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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1899)
* . ' -iV&swisamL M Conservative MOKNINO. TJiu joyous time of all tlio day , Tlio inoinuntH glad with brightness When Hf is thrilled by spirits gay , Till burdens shrink to lightness , Oft comes when restful sleep 1ms fled , And cares it cnmo to banish Away on morning light have sped And with the shadows vanish. The morning hours I How happy they ! What treasures in their giving ! They bring unow a perfect day For truer , better living. And all the dreams within the heart That hope has been upbuilding , Seem like a real , golden part Of early dawning's gilding. The eastern sky a rose-light fair O'er breaking clouds is Hinging , Tlio birds Hit through tlio shining air And greet tlio day with singing. Deep in our hearts their rising notes With echoes are repeating And upward , upward vision floats Above this splendor fleeting. From hill-tops high the sunbeams glide , The valley's shadows paling , Till all the world in radiance wide Leaps out from night's deep veiling. With prophecy the opening day , That springs for earth's adorning , Casts o'er the silent future's way Tin1 beckoning gleam of morning. MAIIY FHKNCH MOIITON. Whenever you wish a watch mended , take it to a wagon-maker. Whenever you realty desire to know whether a prevalent disease is measles , chickenpox - pox , influenza or smallpox , avoid talcing the opinion of medical experts but in quire of all the wise loafers who whittle placidly on dry goods boxes and believe that "the hams of hogs killed in the wane of the moon , always shrink in bilin' . ' ' Recent experiences in Nebraska demonstrate the extravagance of taking lay evidence instead of the testimony of experienced and skilled medical men. If you seek knowledge go to those who have none. T h e Nebraska MAXIMUM legislature is at it UATE LAW. b. _ . , . again. The dia bolical railroads have aroused the ambi tion of every little Moses who aspires to lead the voters up to the ballot-box in battle array against the money power , monopolies and trusts. Therefore max imum rate bills are numerous and fluffy , flying hither and yon among the law makers , like snow-flakes in a blizzard or cinders from a locomotive smokestack. It is forgotten that the transportation offered by the railroads is a composite service made up of nearly every menta and manual effort of which mankind is capable. The cost of transportation depends upon the cost of the materials and ef forts which compose it. Passengers and freight can not be carried at the same rate on a line , with a tributary popula tiori of five hundred to each mile of rail at which a line of similar construction and cost can carry which has a popula > rfcf ion of five thousand contributing to each mile. The cost of transportation is partly nade up by the cost of ties. Where ties ire a dollar apiece it is not reasonable o expect rates as low as where they are only fifty cents. Each mile of modern railway uses three thousand ties. They nay cost that many dollars or half that amount. Coal on some lines , in states , like Ne- > raska , which have no coal mines , costs ; hreo and four times as much as upon certain lines in Pennsylvania , Ohio and West Virginia. And the cost of coal is an integral in the composite cost of transportation. Even water is on element which , on some of the overland transcontinental routes , enters largely into cost of inov- ng freights , as in parts of Arizona and ; ho Mohave desert. On some lines it is carried sixty to one hundred miles ( in ; ank cars ) for steam-making. Taxation of railroad property is an other factor in transportation the ligher taxes are , the more the rates. Nebraska lawmakers who can reduce ; axatiou may legitimately reduce rates. Labor and its wages are however the argest element in raising or lowering rates. To illustrate : during its last fiscal year , ending June , 1898 , the Atchison , Topeka & Santa Fe railroad received all told § 26,075,000 and of that sum sixty- seven per cent or $17,524,000 went for wages , operating expenses and mainten ance of the roadbed and tracks. If it is a proper thing then for legisla tion to prescribe and fix maximum rates for all transportation sold by railroads why is it not equally fair and proper to fix the maximum prices which railroads may pay for all the materials and labor which they must buy ? If legislation may equitably interfere and lawfully put a price upon transpor tation why should not legislation also equitably and lawfully limit the prices of coal , ties , iron , steel , labor and every thing else which goes to make up trans portation ? Is hot the policy of non-interference preferable ? Will not competition anc the let-alone policy prove best for the public in Nebraska and every where else ? Who has benefited by anti-railroad legislation in Nebraska ? Have not new and competitive lines been shut out ? Why not repeal the board of transporta tion law and abolish a lot of parasites who have like leeches been fostenec upon the state treasury ever since tha board for making salaries and lawyers fees was instituted ? In his decision at Des Moiues Unitec States Judge Shiras said that endowmen policies belonging to voluntary bank rupts are a part of their assets. Bu straight life policies were not includec in the decision of Judge Shiras who held them exempt from legal process. 7 THE MUTUAL LIFE'S NEW 1'OLICY : The exceptional generosity shown by ho Mutual Life in its now departure in ssuing a policy containing liberal guar anteed cash surrenders , extensions ) oans and paidups , has , not unoxpec- edly , attracted universal attention. It s probable that no event in life insur ance of recent years lias more deeply stirred the business at largo. The lolicy offered by the Mutual Life is nero liberal in its guarantees than any s yet issued , so liberal , in fact , that one of its chief competitors , the Equitable , ms announced that it will decline to 'ollow its example , and publishes an ex tended circular , in which it is contended that the guarantees offered after the sixth year are in excess of the reserve and that the largo surrenders cannot bo mid except from the surplus accumula tions of present policy holders , inasmuch as there is no increase in rates. It is also contended that there will be an inequity in the case of policyholders taking the new contract as between those who persist and those who with draw. It further holds that these lib eral cash values will induce the with drawal of sound lives , thus creating a mortality selection against the company. The Equitable says : "We are frank to say that if this new policy were a gen uine improvement , we should not hesi tate to issue a similar contract. We liave no false pride regarding improve ments introduced by our competitors. " We understand that Actuary McClin- tock has informed Mutual Life agents that they need entertain no fears as to the adequacy of the reserve , for , as a matter of fact , the cash guarantees are much below the special reserve main tained on the now policy. [ He also states that the new contract was approved and adopted after careful consideration and consultation with eminent actuaries. Actuaries Van Cise and McOlintock do not agree upon the merits of the new policy. Who , therefore , shall decide ? The Standard. THE CONSERVATIVE as a policyholder in the Mutual Life , for more than thirty years , would like to know how these extraordinary advantages can bo given to the newly-insured except at a paral lel disadvantage to those policyholders who have been paying premiums for a quarter of a century and more ? The Equitable also carries , since 1868-0 , ten thousand dollars in policies which concern the writer hereof and while wo have no great affection for the few stockholders who run the Equitable we rather incline to takes its doubt , as to the new-fangled and generous poli cies of the Mutual , for well-grounded objection. THE CONSERVATIVE will have more to say in behalf of those in Nebraska who hold policies in Now York life com panies.