Conservative. 3
Epaminondas ,
POSITIONS.
after having won
great glory for the Thebans at Leuctra ,
became the object of wrath to enemies
and less successful rivals. And when at
| Athens , after a victory , the distribution
I of ofllces began they sought to humiliate
him. The occasion wan not entirely
unlike one soon to be celebrated , by our
republican victors , at Lincoln. And so
the competitors and the revilers of
Epaminondas appointed him to superin
tend the cleanliness of the streets and
the maintenance of the common sewers
of Athens. "He gave dignity to this
employment and showed , as he himself
had said , that we should not judge of
men by their places , but of places by
those who fill them. "
This philosophical reflection is com
mended to the political organization
about to confer , in Nebraska , great
honors upon certain citizens , as worthy
of being thought about again and again.
A position may be honored by a man
who can and will , with patriotic intelli
gence , completely discharge the duties
which it imposes. But there is no position
which can honor an ignorant , incompe
tent and characterless citizen. Positions
can not make men , while men can make
positions , illustrious.
P Wio BOhOOl
TRUNDLEBED
of Nebraska
DEBATES , system
ka is a hot-house
where potted slips of intellect are
trained to efflorescent oratory. Debates
upon subjects which have troubled ex
perienced statesmen and economists of
renown for generations are carried on
by trundlebed occupants with a com
posure and a now-it-is-settled air similar
to that which characterized the astrolo
gers of ancient times.
The Dutch and the British in South
Africa , and their respective rights , were
calmly defined and determined last
winter in our High schools. And now
the question as to whether United
States senators would improve in intel
lectual and moral quality , if elected by
the People instead of by the Legislature ,
is about to be disposed of by infant prodi
gies who will discuss the proposition
from the truudlebed standpoint.
Without study , without thought , the
ability to talk emptiness and parade
superficialities in acquirements is en
couraged and applauded. How would
it do to limit discussions to those who
have investigated the question at issue ?
Where the constitution of the United
States is involved , why not exclude
from the debate all pupils who have
never read that instrument ?
mes J Em ,
JAMES j. HILL.
president of the
Great Northern Railway , is not only a
successful railway man but is also a
prosperous ship owner. He is , with
others , interested in a line of merchant
vessels plying on the Pacific coast. He
has made a study of the problem of
navigation as well as transportation.
He recently addressed the Bankers' Olub
of Chicago upon the ship-subsidy bill
and , referring to the agricultural argu
ment advanced in favor of the bill , said
that our farmers needed better markets ,
and a subsidy based upon the amount of
agricultural products carried would have
"some justice" in it. The inference is
plain that Mr. Hill does not believe
there is very much "justice" in
the present bill which bases the subsidy
upon the cargo capacity , or the space
allotted for a cargo whether occupied or _
not , and not upon the actual cargo
carried of the products of our farms.
Practically , Mr. Hill says that a subsidy
bill , not the one now before congress ,
however , but one based upon entirely
different principles , would have "some
justice" in it. He does not say that the
interests of the farmer demand it or that
it is essential to the building up of an
American merchant marine.
It is significant that Mr. Hill frankly
admits that his company has built
ships without subsidies and that it
is now building more without govern
ment aid or the assurance of any form
of special privilege. Mr. Hill is in a
position to know whether ship-owning
and operating is a paying or a losing
investment for American capital. It
must be an attractive field for invest
ment or Mr. Hill and his friends would
not now be building ships. So that any
subsidy or bonus would be the taking of
money from the people and putting it in
the pockets of men engaged in an
already profitable industry.
T h'e Nebraska
TO BE PAID.
served with such conspicuous courage
and efficiency under the lamented
Colonel Stotsenberg , returned to San
Francisco and was there given the option
to be paid off in full at that city , with
fare home added to each man's stipend ,
or to be taken home and then paid. The
regiment , almost unanimously , decided
each man to take his pay and the added
price of transportation to his home. The
United States so paid and discharged
them then and there , in California ;
whereupon a demand that subscriptions
to liquidate railroad charges for bring
ing the soldiers to Nebraska was made
upon the citizenship of this state. It
was not a very reasonable demand. The
soldiers had been paid in full for services
and also for their fares home. Never
theless a subscription was started and at
last D. E. Thompson advanced about
twenty thousand dollars , paid the rail
roads and brought the troops to Nebras
ka. That bill is now to be paid by the
state. It will be due as soon as the
legislature begins business at Lincoln in
January , 1901.
* * * * Twahl'
THE OPEN DOOR. '
with characteris
tic cleverness , in a recent address noted
the inconsistency and hypocrisy of some
American statesmen when he somewhat
irreverently remarked : "How piously
America has worked for that open door
in all cases where it was not her own. "
The Dally Demo-
SOUND
DEMO-
ORAT. orati of Topeka ,
Kansas , is exceed
ingly instructive and conservative rela
tive to fusion politics in that state and
in Nebraska. The Democrat is an out-
and-out advocate of the gold standard.
It is therefore vigorously opposed to any
fusion with populism and the financial
vagaries which that word implies.
° r "
AMERICAN
STEAMSHIPS.do < 33 not Pay to
build and operate
steamships from the West side to the
East side of the Atlantic.
If it pays , no subsidies are needed. If
it does not and will not pay , no subsidies
ought to be granted. It is not right to
take money from all the people to build
steamships for a few people. The
power to tax all to enrich a few is not
vested in congress by the constitution.
° Ur
GOOD ROADS.
country roads in
this state are made , by law , sixty-six
feet in width. This is too wide. Every
road is a weed propagator. Nebraska
will never have really good roads until
they are made narrower. The legisla
ture should authorize county commis
sioners to appraise and sell sixteen and
one-half feet on each side of each road
to owners of land adjacent. This would
reduce the width of roads one-half. It
would also make a road fund of large
dimensions out of which permanently
improved highways could be maintained.
It would in the older counties , if the
fund is honestly and efficiently used , do
away with all road taxes.
Nebra8k *
MILLIONAIRES
WANTED.a couple of dozen
men with a million
dollars each to come into her citizenship
and build up industrial plants. Strawboard -
board paper manufacturing and milling
offer allurements to energy and capital.
By the anti-calamity majority cast at
the election by Nebraskans , in 1900 ,
money invested here ia assured of wel
come and of fair treatment.
The legislature will repeal all the
obnoxious laws , which populists and
those pandering to populism have in
recent years enacted for the purpose of
annoying and burdensomely taxing
capital in Nebraska. The laws respect
ing partnerships and corporations are in
need of revision or immediate and un
conditional repeal.