ff
'Cbe Conservative.
which , constantly increasing iii the
American industrial world , are just now
exerting so powerful an influence in
American politics. It is proverbial that
corporations have no conscience , but
they do not generally lack penetration
where their own interests are in ques
tion. At the very outbreak of the
Spanish-American war the tobacco and
sugar trusts in the United States fixed
their eyes on the Philippines as desir
able booty of which they must get pos
session , and they have worked with
untiring zeal for the attainment of this
aim. They have easily realized their
scheme as they had to deal with a presi
dent who is strangely deficient in firm
ness of character and incorruptible
faithfulness to duty , and who , without
serious opposition , allowed the ship of
state to bo taken in tow by these avar
icious traffickers. With nations , as
with individuals , one can "judge the
future only by the past" conduct. It is
well known that during the existence of
the republic for more than a century
the Americans have not specially dis
tinguished themselves by benevolent
and friendly feelings towards the so-
called "inferior races , " that is , those of
swnrthy complexion. The sad history
of the redskin is well known. The wars
waged by the Indians against white set
tlers have been incited , almost without
exception , by the misdeeds of the white
men , and especially by the ignorance
and knavery of the agents of the fed
eral government. As a rule the son of
the wildnerness has put on his war
paint and gone on the war-path only
after long suffering and rascally treat
ment. Even in Alaska where coloniza
tion of white men , the cultivation of
the soil , and consequently the uncon
trollable advance of settlers are almost
out of the question , the Aleutians and
other tribes have been plundered and
exterminated in the most scandalous
manner by the introduction of this uni
versal , infamous "spoils system. " The
Americans consider this country and its
inhabitants simply as "objects for ap
propriation" and to this end have
formed Inrge trading companies , which
use firearms in catching seals and have
already nearly extirpated these animals.
The government does not seem to con
cern itself in the least about the terrible
consequences of this wholesale robbery
to the natives. Further particulars of
these unsatisfactory conditions are given
in a treatise entitled "Colonial Lessons
of Alaska , " published in The Atlantic
Monthly , November , 1898 , by Dr. David
Starr Jordan , president of Lelaud Stan
ford university.
Treatment of the
On December 0 , 1898 , the negroes of
Chicago held a convention in order to
enter a solemn protest against the ac
quisition and control of the Philippines
on the ground that the government oi
the United States was unable or unwill
ing to protect its colored citizens against
continual and notorious attacks upon
; heir legal and constitutional rights.
This protest is well founded. Indeed
since the origin of the republic , as an
American judge of the supreme court
once declared , the negroes under the
starry banner have had "no rights
which the white man was bound to re
spect. " The abolition of slavery
brought with it no essential change of
; his feeling. The freedmen are treated ,
not as legitimate citizens , but , gener
ally , as prescripts who stand outside of
the law , and , instead of enjoying the
advantages of its regular and non-par-
; isan administration , are , for the slight
est offense , given over , without pro
motion , to a cruel , vengeance-breathing
mob. It must be evident to everyone
; hat this deep-rooted prejudice against a
dark skin , regardless of seemly behav
ior , moral conduct or fine education ,
places in the way of the Americans an
insurmountable obstacle to their giving
; he Philippines a just and beneficial
government. In Cuba it has already
.ed to dissensions and incipient revolt ,
and this will be still more the case in
; he Asiatic archipelago , inhabitated by
such heterogeneous tribes.
Some opponents of the expansion pol
icy have tried to reconcile themselves
: o the accomplished deed by endeavor
ing to believe that the necessity for
appointing able , experienced , competent
officials for the colonies , would have a
favorable , reactive effect on home poli-
; ics , and bring about universal civil
service reform. The endeavor to find a
good point in an unsatisfactory fait
accompli is most praiseworthy , aud it
is possible that many an honest , un
suspicious citizen may derive comfort
from this hope held in prospect. This
optimistic view , however captivating it
may seem in theory , will prove in appli
cation a beautiful delusion. In order to
attain the desired end one must take the
shortest way and begin with the reform
of public office at home. A nation that
endures the corrupt government of the
large American cities will not concern
itself about similar and still worse con
ditions in the Philippines ; and a presi
dent who is at the.command of corrupt
partisans will offer no resistance to
"bosses" and "trusts" when they wibh
to take upon themselves "The White
Man's Burden , " reward their political
tools with fat offices , and plunder the
newly-acquired countries in a profes
sional manner.
THE CONSEHVA-
THE TIVE had an exper-
TKAIN. . _
icnce on June 29 ,
1899 , which surpassed all incidents of
travel and casual meetings before en
countered.
On the date named wo were pleasantly
journeying upon the Burlington between
Alliance and Hemingford in Box Butte
county , Nebraska. The fact that the
people of that county had voted by a
large majority to remove the county
seat from Hemiugford to Alliance finally
faced us at a side track near Berea.
At this point THE CONSERVATIVE "met
on the train" the court house , going
down to the new county seat at Alliance
for the purpose of "holding" many
courts in its career of a restaurant of
justice.
Then from the Alliance Grip wo
[ earned that : "Tho man who took the
contract for moving the court house
down from Hemingford became eick of
the job before moving it ton feet. Su
perintendent Phelau , Bridge Foreman
John Carlson and Contractor E. W. Bell
inspected it and decided that it could be
moved down on the rail. Accordingly
it was yanked down to the siding , placed
on trucks and two engines hitched to it.
At 1:80 : o'clock Wednesday afternoon
; lie start was made and everything
moved with the smoothness of a box car
at the rate of ten miles an hour. Delays
were occasioned by cuts too narrow to
admit of passage which had to be cut
down by the extra gang. They stopped
at Berea that night and moved it on to
Alliance yesterday morning. The build
ing is 84x48 feet and from dome to
base is 45 feet. To move such a large
structure without a crack or break
twenty miles by rail is an engineering
feat that can rank alongside of the most
wonderful of modern times. For ten
years the Lincoln Land Company has
furnished the county with a court house
free of cost , and now they furnish it
with one good enough for all purposes
for the next ton years for only $1,500.
Surely no county ever got along so
cheaply. The company is entitled to
praise for acting so liberally by the
county and the commissioners are en
titled to praise for making a deal that is
really a great bargain. "
The fact that a soulless and pluto
cratic combination , like the Lincoln
Land Company ,
Corporate Economy. . . . .
is guilty as
charged by the Grip should rekindle
the fires of populism and stimulate all
the forces of fusion to renewed efforts to
crush out capital in Nebraska. Corpor
ate economy which invades the admin
istration of county affairs ought to be
rebuked. Legitimate partisan extrava
gance must not be trampled under feet
by parsimonious corporations.
Ignorance asserts that "lifeis growth"
not knowing that life is but an individ
ualized manifestation of the universal
and unchangeable force.
Ignorance proclaims "evolution to bo
marked by a constant tendency toward
perfection , " not knowing that Nature
is neither perfect nor imperfect.
Ignorance boldly assorts evolution to
mean "progress , " not knowing that
evolution stands for formation , or the
individuation of matter into recogniz
able forms. Nothing more 1
