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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1898)
1 Conservative * The first miuibor of Tun CONSERVA TIVE by the Morton Printing Co. , Ne braska City , was issued July Mth. It. is edited by J. Sterling Morton and devoted - voted largely to the consideration of economic questions of which Mr. Mor ton is a close student. Matters pertain ing to the early history of the state will receive considerable attention , making it of special interest to the early settlers. It is a publication that should find a place at every fireside in Nebraska. Fairbury Gazette. THE CONSERVATIVE , the now paper published by J. Sterling Morton at Nebraska City , is a weoldy journal de voted to the discussion of political , eco nomic and sociological questions. The sixteen pages are twelve inches long by nine and one-half inches wide and di- i vided into three colums of thirteen ems i each. The typography is extremely j neat and the contents arc very interest ing. Mr. Morton , in philosophy , is a positivist. Ho has convictions and in speaking or writing ho never shows any doubt of the reliability of his inspiration. Ho has proved by accomplishment that , ideals are worth having. He came to Nebraska in the early days before we had a right to a star in the flag. He built a home on the edge of Nebraska City where he could have laud enough for a manor , and he named it Arbor Lodge. Thirty years or more ago ho planted trees which now overshadow and protect the lodge which was then in the wilderness. His example and ef forts to plant a treeless state have caused thousands of trees to bo planted and in numerable birds to stop and rear their families in a state they had hitherto ignored in their migrations. Perceiving the difficulties which the early settler had in getting the trees to live , Mr. Mor ton established Arbor Day. The results can only bo estimated by the early settlers tlors on the prairie. From a treeless , bird-abandoned state ornithological sta tistics show that Nebraska contains a greater variety of species of birds than any other state in the Union. The in crease in the rainfall is also directly duo to the increased cultivation of timber as well as crops. In his efforts for the pre servation of the early history of Ne braska , Mr. Morton has shown a schol arly appreciation of the value of records , documentary and traditional , not often exhibited by the pioneer. A file of THE CONSERVATIVE will bo invaluable to the future historian of the West and of the Aborigines. The Indian stories of Spotted Tail and White Cow , published in the issue of July 21 , relate to the beginning - ginning of the present epoch in which the Indian has accepted the supremacy of the white and acknowledged the futil ity of struggling against him , and has begun to try , in spite of racial obstacles , to bo like him. The value of such a paper , published by a man who has al ready done much for his state and coun try , is great and deserves fiill apprecia tion. Lincoln Courier. ) Public money dis- ACCOUNTS. bursed by state and county officers should bo accounted for itemizcdly. The county and the state should pay no more than individuals pay for similar services and commodities. The taxpayers in Nebraska , and in Otoo county particularly , ought to demand a rendition of accounts from each and every public servant , which shall clearly show where each dollar , dime , nickel and cent has gone. Itemized accounts should be required from boards of edu cation , from county commissioners , from sheriffs , judges , treasurers ; and , in fact , from every public official. Suppose wo begin hero in Otoo county by having a thorough investigation of the cost of bridges and roads during the last five years ? What objection can there bo to having an export accountant and a reputable civil engineer thoroughly examine into the disbursements for re pairing bridges and roads in Otoo county during the past five years ? Every account of money expended in building or repairing a bridge should state precisely whore that bridge is lo cated. It should give its geographical position by naming the quarter section , township and range upon which it is located. The amount of lumber re quired for the repairing , together with its cost , ought also to bo lucidly set forth. In short , the accounts for repair ing bridges in the county of Otoe ought to be made so plain that no one could question the propriety of their payment. Each bridge should bo so distinctly des ignated and the work so accurately de scribed that every citizen after examin ing the accounts can go to and examine the bridges and find out whether the ac counts are reasonable or unreasonable. At another time THE CONSERVATIVE will take lip the question of the power or right of the county commissioners to compromise taxes and pay premiums to those who have been delinquent in pay ing their just dues to the county and state , by accepting fifty cents on the dollar of their accumulated delinquen cies. The power of the county commis sioners to suspend the operation of statute and fundamental law by accept ing less than lawful taxes from one class of citizens and only legal taxes from all other citizens is questionable. Taxation must be equal. It cannot bo when de- liquonts are rewarded with reductions , by county commissioners. orn TIHIKS. In the year 1855 the editor of THE CONSERVATIVE employed as a "devil" and general roustabout in a small printing ollico which was domi ciled in the "Block House" of old Fort Kearney 011 the present town site of Ne braska City , a young lad known as Johnnie Freeman. Ho was about sixteen years of ago , a steady , intelligent and attractive youth. But the allure ments of plains life and the stories of gold in California were too much for his strenuous ambitions and so ho traveled across the plains to the golden coast , as a director of a six-yoko team of oxen , early in 185(5. ( Since then through many vicissitudes , commercial and otherwise , Mr. Freeman has permanently estab lished himself as one of the leading citi zens and capitalists of Woodland , Yolo county , California , where ho lias a mag nificent homo and all the surroundings of luxury and comfort that money can purchase. Mr. Freeman has also a largo ranch in Nevada. The Carson ( Nevada ) Appeal says : Yesterday the Appeal office was the recipient of a pleasant call from J. W. Freeman , of Still water. The gentle man introduced himself as once having served as devil in the Nebraska City News office when J. Sterling Morton was its first editor. As the editor of the Appeal served his reportorial appren ticeship on that paper and learned to set typo there , the two settled down to talk of old times , until the typos of the Ap peal began to call for copy and Mr. Freeman who has heard the call before said ho guessed it was time to go , and slid out. Mr. Freeman is now a cattleman of Churchill , and is unloading cattle at the top price. When he did the devil's work on the News in the fifties it was currently reported that ho only had one pair of buckskin pants , and once when the weather wet them until they shrunken on him like he had been moulded in thorn , ho was unable to get them off and so slept in them. When reminded of this ancient report he admitted the truth of it then and there. © * SMS54S < SH55 5S4SN55 S4SS0 I CURRENT COMMENT. | Good Sense nnd Temperance. Rev. Osbort Mordaunt , rector of Hampton-Lucy , Warwickshire , made a statement before the parliamentary liquor commission that for 22 years ho liad managed the public house in his village , but he had abolished the sale of intoxicating liquors to the public and greatly raised the moral tone of his par ish thereby. This again raises the ques tion propounded by Rev. Dr. Raiusford in New York about a year ago , Why should not the church interest itself in such things as a social factor ? Why indeed should it not establish temper ance saloons and clubs and do it on a business basis ? If the church intends to become a living force , veritable salt in the community , it must come down to the everyday needs and wants of the world. The poor have no clubs. The liquor saloon , with its bright li hts and even ing papers , offers an attractive center to the workingnmu who has no other place to spend his evenings aside from a sordid homo perhaps. In many cases the visitor has no other motive in view than a little change of scone , a chance of chat with a friend or a game of dom- iiios or cards. Propinquity thus may lead him to take alcoholic cheer , with no set purpose in that direction. Wo
