8
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
APRIL 4. 1907. -
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
ESTABLISHED 1SS
Published Every Thursday
noo p St.,
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.
On Thursday no indictments were
returned against San Francisco
grafters. The fact was sufficiently
novel to be telegraphed as news.
One of the new laws signed by Gov
ernor Sheldon last week makes hog
steealing a felony. This is fine. Under
the prices prevailing lately hog steal
ing has been almost high finance.
Ambassador Uryce asked soon after
setting foot on American soil what has
become of the dude who was so con
spicuous an element in American life
when he was here twenty years
Sure enough, the dude has disappeared
and we hadn't noticed it.
An astronomer once asserted that
the earth could not be inhabitable tor
a period exceeding 2,000, years and
that somewhere inside of 16,000 ysars
its complete destruction must come to
pass. Thus we always have something
to look forward to with apprehension.
There will be this year thirty-two
professional base ball leagues in addi
tion to the two great leagues. The sal
aries paid to players in the major
leagues alone run close to three million
dollars. Americans probably contribute
not far from $100,000,000 annually to the
national sport, just about what our
navy costs.
After reading Grover Cleveland's re
cent interview deprecating the "attack"
on the railroads and calling for a cam
paign on the tariff issue, Morgan J.
O'Brien said: "What the country needs
is a second Cleveland." This is the Mr.
O'Brien who was appointed one of the
commission to pas upon the sanity of
Harry Thaw, " and subsequently .-e-gigne.d.
The successful bidder on the 'Pennsyl
vania capitol received $789,743 for paint
ing n certain number of square feet.
An unsuccessful bidder had offered a
good guarantee that he would do the
work satisfactorily for $164,473. Facta
like this are coming out fast enough
now to satisfy the most confirmed
muck raker' In the land. That building
was certainly a masterpiece of graft.
It appears that "certain suggestions"
mado to the coal carrying roads of
Indiana and Illinois by the interstate
commerce commission have resulted in
an abandonment of the plan to Increase
rates two cents per ion into Chicago.
Before the new rate law went Into
effect, it will be remembered, the com
mission could suggest until the mern-
'lers were exhausted without any ap
preciable Influence upon the schedule.
Fa-en Kansas now forges ahesd of
Nebr:ila In higher education. Th
present Kansas legislature has a p.
proprlated $630,000 for tho eutttiit
expense of the aeadeinin and ngrl
rultiiral collee. and 1170.000 for
building for tli biennium. Kansas
university ha attendance of
about 1.600 us compared with $.100
in Nebraska. It has been customary
to make fun of .Kansas and Missouri,
but the record of these states in higher
education is such that Nebraska must
be silent Nebraska's total appro
priations for the same purposes are
$640,000.
A consignment of frog skins imported
from Japan awaits the coming of a
Solomon at the New York custom
house. The Dingley law strangely failed
to specify a rate of duty on frog skins.
The collector of. the port proposes to
tax them as leather. The importer in
sists that they be entered at a lower
duty as fish skins. The newspaper par
agraphers, remembering a former de
frog legs as dressed poultry, insist with
one voice that frog skins are chicken
feathers and dutiable as such.
Andrew Carnegie "endorses abso
lutely" the attitude of the president on
the transportation question. "The rail
roads had better stand with him," An
drew insists. "If they do not accept
his moderate measures they may bo
confronted by a man in the white
house who will approach the question
of the railroads from an entirely differ
ent standpoint."
That the managers have not been in
a mood to accept this wholesome ad
vice is Indicated by a private letter
from a Wall street broker who says;
"The corporation monarchs and kings
of high finance have begun the fight
early for Roosevelt's scalp. They not
only want his scalp, but purpose to pil
lage his camp and lay waste his policy,
leaving such a wreck that his success
or, be he democrat or republican, will
not dare ever to think even of follow
ing in his footsteps."
The latest escapade of Buster
Brown in the "comic" supplements
will cause the bankers of the country
some justifiable uneasiness.- Mr. Smith,
the banker, kicks Buster's dog. In
retaliation the child goes down the
street spreading- a story that Mr.
Smith's bank is about to fail. This
starts a run as naturally as a match
in a. barn loft starts a fire. When the
extra newspapers are out announcing
the failure of the bank Buster boasts
that he "wrote the words and music
of that song and the accompaniment,
too." No punishment follows, and no
hint is given of the criminal nature of
the act, In communities where these
supplements circulate the bankers will
not dare kick a dog or scold a child
for a dozen years. If the object of
the pictures was to encourage polite
ness among fat financiers it will
achieve its mission, but unfortunately
it gives an idea to children that is
more dangerous than a stick of dyna
mite. Amabssador James Bruce, who gets
into the headlines almost every day,
would not be an ambassador, not even
a chief secretary for Ireland, hardly
so much as a common member of par
liament, if it were not for his wife. Un
til Mr. Bryce married the rich Eliza
beth Ashton of Manchester in 1899 he
was a college professor and author,
witH a fair chance of remaining in that
useful but inconspicuous employment
for life. He had to keep grubbing to
make a living. Mrs. Bryce changed
this. Her money gave Mr. Bryce time
and means to enter politics, and her
personality helped him to gather about
him a social circle of the best minds
in London and Great Britain. She made
speeches in his liberal campaign, acted
as president of the national organiza
tion of women liberal, accompanied
and encouraged hec husband on the
travels by which he added to his
breadth and iolitical usefulness, and
already In Washington Is coming to
be recognized us his chief backer.
When Mr. Bryc Is mentioned in the
di:UliS fairness requires to think
alo i'f Mr Bryce,
Unbounded nallsfartlon everywhere
tru ai tkularly In the white house Is
Justified by ths reports of tha many
different official, seml-ofrkUl and prl
ue biters U Panama noted a! in out
every day In dispatches. Whether from
commercial clubs, congressmen, or
tourists the report is the same, sur
prise and satisfaction over the remark
able progress being made. The revel of
graft and inefficiency foreseen by the
timid mind has not developed. Despite
the repeated changes in generalship the
work has gone forward without inter
ruption. After a close inspection Con
gressman McCall of Massachusetts, a
capable critic, finds "nothing to criti
cise" in the management of the enter
prise. He thinks it will cost more than
was expected, as all great enterprises
do, but the work will be achieved and
honestly. If this proves true it will be
good evidence that the graft and plot
ting for privilege with which the coun
try has been made familiar in late
years is only a symptom of the Ameri
can scum and dregs; that at heart
American integrity and nerve for great
achievement are strong and sound.
Under the party test proposed by the
joint committee direct primary bill, to
be eligible to vote at the primaries a
voter must be ready to swear that he
supported at the last election the can
didates of the party whose ticket he
desires to vote, and that he intends to
support a majority of the candidates
of the same party at the approaching
election. This provision, which the
house struck out and the senate has
reinserted, disfranchises at the pri
maries all voters who happen to have
changed party affiliations between elec
tions. Doubtless no legislator intends
or means to legislate men into party
straight jackets by penalizing them for
changing parties, as this does, but those
who favor the restriction consider it
necessary .o safeguard against the
packing of party primaries. Is there not
a way, however, to guard against the
packing of the primary, granting that
this is a needed precaution, without the
use of a provision so repugnant to
freedom and fairness as this penalty
on independence? -
Apprehension Is heard since the ap
pearance of the Easter styles, that we
are on the verge of an epidemic of
wasp-waist-itis. The infection seems
not to have spread far Into the west
as yet. Further east, and particularly
In London, the literary files of twen
ty years ago are being consulted for
proofs of the evils . of tight lacing.
Like panics and drouth cycles and
locusts this appearance Is periodical,
and the disease will probably have' to
run its course. Sanitary measures
may of course be applied to minimize
the severity and duration of tne at
tack. About ten years ago the west
ern world was In a panic over a
threatened invasion of the hoop
skirt. The exorcism of the reformers
had no more effect than to scatter
the infection. But it happened that
the women of sense were of one mind
in applying antiseptics to the idea.
The threatened raid was averted be
cause not enough supposedly sane peo
ple enlisted to give tone to the army
of the other sort that is always ready
to form beneath such a banner. Pos
sibly a similar situation will prevent
many fatalities of the sort the Lon
don papers are already reporting as
the result of waist strangulation.
Ex-Secretary Shaw stands pat on
prosperity aLso. The punic through
which Wall street has just passed wa.s
not altogether a bad thing, thinks the
latent cabinet member to graduate into
the presidency of a New York trust
company. We were running too fast.
Prims wore getting too high, labor too
scarce, railroad service too limited.
The panio checked the puce, and now,
h thinks, there is less danger of
tripping and plowing up the road with
our no than if the panic had not oc
curred. When we put thi in with
Secretary Wilson's opinion the fkies
look rosy Again. It U aasurvst thut
SfKxl crop .nwh a the country pro
duced last year can savs us from buwl
lieu depression. Secretary Wilson In
lst that a rnrl crop failure to not
possible In ths United Platen; that the
divervliy of cropa and condition and
improved farming methods insure
against this. In Nebraska we remem
ber in this connection that a bad corn
year is often the best wheat year as
in 1901; that a bad wheat year is like
ly to be a good corn year; and that
some way the cowa and hogs pull
through every year.
Servantless America is more than
willing to follow patiently any experi
ment in co-operative housekeeping that
other people are brave enough to make.
Samuel M. Robinson proposes for the
people of Montclair, New Jertsey, a New
York suburb, that they form a stock
company and build and furnish a great
central housekeeping plant. There will
be laundry, kitchen, compressed air
houseeleaning wagons, and an automo
mile. Meals will be delivered to the pa
trons at their homes by the automobile,
packed in heat tight boxes, the soiled
dishes to be collected later and .takeji
back to the kitchen by automobile.
Washing would be handled in the same
way, and houseeleaning done by peri
odical visits of the air cleaning wagons.
In case the people pay according to the
service they get, this plan seems to
differ from the ordinary commercial
system of restaurants and laundries
only in the ownership of an interest
and a measure of control in the enter
prise by those served. If it is proposed
for everybody to pay equally regard
less of consumption its future is dark.
Human nature is not equal to that yet.
Some months ago the newspapers
announced the engagement of Miss
Theodora Shonts, daughter of the then
chairman of the isthmian canal com
mission, to the Due de Chaulnes et de
Picquigny, a French title bearer with
finances as short as his name is long.
Shortly afterward the report was de
nied . The negotiations were not broken
off, however, for the Due is still in New
York pressing his suit with all the
vigor of a seasoned promoter. This
affair would be nobody's business but
'that of the Due and the Shontses, al
though the promotion of marriage by
the overcapitalization of a title 'of no
bility tends to retch the American
stomach, except that people must won
der whether it was the necessity of
buying the Due that led Mr. Shonts to
turn his back on the Panama canal in
order to take a more lucrative job.
At any rate the facts seem to be that
Miss Shonts refuses to be happy unless
her papa buys the Due for her, and the
result lies altogether in , the ability of
Mr. Shonts to overcome his conscien
tious and financial scruples sufficiently
to come to her terms and the Due's.
Questions of paving, transportation,
taxes, lighting, street cleaning, police
profection and liquor dealing continue
to be the favorite issues with candi
dates for city office. In time, as these
questions come one by one into an ap
proximation of settlement ,there will
arise a candidate with the pneumatic
city his slogan. The city that can do
a rushing business without unneces
sary noise will In some future time
have a claim on the sister virtue of
getting on without unnecessary smoke
their respective automobiles. The
and dirt. Unnecessary blowing of
boat whistles has been ordered sup
pressed in New York. The inland
city of Lincoln has 1n a small meas
ure the saiiin problem, in the disposi
tion of some people to use at least
half their engine power in blowing tn
various forms of blasts pertaining to
newsboy with the midnight extra Is
coming into disrepute in New York
residence districts; in smaller cities he
may in Urn., be requested to suppress
hi Sunday morniug announcements
until a reasonable waking up time,
say 8 o'clock. It may in timo be a
crime to rob people of their sleep a
It Is now a crime to poison their
water.
Because Nebraska puts into effect
A two-cent passenger fare the west
em railroads raUc th rates on grain.
Ue.au Nebraska, put Into effect a
two rent passenger rmt the railroads
refuse to giva their trainmen all they
sjk for lu wft Increases, Vltif
