Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1899)
'Che Conservative , WICKED I'OUKSIGIIT. Fifty years from today those born landless are destined , as a rule , to live and die landless. Get land for your de scendants ! THE CONSEUVATIVK. Thus speaks J. Sterling Morton con cerning the lands of Nebraska. That Mr. Morton has stated a fact no one will deny who has stopped to consider the question. Under the present system of land-ownership the time will soon be here when , ns Morton says , "those born landless will live and die landless. " A man who is born landless and is forced by the social conditions which exist at the time of his birth to live and die Inuclfl less , is doomed to a life of slavery. He must accept the terms offered him by the landowners , or get off the earth. Seeing this , Morton cried out "get land for your descendants 1" What wisdom ! What virtue ! What statesmanship ! Is it any wonder that this man is continu ally exhibiting fear of the masses ? Those who , like Morton , have seen the present tendencies to disinherit man kind and have cried out against it are stigmatized by him as "fiends" and "dis turbers of the peace. " His only answer to the demoralizing tendencies of society as at present organized is , "get laud for your descendants I" Or , in other words , get your nose in the trough. Prepare yourself and your children to say to those who are bom with natural rights equal to yours , to life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness , "You get off the earth 1" Coleridge ( Neb. ) Blade. Some weeks ago THE CONSERVATIVE contained views upon laud which seem to have aroused the antagonism of sun dry economists who deem it criminal to try to protect our descendants in the world , as it is ; instead of waiting for the world , as it ought to bo , to take charge of and provide for them. Neither The Public , which republishes - lishes , nor the Coleridge Blade which originates the criticism of THE CONSER VATIVE'S views on land denies the prob ability of the landlessness which is pre saged. The law of the survival of the fittest ought to bo repealed for these gentlemen and their descendants. They are against ownership in lauds. The fact that man kind , after the experiences and evolu tions of a thousand years of civilization , has come to designate property in laud as real estate indicates the estimation in which such property is hold when com pared to all other. Ownership in land is now and has been for centuries the bed- rook strength of the English government. The communal holding of laud , by sav ages , however , has not improved barbar ism. It is only when tribal relations are dissolved and laud is held in severalty that civilization comes to the heathen and bettors their condition. When men come to tie themselves to spots of productive soil , when they be gin to cultivate and beautify a particular locality , when to gratify ambitions and JWfl ispiratious for a permanent and attrac tive homo they bend every energy , phy sical and intellectual , they begin to bo- some patriots , good citizens. Love of and and the homo is primary patriot- sni. The homes of the United States , and largely the homes in the fields , roves and orchards of the rural dis tricts , are the generators of pure patriot ism. ! They are the dynamos which fur nish : the thinking power and the force ful conservatism of this republic. It is right to get lands. It is right to build homes. 1 It is right to look out for your descendants and try to inculcate in thorn an ambition to have and to hold lands and to cherish , above all other earthly things , the idea of founding , and consecrating crating , with the charm and grace of af fectionate associations , substantial land supported homes. Men of a communistic diathesis may deride and revile those sentiments with all possible venom and ridicule. But the fact that land-ownership , in sever alty , is essential to all forms of perma nent human government remains un shaken. It is not the masses which are to be feared but the asses. Who is disinher ited except the dullard and the sluggard ? It is , say these , a wicked thing to try to provide your descendants with lauds and homes. The human race is a free for all. Governments and laws can only give each the same chance to win or lose. Individual qualities , character and development will attain either suc cess or failure. Each gets justice. INTERESTING TEST OF WOOL ) . An interesting test of fire-proof wood has recently boon made by Prof. Thomas B. Stillmau of Stevens Institute , at his laboratory in Hoboken , N. J. The wood tested was treated in the manner prescribed by the experts having in charge the construction of battleships for the United States government. The Now York Evening Post thus describes the tests and their results : ' The first test was made with a piece of North Carolina pine , twelve inches long and four inches wide. This was placed over a powerful four-ringed blast lamp omitting a solid blue flaino two and a half inches in diameter and eight inches high. The wood became charred , but did not ignite. The test was con tinued several minutes , the block being turned so as to receive 011 different sides the full force of the flames. It stood the ordeal well , and except for a few cracks on the surface was apparently unaf fected by the heat. A short strip of wood ( with eight surfaces exposed ) , used for protecting olectrio-light wires was then thrust into the firo. The wood was scarcely an inch thick , but it re sisted the flames successfully , becoming charred , but not igniting. A piece of ash , of the sort used for decorative pur poses , was put over the lamp. The heat was intense , but it made little impres sion upon the wood. A thick block , which had been scorched before , was then held in the flames altogether nearly naif an hour. It finally curled over , sracked and smoked , but at no time caught firo. ' 'Thn most interesting experiment was reserved till the last. Professor Still- man had shavings cut from the wood , placing all in a receptacle , soaking the contents with alcohol. On being lighted the flames shot a foot , or two in the air , but the shavings , scarcely thicker than paper , were not consumed. Two pieces of wood , one of which had not been ren dered fireproof , were laid side by side over the flame. The ordinary blonk blazed up immediately ; the other smoked , but did not burn. Several sorts of wood of varying thicknesses were used in making the tests , with nearly the same results in all cases. "Professor Stillman , in speaking of his experiments , said : 'I know that wood can bo made fireproof , and that , too , without depriving it of its strength or finishing properties. I have used several different kinds of wood in making those tests , and all with practically the same result. The objection often urged against wood treated by the fire-proofing process , that it is not as serviceable ns ordinary wood , is not , I think , well taken. While wood has undoubtedly been injured by some methods , I think the obstacles have now been overcome , and hope to see the great hotels and office structures of the future made really secure by the use of fireproof wood for window frames , doors , trim mings j , etc. I think myself that our laws j should be amended to bring about such { a result. ' " Boston Standard. "Senator Thurs- ERUATICISM ? ton has taken pains lately 1 to reiterate his previous announce ment i that ho would not be a candidate for : re-election. There really was no need : whatever of any such statement. i Mr. Thurston's recent exhibitions of mental and moral crruticism have boon sufficient to convince the people of Ne braska that some other place would bo more suitable to his genius rather than the stately senatorial chambers. His poetic tendencies may bo but revelations of a power that shall thrill the world and yet class him with Lord Byron or Oscar Wilde , but Nebraska is not sigh ing for a poet-senator. The state and its interests demand a thoughtful , prac tical , level-headed , manly man in the senate and such a man the republicans will choose as the successor of John M. Thurston. " The above is from The Norfolk Daily Herald of April 29 , and THE CONSERVA TIVE , as an admirer of Troubadour Thurston , demands an explanation , a definition of erraticism as applied to the poet-Bixby-ate.