f
DR
J GUNN
DENTIST PN
Ofllco ltoutns 3 und 5 Walsh Hlk McCook
A G BUMP
V
Real Estate
and Insurance
First door south of Foams gallery
McCook Nebraska
C n BoihK C E Eldueu
BOYLE ELDRED
AXTOKNEYS AT I AW
Lone Distill co Ione 41
Rooms 1 and second floor
PoEtofllce HmldiuH
Mctool Neb
J H WODDELL
McCOOK NEB
LIVE STOCK and REAL ESTATE
AUCTIONEER
23LCalI at Citizens Bank For Dates
JOHN E KELLEY
ATTORNEY AT LAW and
BONDED ABSTEACTE
McCook Nebraska
C3Anantor Lincoln Land Co and of McCool
Wator Works Olllco in Postoliico building
Dr A 1 FINCH
OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN
and OPTICIAN
Office days Tuesdays Wednes
day Thursdays and Saturdays
Office iu Post Office Bldg - Phone 13
GATEWOOD VAHUt
DENTISTS
Office over McAdams Store Phone 190
Middleton Ruby
PLUMBING and
STEAM FITTING
All work guaranteed
Phone 182 McCook Nebraska
Mike Walsh
DEALER IN
POULTRY
and EGGS
Old Rubber Copper and Brass
Highest Market Price Paid in Cash
Now location just across street in P Walsh I
building I
flcCook - Nebraska I
Go Somewkr
Winter Tourist Rates
Winter Tourist excursion rates to
Florida to the Gulf country and
to Southwestern and Cuban re
softs
Homeseekers Excursions
Cheap rate excursions the first
and third Tuesdays of December
to Kansas Oklahoma the Gulf
country Colorado Utah Wyom
ing Big Horn Basin Montana
and the Northwest Ask your
nearest agent or write the under
signed
Big Horn Basin and Yellow-
stone Valley District
We help you buy land Person
ally conducted landseekers ex
cursions in charge of Mr D Clem
Deaver are run on the first and
third Tuesdays in December to
the Kinkaid free land district in
northwest Nebratka to the Big
Horn basin and to Yellowstone
Valley near Billings Montana
Put your money in land and let
us help you find locations at the
early and ground fioor prices you
can homestead under the govern
roent ditch or take up land under
the Carey act at 50c per acre plus
the cost of water There is no
section of the west with a more
active and certain irrigation devel
opment than the Big Horn barin
Write D Clem Deaver General
Agent Landseekers Information
Bureau Omaha No charge for
his services
R E FOE
Ticket Agent McCook Neb
L W WAKELEY G P A Omaha Net
MHHHMHH
jbBlkigSiia Y ltfJEifffii I tft MiMpJfilfcl
xsni jftfr7 zr
continued fbom paoh tiikeis
Bum total of changes represents tho
public good This meuus that the sub
ject cannot with wisdom be dealt with
in the year preceding a presidential
election because as a matter of fact
experience lias conclusively shown
that at such a time it is Impossible to
get men to treat it from the standpoint
of the public good In my judgment
the wise time to deal with the matter
is immediately after such election
Income Tax and Inheritance Tax
When our tax laws are revised the
question of an income tax and an in
heritance tax should receive the care
ful attention of our legislators In my
tune it was not evaueu uy tne very
men whom it was most desirable to
have taxed for if so evaded it would
of course be worse than no tax at all
as the least desirable of all taxes Is
respoiuung increase ana uuraen oi tax
ation The government has the abso
lute right to decide as to the terms
especially appropriate for the impost
tion of a tax Laws imposing such
taxes have repeatedly been placed
upon the national statute books and as
repeatedly declared constitutional by
the courts and these laws contained
the progressive principle that is after
a certain amount is reached the be
quest or gift in life or death is in
creasingly burdened and the rate of
taxation is increased in proportion to
the remoteness of blood of the man re
ceiving the bequest These principles
are recognized already in the leading
civilized nations of the world In Great
Britain all the estates worth 3000 or
less are practically exempt from death
duties while the Increase is such that
when an estate exceeds 3000000 In
value and passes to a distant kinsman
or stranger in blood the government
receives all told an amount equivalent
to nearly a fifth of the whole estate
In France so much of an inheritance
as exceeds 10000000 pays over a
fifth to the state if it passes to a dis
tant relative The German law is es
pecially interesting to us because it
makes the inheritance tax an impe
rial measure Avhile allotting to the
individual states of the empire a por
tion of the proceeds and permitting
them to impose taxes in addition to
those imposed by the imperial govern
ment Small inheritances are exempt
but the tax is so sharply progressive
that when the inheritance is still not
very large provided it is not an agri
cultural or a forest land it is taxed at
the rate of 25 per cent if it goes to dis
tant relatives
There is no reason why in the Unit
ed States the national government
should not impose inheritance taxes in
addition to those imposed by the
states and when we last had an inher
itance tax about one half of the states
levied such taxes concurrently with
the national government making a
combined maximum rate in some cases
as high as 23 per cent The French
law has one feature which is to be
heartily commended The progressive
principle is so applied that each high
er rate is imposed only on the excess
above the amount subject to the next
lower rate so that each increase of
rate will apply only to a certain
amount above a certain maximum
The tax should if possible be made to
bear more heavily upon those residing
without the country than within it A
ueavy progressive tax upon a very
large fortune is in no way such a tax
upon thrift or industry as a like tax
would be on a smll fortune No ad
vantage comes either to the country as
a whole or to the individuals inheriting
the money by permitting the transmis
sion in their entirety of the enormous
fortunes Avkich would be affected by
such a tax and as an incident to its
function of revenue raising such a tax
would help to preserve a measurable
equality of opportunity for the people
of the generations growing to man
hood We have not the slightest sym
pathy with that socialistic idea which
would try to put laziness thriftlors
ness and inefficiency on a par with in
dustry thrift and efficiency which
would strive to break up not merely
private property but what is far more
important the home the chief prop
upon which our whole civilization
stands Such a theory if ever adopt
ed would mean the ruin of the entire
country a ruin which would bear
heaviest upon the weakest upon those
least able to shift for themselves But
proposals for legislation such as this
herein advocated are directly opposed
to this class of socialistic theories Our
ACKWMb
of the department of justice during the
past few years has been such as to
make It evident that no man stands
above tha law that no corporation is
bo wealth that it cannot be held to
account The department of justice
has been as prompt to proceed against
the wealthiest malefactor whose crime
was one of greed and cunning as to
proceed against the agitator who in
cites to brutal violence Everything
that can be done under the existing
law and with the existing state of pub-
lie opinion which so profoundly I
I ences both the courts and juries has j which the national
i been done but the laws themselves jurisdiction The m
need strengthening in more than one
judgment both of these taxes should j important point They should be made
be part of our system of federal taxa
tion I speak diffidently about the in
come tax because one scheme for an in
come tax was declared unconstitution
al by the supreme court while in addi
tion it is a difficult tax to administer
In Its practical working and great
more definite so that no honest man
can be led unwittingly to break them
and so that the real wrongdoer can be
readily punished
Moreover there must be the public
opinion back of the laws or the laws
themselves will be of no avail At
care would have to be exercised to see while the
present average juryman un
doubtedly wishes to see trusts broken
up and is quite ready to fine the cor
poration itself he is very reluctant to
find the facts proven beyond a reason
able doubt when it comes to sending to
iuu iav which uuara neavuy upon uie jail a member of the business corn
honest as compared with the dishonest j munity for indulging in practices
man Nevertheless a graduated In which
nre profoundly unhealthy but
come tax of the proper type would be wllIcll unfortunately the business com
a desirable feature of federal taxation I
has
mimity grown to recognize as
and it is to be hoped that one may be weU lligh normal Both the present
devised which the supreme court will condition of the law and the present
declare constitutional The Inheritance temper of juries render it a task of ex
tax however is both a far better treme
difficulty to get at the real
method of taxation and far more wrongdoer in any such case especially
portant for the purpose of having the
by imprisonment vet It is from every
fortunes of the country bear in pro- standpoint far preferable to punish the
portion to their increase in size a j priine offender by imprisonment rather
than to fine the corporation with the
attendant damage to stockholders
The two trreat evils in tho execution
upon which a man shall receive a be 1 Gf our criminal laws today are senti
quest or devise from another and this mentality and technicality For the
point in the devolution of property is iaticl the remedy must come from the
aim is to recognize what Lincoln point
ed out the fact that there are some
respects in whi ih men are obviously
not equal but also to insist that there
should be au equality of self respect
and of mutual respect an equality of
rights before the law and at least an
approximate equality in the conditions
under whicli each man obtains the
chance to show the stuff that is In him
when compared to his fellows
A few years ago there was loud com
plaint that rlie law could not be in
voked against wealthy offenders There
Is no such complaint now The course
hands of the legislatures the courts
and the lawyers The other must de
pend for its cure upon the gradual
growth of a sound public opinion
which shall insist that regard for the
law and the demands of reason shall
control all other influences and emo
tions in the jury box Both of these
evils must be removed or public dis
content with the criminal law will con
tinue
INJUNCTIONS
Abuses of This Judicial Institution
Should Be Stopped
Instances of abuse in the granting of
Injunctions in labor disputes continue
to occur and the resentment in the
minds of those who feel that their
rights are being invaded and their lib
erty of action and of speech unwar
rantly restrained continues likewise to
grow Much of the attack on the use
of the process of injunction is wholly
without warrant but I am constrained
to express the belief that for some of
It there is warrant This question is
becoming more and more one of prime
importance and unless the courts will
themselves deal with it in effective
manner It is certain ultimately to de
maud some form of legislative action
It would be most unfortunate for our
social welfare if we should permit
many honest and law abiding citizens
to feel that they bad just cause for re
garding our courts with hostility I
earnestly commend to the attention of
tho congress this matter so that some
way may be devised which will limit
and wrongs of capital and the na
tional government must always see
that the decision of the court is put
into effect The process of injunction
is an essential adjunct of the courts
doing its work well and as preventive
measures are always better than reme
dial the wise use of this process is
from every standpoint commendable
But where it is recklessly or unneces
sarily used the abuse should be cen
sured above all by the very men who
are properly anxious to prevent any ef
fort to shear the courts of this neces
sary power The courts decision must
be final The protest is only against the
conduct of individual judges in need
lessly anticipating such final decision
or in the tyrannical use of what is
nominally a temporary injunction to
accomplish what is in fact a permanent
decision
Accidents
The loss of life and limb from rail
road accidents in this country has be
come appalling It is a subject of
which the national government should
take supervision It might be well to
begin by providing for a federal in
spection of interstate railroads some
what along the lines of federal
j tion of steamboats although not going
so far Perhaps at first all that it
would be necessary to have would be
some officer whose duty would be to
investigate all accidents on interstate
railroads and report in detail the
causes thereof Such an officer should
make it his business to get into close
touch with railroad operating men so
as to become thoroughly familiar with
every side of the question the idea
being to work along the lines of the
present steamboat inspection law
The national gdvernment should be
determine it while the workman and
his family would be relieved from a
crushing load With such a policy
would come increased care and acci
dents would be reduced in number The
national laws providing for employers
liability on railroads engaged iu inter
state commerce and for safety appli
ances as well as for diminishing the
hours any employee of a railroad
should be permitted to work should
all be strengthened wherever in actual
practice they have shown weakness
They should be kept on the statute
books in thoroughgoing form
The constitutionality of the employ
ers liability act passed by the preced
ing congress has been carried before
the courts In two jurisdictions the
law has been declared unconstitution
al and in three jurisdictions its con
stitutionality has been affirmed The
question has been carried to the su
prt cojil the case has been heard
by that tribunal and a decision is ex
pected at an early date In the event
that the court should affirm the consti
tutionality of the act I urge further
legislation along the lines advocated
in iny message to the preceding con
gress The practice of putting the en
tire burden of loss to life or limb upon
the victim or the victims family is a
form of social injustice in which the
i
tion providing limited but
compensation for accidents
workmen within the scope of the fed
eral power including employees of
navy yards ami arsenals In other
words a model employers liability act
far reaching and thoroughgoing should
be enacted which should apply to all
positions public and private over
government lias
number of accidents
to wage workers including those that
are preventable and those that are
not has become appalling in the me
chanical manufacturing and transpor
tation operations of the day It works
grim hardship to the ordinary wage
worker and his family to have the ef
fort of such an accident fall solely up
on him and on the other hand there
are whole classes of attorneys who ex
ist only by inciting men who may or
may not have been wronged to under
take suits for negligence As a matter
of fact a suit for negligence is gen
erally an inadequate remedy for the
person injured while it often causes
altogether disproportionate annoyance
to the employer The law should be
made such that the payment for acci
dents by the employer would be auto
matic instead of being a matter for
lawsuits Workmen should receive
certain and definite compensation for
all accidents in industry irrespective
of negligence The employer is the
agent of the public and on his own
responsibility and for his own profit he
serves the public When he starts in
motion agencies which create risks for
others he should take all the ordinary
and extraordinary risLs involved and
the risk he thus at the moment as
sumes wm ultimately no iissuincii as
it ought to le by the general public
Only in this way can the shock of the
accident be diffused instead of falling
upon the man or woman least able to
bear it as is now the case The com
munity at large should share the bur
dens as Avell as the benefits of indus
try By the proposed hiw employers
would gain a desirable certainty of
obligation and get rid of litigation to
the abuse of injunctions and protect I United States stands in unenviable
those rights which from time to time
it unwarrantably invades Moreover
discontent is often expressed with the
use of the process of injunction by the
courts not only in labor disputes but
where state laws are concerned I re
frain from discussion of this question
as I am informed that it will soon re
ceive the consideration of the supreme
court
The federal courts must of course
decide ultimately what are the respec
tive spheres of state and nation in con
nection with any law state or national
and they must decide definitely and
finally in matters affecting individual
citizens not only as to the rights and
wrongs of labor but as to the rights
prominence In both our federal and
our state legislation we have with few
exceptions scarcely gone further than
the repeal of the fellow servant prin
ciple of the old law of liability and in
some of our states even this slight
modification of a completely outgrown
principle has not yet been secured
The legislation of the rest of the indus
trial world stands out in striking con
trast to our backwardness in this re
spect Since 1S93 practically every
countiy of Europe together with Great
Britain New Zealand Australia Brit
ish Columbia and the Cape of Good
Hope has enacted legislation embody
ing iu one form or another the com
plete recognition of the principle v hich
places upon the employer the entire
trade risk in the various lines of in
dustry I urge upon the congress the
enactment of a law which will at the
same time bring federal legislation up
to the standard already established by
all the European countries and which
will serve as a stimulus to the various
states to perfect their legislation in
this regard
Eight Hour Law
The congress should consider the ex
tension of the eight hour law The con
stitutionality of the present law has
recently been called into question and
the supreme court has decided that the
existing legislation is unquestionably
within the powers of the congress
The principle of the eight hour day
should as rapidly and as far as prac
ticable be extended to the entire work
carried on by the government and the
present law should be amended to em
brace contracts on those public works
which the present wording of the act
has been construed to exclude The
general introduction of the eight hour
day should be the goal toward which
we should steadily tend and the gov
ernment should set the example in this
respect
Strikes and lockouts with their at
tendant loss and suffering continue to
increase For the five year ending
Doc 31 1003 the number of strikes
was greater than those in any previous
ten years and was double the number
Jn the preceding five years These fig
ures indicate the increasing need of
providing some machinery to deal with
this class of disturbances in the inter
est alike of the employer the em
ployee and the general public I renew
my previous recommendation that the
congress favorably consider the
progressive programme
Capital and Labor
It is certain that for some time to
come there will be a constant increase
absolutely id perhaps relatively of
those among our citizens who dwell in
cities or towns of some size and who
work for wages This means that
there will be an ever increasing need
to consider the problems inseparable
from a great industrial civilization
sse
--
a model employer It should demand ter of creating the machinery for com- J Vice In its cruder and more archaic
the highest qualiry of service from I puisory Investigation of such industrial forms shocks everybody but there is
each of its employees and it should controversies as are of sufficient very urgent need that public opinion
care for all of them properly in re- j nltude and of sufficient concern to tho should be Just as severe In condemna
turn Congress should adopt peopk jf the country as a whole to tion of the vice which hides itself be
definite warrant the federal government in hind class or professional loyalty or
to all taking action t which denies that it is vice if It can
Tlie need for some provision such cape conviction in the courts The pub-
investigatioii was forcibly illustrated He and the representatives of the pub-
duiing the past summer A strike of He the high officials whether on the
telegraph operators seriously interfered bene or iu executive or legislative
with telegraphic communication cans- Billons need to remember that often
ing great damage to business Interests the most dangerous criminals so far as
and serious inconvenience to the the life of the nation Is concerned are
oral public Appeals were made to me
from many parts of the country from
city councils from 1 iards of trade
from chambers of com icrce and from
labor organisations m iig thnt steps
be taken to lermiiuto tin strike Ev
erything that could with any propriety
be done by a representative of the gov
ernment was done v ithoit avail and
for weekM the public stool by and suf
fered Viithoi t recourse of any kind
Had the machinery existed and had
there been authority for compulsory
Investigation of the dispute the public
would have been placed in possession
of the merits of the controversy and
public opinion would probably have
brought about a prompt adjustment
Each successive sUp creating ma
chinery for the adjustment of labor
difficulties must be taken w ith caution
not those who commit the crimes
known to and condemned by the popu
lar conscience for centuries but those
wlio commit crimes only rendered pos
sible by the complex conditions of our
modern Industrial life It makes not a
particle of difference whether these
crime- are committed by a capitalist or
by a laborer by a leading banker or
manufacturer or railroad man or by a
leading repiesintatlve of a labor union
Swindling in stocks corrupting legis
la tines making fortunes by the Infla
tion of securities by wrecking railroads
by destroying competitors through re
batesthese forms of wrongdoing in
the capitalist are far more Infamous
than any other form of embezzlement or
forgery yet it is a matter of extreme
difficulty to secure the punishment of
the men most guilty of them most re
but we endeavor to make sponsible for them The business man
ress in this direction
The provisions of the act of 1S0S
creating he chairman of the interstate
commerce commission and the commis
sioner of labor a board of mediation in
controversies between interstate rail
roads and their employees has for the
first time been subjected to serious
tests within the past year and the wis
dom of the experiment has been fully
demonstrated The creation of a board
for compulsory investigation in cases
where mediation fails and arbitration
is rejected is the next logical step In a
who condones such conduct stands on
a level with the labor man who de
liberately supports a corrupt dema
gogue and agitator whether head of a
union or head of some municipality
because he is said to have stood by
the union The members of the busi
ness community the educators or
clergymen who condone and encourage
the first kind of wrongdoing are no
more dangerous to the community but
are morally even worse than the labor
nti who are guilty of the scond type
of wn ngdoing because les is to be
I pardoned those who have no such ex
I cuse as is furnished either by igno
rance or by dire need
Farmers and Wageworkers
When the department of agricul
ture was founded there was much
sneering as to its usefulness No de
partment of the government however
has more emphatically vindicated its
usefulness and none save the post
ofiice department comes so mntiiiu illv
Where an immense and complex and intimately into touch with the peo
ness especially in those branches re- pie The two citizens whose welfare
lating to manufacture and transports js ju the aggregate most vital to tlie
tion is transacted by a large number welfare of the nation and therefore
of capitalists who employ a very to the welfare of all other citizens are
much larger number of wage earners the wngeworker who does manual la
the former tend more and more to bor and the tiller of the soil the farm
combine into corporations and the lat- er Tucre are of course kinds of labor
ter into unions The relations of the -where the work must be purely men
capitalist and wageworker to one an- tal and there are other kinds of labor
other and of each to the general public Tvhere under existing conditions verv
are r it always easy to adjust and to
- - - - iillii ueuiauu mueeu is made upon the
put t em and keep them on a mind though I am glad to say
tory asis is one of the most important the proportion of men engaged in
also impossible to reach the proper so
lution It is idle to hold that without
good laws evils such as child labor as
the overworking of women as the fail
ure to protect employees from loss of
life or limb can be effectively reached
any more than the evils of rebates and
stock watering can be reached without
good laws To fail to stop these prac
tices by legislation means to force hon
est men into them because otherwise
that
this
ami one ol tne most delicate tasks be- kind of work is diminishing But in
fore our whole civilization Much of any community with the solid heallhv
the work for the accomplishment of
qualities which make up a really great
this end must be done by the nation the bulk of the people should do
uals concerned themselves whether -work which calls for the exercise of
singly or in combination and the one both body and mind Progress cannot
fundamental fact that must never be permanently exist in the abandonment
lost track of is that the character of Gf physical labor but in the develop
the average man whether he be a man mcnt of physical labor so that it shall
of means or a man who works with represent more and more the work of
his hands is the most important j the trained mind in the trained body
tor in solving the problem aright But Our school system is gravely defective
it is almost equally important to re- n so far as it puts a premium upon
member that without good laws it is mere literary training and tends there
fore to train the boy away from the
farm and the workshop Nothing is
more needed than the best type of in
dustrial school the school for mechan
ical industries in the city the school
for practically teaching agriculture in
the country The calling of the skilled
tiller of the soil the calling of the
skilled mechanic should alike be recog
nized as professions just as
illy as the calling of lawyer doctor
the dishonest who surelj will take ad- merchant or clerk The schools should
vantage of them will have overvthing
their own way If the states will cor
rect these evils well and good but the
nation must stand ready to aid them
recognize this fact and it should
equally be recognized in popular opin
ion The young man who has the far
sightedness and courage to recognize
it and to get over the idea that it
CHILD AND WOMAN LABOR 2 i
who refuses to enter the crowded field
No Industrial Question of More of tbc so called professions and takes
f3nr1 Thnr Thic to constructive industries instead is
Xo question growing out of our rapid
and complex industrial development is
iiupoiiiaiiL man mat oi me wjth a fair
pioymeut oi women anil children lhe
presence of women in industry reacts
with extreme directness upon the char
acter of the home and upon family
life and the conditions surrounding the
employment of children bear a vital re
lation to our future citizenship Our
legislation in those areas under the
control of the congress is very much
behind the legislation of our more pro
gresshe states A thorough and com
prehensive measure should be adopted
at this session of the congress relating
to the employment of women and chil
dren in the District of Columbia and
the territories The investigation into
the conditi n of women and children
wage earner- recently authorized and
directed Ly tle congress is now being
carried on in the various states and
I recommend that the appropriation
made lat for beginning this work
be renewed ii order that we may have
reasonably sure of an ample reward in
earnings in health in opportunity to
marry early and to establish a home
unount of freedom from
worry It should be one of our prime
objects to put both the farmer and the
mechanic on a higher plane of effi
ciency and reward so as to increase
their effectiveness in the economic
world and therefore the dignity the
remuneration and the power of their
positions in the social world
Xo growth of cities no growth of
wealth can make up for any loss in
either the number or the character of
the farming population We of tht
United States should realize this above
almost all other peoples We began
our existence as i nation of farmers
and in every great crisis of the past a
peculiar dependence has had to be
placed upon the farming population
and this dependence has hitherto
been justified But it cannot be justi
fied in the future if agriculture is per
mitted to sink in the scale as com
pared with other employments We
the thorough and comprehensive cannot afford to lose that pre eminent
titration Which t Is- silMecr itomnrwlc i 4 i i
j i y ivim ai uie iarmer v no
The national government has as an j owns his own medium sized farm To
timate resort for control of child labor have his place taken bv either a class
the use ot the interstate
commerce of small
peasant proprietors or bv a
clause to prevent the products of chilli ejaSs of great landlords with tenant
labor from entering into interstate com farmed estates would be a veritable
merce but before using this it
ought calamity The growth of our cities N
certainly to enact moddl laws on the a good thing but onlv in so far as it
subject for the territories under its
does not
mean a growth at the ex
own immediate control nenso nf tho imtrr frm re-
A irfc AUlXAVfc iuul
There is one fundamental proposition welcome the rise of physical sciences
which can be laid down as regards all ln their annlieation to agricultural
these matters namely while honesty practices and we must do all w
ly itself will not solve the problem yet to render country conditions more
e can
ooqt
jue insistence upon nonesty not mere- and pleasant There are forces which
ly technical honesty but honesty In now tend to bring about both these re
purpase and spirit Is rn essential ele Jsults but they are as vet in their n
ment iu arriving at a right conclusion fancy The national ovenmieiit
V
A
rv
i
