f * ! * t
r < A\
M
l !
Conservative ,
In the good old
POPULAR days of the conh-
AMUSEMENT. try lyccum , when
ouco a week the
sturdy farm lad escorted his rosy-
cheeked sweetheart to the little school
house , and listened to the debaters
wrestle with the issues of the hour as
though upon the decision of the
judges rested the fate of the common
wealth , the question which frequent
ly commanded the attention of the
orator was : "Resolved , That United
States senators should be elected by
direct vote of the people. ' ' Looking
backward one may see the first speak
er for the affirmative side , who , with
his store suit , white shirt , and cellu
loid collar , his boots well greased ,
hair pasted tight to his foreheadhands
dangling uselessly at his sides , look
ing and feeling extremely idiotic ,
and wishing that the meeting had
never been called to order , opens the
debate. We see this future statesman
gradually warm up to his work , en
couraged by the applause of his
friends , and finding much to his sur
prise that his knees are getting stead
ily stronger aud > liis voice more under
control , and by ; the time he has been'
at it 'fifteen minutes he is flinging out
arguments right and left , as though'
he neve'r did anything else in his life.
Just close your eyes andimagine the
stuffy little hall-with "its red-hot
stove roasting every one at one end of
the room , and the draught through a
broken pane freezing every one at the
other. Allow yourself to think of
that old familiar scene for a few
minutes before you go to sleep to
night , and in dreams you will hear
the orator thunder forth in stentorian
tones " Honorable judges , there is no
more reason why a senator should not
be elected by direct vote of the people
ple , than there is why a congressman
should not. "
When you arise in the morning sort
over your daily papers , and there is
every chance that you will find that
never-varying sentiment in the edito
rial columns , or , if not to be' found
there , it will appear in some inter
view given out by"au office holder , or
office seeker , who makes his campaign
upon that issue , as it is always a pop
ular one. But in spite of the strenu
ous efforts of the debater and the well
rounded speeches' the politician ,
the senate continues to be chosen by
! i the state legislatures , and will con
tinue to be so chosen simply because
the men who v comprise that august
body well know that they have a good
chance to bo re-elected under the
prqseut system , and the change might
'jeopardize their position.
But after all that has been said in
the district school house for years and
y ears , in spite of the speeches with
which congressmen have regaled then
.i.j
constituencies , the" important and sig
nificant fact , remains that the United
States senate' is composed of tjio'very
best and brainiest men that the coun
try affords ; that here there is no
place for the ward heeler * or district
loss found so frequently in the lower
liouse.
It is 'set fortli that legislatures
may be manipulated , ' but jcannot
party conventions be also prostituted ,
and are not elections equallyuiisat-
isfactory in thisn respect ? Under the
present system , with the "parties
evenly divided , as they usually are , a
few men who have' afhigh conception
of what a senator should be , have the ,
power to prevent the electipn of a
ihyster , and they almost invariably
do so. '
In party conventions it is the "vote-
getter , " not the statesman , who is
nominated ; at the polls it is the
'good fellow , " rather than the man
of talent who is favored , but. sena
tors , as they are now selected , are ,
with a few notable exceptions , men
of whom the country may well be
proud. They are the choicest of the
choice , the second siftiugs of the
country's statesmanship , the result of
the deliberations of state legislatures
composed of men who are chosen Be
cause they are supposed to possess
judgment superior to the rank and
file , and , who meet and measure the
various candidates for senatorial
seats a privilege the average voter
does not and cannot enjoy.
President R pose-
FIRST VETO , velt has for the first
time exercised the
executive's prerogative by stamping
his disapproval upon an act to' '
purge an ex-soldier of the sin of deser
tion in the face of the enemy. Con
gressmen all too frequently use their in
fluence to erase this blot upon the record
of menwhp desire to , be placed in a po
sition where they may ask a pension
from the government they have never
served , This course of proceeding is
not only in direct opposition to the pur
pose and intent of the pension laws , but
it is an insult to the faithful/soldier of
the rebellion "to be included in the'same
class as the man who refused 'to allow
himself to be exposed to a shower of
of lead , but has no objection to being
assaulted with a hail of gold.
The white man
A SUPERIOR boasts of his superior
SYSTEM. ity over the men of
darker hue , but ever
and anon some savage proves that '
fool may give a wise man counsel. ' ' To
support this assertion we point to the
bush tribe of Central Africa , whose orators
tors are required to stand upon one leg
while addressing the council ; the speech
being abruptly ended the moment the
, Ji
other foot touches the floor. or ground. 1 [
Such a simple _ , find effective system of
curtailing eloquence' and promoting the
transaction of serious business , if intro
duced at Washington , would shorten
the sessions of congress about 90 per
cent , and relieve vthe gorge of political
buncombe which now burdens the con
gressional record.
There , is
JUDGMENT. talk of placing Sen-
"
f , ator Gorman in
charge of the congressional campaign
committee , with a hint that should he
prove'a ' sncqess he "may _ , bewailed upon
to do a little harmonizing on his own
account in th'e coming presidential cam
paign. It is now'time for the chief ob
jector to let an anxious public know
what his next issue of the Comical will
state as to'Mr. Gorman's availability.
Of course the decision 'will be adverse ,
but allthe maiii thoroughfares of Ameri-
ca's principal cities are thronged with
people , who are clamoring to know
what the " peerless and eminently suc
cessful politician and candidate has to
say about Gorman. Will he , with his
usual acumen , decide that Gorman can
not lead the party forward to a glorious
and spectacular. defeat such as was
achieved in 1900 or 1896 ?
Fire destroyed
IHDESTRUCTI- , $50,000.plant of
BLE WEALTH. the Fremont ( Neb. )
Tribune , probably
the most complete and valuable news
paper equipment to be found in a city
of that size in the world. To many
men this loss would have been irrepar
able but to Hammond Bros , it is merely
an item. The three-story brick build
ing is in ruins , the machinery warped
and useless , the type melted and
mingled with the ashes of thousands of
dollars worthof stock paper , but the
business , credit , the reputation for hon
esty and n integrity , of the Hammond
brothers is unimpaired ; it is an inde
structible reserve fund ever'at hand in
cose of necessity ; a .part of the capital
stock which ban now b'e branded ' "time
' >
tried and fire' tested. " The Tribune
plant will arise . .from the ruins , not be
cause its owners rhave' money on deposit
or tangible possessions upon which to
draw.'bu't because they are known near
and far 'as men 'of honor , and supply
houses everywhere "are telegraphing
their willingness to furnish them" with
new goods to an unlimited extent. This
is a cheap sort of fire insurance ; it is a
policy which every business man can
hold without cost ; it is a reserve fund
which cannot be lost , burned or stolen ,
and the moral is be honest.
STOPS THE COUGH AND WORKS OFF
THE COLD- '
Laxative Bromo- Quinine Tablets cure
a cold in one day. No Cure , no Pay.
Price 25 cents.
