Conservative *
gestible book-knowledge , but devoted
to better things , to be a thinking-in
strument for the production of plastic
mental labor , for understanding , reas
oning , combination and the develop
ment , of will-power. At present the
brain of our children is a graphophone
padded with prejudices , parrot-knowl
edge , the echoes of empirical teach
ings and errors , and stuffed with
profitless gab. A reform in our ways
of teaching along new lines will give
us mentally stronger and freer men
instead of brainless parrots and men
tal serfs. "
Now following
BEAT THE BEES , .the mcok-eyod.
procession of Jer
sey , Alderney , Guernsey , Holstein ,
and other butter-secreting bovines
who petition congress for protective
taxation against any and all substi
tutes for butter comes the Busy Bee
and asks the national lawgivers for an
enactment taxing artificial honey out
of the American market.
In the Farmers Call The Conserva
tive finds the following :
' ' A few days ago a grocer said to us
that he had some real honey ; he knew
we liked the real
Honey. thing , and would
we please drop in.
We dropped.
' ' Wo knew the honey was genuine.
We would have sworn to it. It had
all the earmarks of the bee , all the
little peculiarities of the bee's handi
work. We paid 48 cents for two
pounds.
"And when we came to eat it wo
had to say sadly that some fellow was
too smooth for us. Instead of the comb
chewing up beeswaxy , it melted in the
mouth. The alleged honey was not
very sweet it was an inferior article
of glucose , flavored with a little , a
very little , honey. The comb was
made of parafline.
"It was the same old honey that
the bees didn't make. But we will
bet all our mother-in-law's money
that it would fool a bee itself. It is
the best imitation honey we have yet
seen. And the town is full of it.
"Now , will the dear brethern who
are laboring so hard to protect the
cow and the dairyman , please do some-
tiling for the busy little bee and the
beekeeper ? Wo are for the Grout bill ;
we are also for a law that will compel
the manufacturers of paraffiue-glucose
honey to dye it green or blue.
"Milk and honey are so closely as
sociated , that it isn't fair to protect
butter and not protect honey. ' '
How doth the crazy bee emulate
and simulate the butter makers , but
ter renovators and butter speculators
of this over-legislating Republic !
There ought to be established immedi
ately a Bee-Honey lobby at Washing
ton and a tax of ten cents a pound de
manded on all substitutes for honey
made out of glucose ' and confined in
paraffine cells which is not colored
red , white and blue ! ! The symbol of
industry and polygamy , the Busy Bee ,
must not be degraded and its market do-
bauched by a product of corn , corn
which makes pork and whiskey ; corn
which makes beer ; corn which makes
pone cake.
A telegram from
A KILLER. Ithaca , New
York , where Cor
nell University is located , dated October
28 , 1001 , reads as follows :
"I am strongly in favor of killing
off the weak in society for the benefit
of the strong. I would kill off the
feeble-minded and all others who
may be a burden , as I would kill off
so many rattlesnakes. ' '
This is the startling statement made
by H. H. Powers , professor of sociology
elegy at Cornell University , before
his class in political principles.
Professor Powers went on to say
that lie would not kill the weak-
minded because he hated them , but
because they wore troublesome to
have around. Continuing , he said ;
"I believe the time will come when
society will see the benefit of extermin
ating the weak by artificial means.
To be sure , under the present regime
it is impossible to determine who is
to judge the weak and the fit from the
strong and the unfit.
"Nature formerly weeded "out the
unfit , but now life is made so much
easier that a large percentage of those
who are a burden to the better ele
ment are helped tollive.
"War , " the professor concluded ,
"used to kill off the weak in long
campaigns , but now war exterminates
the strong and those most.valuable to
society. ' '
' Professor Powers occupies the chair
of sociology in Cornell University.
He was the recipient of the degrees
of A. B. , B. L. and A. M. from the
University of Wisconsin , where he
was instructor in German , 1885-86.
He was a student at the Sarbonne and
College do Franco in Paris , 1886-88 ;
professor of the French language and
literature at Oberlin College , 1888-92 ,
and professor of economics and sociology
elegy at Smith College , 1893-95.
The Conservative thinks Prof. Pow
ers a very plain-speaking person and
evidently one who desires to improve
the breeds of men.
The national
THE DEATH murderer has been
PENALTY. obliterated. He
exists no longer
anywhere in the world. Whatever maybe
bo speculated in regard to his thinking
part , his soul , he is no longer a man
among men. With what object has
this been done ? Assuredly not for
vengeance ; the old Jewish idea of re
venge in punishment has disappeared
from our legislation , although many
street speakers and some editors are
willing : to have it appear still to ani
mate them. The penalties of the law
are inflicted nowadays with a view
either to reformation of the offender
or to protection of the public. Those
who may thereby bo deterred from
further offending are deprived of a
portion of their property or of their
liberty ; those whose existence is too
serious a menace to the rights of
others are wiped exit put. to death.
If a man is too dangerous to live with
other men , the law does not think of
punishing him that he may become
better ; still less .of making him feel
the suffering that he has caused
others ; it simply decrees that there
shall be no such man. '
This is the enlightened modern idea ,
on which coming generations will no
doubt act more generally than do we.
And there is little room for doubt that
instead of restricting they will broad
en the use of a wise and merciful
death-penalty. There are many be
ings born of human parents , to permit
and assist whom to live out the full
term of life is cruelty to themselves
and injustice to our children.
New York City ,
WIRELESS. in fact all American
cities , and all the
states of the Union , need wireless poli
tics more than they need wireless teleg
raphy.
Every family
PLANT A TREE , should plant a tree
for every baby born
into its circle. It should be a straight ,
well-formed tree and it should be kept
in form , by pruning and care , just as
the baby it honors should be disciplined
and developed into a self-reliant , self-
denying man or woman. Plant a tree
for every baby born in Nebraska during
the next century and the state will be
beautifully arboreal.
Governments are
BUSINESS. instituted primarily
to protect life ,
liberty and property. That a life in
capable of self-support , and liberty not
devoted to useful industry cannot
acquire property , goes without saying.
But all the men and women of the
United States who work either with
head or hand , or both , are entitled to
the best and cheapest protection to life ,
liberty and property. And the most
economical and perfect will be secured
by adapting governmental administra
tion to business methods. The business
of government should be carried on
without waste , without extravagance ,
and by able and industrious men. If
the public treasury contains more money
than is needed for the economical ad
ministration of the government , federal
taxes should be proportionately reduced.
Unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation.