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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1900)
8 the Conservative. WIIEN LOVE IS KING. " It is always a sincere pleasure to rec ognize and to commend the worth of a literary work produced by one who dwells in our own state. We have re ceived from Mrs. Isabel Richey of Platts- mouth , Nebraska , a book entitled "When Love is King. " This title is also given to the first and longest poem in the vol ume. This narrative poem shows the charming gift of genius which enables the author to describe the ordinary events of life in a manner made attrac tive by its simplicity and its truly poet ical style. The readers' attention is held while the story is easily and skill fully told. Shorter contributions of musical verse and prose , each gemmed with beauty of thought , complete the pages of Mrs. Richey's book , from which is taken the following selection : WEALTH. Who has such vast wealth as I , Such unending pleasure ; Golden sun and sapphire sky. Em'rald fields that rippling lie Far as eye can measure. Discs of gold are at my feet , Diamonds gem the grasses , Priceless incense , rich and sweet , From the flowers among the wheat On each breeze that passes. Silver streams that murmur low 'Gainst their pearl-set edges , Silver stars that softly glow , Or a parti-colored bow , Bending o'er the hedges. Purple velvet curtains fall Where the sun is setting , Amber fire-flies o'er the wall Of the misty evening crawl On a white lace netting. All is mine , and if you will All is yours , wayfarer ; Each may own the vale and hill , Each may gaze and gaze his fill ; Come , be a welcome sharer. ARMY REORGANIZATION. In the plan of army reorganization prepared by Secretary Root congress should recognize what appears to be a final and satisfactory solution of a diffi cult problem. In brief this plan pro vides for the establishment of a perma nent organization of 50,000 men. This will be the nation's regular army , the nucleus of whatever land force is to be raised in time of war. The president , by the terms of the plan , will hold dis cretionary authority to increase this army up to a maximum of 100,000 , each company of sixty men being recruited up to its full maximum strength of 120. The advantages of this plan should be obvious , for while it does away with the maintenance of a large army , most of it useless much of the time , it renders possible the calling of a formid able army into being on short notice and without the delay involved in wait ing for congressional action. It is ob viously far easier to raise companies of sixty to companies of 120 , by the simple process of gradually absorbing recruits , than to drill a company composed en tirely of raw recruits into anything like military efficiency. In other words , it is easier to fill the ranks of a well-offi cered regular army , keeping it up to the efficiency of regular forces , than it is.to build a considerable part of an army separately and anew. The elasticity of such an organization thus makes it peculiarly adaptable to the needs of a nation which means to pursue a peaceful policy but must be ready to act quickly if hostile action be needed. Secretary Root's plan would entail npau the government the burden of actually supporting only 60,000 men , but while the cost and care would be thus limited the nation would have in effect the advantages of protection which an army twice the size would give. The arrangement , of course , would require special care in providing for an adequate complement of officers , but the practicability of getting officers seems to have been shown by recent ex perience. The nation's land forces were suddenly increased threefold practi cally from 26,000 to 100,000. While the process imposed a strain , and many regi ments were badly underofficered , there is no reason to believe that it would not be perfectly feasible to officer an army of 100,000 with only half that number as a permanent basis. If it involved in some cases the placing of recently grad uated officers in responsible positions , it would quicken the process of promotion and tend to bring the actual command of regiments more and more into the hands of men in the prime of early mid dle age. Secretary Root's plan in its general outline merits the nation's approval. Chicago Record. A STUDY OF NEBRASKA. When the present campaign opened it found the state of Nebraska a decidedly poor field for republicans. The fusionists - ists had complete control of the state government ( every state institution working for the fusion ticket ) , while four of the six congressmen , one of the senators and a majority of the supreme court were theirs , and the renomination of W. J. Bryan seemed to assure to them the electoral vote of the state. Control of the legislature counted for nothing , for its only republican act had been negatived by death and it had adjourned eighteen months before the campaign begun. Republicans did not base many hopes on their record of carrying the legislature in 1898 , for then Mr. Bryan was in the army and took no part in the contest. It was a discouraging outlook and the battle was a storm-swept , bitter and hard-fought one of which we in the east can have little conception. What is the result ? Republican gains in almost every precinct , four fusionist' congressmen elected by hundreds where four and two years ago they had thous ands , two republican congressmen by larger pluralities , the electoral vote for McKiuley , the whole state ticket and a majority of the legislature republican , insuring union in legislation and two republican United States senators. It certainly was to the majority party a glorious and surprising victory. Yet upon the party a heavy responsi bility is laid. It has , we opine , well learned its lessons of adversity. Its nominees of recent years have been men of high character. It can no longer put up "yaller dogs" and hope to elect them. To that extent populism has beiiefitted Nebraska in purifying the great party. No more of its state offi cers will bo tried and convicted of em bezzlement and no more state money will be lost by bank wreckers who are sent to federal prisons. The new legis lature must readjust the congressional boundaries according to the new census , and probably will have to cut down the number of'districts to five owing to the small increase in population. It should also readjust the legislative boundaries , which have not been changed in twenty years. The petty jealousies of the older , long-settled rural counties prevented this act of justice from consummation ten years ago in much the same way in which the little towns of Connecticut hug their rights of a century ago and decline to yield them to the demands of growth and progress. For example , Richard son county , in the extreme southeast corner , has one senator and three repre sentatives with its 6,000 votes , while Douglas ( Omaha ) , with six times those votes , has but three times the members of the legislature. The constitution of the state declares that after each state census , which shall be taken at inter vals of ten years from 1885 , and also after every national census , the bound aries of the legislative districts shall be set in accordance with the showings of that census , but the quarrelings of the various sections , especially the envy of the old counties and the rivalry of Omaha and Lincoln , have prevented this action. And while on this point it may be well to add that in spite of the constitutional order ( 'shall" ) for a state canvass every ten years , none was taken in 1895 because of its expense and the bad plight in which it would have re vealed the state after it had so greatly suffered from drouth and consequent crop failures. And so Nebraska returns to republicanism. Except as populism has made better the opposing party by the chastening influence of affliction , it is difficult to see wherein the experiment has helped the state. Scandals have continued , although not so great as be fore , and the administrators have been no more efficient and little more honest , and unsafe legislation has often been threatened. The change will , probably , " clean out" every state institution of its heads and none of the officers will
