i ft
Conservative * 9
this country to the cause of Immunity
without permitting it to degenerate into
a war of conquest. 'Imperialism' so-
called , is an evil in nil its phases ,
whether viewed from the political or
economical side , but it is more sure to
promote moral , physical and social degradation -
gradation than it is to work evil in any
other direction.
"It is my purpose as soon as our or
ganisations are completed , and as fast
as measures can be taken , to give pub
licity to these facts throughout the
country.
"I hope it may bo consistent with
your present duty to reply to this letter
for publication , to the end that wo
may again have occasion to express our
sympathy with you for the difficult po
sition in which you have been placed ,
and to give you the assurance of our
continued support ; not only republi
cans , biit the great body of independent
and sound money democrats who turned
the scale in the presidential election ,
who will give you continued assurance
of their support in the declaration which
you made against the perversion of the
war conducted in the name of humanity
into a war of conquest. That perversion
is now disguised by those who advocate
it , but the forced extension of the sov
ereignty of this nation over great popu
lations who can never be assimilated
with us politically , socially or indus
trially , is nothing more and nothing less
than for this country to undertake a
war of conquest which will bo con
demned and is condemned by every right-
minded man and woman in our land.
' "I know from previous experience how
dense is the screen by wlrch the sup
porters of bad measures attempt to sur
round the chief executive of the nation.
When the Inflation bill of 1874 was im
pending , Vice-President Wilson called
upon me knowing I had a wide cor
respondence with sound money men
throughout the West ; he stated to me
that under the pressure which was be
ing brought to bear upon the president
in Washington ho was being misled into
the belief that public opinion required
him to sign the Inflation bill , and Mr.
Wilson called upon me to bring to bear
upon him the true public opinion of the
country to the utmost of my ability.
I immediately telegraphed to a number
of men in the great Western cities who
had agreed to act together in any emer
gency to send in protests against the
Inflation bill from day to day , signed
by a few men of prominence prefer
ably those known to the president
while protesting meetings in Now York
and Boston were immediately organ
ised , the latter by myself. The evi
dence was thus placed before President
Grant of an overwhelming kind , that
he was being misled and deceived by
the advocates of bad legislation who
surrounded him.
"After his term had expired I mol
President Grant. Ho turned the con-
-i . ,
* v < * I
* ' " ' * ' t
versation to the financial issue , saying
to mo that I was entitled to know the
nistory of the veto of the Inflation bill.
He said , 'I had prepared a message to
iccompanj * the bill signed , stating my
objection to it , and that I had yielded to
what I assumed to be the public opinion
of the country ; but presently the pro-
: ests came in to me from the leading
men of all the great Western cities ac
companied by the Now York and Boston
meetings , and I found that the true pub
ic opinion of the oountiy would sustain
mo in doing what was right and what
[ know would be right. I read over the
message which I had written to accom
pany the bill signed. I said to myself ,
this is all sophistry. I do nof believe it
myself , and no one else will believe it.
[ tore it up and substituted the veto
message. ' To which I replied , 'Veto and
Vicksburg the victory of Peace and
the victory of War. ' You now have
bhe opportunity , siipported as you will
be by the true public opinion of this
country , to emulate the example of that
grand man to maintain peace , order ,
and industry without violating the prin
ciples laid down in Washington's Farewell -
well address , and withoiit violating the
spirit of the constitution. In that you
may rest assured of the continued sup
port of all men to whom you would re
sort for cool , deliberate , and sound judg
ment throughout the country. "
T1IK L.ATKST KXAMPL.1S OF FALLING
KATKS.
The universal tendency in the direc
tion of lower rates shows itself in two
annual reports which have come to hand
this week. The first report is that of
the Chicago & Alton , one of the most
conservatively managed properties in
the country. The receipts per passenger
per mile fell from 2.023 in 1896 to 1.918
in 1897 , a decrease of .104 cent , and the
receipts per ton per mile from .817 cent
in 189G to .708 in 1897 , a decrease of .054
cent. The reduction of slightly over
one-tenth of u cent a mile on the pass
engers carried by the company last year
was equal to a net loss of about $99,000.
The reduction in freight rate of about
half a mill was equivalent to a net lessen
on the tonnage moved of $228,510.
The second report is that of the presi
dent of the Northern Central railroad ,
part of the Pennsylvania system , and
also an admirably and carefully man
aged property. The receipts per pass
enger per mile on this road fell from
2.140 cents in 1890 to 2.112 cents in 1897 ,
a decrease of .028 cent , and the receipts
per ton per mile from .5135 cent in 1890
to .525 in 1897 , a decrease of .013 cent.
The decrease of .028 ( twenty-eight one-
thousandths ) of a cent in passenger rates
meant a loss on the passengers carried
of $14,054 , and the loss of thirteen one-
thousundthsvof a cent on the freight ton
nage represented a loss of $115,091.
It is difficult to behove that the indi
vidual traveler or shipper gains much
by a shrinkage of a tenth of a cent in ff
passenger rates or a few thousandths of
a cent on a ton of freight. To each railway -
way company , however , such decreases
are serious things , the shrinkages on
these two companies alone representing
a practical gift to the public of $457,250
in one year.
SPKCTACULAII
countless thous
ands mourn and the common conclusion
is that no human frailty or weakness so
evenly and generally permeates all the
liearts and souls of the myriad tribes of
mankind.
THE CONSERVATIVE is moved to those
reflections by the contemplation of an
assortment of eye-glasses and spectacles
which adorn its library , its tables and
writing desks. These aids to eyes which
have been watching the development of
Nebraska and the trans-Missoiari coun
try generally for forty-four years are in
valuable. These glasses let into the
mind the conserved and canned thoughts
of antiquity , and of modern times , too ,
which have been put up in fine type
and hermetically sealed to the unaided
eyesight of age.
And who ever thinks of the great and
inestimable debt of gratitude which the
race owes to the inventor of spectacles ?
Who even asks the name of that bene
factor of souls and hearts who has made
visible to the imperfect or impaired
natural vision all the beauties of litera
ture and art and science ?
Italian antiquarians attribute the in
vention of spectacles to Sal vine , who
did this great charity to the billions and
billions of the earth between the years
1280 and 1311 and died in 1318. His ep
itaph says :
"Here lies Sal vine Amota do Armiti
of Florence , the inventor of xpccluvlex.
May God pardon his sins. "
And now if every human being on
earth who wears glasses , will , in grati
tude , each give a single cent for a mon
ument to Salvino , the inventor of spec
tacles , to be erected at Wyuka cemetery ,
Nebraska City , Otoo county , Nebraska ,
what a spectacular commemoration that
will be in its magnificence and costli
ness !
The United States is entitled to the
best of everything. Wo are entitled to
the best money ; and that is gold. If wo
give ourselves an inferior money , while
all other civilised nations use gold , wo
put ourselves at a disadvantage. Only
lot us stay on an equal footing with
other nations and wo can beat them at
anything , just as wo have beaten them
at everything wo have tried so far.
We're all right.
Twenty millions of dollars is too much
to pay lor the Philippines to come in ;
but it would bo quite reasonable for
their staying out.
i
