Governor Hughes, the Legislature, and
Primary Reform
__i
Reprinted from nn nrlleln by Theodore Roosevelt In Thu Outlook, by special
arrangement with I'ho Outlook, of which Theodora Roosevelt is Contributing
Editor. Copyright. 11*10, by The Outlook Company. All Rights Reserved.
— BELIEVE that Governor
Hughes tins been support
eit by the bulk of the wis
est and most disinterested
* public opinion as regards
most of his measures and
positions, nnd 1 think that this bus
been markedly the ease ns regards
direct primary nominations. I know
that many honest and sincere men
are on principle opposed to Governor
Hughes on this point, and l know also
that the proposed reform will very
possibly accomplish less than Its ex
treme advocates expect; while 1 am
well aware, ns of course all thinking
men must be, that the worth of any
such measure In the last resort de
pends upon the character of the vot
ers, and that no patent device will
ever secure good government unless
the people themselves devote sutll
ctont energy, Mine, nnd Judgment to
make the device work. Finally, I
freely admit that here and there,
where the principle of direct nomina
tions bus been applied In too crude
shape or wrongheadedly. It has, while
abolishing certain evils, produced or
accentuated others in certain eases,
for Instance, putting a premium upon
the lavish expenditure of money.
But while 1 freely admit all this, I
nevertheless feel. In the first place,
that on thi* fundamental Issue of di
rect primary nominations the Gover
nor Is right, and, In the second place,
that, ns the measure finally came tip
for action In the state legislature, It
whs well nigh free from all objections
save those of the men who object to
It because they are fundamentally op
posed to any change whatever In the
desired direction. The hill provided
only for direct popular notion in the
primaries !n relatively small geo
graphical and political communities,
thereby making the experiment first
where there was least liability to se
rlous objection, and avoiding or defer
ring the task of dealing with those big
communities where (he difficulties and
dangers to be overcome would be
greatest. Moreover, while guarantee
ing full liberty of Individual action, It
also provided for the easy main to
nnance of party organization, and
thereby avoided some very real dan
gers—among them that of encourag
lng tbo use of masses of the minority
party In any given district to dictate
the actions of the majority party. In
other words, the proposed bill, while
it marked a very real step In advance,
was tentatively an.l cautiously fram
ed, and provided all possible safe
guards against abuses. If In practice
it had failed to work in any particu
lar, there would have been no possible
difficulty In making whatever amend
ments or changes were necessary.
The Republican party was In the
majority in both houses of tho legis
lature which refused to carry out the
Republican governor's recotnmenda
Ilona; and although it was only a
minority of the Republican members
which brought about this refusal, the
party cannot escape a measure of re
sponsibility for I he failure; but it is
only just to remember that a clear
majority of the Republican members
of each house supported the bill,
whereas three fourths or over of the
Democrats opposed It. This Is one
of the eases where it 1b e.ns!er to ap
portion individual than party responsi
bility.
Those who believe that by their
action t hoy have definitely checked
the movement for direct popular prl
liiarles are, in my Judgment, mistaken
in Its essence, this is a movement to
make the government more demo
cratic, more responsive to (lie wishes
and needs of the people as a whole.
With our political machinery It is es
sent la! to have an efficient party, but
the machinery ought to be suited to
democratic and not oligarchic customs
and habits. The question Whether in
a sell governing republic we shall
have self governing parties is larger
than llie particular bill. We hold that
the right of popular self government is
Incomplete unless it includes the right
of the voters not merely to choose be
tween candidates when they have
been nominated, but also the right to
determine who these candidates shall
be. Under our system of party gov
eminent, therefore, the voters should
be guaranteed the right to determine
within the ranks of their respective
organizations who the candidates of
the parties will he, no less than the
right to choose between tho cand
dates when the candidates are pre
sented them. There Is no desire to
break down the responsibility of
party organization under duly consti
tuted party leadership, but there Is a
desire to make this responsibility reel
and to give the members of the party
the right to say whom they desire to
execute this leadership. In New York
state no small part of the strength of
the movement has come from the pop
ular conviction that many of the men
most prominent In party leadership
tend at times to forget than In a
democracy the function of a political
leader must normally be to lead, not
to drive. We, the men who compose
the groat bulk of the community, wish
to govern ourselves. We welcome
leadership, but we wish our leaders
to Understand that they derive their
strength from uh, and that, although
we look to them for guidance, we ex
peet this guidance to be In accord
ance with our interests and our
ideals. .
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
IDEAS ABOUT THE RAINBOW
Queer Notions Held by People of
Different Countries Regard
ing the Cow.
In many countries the rainbow Is
spoken of as being a great bent puntp
or siphon tube, drawing water front
the earth by mechanical means, in
parts of Russia, in the Don country,
and also in Moscow and vicinity. It
Is known by a name which is equiva
lent to "the bent water-pipe,” in
nearly all Slavonic dialects it is
known by terms signifying the cloud
siphon.” and In Hungary it is "the
puntp,” "Noah’s pump" ami "God's
pump." The Malayan natives call it
by the same name that they do their
rnanded water cobra, only that they
add "boba" (meaning double-headed),
the equivalent in our language being
“the double-headed water-snake.”
They tell you that the bow is a real
thing of life, that it drinks with its
two mouths, and that the water is
transferred to the clouds through an
opening in the upper side of the cen
tre of the great arch. In the province
of Charkav, Russia, the rainbow is
said to drain the wells, and io prevent
this many are provided with heavy,
tight-fitting stone platforms.
In the province of Saratov the bow
is said to be under the control of three
angels, one of whom pumps the water,
the second "feeds" the clouds, and
the third sends the rain. Many Im
probable and impossible things would
happen if you could only get in reach
of "the bow."
The little Turk is told that if he
would have a silver head, with gold
teeth and ruby eyes, he has but to
touch the orange stripe. In Greece
they say that the person so unfortu
nate as to stumble over the end of the
bow w ill have bis or her sex lmme
diatoly changed.
Only Classified.
"I confess to being rather particular
about my pajamas," said the fastidi
ous man, "and I had an experience
last week that nearly gave me nervous
prostration, until 1 saw the humor of
the situation. 1 was staying in a little
country town down In Maryland, and
it was necessary to send some soiled
clothing to the laundry, the one laun
dry of which the village boasted.
"Judge of my surprise when m.v
stuff was returned to me to tlnd that
my pajamas had been heavily
starched, with decided creases ironed
down in front. 1 was not only en
raged, but mystified as well, until, in
looking over the bill, I came to this
item:
" 'One tennis suit.35 cents."
Not Then.
Bacon—I see a patent has been
granted for an attachment to rocking
chairs to operate a fan to cool the
occupants.
Egbert—And when a man goes into
the dark room and stubs his toe
against the rocker, we do not think
the new attachment will cool him ofT
any.—Yonkers Statesman.
The Common Notion.
‘’What's your idea of success?"
"Getting $50 for a nickel’s worth of
work.”
Had a Native Gift for It.
Artist—Ah. Giles, good morning. 1
want you to come and give me a
few sittings some time. 1 suppose
you can sit?
Giles—Can 1 set? Ix>r‘, yes—like
an old hen!
A Plunge Into the Prosaic.
"See the beautiful sunset colors on
the water." said the poetic young
woman.
“I'm glad to know what they are."
replied the near-sighted man. “I
thought the bathing suits had faded ”
HOPE FOR NARCOTIC VICTIMS
—
Actual Thirst or Craving for Alcohol
is Not Inherited—Curious Se
lective Action.
The causes and effects of alcoholism j
1 form a vast subject about which much
| truth and many falsehoods have been |
i written. The falsehoods have done I
| more t ha ntt passing harm, for they
! have caused in the minds of the igno- !
'rant a disbelief in the truth, and the .
strict truth displays a terrible pic
ture, writes Alexander Lambert, M.
D., in Suec< ss Magazine. The use of |
alcohol is the most common and wide
spread of all the narcotics, and un
like mhrphine and cocaine it may be
indulged in modestly without ever be
ing taken to excess; but, also, unlike
morphine and cocaine, when used
even in moderation, it may cause
pathologic changes in the body, and
when taken In excess invariably pro
duces degenerative changes in the va
rious viscera.
Alcohol 1ms a curious selective ac
tion, and as Individuals reach differ
ently to equal doses, so, too, do indi
viduals show different patholicic!
changes from equal indulgence. The ]
brain and central nervous system, or j
the heart and arteries, or the liver and
kidneys, may each separately bear the I
brunt of the alcoholic poison. Thus
the brain and nervous system may en-1
tirely escape the poison, and the in-'
dividual die of cardie or other visceral
degeneral Ions; or the brain and nerv
ous system may become early degene
rated and the viscera escape, and the
chronic alcoholic live long years, a
nuisance and a curse to his commu
nity. Unfortunately, when alcoholic
excesses are committed in the youth
ful, formative period of life, the brain
and nervous system are t he more
prone to lie affected. The man who
indulges in alcoholic excesses is like
a man who recklessly signs drafts
which he never expects to be cashed
in, but when overtaken with acute dis
ease or accident these drafts tire
cashed in with pitiless insistence. The
effects of alcohol do not always re
main confined to the generation which
commits the over-indulgence, since
idiocy, epilepsy, moral degeneracy
and weakness, unstable mentality are
more often found in the children of
alcoholic parents than in those of
non-alcoholic parentage. The actual
thirst or craving is not inherited, but
the weaker moral character which is
bequeathed easily gives way to any
temptation and quickly forms habits
of excessive indulgence.
NATION'S LARGE DRINK BILL
Decrease In Amount of Alcohol Con
sumed in United States Shown .
by Estimate.
That the people of America are be
ginning to grow more sober in their
habits again is the apparent lesson of
the American Grocer’s estimate of the
nation's (ftink bill for 1909.
In spite of ten years of prohibition
agitation 1907 was the banner year
for the liquor trade. Consumption
reached then its maximum. In two
years the population Increased by
2,749,966, but the money spent upon
alcoholic drinks fell off $110,185,600.
This was not an economic after effect
of the panic: that would have been
more apparent in 1908; besides, tea,
coffee and cocoa established in 1909 a
record.
The per capita use of spirits in 1909
was tin* smallest since 1900; of beer
since 1905. Of both there was a de
cline in 1908 and again in 1909. The
consumption of wine alone increased,
but by a trifle. I
The treasury in 1909 derived from
spirits $109,868,817; from fermented
liquors, $75,550,754; from imported a! 1
coholics, $15,650,113, and from tobac
co, $59,355,084. The average tax per
capita from all these sources was
$2.93. !
Taking the estimated retail price of
alcoholics and adding coffee, tea and
cocoa, the 1909 drink bill of the na
tion was;
Malt liquors .$ 904,212,837
Spiritous liquors . 539,469,744
Wines . 131,881,657
Coffee, tea, etc. 216.440.9S8
---,|
Total .$1,792,005,226
This is $!)i»15 for each family of five
persons—enough In all conscience!
Ilut the alcoholic part of the expen
diture shows now for two successive
j years a decided tendency to slacken.
—
Cardinal Gibbons' Views.
Cardinal Gibbous recently expressed
the view that under present conditions
it might he difficult to enforce pro
hibitory laws in some neighborhoods
now, but that the movement in favor
of temperance reform so strong now
will grow still stronger, until in every
neighborhood the great vice of drunk
enness will be brought under control.
Tax Aids Temperance.
The reimposition of an increased t
whisky tax has aroused much resent
ment in Ireland, but all w ho are in- 1
terested in temperance cannot but ap
prove of the tax. which worked a re-,
duction in drunkenness of from 30 to
TO per cent. Tl. ! si. people are
now drinking stout, v 1 is not hall
so injurious as bad v,: • ’:y
EFFECT OF WATERWAY COMPETI
TION ON THE RAILWAYS OF
THE COUNTRY.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SAVING
Conservative Estimate Is That In a
Single Year It Would Be More Than
Enough to Discharge the Entire Na
tional Debt.
It wua stated In a previous article
that waterways produce both direct
and indirect savings in the cost of
transportation and also exert what
may be called a creative effect. As
an Instance of the direct saving it
was shown that the 100,000,000 tons of
freight handled on the great lakes
in 1907 were carried for $550,000,000
less than it would have cost by rail.
If the opinion of the United States
army engineers is correct—and this
opinion is based upon results actually
achieved on the riverH of Europe—
we have a number of rivers on which,
when properly improved, freight can
be carried for less than on the lakes
and many rivers on which it can be
carried for much less than by rail.
If, therefore, the plan advocated by
the National Rivers and Harbors
congress should be carried out—which
includes the improvement of all our
rivers to such extent as shall be found
advisable after exi>ert examination—
the direct saving in cost of transporta
tion would be vastly increased. It
would probably be increased tenfold,
but if it were only doubled the direct
saving in a single year would be more
than enough to pay off the national
debt.
Hut this is not the end of the bene-1
fits which the general improvement of
our waterways would bring, it is only
the beginning. Reside the direct sav
ing there is an indirect saving which
results from the effect of waterways
on railway freight rates, for rates
are always lower on railroads which
meet water competition than on those
which do not. The amount of tnis sav
ing is not everywhere the same, owing
to difference in conditions, but we
can get a good general Idea of it from
a study of some sample instances.
Freight Rates Affected.
Freight rates from New York to
Salt Lake or Spokane are much high
er than to San Francisco or Seattle,
although the distance is much less, be
cause goods can be carried to the Pa
cific coast by water, around Cape
Horn, while there is no waterway of
any kind to the inland cities named.
It is not the ocean alone that affects
railroad rates. Compare the rates on
first class merchandise to river towns
and inland towns situated about 250
miles from St. Iajuis. Towns on the
upper Mississippi get a rate of 33
cents a hundred, Inland towns pay 63
cents; towns on the Ohio pay 41 cents,
inland towns in the same regiotn
pay 87.
A still more striking instance, and
one showing the direct result of wa
terway improvement, is to be found
on the Columbia river. Before the
locks at the cascades were built
freight rates on nails, and that class
of goods, from Portland to The Dalles
were $6.40 per ton. As soon as the
locks were finished and the steam
boats could get through, the railroad
rate dropped to two dollars per ton—
less thau one-third what it was before.
That the difference was due to the
river improvement is shown by the
fact that rates were not reduced be
yond the point t* which the steam
boats could run. For instance, the
rate on salt in car load lots was $1.50
per ton to The Dalles, and $10.20 per
ton to Umatilla—$1.50 per ton for the
88 miles with water competition and
$8.70 per ton for the next 100 miles
without. These rates have since been
reduced as the improvement has pro
ceeded. and when the work is finished
and boats can run far up the Colum
bia river and to Lewiston and other
point in Idaho on its principal tribu
tary, the Snake river, the people in
all that region will benefit not only
by the direct saving on goods carried
by water, but also by the indirect sav
ing through the reduced rate on goods
carried by rail. Exactly similar re
sults would follow the radical im
provement of rivers all over the United
States.
Indirect Saving Large.
There is, however, no possible way
of finding out just how much this in
direct saving would be. Rates on some
freight would be reduced greatly, on
some freight slightly, on some, per
haps. not at all. But we can get some
idea of the amount of freight which
might be influenced. In the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1907, the total
amount of freight handled by the
railroads of the United States was
1,796,336,659 tons. Some of this was
hauled a short distance, some a long
distance, and some was handled by
more than one road, but it was equal
to 236,601,390,103 tons hauled one
mile. If the comprehensive improve
ment of our waterways should make
an average reduction of one mill per
ton-mile—the difference in the rates
on salt given above is 70 times as
much, or seven cents per ton mile—L
would make a saving of over $236,600,
000 on the value of business handled
in the fiscal year.
At first glance, it looks as if that
would mean disaster to the railways,
but that is the exact opposite of the
truth. Strange as it may seem, the
Burest and speediest way to enlarge
the business and increase the profits
of the railways of the United States
ts to improve the waterways of the
United States.
INTER-STATE
<DfS<8
ST. JOSEPH, MO.
Sept. 25th to Oct. 1st
Prize Live Stock
Farming Implements
Machinery
Automobiles
Automobile Flower Parade, on the streets of St.
Joseph, TUESDAY, SEPT. 27TH. It will be
worth a trip to the city to see this gorgeous
spectacle.
Miller Brothers’ 101 Ranch Wild West Show
will be camped on the Live Stock grounds, and
will give Street Parades and free entertainment
features each day, and a regular performance
every night.
Cheap Railroad Rates
Ask Your Local Agent
Removal Sale
We must vacate the rooms in
which our wagons are stored.
For the next 10 days we will
give a discount on all Wagons
Spring Wagons, Top Buggies,
and Carriages. It will pay you
well to take advantage of this
sale while it is on.
Remember, we handle only the best implements and Farm
Machinery, and our Prices are RIGHT.
Werner=Mosinian Co.
FALLS CITY, NEBRASKA
AK-SAR-BEN
CARNIVAL AND PARADES
OBIARA
Sent. 28th to Oct. 8th, 1910
TKF. BIG JOLLY CARNIVAL EVERY DAY
Tonday Right, Vidoitday Right, Thoraday Iflaroooa, Frida; Right,
Oct. 4 Oct. 5 Oct. 6 Oct. 7
CARNIVAL ELECTRICAL MILITARY CORONATION
FIREWORKS PARADE PARADE BALL
Grand Military Maneuvers Every Day by U. S. Regular Troops.
REDUCED RATES ON ALL RAILROADS.
SHOW YOURSELF A GOOD TIME—YOU’LL HAVE LOTS OF HELP
Artistic
Book and Commercial Work
Handled in a Manner Pleasing to Particular Patrons
