho .Now York lojjUlaturo itrlfow ovt'r the effort to adopt a form of ballot In behalf of good offieUt rather than in the interests of party bosses. A bill has been introduced which provides ' the ideal ballot, a bal lot in which the names of candidates are grouped as on the Nebraska ballot, except that they go on alphabetically instead of according to party strength as here, and that, of course, there is no device for inducing voters to swal low yellow dogs and all, the chief ob ject of the party circle. The party cir cle is apparently to be the main point of conflict, the last stand of the po litical manipulator. Two special state tax commission re ports have been made to legislatures since the beginning of the year. A California commission on revenue and taxation was created In 1905, to study means of Improving this system in vogue in that state, and a like com mission has just submitted to the New York legislature a report said to have been written by Professor Seligman. The conditions in the two states were markedly different, but the two reports run remarkably close together In the principles involved, and agree closely with the most generally accepted con clusions of economists who have made a special study of taxation. The lirst conclusion of the Cali fornia commission is that the state general property tax should be abol ished. It is full of inequalities. Per sonal property escapes . taxation large ly, and the more personal property a person has the more largely it escapes. Tho assessed value of personal prop erty in the state is now hardly greater than it was a generation ago. Cori cealable personal property is given 'an .advantage over property less easily concealed. The general system of prop erty tax Involves inequalities between sections, between city and country, between different lines of business. The tax the farmers pay in California is equivalent to an income tax of 10 per cent, the commission declares, while the manufacturers of the state pay the equivalent of only 2 per cent on their incomes. So far as personal "property goes, the New York commission takes ex actly the same ground as the Cali fornia commission. The personal prop erty tax, it declares, puts a premium on perjury, and discriminates heavily in favor of the rich. It injures in vestment and business, and yet yields an amount of revenue altogether dis proportionate to the evil it involves. If localities, where people know each others' affairs t well ; enough , to make evasion 'of the personal, property ; tax .difficult,,., wish, ,to,.,continue it, for local purposes, tne commission wouia grant them the right, but it advises against making it anything more than op tional. The Calif ornians propose as a reme dy what others of the more advanced states have already done, the localizing of the property tax, leaving the state to derive its revenues from franchise taxes and others that are general in their bearing. Taxation of the rail roads through" a levy 'on "their "gross receipts is recommended, the proceeds to go to the state. Real estate would then be taxed only by the county or municipal organization, doing away with the possibility of sectional dis criminations. The localizing of real estate is the real beneficiary of local public Improvements and competent local administration, whether it be town or country property. It applies also the principle of local home rule to the direct taxation of the state. On the other hand, the commission rea sons, the right to do business that is enjoyed by a corporation Is a privilege granted by the state, and not by the cities and counties. Therefore, any tax that may be levied upon the reve nues derived from the enjoyment and uje of the state privileges used by corporations, especially public service corporations, ought to be paid into the state treasury for the support of the state government. They apply - this proposition to railroad, express, street railway, light, heat and power, tele graph and telephone, banking una In surance companies. Roth of these reports were drawn by nble men in search of a practicable ideal of state and local taxation. In neither state H there believed to be much chance to secure the enactment of tho recommendations into law. It Iji one thing to conceive a system of taxation that Is fair to everybody, and another thlnR to got It made Into law by a legislative body where th,i In line nee of everybody U by no moans th sanio, MUST LEARN JUACHINE WORK l)T of IMnd TirrtUM lln i:HU rtl Milling. WASHINGTON. Jan. 21-Public Printer HUlllnR ha buiued a k neral onlrr. In width h" nays the day of hand eoiupolUon are fat coming to m Tt otd f WW d to iiill l tontlou to tho isovr rninont printing of. fleo'i nlsht ehol of lnti in thm ,,, typo Pi'tUnR machine. Tho nclu-il held It first ton lat nlht. Tho Itntnio. lion will bo free, but no pay wilt b Klvon for tho work arvomplihed. STEAMER . HIGH ON ROCKS Heavy Sen Haa Gone Down and Hot , in Immediate Danger, HAVANA, Jan. 22. The British steamer Areola, which went on the rocks close to Moro castle shortly after midnight, is in no Immediate danger, as tho heavy sea has gone down. Captain Wry of the Areola declares that he twice asked the pilot just be fore the steamer went on the rocks whether he had seen any lights and the latter said he had not. Continu ing, Captain Wry said: "We were making the channel easily and safely when we were struck on the port side by an enormous .wave, which was followed by others in quick succession. This listed the Areola from the channel. Her helm was put hard down, but we failed to work back into the channel. Then she grated on the rocks. The engines were reversed, but that did not improve the situation. Every wave that hit. the vessel drove her harder on the rocks." The Areola is loaded with coal. She is so high and "dry that the stevedores are throwing her coal ashore. PILES CURED IN 6 TO 14 DAYS PAZO OINTMENT is guaranteed to cure any case of itchinar, Blind, UleediDsr or protruding diles in 6 to 14 days or money refunded. EOo. PRIVATE maternity home; best med ical attention; baby adopted. Work for part expenses. Mrs. Sherman, 1701 Mo. Ave., Kansas City, Mo. v FARMERS AND STOCKMEN Why pay a big price for condition powders when you can prepare it yourself for, a few cents. We will furnish you formula and full particulars cf the best stock food on the mar ket for 25 cents. Send now. This offer trood for 30 days. 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Are you satisfied with the rresent? Or are you desirous of bettering your condition? Then let us show you how you can do this. We ha? helped hundreds of others. Let us help you. LINCOLN BUSINESS COLLEGE 13th 4 P 8tt. Lincoln, Nebraska