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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1890)
THE HESPERIAN. .' s CURRENT COMMENT. The resignation of Prince llismark is causing a great ileal of speculation in regard to the onuses of his ncliou. As lie lms seen fit to remain silent, the reasons assigned for his re tirement to private life arc very unsatisfactory. It Is certain, however, that his resignation is a matter of great importance and further developments arc anxiously awaited. It has been known for some time that there arc serious dcflcrcnccs of opinion between Hismarck and Emperor William. As tele grams have been silenced and llismark's own official organ has had nothing to say about his action in severing his con nection with the empire it is thought that a change in the imperial policy is brewing, and that the chancellor's opposi tion to the change has forced him to resign. llismark has been the master mind in Europe for the mos of the time since 1862. On the unification of Germany in 187 1 he became chancellor. Fifty years ago Germany was not a political unit; it was a divided state. llismark conceived the idea of making Germany united, and how well he suc ceeded in accomplishing this the history of his country plainly shows. The sobriquet, "Mood and Iron" given to his char acter shows that he had an indomitable will and perseverance that enabled him to remain steadfast to his purpose until it was accomplished. lie had no personal ambition but was pa triotic. He brought his country through its greatest difficul ties and now that he has resigned, Germany is better able to spare him than she could have done before he made her united. There is no cause for alarm at his resignation. "The nation is stronger than the individual," and for this reason Germany will not retrograde in the hands of llismark's suc cessors. 1 great many of them with good success. The fact that these men have been "worked" should cause them to open their eyes and comprehend the situation' then they will know that the only way to overcome their difficulties is to think for themselves and not be led around by seemingly honest men, for usually these men have selfish motives lying concealed. Crowcll says that half of the preachers are cowards and that he was always able to find a "good man in the chinch who could work the preacher with but little trouble." It seems to us that a minister should be the last person to be accused of cowardice. If it is the duty of one person more than another to advocate reforms, that person, in our opinion, is a minister of the gospel. If, then, some of them have let the "good" men of their congregation "work" them into silence concerning the evils of the saloon clement, should not this serve as a warning to others to be on their guard in the future? We think that in thus revealing the secrets of the liquor men much good may result. It is substantial evidence showing that the surmises of the people of late years have been correct that there arc flaws in our great institutions that should im mediately be remedied. We hope it will rouse the people to action for if once roused and set moving in the right direction they will stop at nothing short of reform in the fullest degree. The Voice in its issue of April 3 made a great hit in pub lishing a statement made by Harry P. Crowcll, in which Mr. Crowell sets forth at some length the method used in Penn sylvania in defeating the prohibition amendment there. Mr Crowell was the secretary for the state executive committee of the liquor dealers association and had the management of the fight against the amendment. For this reason he is well posted and knows his subject thoroughly so that his state ments may be relied upon. He would probably not have given the plans away had he known he was telling them to a representative of the Voice instead of to a representative of the brewers of Nebraska as he supposed. In exposing their plans Crowcll shows that they were dealing with a matter that required shrewd handling. In order to defeat the amend ment they had to strike at its very roots. These roots, he shows were the the press, politicians, farmers and preachers. These in one way or another were won to the side of the li quor msn. In most cases they were won by bribery. When Crowell said that the papers and politicians could be won by money his remark was unfortunately too true. Some of the leading, daily papers of the state were paid from $1,000 to $4,000 to advocate the cause of the saloon. It is greatly to be deplored that such a state of affairs exists. When the foundation, upon which the moral and political status of a nation rests gives way there will be nothing left but aheap of ruins. When those institutions that have been revered and looked up to from their infancy, that have been brought into existence to be used for the best interests of the people, fall into the hands of corrupt men it is time a change should be made that will forever drive out this rottennesss from the af fairs of the state. "If you work the farmers on the tax ques tion you can catch them every time." Crowcll well knew the vital point with the farmers and proceeded to "work" a The recent municipal elections have suggested a comment on patriotism. In the first place what is patriotism? It is a love for one's country. It is a certain feeling that, when possessed by any one, in its true sense, places his country above all other things. It would seem from this definition that, if our country contains as many patriotic citizens as is claimed for it, we should be a very prosperous nation; and we are prosperous, financially, but there arc problems before us that arc assuming huge proportions. They may be solved, in time, and the result will be either the moral destruction of this government or a complete transformation, and change for the better. We do not believe the former will ever happen, for in the United States moral force certainly pre dominates over brute force. The latest elections, and in fact all late elections, have shown that patriotism is decreasing. It is .apparent that one of the great causes for the evils that beset us to-day is a lack of patriotism. At every election there is an immense sum of money spent in buying votes, in bribing, and in other unlaw ful ways. Around every polling place you will find men who, through their influence (money), try to manage the elections to suit themselves, regardless of principle and right. It is such men that do not have a spark of patriotism in them. They place themselves and their selfish ends above their country. On the other hand you will also find around every polling place men who conscientiously do their duty. They try to influence voters in the direction of right and justice. Their country first; the attainment of their own ends last. These are the men that will, finally, come out victorious. As Bulgaria within the last fourteen years has risen from a state of dependence and degrcdation to one of power, inde pendence, and influence so will our country, under the influ ence of such men as these rise from political degrcdation, and attain that height that is the essence of good government. The flag that floats from the top of every school building in our land plainly indicates that the moral element of the people is commencing to assert its ngnt. 1 ne people see that to prepare for the future they must instil into the minds of the future generation those principles that should never die out. Let the youths of today learn to put a check upon their ambitions, if those ambitions will result in an injury to WJtJammamammammMmSSBSBmzMmiSMB