$ & & . : W"l& % & .y--V , W-/V - " > * ? ; *
m
"Che Conservative. 9
more inon , juul to reduce the price of
sugar to the consumer about 510 per cent.
I can see no public injury from these
results.
In our largo cities wo have a now form
of complaint objection being directed
now against th o
DEPARTMENT
( lcpftrfcmont stores.
STORES.
Opposed
because they crowd out' small dealers.
I know of no clamor more senseless.
The department store is a creditable
modern institution. It takes nearly as
much capital and quite as nmch brains
to conduct a largo department store suc
cessfully as it does to manage a large
corporation. It requires the same intel
ligent direction and subdivision of la
bor. The results are the same as follow
any large co-operation. Goods are sold
at surprisingly low cost and employ
ment is given to thousands of persons.
The public is certainly a beneficiary.
To close department stores would now
be regarded as a public calamity. It is
true these stores compel many small
tradesmen to go out of business , and
this is an unfortunate result , but to
abolish the department store so that the
small tradesman may continue his busi
ness is as much a step backward as to
abolish labor-saving machinery , so that
the persons temporarily thrown out of
occupation may have employment.
I could mention many moro instances
where corporate combinations , or combi
nations of capital ,
CORPORATE
httvo noJO ( lished
BENEVOLENCE.
gQQA resultS ) bufc
I have given enough already to illus
trate my suggestions. Corporations will
bo greed } ' and selfish , just as individ
uals. They will deserve criticisms just
as individuals. They should be controlled
bylaw just as individuals. But because
they represent greater aggregations of
capital they should not bo donounced.auy
moro that a man should be attacked be
cause ho has a fine house. They are , as
I have pointed out , a legitimate and log
ical outgrowth of modern industrial
and commercial conditions. They have
not been shown to have done much
harm. It is rather the harm people
imagine they might do which makes
people uneasj * . They have accomplished
much good. They are capable of ac
complishing much more good. Their
power for mischief is really quite small.
Their very salvation depends upon pub
lic support. Repeated exhibitions of
tyranny or insolence will always mean
their downfall. They are always sub
ject , because of their commanding po
sition , to the attacks of persons or other
corporations who want to bo bought off.
They must always keep the price of
their product below the figure at which
an independent producer could furnish
the same article , and they are usually
able to do this by reason of the econo
mies permitted by combined operation.
They will become more and moro neces
sary institutions as conditions become
more complex , but their power for good
or their success will depend very much
upon the intelligence with which they
are formed and managed.
The public will watch such combina
tions critically , as it should , but let us
not be blind to the
TAIUNKSS.
signs ( ) f H0 times
and to the march of progress. Let us
be fair in our criticisms , willing to ac
knowledge what is good as well as to
condemn what is evil. If the logic of
events changes conditions from what we
have been used to , and those changes
are for the permanent good of the com
munity or the country , let us adapt our
selves and our pursuits to the changes.
Let us not sit on the coat tail of pro
gress and holler "Whoa ! " Let us read
just our occupations and our habits ,
making sacrifices if we must , just as our
forefathers had to make sacrifices to
keep in line with the march of progress.
Above all lot there be no room in manly
American minds for the seeds of jeal
ousy and discontent. Fortunes still are
within the grasp of all who know their
opportunities and take advantage of
them. Comfortable homes and happy
lives , which are far better than riches ,
are within the reach of nearly every
body. There is more genuine happiness
on your farms than along Fifth Avenue.
To such men as you , representing the
conservative thought of our country ,
we must look for rebuke to false notions
and wrong doctrines which men may
try to disseminate throughout the land.
I urge you to keep your minds clear , to
look straight ahead and to bear in mind
that the world was not made in a day
and the millenium cannot be reached in
a generation.
One of the best
C weekly public a-
. , ,
tions devoted t o
political and economic problems that the
prolific press of the Mississippi Valley
issues is THE CONSERVATIVE , recently
established at Nebraska City , with , T.
Sterling Morton , ex-secretary of agricul
ture , as editor. No periodical in the
Union moro ably upholds the doctrine
of sound money and honest finance than
this journal , which has its homo in al
most the very center of populism and
fiat money heresies.
In a recent number the editor sots
forth the object of his publication in the
brief statement : "TiiE CONSERVATIVE
is not a partisan journal. It lias faith
in the ultimate triumph of everything
that is just. THE CONSERVATIVE is an
advocate of moro capital for the South
and West. Therefore THE CONSERVA
TIVE is against all legislation unjustly
discriminating against capital. THE
CONSERVATIVE calls to capital 'Como in'
instead of Get out. ' "
In another article is made this point ,
whoso justice will bo recognized by
everybody : "Tho redistribution of cap
ital is a favorite theme with persons
who never created any capital. These
men grow fervent depicting the injus
tice of that industry and self-denial
which creates capital for itself instead
of creating it to bestow upon loafers
and political elocutionists. If inanity
of brains , inertia of body and a disre
gard for truth wore capital some of our
senators and representatives in congress
would be mental and moral millionaires. "
The success which Mr. Morton has
accomplished in the management of
THE CONSERVATIVE is another evidence
of the versatility of his mind and the
untiring energy of his faculties. Ho as
an editor is doing good work in educat
ing the people of the Mississippi Valley
in the complex problems of politics , eco
nomics and sociology , and bids fair to
become as eminent in journalism as he
has been in agriculture and politics.
San Francisco Daily Call.
All eastern paper
MATERIAL
NEEDED. per suggests that
if wo are to take
up our share of the task of filling the
earth with our great Teutonic stock , we
must have larger families. Great Brit
ain is now alone in this undertaking ,
and uses her younger sons for it ; whore
there are not plenty of younger sons ,
there are no colonies. An only son is
not only too valuable to bo sent out into
the world , but ho docs not need to bo ,
for his father's place is waiting for him
at homo. Therefore a nation where the
"two-children system" prevails , not
only has no impulse to spread abroad ,
but has no material to do it with.
Will some lamontationist among the
orators who wail and wcop over the
poor man and invoke legislation in his
behalf define the "poor man ? " Who is
he ? Where is ho 1 What claims has ho
upon the community which the rich
man has not ? And who is a ricli man
and why is ho always portrayed as a bad
man by those doleful elocutionists ? And
if all capital is cupidity and all
wealth criminal why do these parox
ysmal disturbers of the peace and con
tentment of the country over invite cap
ital to invest itself in Nebraska or
wealth to settle within the borders of
the state ?
As small curs snarl , yelp , bark , growler
or whine at the heels of well-bred St.
Bernards unnoticed so the microbes and
bacilli of journalism and politics at
tempt to irritate decent people and
thus attract attention sufficiently to
become visible.
There are fellows in partisan politics
and jaundiced journalism who would be
much elevated in their own and the gen
eral estimation by the kick of a gentle
man.
man.When
When Colonel Monelaus Bryan , the
slum tor in battle , comes to bo president ,
ho should on all accounts arrange for
legislation abolishing the proverb
"Speech is silver , but silence is golden. "
