* I
Conservative *
A RIDE IN THE OLD STREET CAR.
NEBRASKA CITY.
Away from scenes of traffic's whirl ,
Where the road goes sloping down
To meet the flowing river's blue
That lies below the town ,
The old street car goes jogging on
Like a rambler on his way ,
Who pauses here and loiters there ,
And yet seems loth to stay.
From out its eastern door wo see
The bluffe that melt away
In distant haze to softly gleam
With jeweled tints of day ;
And toward the wide , out-spreading west
The peaceful country lies ,
With glints of gold , the meadows green
Curve under azure skies.
Drawn on by mules whose tinkling bells
Sing out a plaintive air ,
Unmindful that the old brown car
Showa marks of grim Time's wear ,
We sit content and dream out dreams
That come with summer hours ,
And wonder if a heavenly bind
Could be more fair than ours.
Perchance , in thought , we see again
The long , white-canvassed trains
Of pioneers who passed this way
To cross far-reaching plains.
Like phantoms from the by-gone years
They come and pass from view ,
O brave hearts journeyed to the west
When this old town was new !
Beyond the wheat-fields , toward the south ,
God's Acre crowns the hill-
There sleep our dearest , left alone
Where all is hushed and still.
But from the old car's windows
We see the sunbeams lie
Where shining stones point upward ,
With promise , to the sky.
So back and forth it goes each day ,
From flowing river's brim
To haunts of birds in shadowed grove
Whose quiet paths are dim ,
Through traffic's stir , by hillside still ,
The old car jogs along
And one who sits within may hear
Life's varied strains of song.
MAHY FRENCH MORTON.
"J. Sterling Mor-
RESPONSIBILITY. ton finds fault with
present methods of
nominating candidates for supreme judge
and calls upon the lawyers to make a
choice to be presented to the people for
their support. As if the lawyers were
the only ones interested in having able
judges on the bench. But , then , it is
notorious that Mr. Morton does not be
lieve in letting the people have anything
to say about who shall wear the judicial
ermine. If he had his way all the judges
would have life tenures by appointment.
Happily the people of Nebraska still in
sist upon an elective judiciary that
can be held responsible , periodically. "
Omaha Bee , August 27 , 1901.
The lawyers know better than the
majority of the people who
among their profession are by
ability , by learning and character , best
Pt qualified for judges. Under the elective
I j1
l&l. system , nobody can fix the responsibility
for having a bad judge upon anybody.
A bad judge , a drinking judge , a dis
honest judge , is denounced generally ,
and under the elective system , you can
hold no man nor identify any set of men
' '
'
'L'i "
as responsible for his oflloial existence.
But a judge who is nominated to the
federal Senate by a President of the
United States , and by that body approv
ed and confirmed , makes that President
and that Senate answerable for his con
duct and character. Had the United
States district circuit and supreme
courts been composed of elected judges ,
the liberties of the people and the Re
public itself could have been jeopard
ized. The fathers who framed the con
stitution provided for an appointive fed
eral judiciary , and with all due regard
for the Bee and its very able editor , THE
CONSERVATIVE prefers the fathers as
guides and instructors as to the best
methods of getting the best judges.
Therefore , THE CONSERVATIVE advo
cates an appointive judiciary for this
State , instead of an elective one based
upon partyism. But as under the present
constitution for this commonwealth we
must have elected judges , THE CONSER
VATIVE favors the selection of candidates
by non-partisan organizations of the
members of the legal profession , as the
next best way of securing the best men
for judgeships , to having them nominat
ed by the Governor to the State Senate
to be by that body either rejected or con
firmed.
Judges named to the State Senate by
the Executive and confirmed by that
body are responsible to those two pow
ers. Those two powers are held respon
sible to the community for the learning ,
dignity , and character for honesty and
love of justice which such an appointed
judiciary develops. THE CONSERVATIVE
is against an elective judiciary and op
posed to all partisan candidates for the
Supreme Bench.
THE BISMARCK CELEBRATION.
The sixteenth of June of the present
year was the day appointed for the Bis
marck celebration in Berlin ; the occasion
being the unveiling of the completed
monument , in close vicinity to the Par
liament House. The date had been
postponed on account of the death of
Count Wilhelm Bismarck , and the only
representative of the family present was
Prince Herbert ; as his sister , Countess
Bautzau , was ill and unable to attend.
Notwithstanding these saddening cir
cumstances , the event was expected to
be a joyous one ; the enthusiasm of the
citizens of Berlin and the numerous
deputations and sympathizing visitors
from far and near was great ; and yet
the result was disappointment , more
keenly felt because what was lacking
was recognized as consciously and in
tentionally witheld by the highest
authority in the realm.
A condensed account of the proceed
ings will explain the dissatisfaction , and
the reasons for its existence and con
tinuance. The public buildings were
not flagged , the troops ordered out for
the ceremony were not dressed in parade-
uniform ; the Emperor and Empress ar
rived very late in an open carriage , the
Emperor carrying in his hand the in
terims marshal staff , instead of the pa
rade marshal staff , which is prescribed
for such occasions , and which the pres
ent Emperor has heretofore carried at
the uncovering of a monument. The
ceremony was opened by a Beethoven
sacred chorus , sung by over a thousand
school children. There was a Bismarck
hymn , composed and set to music for
the children to sing ; but it was stricken
from the program by an order from
which there could be no appeal. The
first speech was made by the president
of the Imperial Parliament ; then fol
lowed the oration by the chancellor ,
Count von Bttlow , a warm and just
eulogy , which was several times inter
rupted by applause , though listened to
with stolid countenance by the Em
peror , who acknowledged the speaker at
the close merely by a military salute.
After cheers for the Emperor , led by
Count von Bttlow , and the singing of
the national hymn , the Emperor gave
the signal for the uncovering of the
monument , which took place to the
music of a military march. Then ,
amid expectant silence , the Emperor
left the royal tent and slowly mounted
the steps , carrying a laurel wreath
which he laid at the base of the pedestal
and , after standing a moment upon the
upper step , returned to the tent. The
Emperor and Empress with the court
party then made the tour of the monument
ment , and an informal reception was
held in the tent , after which the royal
pair drove away , and the crowd grad
ually separated , the various delegations
leaving wreaths at the foot of the
monument.
Naturally , there was much comment
upon the unsatisfactory course of pro
ceedings , and much speculation concern
ing the cause of the failure. All over
the country the people asked : Why
was the Bismark hymn prohibited ?
Why was the military part of the pro
gram so carelessly performed , when in
these days and in this kingdom military
precision is exacted with almost un
heard-of rigor ?
Above all , why did the Emperor stand
mute before the crowd , he whose fond
ness for speaking in season and out of
season has become proverbial ? Was he
dissatisfied with von Billow's eulogy ,
( which had not been previously offered
to his inspection ) , or was that silence
a theatrical stroke , intended to imply
magnanimous witholdiug of blame on
the principle of : "De mortuis nil nisi
lene. " There is sometimes a silence
which is "golden ; " but this one was
brazen. It was a great mistake. It
must have been a t rial to the Emperor
to preside over such an occasion , to wit
ness the enthusiasm of the crowd , to
listen to the praises which could not in