Conservative-
ing the right to exercise their suffrages , to
vote for directors of the company ; and
suppose the gainful corporation is , say ,
the Western Union Telegraph Company ,
would they not bo asked : "have you
any stock in this company ? " ; and , an
swering in the negative , would they not
bo kicked out from the place where
directors of the Western Union are
being voted for ? What railroad , bank
ing , mauufactiiring , or other gainful in
corporation , permits people to vote for
its directors and its officers who have
none of its stock , who have paid no
money into its treasury ?
How long would a bank remain sol
vent or a railroad remunerative if non
stockholders were permitted to control
its offices and expenditures by their bal
lots ? And why should it be safer for a
corporation called government , insti
tuted to protect life , liberty and proper
ty within a certain area , to allow itself
to be run and managed by non-stock-
holders by those who pay no taxes , no
assessments upon their citizenship than
it would be for a bank , manufacturing
plant or railroad to be operated in that
manner ?
But how would THE CONSERVATIVE
limit suffrage in the great cities , in all
municipalities ? By levying a citizen
male twenty-one
ship-tax upon every
years of age and upwards of five dollars
a year , payable in December each year.
It is nearly six months until the next
mayoralty or municipal election comes
around. None of the political aspirants
for city offices at the ensuing spring
election will take the chances and pay
the taxes of impecunious voters so far
in advance. The credit is too long , the
result too uncertain. No man should bo
permitted to vote in any city election in
April until he shall have shown a receipt
for his citizenship-tax , paid in the pre
ceding December. Those who have not
paid are not stockholders and ought not
to vote. Thobo who have paid have
demonstrated their fidelity to the cor
poration called government and have
proved themselves genuine stockholders.
Such a tax will work no hardship up
on decent and thrif ty citizens. A tax is
merely compensation paid by the citizen
to the government for a service rendered
and the service rendered is the protec
tion of his life , liberty , and property.
The life of the poor man and the liberty
of the poor man are far more valuable or
essential to his family than that of the
rich man. The latter may bo killed and
his family have income and support
from his estate. The rich man may bo
imprisoned , his income continued to his
f amilyand his property bo still protected.
But the family of the poor man depends
even for daily bread tipon his life and
liberty. The citixon who cannot or will
not pay five dollars each December foi
governmental protection to his life and
liberty , is not worthy of the right to
vote. Ho is not a stockholder in the
corporation called government. And
all human governments are mere ovolu-
ious from man's natural right to life ,
X ) liberty , and to the earnings of his
own person. In barbarism each defend
ed those rights for himself. Emerging
from savagery , they agreed that all men
should stand for the rights of each man.
This made government. Government ,
thus evolved , ought to bo just. It ought
to protect those who work and pay to
sxipport government , against all the
idle and intemperate and thriftless who
do neither.
In all the states where the rural popu
lation outnumbers the urban population ,
legislation to levy
Enact Such a Law. a citizenship tax
can be secured.
Each state ought to enact such a law.
If Illinois makes the endeavor soon , it
can cany such legislation into vigor
and by such a statute save Chicago from
the plundering by wrhich it is now de
spoiled. Political pirates could not ,
under the operation of such a citizenship-
tax , payable in December , each April
elect the men to loot the public purse.
Under the operation of a law , requiring
each citizen to present , at the polls in
the city election of April , his tax re
ceipt of the December previous , the
whole expense of registration could bo
avoided. The certificate of citizenship
and of the right to vote would be the
receipt for a tax paid to the government
of the city , in consideration of the pro
tection which that government had
afforded to the life , liberty and property
of the citizen and his family. Until
Americans are taught that this govern
ment imposes duties , and that it is not
merely a power granting privileges ,
there is no certainty of its perpetuity.
Until men are taught that it is the duty
of every American to contribute to gov
ernment , and not the duty of government
to contribute to him , there is no safetv
in the rule of the majority in cities or
elsewhere.
Colonel Bowlby ,
TO SWALLOW OR of the Crete Demo-
TO BE SWALcrat , seems to be in-
LOWED. capable of under
standing the differ
ence between the swallower and the
swallowee. In a recent number of his
valuable periodical , ho refers very unappreciatively -
appreciatively to a proposition made by
the editor of Tun CONSERVATIVE , after
the election of Hon. Jas. E. Boyd to the
governorship in 1890. That proposition
was to join and cement all the opposi
tion to the republican party with the
then triumphant democracy of the state
of Nebraska. The letter to which he
refers , proposed a meeting on Jackson
Day , the 8th day of January , 1891 , for
the purpose of taking into the demo
cratic folds all the opponents of the re
publican party in the state. Because at
that time , it was deemed possible and
prudent to swallow the populistic and
all other political organizations which
were fighting the G. O. P. in this com
monwealth , it did not logically follow
; hat it was good policy , fidelity to prin
ciple , or even compatible with decency ,
to be swallowed by the populists and
'ree silver republicans.
Since then the democratic party has
jecome the swallowee in this state'and
throughout the country.
Nationally there has been no demo
cratic candidate for the presidency since
1892 , who was not also the nominee of
; he populist party for the same position.
In 1900 the populist party , at its national
convention at Sioux Falls , dictated the
nomination of the presidential candi
date , for the ensuing sanhedrim at Kan
sas City. It even went so far as to name
the vice-president in the person of Chas.
A. Towne , of Minnesota. This politi
cal prescription was rather nauseating ,
even to the convention at Kansas City ,
so that it took only half -the dose , and -
even attempted to sugar-coat that , by
nominating Adlai E. Stevenson , who
iiad once been elected vice-president
through the popularity and strength of
the Grover Cleveland ticket in 1892.
THE CONSERVATIVE has not changed
as to political principles' . It believes in
a government honestly administered for
the sole purpose of protecting the life ,
liberty and property of its citizens. It
is opposed to all taxation except for
public purposes. It is against the inter
meddling of this country with the af
fairs of European or other foreign na
tions. It did not sympathize with
Bailey , Chump Clark and other ex
ponents of Bryanarohy in Congress ,
when they declared that they alone had
urged the weak-kneed McKinley into
war with Spain , and then boasted of
having brought about the conflict.
Neither did THE CONSERVATIVE rejoice
with Grosvenor , of Ohio , because as he
proclaimed , the war had been precipi
tated by MoKiuley , Hanna , Quay & Co.
between this country and Spain. By
the way , nobody seems to be claiming
the merit at this time of having brought
about the war , and there is no quarrel
among statesmen of allegedly different
political views , as to who shall have the
honor of having caused all this tremendous
deus loss of treasure , health , happiness
and human life.
BUFFALO BILL'S MILITARY COLLEGE.
A military college , that is to graduate
real rough riders , is the novel institution
planned by Buffalo Bill and a number
of retired officers of the regular army.
It will be located at Cody , Wyo. , in the
heart of the Big Horn Basin , which will
soon be made accessible through an ex
tension of the Burlington railroad. Bar
racks of unhewn logs are to be built ,
and instruction in everything , from
rough riding , to hunting big game , is to
be provided. It is believed that a num
ber of eastern families will send their
sons to Buffalo Bill , to be transformed
into thorough westerners.