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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1900)
" 6 'Cbe Conservative * ours matured , at last , and they were perfect , popping open , like little sacks of pure white flour , when roasted , and very delicious and satisfying to the palate. Thus potato culture became a special ty , or fad , as they say now , at Arbor Lodge. Consequently A Fad. quently , in 1862 , passing along a street in Chicago when I espied two barrels of very hand some tubers , I purchased them and sent them homo for planting. Thfy grew apace ; the yield was tremendous. They were of a toothsome quality. They kept well. Their fame , with my name appended ( they were called the Morton ) reached even to Beatrice , and my phil osophic friend , J. B. Weston , drove down and purchased a load from me for seed. Thus this root crop became a staple product at Arbor Lodge , and finally during the spring of. 18G6 , when I had in store a large quantity and heard that potatoes were Belling in Denver at from 20 to 80 cents a pound , I was tempted by the sordid love of gain to ship two wagon loads to that far-away market. Even at that primitive period you may thus see that susceptibility to the money power had The Money Devil. alrpady infected me with its insidious and deadly venom. Wo had not then the benefit of admoni tory teaching from experienced gentlemen telling us of the dreadful penalties which await people who are so premeditately wicked as to try to acquire for old ago a competence. Consequently , I made , a potato effort for wealth. But it did not prove potential in results. And the following is a precisely correct state ment of the venture and its profits : TRANSPORTATION RATES. Account sales two loads of potatoes per J. H. Tomlin and E. J. Senseny , J. Sterling Morton , by Grill & Brinkcr. 2,822 Ibs. potatoes at 20 cts $404.40 800 " " 51.00 6,208 " " 840.20 1.641 _ ! ' " 231.14 $1,080.74 CHARGES. Cash paid E. J. Senseny , freight 8,402 Ibs , at 15 ctH $510.80 Cash paid J. H. Tomlin , freight 3,208 Ibs. at 15 cts 404.70 Commission on sale at 2J < C9o 27.17 Cash paid you by E. J. Sensony net proceeds 54.57 Total $1,080.74 ( signed ) GRIM , & BIUNKEH , Denver , June 21,1800. But those were the good old times. Corporate cormorants , plutocrats and the diabolism of Ante-Crime of' the gold standard money power had not then invaded and laid waste these beautiful and produc tive prairies. My cherished potatoes sold in Denver for 20 cents a pound. They brought the snug sum of $1 , 086.74. The cost of transportation at 15 cents a pound amounted to only $1,005 , and after paying commission for soiling jhem , the producer had $54.57 , out of which he had to pay for the bags in which they were sacked. Those wore strenuously stimulating times for agri- ciilture. The crime of 1878 had not then been perpetrated ; in fact , no cele brated atrocity of any kind had stricken down "the money of the constitution" or withered and blighted currency for "the poor man. " Contrast those inconsequential charges for transportation with those of extor tion which the railroads demand today 1 Contrast also the time taken then , with the stately ox motor , or the frisky mule machinery , two to three weeks from the river to Denver , with the hurry , scurry and indecent haste of the steam engine and its rumbling , roaring follow ing of cars. The time now is 36 to 48 hours ; the rates are , from Nebraska City to Denver as follows : Cattle and hogs average about 105.00 per car. When shall the octopus be exterminat ed ? When shall the good old times come back to us once again ? Shall the agriculture , manufacture and commerce of this great republic ever be restored to that flush prosperity which animated and invigorated it prior to the "crime of 1878 ? " 0 , * Read before the Historical Society at Lincoln , January 9 , 1900 , by J. Sterling Morton. THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE COM MUNITY. There is no question of more import ance than a clear and cold-blooded comprehension of the reciprocal relations of the individual and the community. It is often assumed that they are equal. This is by no means the case. Utili tarianism prevails here as elsewhere. Utilitarianism is not "a system of philosophy" though there is a system of philosophy to which that name has been given. Utilitarianism is but another name for the fit in the survival of the struggling for existence. That which conduces to the maintenance of indi viduality is utilitarian , that which does not is not. As previously noted the general assumption is that the interests of the individual and community are identical. That is only true when they are reciprocally utilitarian. It is very often the case that they are antagonistic. Most of our altruistic endeavors while , in some senses , of benefit to the individ ual are even more antagonistic to the welfare of the race. We have made A Fetish of Life. Or , as a modern writer expresses it , "we have founded a new religion whoso god is humanity , " which Montesquieu long , long ago expressed as "love your country , not on personal account , but out of regard to the community. " In point of fact , while such emotional in sanity prevails to a largo and injurious extent , there is not a word of truth in it and no sane man believes in , or trios ; o live up to any such drivel. He who ives wisely and well for himself is the wisest and best citizen. He who loves others better than himself , or lives for others at actual cost to self is simply insane. Superstitions fear , often com bined with an egotistic or cowardly vanity , is the one all-prevailing cause of most of the much-praised public bene ficence. A Striking Example. Two men recently died of which fact a leading paper says : "John I. Blair , who died in New Jer sey the .other day , left a great many times more millions than the late Daniel S. Ford. In fact , Mr. Blair was one of the wealthiest men in the country when he died. His will , which has just been filed for probate , leaves everything to his family , and not a cent to education , religion or charity. The document is chiefly interesting by contrast. " Naturally the public blesses the openhanded - handed , the benefactor. So does the pauper until his back is turned. To die rich and not remember the dear public is fast getting to be a greater crime than to be a murderer or a forger. The man who" has the ability to and makes money is looked upon as a public enemy unless he gives it all to the pub lic. Family obligations are fast becom ing decidedly old modish. In the first place , does the millionaire become such by the public serving him , or by his being shrewd enough to make himself of service to the public ? Taking it by and long even the man who makes millions generally gives the public a vast deal of free service for which he gets no remuneration. One thing is sure , and every man of a clear brain and practical experience knows it to be such , that is that he who makes his millions does so in spite of the public , and not with its aid , so far as intelligent or willing cooperation goes. In all species of life the severities of the strug gle for existence are the most exacting between individuals of the same or allied species. Man is no exception. The greatest enemy of man is man. The greatest enemy to ability is the obstrnctiveness of lesser and of accumu lated inability. Could inability be rooted out the struggle and asperities of ability would drop to a minimum. Real ability long since recognized that it does not pay to be too aggressively antagonistic and that in union is strength and individual safety. But to this equality of ability mutual utility is an absolute necessity. The only ones really injured by the trust or combina-
