Che Coneerrotm.
VOL. II. NEBRASKA CITY , NEB. , THURSDAY , MAY 24 , 1900. NO. 46.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY.
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Address , THE CONSEUVATIVK , Nebraska
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Entered at the postofflce at Nebraska City ,
Neb. , as Second Class matter , July 20th , 1808.
THE CONSERVATIVE
PROFESSOR
AVOOLSEY. TIVE publishes iu
this issue a resume
of a paper by Professor Woolsey , read
before the annual meeting of the Amer
ican Academy of Political aiid Social
Science , in April , 1899. Professor
Woolsey is a recognized authority upon
international and constitutional law.
His suggestions , ho\ > ever , in regard to
the constitutional obligations of the
United States did not greatly influence
congress. In so far as legislation has
been enacted , it has been directly
opposed to the ideas expressed a year
! ago by Professor Woolsey. Speaking of
Porto Rico , he said :
"When congress sees fit to legislate ,
the government of Porto Rico should be
laid as largely as possible upon the
shoulders of its own people. Military
rule should not be necessary , and a
carpet-bag system would produce re
sults which we can pretty definitely
forecast. "
Instead of the government of Porto
Rico being "laid as largely as possible
upon the shoulders
Self-go vuru incut
Donlud. of its own people , "
we have left them
without the slightest vestige of substan
tial local control. Notwithstanding Pro
fessor Woolsey's warning that a "carpet
bag system would produce results which
we can pretty definitely forecast , " we
have given the Porto Ricaus just such a
system. We have taken the legislative
and executive power from the natives of
Porto Rico and placed it in the hands of
Americans appointed by the president
because of political considerations. The
wholesale peculations of American offi
cials in the postal service in Ouba do
enable us "to pretty definitely forecast
the result" of carpet-bagism in Porto
Rico. An investigation of the postal
department of Porto Rico has been
ordered , as result of the exposure of
methods in vogue in Ouba. From this
wo will perhaps bo able to learn how
the father-in-law of Senator Beveridgo
and the relatives of other senators are
progressing in implanting in the minds
of the Porto Ricans , high ideals of offi
cial conduct and public honesty.
Professor Woolsoy must now admit
that he was greatly in error in his vie\v of
, , , the constitutional
.
AViiH in Error.
powers of congress.
He must now realize his blunder in ex
pressing the opinion that , "the moment
congress begins to legislate for the
Philippines and establishes there a civil
government , that moment the constitu
tional guarantees begin to work. " This
is quite at variance with the opinion
recently promulgated by the official
legal advisor of the administration , the
Hon. Charlie Magoou , formerly of
Nebraska. Professor Woolsey will have
to revise his theories of law to harmonize
with the lucid interpretations of
"Judge" Magoon.
, . , . , . The railroads of
> c. .
RAILROADS. , , ,
Nebraska are be
ginning to do a thriving business. With
their thrift come betterments , repairs
and numerous improved facilities in
passenger and freight traffic. These
call for laborers. Laborers call for
wages and the railroads pay them
promptly. Who is inspired to assail and
cripple railroads in Nebraska , outside a
few blatherskites who think that they
can thus get fools to vote them into
office ?
A non elective
NON-ELECTIVE. .
judiciary , one ap
pointed by the executive and confirmed
by the state senate would place Nebras
ka and any other state reverting to that
ancient and safe method of establishing
courts in possession of a superior class
of judges. A man whom the executive
nominates to a senate for confirmation
as either a district judge or a member of
the supreme court will , as a rule , be far
superior in his knowledge of law and in
his general character to any man whom
a political convention may nominate for
the bench. There is a responsibility
easily fixed upon the governor who
names and the senate which confirms
either an ignorant or a corrupt man for
a judgeship. But upon whom can bo
fixed the responsibility for the nomina
tion by a political convention and the
election by a political party of a bad
man to a district court or to the supreme
court in Nebraska ?
A dozen or two
WANTED.
millionaires , or a
score of incorporations with from one
million to ten million of dollars each , are
solicited by TIIE CONSERVATIVE to come
into Nebraska and do a manufacturing
or mercantile business. All this made-
up and pretended antagonism to capital ,
which populist papers and orators flaunt
before the public , is merely a vote-
decoying bit of stage work. Nobody
will be more deferential and subservient
to money in Nebraska than those dema
gogues who are denouncing it from day
to day.
Spoliation in office
THE SPOILS
SYSTEM. fice and the spoils
system are insepar
able. The scandal in the Cuban postal
service is additional proof of this.
Where mere party loyalty is made the
basis for political preferment and per
sonal integrity but a secondary con
sideration , we have no occasion for
surprise that steals and frauds result
The offices in Cuba , so far as was practi
cable , should have been given to natives.
The principal argument advanced against
this was not the lack of intelligence
among the Cubans , but their lack of
honesty. The conduct of the officials ,
whom we have appointed to be object
lessons in integrity , precludes our mak
ing any unkind reflections about the
moral sense of the Cubans. They
would , indeed , have to be adepts in the
art of theft if they would excel our own
Mr. Neely and his associates. Even if
the Cubans would steal , it would be
better to have them do their own steal
ing than to delegate the privilege to a
few of our own citizens , thereby making
the act a national disgrace. Positions
requiring technical knowledge , for
which the native Cuban would not bo
qualified , should be given to Americans ,
as a result of competitive examinations
under the civil service rules. In other
words we must follow the example of
England and have a civil service for our
insular territory. Had President Me-
Kinloy thus extended the civil service ,
he would have been spared the humilia
tion of Neely's disgraceful conduct ,