Conservative.
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"THE OLD TOWN ON THK RIVER. "
"Where hills are falrcsfc in splnndor ,
And brightest of skies look down ,
Just at n bend of the river ,
There lieth an Old Town. "
The above lines introduce the first
chapter of an attractive little volume
entitled , "The Old Town on the River , "
written by Miss Flora Bullock and illus
trated with photographs by Messrs.
Tyson and Rice and with drawings by
Miss Harriet Hershey.
Surely all dwellers in Nebraska City
will prize this book which so well de
scribes the beauties lurking in the
shaded streets , above the lofty tree tops
by the curves of the river , and along the
country byways that lead out among
"the sunset hills. "
Miss Bullock has pointed out the at
tractions of the "Old Town" in so ap
preciative a manner that even its most
ardent lovers , the Old Settlers , those
most severe critics of all that is said of
their town , will be satisfied , and must
render a tribute of gratitude to the
author , who , with subtle witchery in
her words , has expressed their loving
admiration for all that has grown with
them to make their chosen home beauti
ful.
ful.We
We hope the little book , which , with
its decorated cover , is suitable for a
dainty holiday gift , may fiud its way
into all the hearts and homes of Ne
braska City. The pages of the book
are filled with the charming work of
three of our own artists.
PARTISANSHIP IN STATE INSTITU
TIONS.
It is a hopeful sign that many of the
states are now seriously discussing the
advisability of a change in the methods
of managing state institutions and sug
gesting the substitution of civil service
rules for the system of partisan awards.
Illinois is making a strong efforb in this
direction. Speaking of the disastrous
consequences of partisan control the
Chicago Times-Herald says :
"The spectacle of several thousand
unfortunates , the insane , the deaf , the
dumb and the blind turned over to the
care of the ignorant ward politicians
and party heelers by the people of a
state is a reproach to our civilization.
To the humanitarian and the sociologist
it is intolerable.
"And yet this spectacle is repeated
year after year in Illinois. The hapless
wards of the state are not only turned
over to party spoilsmen but every fourth
year witnesses the complete displace
ment of one set of party henchmen in
each state institution by a new and un
tried breed of political parasites.
"The scientific , humane care of th
insane in the various hospitals of th
state is a matter of secondary considera
tion with the party spoilsmen. Unde :
the present system each state charitabli
institution is managed by a distinct and
eparate board of trustees , appointed by
ihe governor. The governor also ap-
joints the superintendents of these in-
titutions. The trustees are invariably
friends and supporters of the governor ,
to whom he is indebted for political
service. No sooner is a trustee appoint
ed than he immediately proceeds to load
down the pay rolls with party workers
and political favorites. Political favor-
tism extends from the hospital physi
cians to attendants and even down to
scrubwomen. Contracts for supplies
nvolving thousands of dollars are also
farmed out to friends of the trustees
and supporters of the governor. The
institution thus becomes a big political
machine.
"There are instances here and there ,
of course , like the appointment of
; eaohers for the education of the blind
in the institution at Jacksonville , where
it is impossible to fill all the places with
ignorant party heelers. But even these
positions , which call for the training and
professional skill of an expert , do not
always escape the despoiling hand of
the politician.
"The whole system is a disgrace to
the state and should be radically
changed in root and branch by the legis
lature at the coming session. The state
charitable and penal institutions should
be placed on the merit system under a
state civil service law framed with such
rigidity and such definite provisions as
to make it impossible for the politicians
to evade or circumvent it. "
A BETTER FROM PARIS.
EDITOR CONSERVATIVE :
The telegraph will have already given
the news of the heroic President
Kruger's arrival in France , and the
spontaneous burst of enthusiasm by
which he has been received. But , it
may not be amiss to give your readers
the impressions of an eye-witness , here
in Paris.
In the early days of this month the
great exposition reached its close , and
was naturally succeeded by a regretful
feeling that the unexampled opportunity
for instruction and culture was now
gone forever. Even those who had
been most assiduous in daily visits felt
that much had remained unseen or but
imperfectly studied. Great crowds of
visitors departed , and the people re
maining in the city could not help feel
ing melancholy. But this was temper
ary ; as it came to be realized that the
Boer President was rapidly nearing these
shores. Soon we had the news of his
arrival and reception at Marseilles , and
we read the short and stirring speech he
made there. Then rapidly followed his
triumphal journey via Lyons and Dijon
to Paris. An enormous gathering of al
classes of the population awaited him a
the railroad station , and a densely
packed crowd filled the wide Boulevards
all along the route as his carriage slowly
made its way to the Hotel Scribe , ac
companied by continuous shouts of
'Vive Krnger I Vive les Boers ! Vive la
France 1 Vive Liberte ! " Yesterday at
the reception at the Hotel de Ville , the
speaker addressing Kr. Kruger , voiced
the universal sentiment when he said , .
Since the governments are silent , in
; ho face of the great iniquity , let the
people speak , let them express their de
sire that arbitration may take place as a
satisfaction to justice and civilization. "
And the steadfast old hero replied , "I
understand very well , gentlemen , what
yon all have ardently wished to do. "
We learn by the newspapers that this
striking manifestation of admiration for
President Kruger , and sympathy for the
two struggling little republics , who are
making such an astonishing defense of
their homes and country , cause the
English people to wonder ! How blind
they are to the real state of feeling
against them , not only in France ,
but all over the civilized world ! Krnger
would be acclaimed in like manner by
every one of the nations of Europe ,
from distant Russia to Holland on the
North Sea. There are the strongest evi
dences of this in all the leading news
papers and reviews. The English by
their unholy war have seriously dam
aged their prestige for a generation to
come. They have been and still are
engaged in sowing dragons' teeth in
South Africa ; and there is not the
slightest doubt there will be a terrible
crop of woes to be expiated as the years
of the new century roll on.
When we consider the pecuniary cost ,
the loss of valuable lives , the thousands
maimed for life , the widows and orph
ans , the barbarities committed on
women and children , the hard-hearted
ignoring the behests of religion , of
humanity , of decency , the trampling
down of what men hold sacred and
worth dying for , and all this to further
the sordid aims of commercial imperial
ism , we are filled with horror , and
lament deeply that so dark a blot mars
the last page of the history of the nine
teenth century.
PROF. E. EMERSON ,
Paris , 2 , rue Oassiui , Nov. 1900.
THE CONSERVATIVE
READ FURNAS.
TIVE calls atten
tion to the valuable character of its
correspondence and especially seeks
readers for the splendid paper con
tributed by ex-Governor Furnas upon
sugar culture in Nebraska. Governor
Furnas' wide experience with practical
and scientific agriculture gives his
opinion peculiar force. We also com
mend the interesting Paris letter by
Professor Emerson , in which he tells
about the enthusiastic reception accord
ed President Kruger upon his arrival
from Transvaal.