S ' it -
12 Conservative.
A WHIFP OF GOSSIP.
There's mischief in the garden nir ,
The flowers seem quit" vexed ;
The Bleeding Hearts arts sorrowful ,
Tlie Lilies sigh , perplexed.
Soft , floating clouds up in the sky
llavo made the sunlight dim ;
Red Ro es to the white ones nod
And both look queerly grim.
For Larkspur blossoms quaintly sit
Perched up like frisky elves ,
With roguish smiles on each small face
They murmur to themselves.
And all that's said upon their stems
An idle zephyr hears ,
And whiffs their heedless words about
To shock astonished ears.
It tells the Daisies , "They arc prim
And sober all the while ,
And tiresome in their pink and white ,
Without ono bit , of stylo. "
The pretty Phlox is grieved to know
It is , "too simple , quite ;
This Larkspurs wonder why it strives
To crowd itself in sight. "
The Holyhocks arc opened wide ,
Surprised to hear such jeers ,
And much regret they liuvo been called ,
"Thoso clumsy , stupid dears. "
with learn
Forget-me-nots anguish
That "Larkspurs would bo glad
To hear no inoru their doleful name ,
So sorrowful and sad. "
The Coxcombs get the trying news
That , "They nro very plain ;
That no wise flower understands
What makes them feel so vain. "
Alas , that midst this lovely throng
Of neighbors , fair and sweet ,
Such gossip should bo carried by
A mischief-wafter fleet I
An angry wind comes sweeping on
Across the garden beds ,
It shakes the Larkspurs well until
With hhame they droop their heads.
The babbling zephyr flies. Once more
The kindly sunbeams dance ,
Till all the flowers with a smile
Return each merry glance.
MARY FHENCH MOHTON.
TRUST AND THE INDIVIDUAL. .
The most popular auti-trust argument ,
and the one that scorns to influence pub
lic opinion the most , is the statement
that industrial concentration is detri
mental to the development of individu-
ality. It is asserted that in great con
centrated enterprises the individual has
less opportxinity for developing his per
sonal characteristics or traits. It is
claimed that industrial concentration
will make slaves and automatons of all
wage workers and operatives. It is
about time that somebody handled these
assertions in a plain , straightforward
manner , calling a spade a spade.
This claim that individuality suffers
through the concentration of industrial
forces is probably the most fallacious
argument yet introduced into the dis
cussion of trusts. As well might ono as
sert that the organization of great na
tions has suppressed men's individual
powers. As well might it bo claimed
that the bushwhacking war methods of
savages are more productive of great
leaders among soldiers than the organ
ized methods of great modern armies.
It was the concentration of energy , en
terprise , and military ability that made
the great armies of the first Napoleon
successful. It was this concentration
that made possible the development of
Napoleon's great generals. His mar
shals were created from the ranks. Op
portunity developed all latent powers of
leadership and made promotion possible.
The same is true of the splendid lieuten
ants surrounding General Grant at the
close of our civil war. Organization
promotes individual ability instead of
destroying it.
The concentration of our transporta
tion companies into great trunk line sys
tems , embracing thousands of miles of
tracks , has made it possible for men of
ability in the various departments to de
velop their strength of character and
their special talents to the utmost. Al
most without exception the men holding
high positions in the transportation bus
iness of this country today have gradu
ated through the lower departments up
to the responsible places they now hold.
The great railway enterprises have af
forded correspondingly great opportuni
ties for each individual kind of ability.
A vast manufacturing plant , such as
that of either of the great harvester
companies in Chicago , or such as that of
any of the great steel companies , fur
nishes constant incentive and opportun
ity for development of special talents
and extra abilities in different directions.
The small wagon shop or blacksmith
shop never could offer the same oppor
tunities or bring out these qualities to so
high a degree. The small railroad could
not offer the same chance of reward as
the great one can readily furnish. Why
should we refuse to see that the great
industrial combine will inevitably call
forth the abilities of individuals more
powerfully than the smaller undertak
ing ever could ?
The great factory , employing hun
dreds or thousands of hands , requiring
every degree of ability in production , in
invention , in execution , and in salesman
ship , offers an over widening field for
the development aud exercise of special
faculties and individual traits of charac
ter. The great jobbing house , with its
hundreds or thousands of employees ,
gives unlimited opportunity for young
men of signal ability to grow and to be
singled out for promotion as their quali
fications develop. Why has the ambi
tious retail clerk in a country town
nearly always set his heart on getting a
place in a largo city jobbing house ? Be
cause ho knows he will have a chance
there to bo recognized and promoted. In
the small enterprise his opportunities are
limited ; in the largo one his only limita
tions are those within himself. No
young man with faith in his own powers
was over afraid of taking employment
with too large a company.
The railway engineer or fireman pre
fers to work for the great trunk line ,
for ho knows his opportunities are mul
tiplied there. The trained mechanic is
anxious to be on the pay roll of a great
industry , for ho knows his place will be
more secure. In hard times the small
dealer , with less capital , ability , and
judgment , suffers before the largo and
more able employer. Even the day la
borer is better satisfied when his name
is on the pay roll of a largo and scienti
fically organized company , for ho knows
his employment is reasonably certain
and his pay absolutely sure.
The industrial concentration of our
producing and distributing forces , when
once it becomes an accomplished eco
nomic fact , instead of dwarfing individ
uality , may offer increased incentives
and rewards for the exercise of all the
intelligence , energy , and enterprise that
men individually possess.
Coin Harvey's pilgrimage and obser
vation in Otoe county if wo may credit
report of his wise sayings in a sixtoon-
to-one organ have led him to conclude
that the energy and brains of the fusionists -
ists in that propinquity have been
largely furnished by populists. His
comments upon antediluvian demo
crats who only chatter and jabber of
getting offices and who abound as pos-
turers in and about southeastern Ne
braska are exceedingly tart and peppery.
Evidently Mr. Harvey has little use for
whatever of the democratic dog he can
detect in the political sausage called
fusion , while the flavor of the populist
pup therein contained agrees with his
refined taste for taking up collections
for the poor.
A PRIMER OF FORESTRY.
The United States department of ag
riculture has in press and will soon is
sue Bulletin No. 24 , Division of Fores
try. This bulletin is the first part of a
paper entitled "A Primer of Forestry , "
and was prepared by Mr. Gifford Piu-
chot , forester of the department. It
deals with the units which compose the
forest , with its character as an organic
whole , and with its enemies. It is di
vided into four chapters.
The first chapter treats of the life of
the tree. It describes its three parts
the roots , trunk and crown its food ,
composition of wood , breathing , tran
spiration , growth , structure of wood ,
annual rings , and heartwood and sap-
wood.
The second chapter is devoted to a
discussion of the various requirements
of trees heat , moisture , aud light
their rate of growth and reproductive
power , pure and mixed forest , and re
production by sprouts.
The third chapter gives the life his
tory of a forest showing the help and
harm which the trees receive from ono
another. This history embraces the life
of a community of trees , the life of a
forest crop , the seven ages of a tree , the