f
Che Conservative.
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VOL. i. NEBRASKA CITY NEB. THURSDAY MARCH 9 1899. NO. 35-
PUBLISHED WEEKLY.
OFFICES : OVERLAND THEATRE BLOCK.
: STERLING MORTON , EDITOH.
A JOOTlNAIj DEVOTED TO THE DISCUSSION
OF POLITICAL , ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL
QUESTIONS.
CIRCULATION THIS WEEK 5,638 COPIES.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.
One dollar and a half per year , in advance ,
postpaid , to any part of the United States or
Canada. Remittances made payable to The
Morton Printing Company.
Address , THE CONSERVATIVE , Nebraska
City , Neb.
Advertising Rates made known upon appli
cation.
EL ed at the postoftlco at Nebraska City ,
Neb. , as Second Class matter , July 29th , 1898.
HEALTH LEGISLATION.
This country is very likely to have at
least one serious epidemic , and perhaps
two , to undergo within the next twelve
months. As the sanitary reconstruc
tion of the city of Havana can hardly
be effected , to a sufficient extent for its
results to be perceptible , before summer
comes upon us , it is to be expected that
we shall have yellow fever during the
warm mouths , as we have not had it in
years ; the extent to which it may spread
can only be guessed at , but wherever it
does go it will surely work immense
mischief , and if should gain a foothold
in any of the northern cities the mortal
ity would be terrible.
The other epidemic to be apprehended
is one of smallpox. During the winter
just past , this disease has appeared in
one or more places in almost every state
in the Union , and the lack of systematic
action , or of power in any quarter to
enforce action of any kind , has left it
entirely free to spread where it would.
It is altogether probable that it will ram
ify in a quiet way throughout many sec
tions of the country that have hitherto
escaped , and that , as the conditions of
our winter-life are such as to render its
operations much more malignant , next
winter will witness an outbreak of it on
a very large scale.
It will be mainly the fault of the law
makers of the country if either of these
diseases comes upon us and finds us un
prepared. Large powers should be defi
nitely in the hands of some properly
constituted board everywhere , in order
that such measures as may be deemed
advisable may be enforced with the full
strength of the law. These boara
should be organized in ample time , not
only to get their own machinery in
readiness before the first epidemic ap
pears , but to arrange , by correspondence
or congresses , for uniformity of action
among the various states ; for of what
avail is it , for example , if wo in No-
raska City are subject to one set of
regulations , while the Iowa farmers ,
whose vehicles form a procession across
the bridge all day long , are subject to a
contradictory set ?
Complete uniformity , as well as rigid
enforcement , would no doubt be best
secured by the federal government tak
ing the matter in hand , perhaps by an
extension of the functions of the Marine
Hospital service. But even in this case ,
the more perfect the local organization
found at every point , the simpler would
be the task , and the more effective the
operations , of such a national under
taking.
Combination is
COKFOnATE th Qrder Qf the
CAPITAL. . ,
day. There have
been eras for forming combines before
iu the history of our country but never
until now were there so many and never
was there such gigantic capitalization.
Among some of the more prominent
ones are the Federal Steel Company
with $200,000,000 capital , the American
Wire and Steel Company with $1)0,000- )
000 capital , the Oatmeal Trust with $83-
000,000 , and many others with capital
running into the tens of millions of
dollars.
/THE CONSERVATIVE does not look with
{ unmitigated disfavor on all of these com
bines , for if they ore well managed they
can , may and mubtsupply the demand
for their products for/less money than
bingle and smaller corporations are able
to , and if they arenial / mauaged they
will , sooner or later , totter and ulti
mately fall.
Those which undertake to keep down
the prices of what they offer to the pub
lic and intelligently watch and minimize
the cost of that which they produce will
thrive. Well-directed concentration of
brains and money is not to be deplored
but ought to bo encouraged. Corporate
capital is the dynamo of modern devel
opment , improvement and advancement.
Like individuals , corporations are sub
ject to economic laws and so they fail or
succeed precisely in proportion to the
judgment which enters into their
schemes and the fairness and ability of
then ? management.
The civil
PAYDAY.
ses of the govern
ment of the United States nro enor
mously increasing from day to day. At
the very time when economy and fru
gality should reign , while we are engaged
'
gaged in an unnecessary and expensive
war for an allegedly civilizing and
Christianizing purpose , reckless extrava
gance is prominent in every one of the
appropriation bills. Each department
at Washington , besides those of the
war and navy , is demanding and get
ting more and more money for current
expenses. But the day of reckoning is
not far off , when all of these tremendous
deus sums of money , taken from the
taxpaying citizens of this republic , must
be aggregated and paid. Already the
deficit for the fiscal year ending June
80,1899 , is ascertained to be more than
one hundred millions of dollars. Al
ready the possibility of another issue of
government bonds for the purpose of
borrowing money which the revenues
cannot supply stares thinking people in
the face and the riot of waste goes on
and on with increasing energy and mad
ness.
Pay day will come. Repentance will
follow. Darkness succeeds the day.
Sobriety and remorse are the inevitable
followers of drunkenness and misde
meanors. Slaughtering the Filipinos ,
civilizing by killing ; Christianizing
with shot and shell ; and using armies
and navies for missionaries will prove
expensive methods of evangelizing the
barbarians of the Pacific archipelago.
There will come to this republic for
liquidation not only enormous financial
claims but vast demands for the recti
fication of political and moral wrongs.
The whole business of insular con
quest and colonial dependencies should
speedily be , with honor and honesty ,
brought to an end and the American
conscience relieved of the burden of
having , even for a little while , consented
to oppression anywhere. The govern
ment of the United States is big enough ,
strong enough and wise enough to ad
mit its errors and to fully and whole
somely correct them whenever ,
wherever and however committed.
The day of settlement must come.
Let us meet it like real lovers of our
country , with the strong and unflinch
ing purpose of doing justice as between
us and all other peoples ,