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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (March 28, 1907)
fa A 1 5 9 I. devoetdytournal HOME LIFE; AGRICULTURE AND Twentieth Year. THE UNITED CHURCHES . . , ' Further progress for the denomlna- tional union movement was made in the Chicago meeting of delegates from the Congregational, United Brethren and Methodist Protestant denomina tions. The formal movement for the union of these three denominations dates from Julyw1903. At that time a committee of the denominations met at Pittsburg and issued a call for a gen eral council of the three denomina tions to meet at Dayton, O., to discuss plans of uaion. This conference met a year ago and made tentative proposals to be further considered by the con ference which took action this week. This plan proposed no material change in the faith or local autonomy . of the congregations of tne three denomina tions, but provided for a common in-ter-congregational organization. That meeting did not suggest a name for the . combined denominations, leaving. that to" this week's meeting, which suggests, the name of the United Churches. This action remains, yet to" be approved by the congregations in the three denomin ations before the union is complete. The, union of these three denomina tions will bo the second completed Merger of the several that have been under discussion or actually underway in the three, years past. The union of ; the Presbyterian" church 'north and the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination has been consummated. AH that it lacks of physical completeness is the adherence, of a few dissenting congre gations of the sjnaller denomination. In .both cases the union is an annexe 1 ing consolidation of territories rather ' than a union within competing areas. The Cumberland Presbyterian church had its strength mainly in the zone between north and south, where there were few congregations of northern Presbyterians. To the newest union, the Congregationalists contribute main ly New England and middle Atlantic states, the United Brethren come large- ly from the middle west, while the Methodist Protestants are largely con fined to the border states of Maryland, Vvrest Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Congregationalists bring to the united society some 690,000 members, the United Brethren about 255,000, and the Methodist Erotestants 183,000. J'lTRU'S TKSTIJSOXY. ' For detailed information of the mo dus operandi of land graft se. the tes timony of S. A. D. Tuter of Oregon 'n the trial f ex-Congressman Hermann. The evidence now in h oniy a part of the "stupendous whole, enough to servo as an upHizer, perhaps. Fifty dollars was tpent trying to "fix" li couple cC the grand Jurors who afterwards in dieted him. S'h"i tlie g nerul land office held up .uomo of his applications for land tHUs two one. thousand dollar bill handed to Senator Mitchell had a miraculous effect. Two payments of J'Oa each to a (jvve-nir.eiit special ascent I ft! o part r ulug title t worth ies i land In the t 'aiwlf f )ii:;t h.ktV'' wh'clt wjm ?atp 1 1 ! -xotiaK"i un d-M- i)s. )a i ' Mm law t.r land. loented ieU"re i'i vorth the l ti dollar r.n T-f. L-tnl Co.Hitilx-aoi.tr HTn;nn, afi-T". nni i t.i'i,t a-.u , tu paity to tlKSf ,t, arc rdinc lo Ihk vviden.v, and aHwar4 a n wltnuw far th d fn ti'n Mr. lut r tried and r.ooiiud two year ago. 1'ut.T a!i Implicate a Portland t LINCOLN", NEBRASKA, MARCH 28, 1907. torney in these deeds, as If to remind us of the current assertion that Mr. Heny found-only one attorney in Ore gon free to 'assist him in prosecuting the land thieves. That one was tho district attorney, who is trying this case as a recess appointee, the senato having refused at the instance of Sen ator Fulton of-Oregon to confirm his appointment," MONEY THAT CAMP. EASY. The announcement that Joy and Paul Morton had lost a million dollars by the burning of their salt plant at Hutchinson, Kansas, suggests how easily money is made by those who are equipped with the facilities forgain which corporation control provides. About the time that President Roose- ft," f t , PRACTICAL FORESTRY IN NEBRASKA. The hardy catalpa plantation of C. D. Robinson near Pawnee City. This grove, planted In 1889 and 1890, was harvested early in 1908, yielding a net return of $6.24 per acre per year, after paying for labor, all expenses and com pound Interest on the investment. volt was first threatening to bring suit against rebating railroads, having shortly before that rnado Paul Morton a member of his cublnct. the story gained currency of how Joy Morton 13 camt) head of the xtilt lru.it. According to thin tory It wa while Paul Morton was vice-president and e. n. ral mwnaKvr 'f th Santa y-it-nt that hi brother Joy lui amc Idetdl tl.d with tlP wilt lnurtu at llutehln ..h, and that within an Incmllblv (ihort tljii", by r-am if rhat sdvan tis.n lora. J thrt Uutehtnson alt con cern by th Mtnt. Fa railnxid. Joy Morton found htnwwlf In utwoluta coin mand of th Halt pnnlulnir industry of th t'nltej Ul arid h al of t'a alt Iruat. RAVISHED BY BOSS REIT Practically every city In "the United States has been at some time , in the unholy embrace of a crew of municipal ravishers such as that now held up to the light in San Francisco. It is no exaggeration to estimate that more than half of the cities of the country are in some degree at the . mercy of such clusters of parasites today. The complete exposures in San Francisco enable a more realistic examination of the shame of cities than even the late sensational disclosures in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and St. Louis, because of the official character of the San Fran cisco reports. f In its essential details the graft .;y3 tem is simple. Given a wealthy city; There are Important contracts i,o let, puch as contracts forest root transorta tion, lighting and gas suppy. and numerous other fervlcia which muat be performed a.i public functions. There are also Illegitimate Interest to be .ent rolled by tn iiity Intflrtutu basid on vlco atl tnrno of various tiurtM. It l.i worth much to b allowed to ply the.i trirrxs unditturbcj. What would It not bo worth to have thi dt -oa of alt them lfcHlmalo ond llloijttlmut prlvilrseii In out' own lntrrttt instead of In th fahllc Int.T Ml! Such a u'tlon t'omw to ih tulnd of r.iilullti urtrkln frjinehl-t f ivorsi. to li'aUr of tho unrworKt . klmc the. privilega to ry, to poll ttrUna M-fklng jxiwrr and the wealth that vita lt) w therttOb POLITICS Subscription $1.00 Sometimes one, sometimes another, oftenest a combination ; or. the three, aspires to control of the ' machinery of public administration in tho hope of securing this . opportunity. This once achieved, the jlty government becomes a brokerage ofilco for the salo.io tho highest bidder of tho right to rob. Some buy the right to rob at tha point of.' a re volver, otheYs at tha gaming table,-a San Francisco gas company bought the right to rob tha people of ten cents with every thousand feet of urn I V i.ha .. The method by which the Ruef ma chine gained control in San Francisco is typical, though not identical with others. Whether or not he is but the visible head cf an organization whose real 'builder? arc the public service corporations and vice dispensers, haa not yet been made certain. Possibly Ruef himself built up the machine and forced these Interests to support hinv To get hold of the citv machinery hj had to have soirfc numerical support In San Francisco-.two elements were sufficient for thiai , First and greatest, there were as always everywhere those honest people who pride themselves on voting their party ticket whether com posed of saints or horsethieves. A majority of this sort in San Francisco were democrats, and so Ruef went to work as a democrat to namethe candi dates. But thofe were not enough of the sort of democrats who can be de livered baled at the polls : to insure control at the elections. To supply the difference Ruef bought the union labor vote by filling up his ticket with creatures who pass as union labor men, and by permitting union labor free hand in all public matters di rectly concerning it, A complete union labor monopoly extorting from the city : millions in its rebuilding Is the price on ' the one hand. ' Ten union labor men among the sixteen indicted supervisors witness the price paid on the other hand. The complete usurpation of public powe consummated, the remainder was simple. Franchises were sold to the United railroads, the Home Tele phone company, the San Francisco, gas and electric light company at prices profitable to all parties except the gen eral public. Prize fight promoters were able to buy desirable privileges, aa were various forms of vice which have made San Francisco infamous. City laws were bought and sold like city lots. Tho city people who were not sharing In the graft looked on help lessly; they had parted with their birthright, not getting so much as a mess of pottage therefor. The wretched plight of civic San Francisco U no proper occasion for leveling the finger of scorn. It Is rather n reminder to pvery citizen of every municipality to question whether he. by inertia, neifHhnesM, jitupldlty. or woro. In not contributing to a lika disgrace In his own community. niK'M iin o tiii: I'ltrcumnT. lUllrnad Interest, are applying A personal nd political prewtiri? to th pnvddent tjrh sin no other iwr In thU country espt unit! pubtta opioioo 14 capabi.i of uinine4iliiir. J. I'lert-ont Moritiin U abla to rsk fr four rwllroad president im If they wm actually hi "chief clerk, a Pvjj den? Ktlckny in them I!, with Mr. lUnUuAJt an J ilr, lUli tnak a