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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1903)
TIIU OMAHA DAILY HEE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1003. 'Hie omaiia Daily Bee B. ROSEWATER. EDITOR. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TERMS OF SUKfCRIPTION. Dally ties (without Suuiiay). One Year.. S4.no ijally Hee and Sunday, Una Year 6 00 iilUKtraifxI Bee, One Year. r.. ........ 2 W tunday lfe. one iear "J buturoa Bee, One eur i Iwentleth Century Farmer. One Year.. l.UU DELIVERED BY CARRIER. Dally Bee (without Sunlay, per copy ... Jo Daily Hee (without 5uniay). er week. ..120 Dully Hee (including; HundhyV Pr week. .170 riunoay Hee, per copy J livening Eee (without Bunday). per wee to livening Bee (Including Bunday), Pr, week , ......100 Complaints of Irregularities In delivery should be addressed to City Circulation Le-pa-ment. OFFICES. Omaha The Bee Building. South Omana City Hall Building, Twenty-fifth and M 8treets. Council muffs 10 1'earl Street. Chicago 1640 Unity Building. New York 1328 Tark Row Building. Washington 6ul Fourteenth Street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to newi and ed itorial matter should be addressed: Omaha Lee, Editorial Department. REMITTANCES. Remit by draft, express or postal ordor, payable to The Bee Publishing Company, only 2-ecnt stamps accepted In payment of mall accounts, l'erscnal checks, except on Omaha or eastern exchange, not accepted. THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. State of Nebraska, Douglas County, .: George B. Taechuck, secretary of rr.a Be; Publishing company, being duly sworn, says that the actual number of full and complete copies of The Dally, Morning, Kvenlng and Bunday Be printed during the month of January, 1SVJ, was aa follows; 1 80.4KO 17 su,ouu lg 88,030 19 S0.MO 20 80,530 Jl... 81,550 22 30,440 J3 80,030 24 80,750 2S 2H.HOO 2 80,670 27 80,570 2$ 80,840 2 80,680 SO 80,570 H 30,010 1 30,250 g 80.THO 4 88.805 6 B0.500 ( 80,520 7 o,Bao 80,400 R 80.4MO 10 BO.KnO 11 B8.7HO 12 80,500 13 ..80,550 14 80,400 15 80,370 16. 80,470 Total 941,483 Less unsold and returned copies.... 9,875 Net total sales BSi.eoT Net average sales 80,031 OEOROB B. TZSCHUCK. Bubs crt bed In my presence and sworn to before me tma Slat day of January, a. ISC i M. B. HUNQATE. (Baal.) Notary Public It was a hatchet club, not a knock er's club, that George Washington et tabllshed. If all U paper plans only materialize Omaha wtfl' experience a brisk building season as soon as the cold weather de parts. Perhaps the legislature does not want to look Into that Bartley cigar box for fear it might find something It Is hunt Ing for. It seems that the more patching the proposed revenue bill receives at the hands of the Joint committee the worse It gets. The Rockefeller - experience Justifies the admonition that telegrams should be in the same class with letters with the politicians. hereabouts must not be' allowed to be come a habit.' ' Borne of tbe stray bullets may stray . In the wrong direction. , .The Introduction by Senator Hanna of a bill to pension ex-slaves lends color to the suspicion that Walter' Raleigh Vaughn must be lurking somewhere iu the neighborhood of the national capi tal .General Miles has been entertaining Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces In dians at his residence In Washington. General Miles gave him a livelier en tertainment in the wilds of New Mex ico and Arizona some twenty years ago. On a basis of one representative for every 10,000 population Douglas county Would be entitled to more than thirteen representatives and four state senators, as proposed in the McAllister apportion ment bllL 8U11. small favors will be thankfully received. It la said the experiment with the new postage stamps is not proving as suc cessful as was expected, especially with reference to the design for the two-cent -stamp. Tbe Poetofflce department should get a stamp that will stick and then stick to the stamp. It seems that the corporation lobby is growing with the advance of the ses sion, railroad cappers being called In from all parts of tbe state. If our law makers want to maintain themselves be yond suspicion they will send the paid lobbyists an invitation to go home. If we would believe the hot air emitted by John N. Baldwin, as chief of the Union Pacific lobby, the railroads are so fearful that they will not pay enough taxes In the rural districts that they are willing to spend money to make sure the opportunity is not taken away from them. Why should a member from Dodge county be concerned In the details of the South Omaha charter, anyway, that he should prepare amendments to be bitched onto it in committee designed to relieve the railroads from paying mu nicipal taxes the same as other property owners? Word from Washington is to the ef feet that there Is no chance for any land leasing legislation during the remainder of the fast ebbing session of congress. People out here, however, will believe that the edict for the fences to come down is to be enforced when the fences ar down. . -. 1 Whatever may be done with tbe bill to extend the Ufa of the supreme court commission nothing should be done that will prevent the enlargement of tbe su pre me court by the addition of two more Judges at the earliest possible time. One of the influences that helped defeat the constitutional amendment in creating the number of supreme Judges In iSW was traceable to tbe members of the old supreme court commission ..who wauted to bold en, f w KU 9TKP BACKWABD. The citizens of Omaha are rightly aroused over the attempt on the part of the franchisor coriorntlon to smug gle into the new revenue bill a provi sion that would undo all the reforms RiTuiimllHlipd lu the direction of the as sessment of municipal franchises that previously escaped tnxatlnn. The pro posal to make the assessment bnsls for the franchises of these public service corporations one year's gross receipts in stead of the actuul market value has nothing whatever to. commend It. It Is purely arbitrary and fictitious and di rectly contravenes the letter and spirit of the constitution, which requires all properties and franchises to be assessed equitably and uniformly. There is no more reason why one year s gross receipts suouia ne taken to represent the value of the franchise of one of the public service corpora tions than that six months' earnings should be taken, or that two year's earnings should be taken. The gross earnings of such a corporation has no definite relation to the value of Its spe cial privileges. Two corporations with the same amount of tangible property and the same gross receipts might, In fact, be worth on the market the' one several times more than the other. This much it is safe to say, that if the pro posed change did not mean that the franchised corporations would escape some of the taxes they are now com pelled to pay they would not be advo cating a change. This is a matter that affects not only Omaha but every city in the state and it affects not only the people of the cities, but the taxpayers everywhere. All this property enters into the grand assessment roll of the state, and to allow any part of it to avoid assess ment on the same basis as the other property simply shifts the burden of taxation to other property owners. If the Joint revenue committee has acted ignorantly in this matter It should re consider and retrace its steps. If the committee persists In reporting the bill with the' provision for the substitution of gross receipts for market values as the basis of franchise assessment, It will devolve upon the legislature to strike out the obnoxious clause when it comes up before the two houses. THB CLUB THAT DOBS. "The greatest thing in Kansas City, chief maker of Kansas City, its prophet, apostle and crowner, is tbe club that does. The Commercial club is the title of it" So writes II. Alloway, the well known financial editor of the New York Times, who has been making a tour of the southwest to find that the Kansas City Commercial club has been the chief factor of the marvelous growth and prosperity of that city. That this was a revelation to the roan of the east goes without saying, for he waxes even more enthusiastic as he continues: It U not merely in the bringing of new manufactories to employ labor, utilize raw material and distribute pay rolls; it is not merely m the development of plans for ex panding mercantile connections that this organization Is industrious. Along those lines it does wonders, but its field ts broader. Not less conspicuous in its char acter is the campaign waged constantly for municipal cleanliness. Through it has started plans tor a public park system great in acreage and greater still In its developing beautiflcation close to $3,000,000 has al ready been Invested in it, with $3,000,000 more to be speedily available. Fair record this for a western river town whose assets and credits were texts for Jocularity a decade and less ago. The writer goes on to tell how under Kansas City's leadership every town and hamlet of consequence in the south west has hastened and that enthusias ticallyto establish home championship organizations of the same type. "In twenty alert . towns of western and northern Missouri, of Kansas and Okla homa and Texaa, and even In the quon dam quietude of Arkansas in towns that I have been, personally visiting this Commercial club idea is not merely accepted but has come to be controlling. Thus Kansas City has actually sten cilled the whole southwest over." It Is not with the special inteutlon of paying tribute to Kansas City as the home of live and hustling business men that The Bee calls attention to this de lightful description. It is to remind the business men of Omaha of tbe opportu nlties their Commercial club can have if its members will only cut loose from the strings that have held them to Inaction In too many matters of vital concern to the well being aud progress of Omaha. If our Commercial club will only set about It it can furnish a text for eastern newspapers as well as Kansas City. A NtOLCCTtD CUMillHCE. The official statement of the foreign commerce of tbe United States for 1902 shows that no progress Is being made in securing South American trade. In deed, it appears that while our Imports from the southern countries have beeu steadily growing our exports to them last year were not as much In value as twelve years ago. Here is a great market, from which we buy heavily, the imports from South America amounting lust year to about $120,000,' 000, yet our manufacturers and mer chants were able to sell there only $38, 000,000 worth of merchandise, or less than one-third of what we bought. It Is very apparent that this market, which Is steadily growing In iuipor tance, is not being cultivated as it should be by American manufacturers and merchants, that they are doing lit tle or nothing to compete with the Brit ish and Germans in South America, or else that they are at such a dlsadvan tag that their efforts are futile. There ts one Important respect in which un doubtedly they are at a disadvantage, which is the want of lines of American vessels sailing frequently and regularly to all the principal South American ports. Mr. McKlnley pointed this cut, saying that "one of the Deeds of the time Is direct commercial lines from our vast fields of production to the fields 1 of consumption that wo have but baxely touched." He declared that next In ad vantage to having tbe thing to sell is to have th convenience to carry It to the buyer and therefore we must en courage our merchant marine and have more ships under the American flag, built and ptnniml and owned by Ameri cans. It Is not to be doubted, if the testimony of South Americans them selves Is of any value, that much would bo gained in the way of trade If we had steamship lines sailing frequently and regularly to the more important South American port, but that Is not a promise of the near future. Undoubt edly there are other and quite as seri ous disadvantages that may be reme died lu time. When we are seeking markets for our surplus manufactures the fact that we are making no progress in the large and valuable markets south of us seems very remarkable. British and German trade with those countries steadily grows and It appears like a reflec tion upon American energy and enter prise that there Is no lncreast in our South American commerce. . FREEVUU OF DEBATI There was an interesting and some what instructive discussion in the Uni ted States senate a few days ago on the old question of unrestricted debate In that body. It was brought about by a proposition that the senate agree upon a time for closing debate on the statehood bill. While the discussion was not general, there was enough to make plain the fact that a large ma jority of the senators are opposed to placing any restriction on debate. Men of both parties favor the largest lati tude of discussion. Scnaor Spooner and Senator Lodge advocated It on the part of the republicans and the views they expressed were concurred in by such democratic senators as Cockrell and Ba con. Senator Lodge said that when he went to the senate from the house of repre sentatives he was strongly prejudiced in favor of vigorous and prompt methods of closing debate. He had since reached the conclusion that (the practice of the senate is on the whole a wise one and the safest system for the country and for the general interests of the government. Senator Bacon said there are three dis tinguishing features of the senate which Justify terming it the greatest delibera tive body In the world and the chief of these is the right to unlimited de bate. The arguments of these senators, however, were not entirely convincing, for they were compelled to admit that under the prevailing practice the will of the majority may be defeated and this Is certainly not consistent with our repuDiican system. There is no doubt that the statehood bill, if brought to a vote, would pass, but tbe minority has kept up tbe discussion of that meas ure with the avowed purpose of talk ing It to death. In the case of the Pan ama canal treaty the right of unlimited debate Is delaying ratification and this delay Is due almost wholly to a single senator, there being no question that more than the necessary 'two-thirds of the senate would vote for ratification'. in mis me popular win as well as that of a majority of the senate is be ing baffled, yet as long as Senator Mor gan Is able to talk be can obstruct ac tion, on the treaty. It is pretty diffi cult to find any sound defense or Justi fication for such a system in a re public. But It will be adhered to until, as was said by Senator Mason, "the peo ple of the United States so shape their constitution that the senators will owe their seats to, and answer directly to, the people, who ought to elect tbe sena tors." The time will assuredly come when the people will Insist, In a way that cannot be disregarded, that there shall be some limit placed upon debate In the senate, so that a few senators shall not be able as now to obstruct and even defeat legislation favored by the majority. The fact that the exist ing practice has prevailed for nearly a century Is no Justification of It and does not relieve it of the charge of being essentially unrepubllcan. In a Chicago court a verdict for dam ages has Just been recovered against a surgeon, who undertook to perform an operation on a patient without first se curing the assent of the patient or law ful representative, and the outcome of the suit has stirred up a vigorous dis cussion of the lengths to which med ical men may go in a professional ca paclty in the use of the surgeon's knife, All the experts agree that the patient's consent should by all means be a con dition precedent, except possibly where his condition requires Immediate action, Justifying the surgeon in using bis own Judgment and accepting responsibility for his decision. At the same time there Is no-question but that over-eagerness to use the knife Is altogether too preva lent in the profession and that the de cision in question should have a whole some effect In putting the brtke on rash experiments. The defeat of the county commis sioner bill means that the county court house In Douglas county will remain in the bands of the democrats until the re publicans choose men as candidates for commissioner who can command the support of a majority of the people in their own districts. There are plenty of republicans in every one of the five dls trUts, with possibly one exception, who can carry their respective districts. Douglas county republicans may as well make up their minds now If they hope to regain control of the county offices to put up the bars against weaklings for these Important positions. One by one the legislatures of the va rlous states are adopting resolutions calling for a constitutional convention to propose an amendment to the federal constitution for the election of United States senators by the direct vote of the pevyle. Wbua Uis list la mads up It will be found that the states joining this movement will be perilously near the number required by the constitu tion. Congress might as well get ready to act Give the legislature credit for mani festing a disposition to Insist on fire proof construction in all new build ings for state Institutions. . Nebraska has lost enough by flretraps, to say nothing of what Is still more serious, the exposure of the lives of helpless and dependent wards of the state. When ever the state builds let It build in a substantial manner. General James B. Weaver Is already casting about with a view to. landing the democratic nomination for governor of Iowa next falL General Weaver has been a standing candidate for about everything on the political calendar. If the Iowa democrats find themselves compelled to fall back on this perennial office hunter they must be in hard lines indeed. Roandlna; Vp "Easy Harks." f Washington Post. Tue K. J. Arnold Investment company has 155 agents on tbe road soliciting suck ers. It evidently went on tbe theory that a sucker la worth going after. Whittled to m Point. Indianapolis News. In brief. Judge Grosscup holds that men that buy beef in one state and sell it in another are engaged in Interstate com merce, even it they themselves say that they are not. Worth nightly Rewarded. Et. Louis Republic. Mr. Cortelyou's confirmation as secretary of commerce is a cause of general sat isfaction to the nation, which formed a strong friendship for him during several years of capable service. Downward Pitch of the Pole. St, Louis Republic. At the lowest estimate it will cost $200,- 000 to reach the north pole, according to Lieutenant Peary, who ought to know. if anybody knows, but Medicine Hat may be reached by tourist car . and side ac commodations for a fraction of that sum. A Pointed Illustration. Kansas Qlty Journal. By way of emphasizing his statements in regard to the dwindling of families, President Eliot might point out that tbe democratic family has shrunk frightfully in recent years and that the populist fam ily has become wholly extinct. Perils of Speculation, Kansas City Journal. Our present prosperity is bullded on a firm foundation. But that foundation can not permanently stand against rash spec ulation. Whether the present conditions shall continue depends much more largely on the people than on the government. It they persist in going into "get-rlch-qulck" schemes instead of investing their sav ings conservatively they are certain to lose their savings; and if tbe tendency to over speculation continues to grow, it is only a matter of time until we shall run upon breakers. ' INCORRIGIBLE INVESTORS. Will Publicity Reduce) the Number of Dnpea of Fake Concerns r Chicago Tribune. Judge Grosscup'' said some time ago that we ought to "peoplelie" the great indus trial corporations of this country. By which he meant this: Keep a govern mental eye on fhemi give all their opera tions the widest possible publicity; then all will know exactly what la doing; will have confidence" in" tfieir securities and In vest their savings In them, instead of put ting their savings in banks.' The two pillars of this idea, I will be seen, are publicity and confidence. But is not a searching light thrown on the publicity and confidence idea by the re cent history of "get-rlch-quick" concerns in Chicago? People are so anxious to In vest that no amount of lack of informa tion deters them. They seem to regard business as a kind of "great magic," an alchemist's crucible, an Aladdin's lamp, a department of the occult. They want to put money in a slot and by some bewilder ing and awesome process see dividends handed out to them on a tray. Hence the curious fact that to so many of them the difference between tbe firm that offers per cent a year and the firm that offers 4 per cent a month seems to be in favor of the latter. Nor does a burned publlo dread the fire. Three years ago Chicago was the scene of revelations similar to those which are now taking place. The newspapers said then: "The game is exposed; the public is here after safe; in vain la tbe net Bpread in the sight of any bird." But here came In the difference between bird and human intelli gence. The net. was again spread and in vestors walked into it with as much equa nimity as on all former slullar occasions. Which drives the observer to the depress ing conclusion that the fact that people do not Invest in industrial securities la not due tj any lack of information or lack of, confidence with regard to them, but be-ause no Industrial corporation promises to pay such dividends aa tbe "get-rlch-qulck" concerns, which pretend to operate on stock boards or race tracks say they will pay. There are men and women whose money cxn always be had by the sharper who will offer per cent a month. LIFT THAT 11UAB BOX LID. David City Record: It might be of In terest to have our legislature investigate our late pop ex-Treasurer Meserve to find out how much accrued interest be pock eted from tbe school fund deposited in bis banks during his official career. Our fusion friends have always been a little sore on thin charge, but the Irritation may cease when the festering sore Is once fully ex posed so the attorney general may recover some of tbls unearned Increment if tbe legal rules permit. Pawnee Chief: It has been suggested that tbe present legislature demand tbe contents of that much talked of "cigar box" be made public, and tbe Chief hopes there are enough members of b,oth branches who are not tainted with Bartleyism to pass a resolution looking to tbls end. Oh, but wouldn't there be some aurprlses if the beneficiaries of Bartley's peculations were singled out and named? But honest men universally are in hopes our legisla tors will call for a "show down." Stanton Picket: The demand for action by the legislature to Investigate tbe Bartley steals, the alleged crookedness of Meserve and Mr. Stuefer's bond transactions should be complied with. If there is any way of finding out what Bartley baa done with the money embexxled from the stste it should be done. If other state treasurers have gone crooked let it be known. Take the lid off that cigar box and show the publio what Is inside. Let there be an tnvestlga tlon and such a one as will Investigate and net whitewash. The legislators have It within tbelr power to do good service for their constituents in this matter aad it should be dene, a&4 iett&s hit bird fluttsr. WAT OP THE TRANSGRESSOR. Former Mayor of Minneapolis rinds It Qnlte Rocky. The fugtltlve ex-mayor cf Minneapolis, A. A. Amee, has been run to corner in the obscure Tillage of Hancock, N. H., where relatives reside. Although he is reported to be a mental and physical wreck, he battled through lawyers to prevent forci ble return to the scene of his degrada tion. He does not love tbe people of Min neapolis as he did In years past when they showered honors upon him regardless of party ties, and it Is reasonably certain the people cordially reciprocate the sentiment. Several criminal indictments which he dodged last summer await his return, and there appears to bo a strong disposition to press them to a conclusion In the courts so ss to place the seal of Justice on the author, promoter and beneficiary of the city's shame. In his better days the former was a practicing physician as was his father be fore him. He made a good record in the civil war. He had been a candidate tor governor of his state, receiving a compara tively large vote, for Dr. Ames was then a democrat in a state where democracy is usually in a hopeless minority. Twice he was elected mayor of Minneapolis as a democrat, and while he had what was known as "wide-open" administrations, he was never accused of personal crookedness. To his friends snd associates, Dr. Ames was known as generous to a fault. He did more charity professional work than any other physician in the city. But Dr. Ames' personal habits were bad. He chose associates of the slums. Dr. Ames' per' sonal recklessness led to family difficulties and the breaking up of his home. It was hla stolid Indifference and shameful levity at the funeral of his divorced wife which first caused a revulsion of popular feeling toward him. But still he had a following and was again elected mayor of Minneapo lis as a republican, following the demo cratic administration of Mayor Gray. From the moment he came to office the last time he seemed to be bent merely on loot. Crooks were placed on the police force. Colonel Fred Ames, Mayor Ames' brother, Who had come back from the Philippines, where he had served without honor as an officer of a volunteer regiment, was made chief of police. He was weak and pliable. That was the reason for his being placed in such a post. The word went out that "something was doing" In Minne apolis. Crooks flocked there from all over the country. There was to be a carnival of "grajft.' Crooked gambling "joints" started up all over town. Mayor Ames appointed a detective and assigned him to the mayor's office. The duty of this detective was to collect corruption money from gamblers and female keepers of im moral resorts. Vile "joints" were opened all over town under tbe guise of candy stores. Everything paid revenue to the police department and the mayor. City detectives were detailed to frighten out of town men who had been swindled by con fidence men. The crooks were paying for protection, and the police department must see that they got It There was too much "graft." The police divided Into factions and fought over it. One faction harassed and arrested, the crooks protected by the other taction, and the crooks resented it. It waa at this stage of municipal rottenness that an ag gressive young business man was named as foreman of the grand Jiry. The split in the police department and a fight started upon the sheriff by the Ames gang, so that no officer of the law would be left to look after law breakers, gave 'the grand Jury, foreman an opening. He and some other members of Jury made up a fund among themselves and put private de tectives two sets of them at work col lecting evidence against the city admin istration. One set acted as decoys. The other set did business. Some of the dis gruntled gamblers squealed. One after another Ames' friends and tools were in dicted. Ames was defiant. He thought himself too strong for prosecution. No officer of the law would dare measure strength with him. Detective after detec ive was enmeshed. Gardner, Ames' col lector of corruption money, was Indicted. Then came Ames', brother, the chief of police. Finally Ames himself. Colonel Fred Ames got six years in tbe peniten tiary. Gardner got a penitentiary sen tence, but will get a new trial. "Coffee John" Flchette, once captain of police and a collector of "graft," was caught in the net. Death saved him from punishment. So went the list. Six indictments were returned against Dr. Ames. One charged Dr. Amea with collecting through "Coffee John" Flchette $1,000 for permitting a vile theater to do business in volation of the law. One charged attempted bribery of County Com missioner Sweet In order to secure his vote for an Ames tool as sheriff, ater Sheriff 'Thll" T. Megaarden had been de posed from office. Two indictments charge him with receiving bribes from women in consideration of permitting them to conduct resorts. Still another charges receiving bribes through Gardner. Dr. Ames was arraigned on three indict ments before District Judge Harrison of Hennepin county. He pleaded "not guilty,' but said be was too ill to stand trial. This was July 14 last. Tbe cases went over the term. Dr. Ames gave $10,000 ball, and went to West Baden, Ind., to regain his health. It was announced at the time that ha might not return, as he was to become house phy slclan of a sanatorium there. But Indiana did not care to add to lta list of physicians a man who was under Indictment as a felon In another state. Dr. Ames was not licensed. He had to give up the prospective place. He resigned as mayor of Minneapolis on August 7 last. He failed to appear when tbe cases against htm were called in the September term of court, and waa technically as well as actually a fugitive from Justice. Since that time he has been in biding, pursued with more or less ardor by Minneapolis officers of the law. Judge Harrison put an end to this proceeding by instructing State's Attorney Boardman to see that Dr Ames was brought back for trial. Tbe doc tor's bond of $10,000 has been forfeited. Officers of the law have blm. It he should live to stand trial, he is likely to be shown little mercy by the persons who once de lighted to honor him. PERSONAL NOTES. Secretary Cortelyou is a fine musical critic, something that has long been needed in tbe cabinet. It Is proposed in Brooklyn by prominent citizens to give Minister Bowen, who was formerly a resident of that city, a banquet before he returns to Venezuela. It Is significant that within three days after it was announced that the president was going to practice swordsmanship the allies agreed to sign the protocols. On the site of the old home of the once famous Captain Kldd In New York a sky scraper fifteen stories high will soon be erected by tbe Century Realty company and William F. Havemeyer. While Colonel Arthur Lynch, the member of the British Parliament recently con victed of treason, has been In prison he has received all Parliamentary documents with great regularity, the same as tbe other members. Though serving a life sentence he still has a standing aa Galway's repre sentatlve la the lawmaking body at West- 1 Bilastsr, u 4 MUNICIPAL TAXATION OF RAILROADS Fremont Tribune: It is clear If the Omaha plan should be followed the taxation of the roads would be greatly increased, for then the terminals would be assessed once for municipal purposes, whsress under the unit system that part of the terminal value apportioned to mlleago between stations now escapes municipal taxation. The r ais now escape this. Falrbury Oaiette: The railway man agers are making a mistake In opposing H. R. 171. Two wrongs don't make one right. It la no excuse to say that railways should not be assessed at a fair cash value be cause horses are assessed at $10 and mules at $5 per head. All such assessments are ridiculous. All property must come up to a common level for assessment purposes. If the railway people persist In their op position to Jnst and fair assessments, they will force the Issue Into a rampnlgn, and then there will be something doing of a very radical nature. This asieasifient ques tion will not down, nor will it be settled until it Is settled -right. The members of tte legislature who are not with the peo ple on this question, and their actions at Lincoln this winter are being closely In spected at home, will find their future po litical aspirations will vanish in the air. They must be fair t6 the railways and fair to the people. Nobody can object to that proposition. Rushvllle Recorder: The Recorder has been inundated with leaflets, pamphlets," and foolets on tbe taxation of railroads this two weeks, and we have come to the conclusion that the attempt of the rail roads to buy editorials In the press has acted like the lease law on the stockmen. When people begin to stir up a heap, they must look out for odors. It certainly looks ss though the city of Omaha was making out by far the stronger case In its fight for equal taxation on city property. While the railroads have conferred immense ben efits on Omaha, they have to some extent offset these when we see the valuation of railroad property there conducted in such a ridiculous manner. Nebraska has a very high position among the states on account of lta literacy, but we shall not have much fatth in that kind of boast until It is exercised enough to place the railroad taxation on somewhere near the same basis It occupies In older states. In Indiana the state, under its revised taxation scheme in one year raised the assessed valuation on railroads from $60,000,000 to $160,000,000 and the railroads and state are still doing busi ness. There is not the least doubt on earth that the railroads here in common with a large number of citizens are aseessed too low and Omaha is not the only place where the evil can be found. We are only afraid that the matter of our new revenue laws generally are being rushed through too quickly, and that more time should be given to revising our whole fiscal system. Long Pine Jotfrnal: The Journal should think that the railroads having terminal property in Omaha would be ashamed to send out the fool literature tjey are in flicting on the country newspapers In re gard to the local taxation of their ter minals. In Omaha the assessing for city taxes is entirely separate and apart from the county assesing. All property Is as sessed at its cash value, except that in the case of the railroad property a clause In the law. Inserted there for the benefit of the railroads, compels the tax commis sioner (as the city assessor is called) to take the assessment made by the state board, which is a ridiculously small frac tion of the real value of the property. The Omaha people want this clause repealed, so that they may assess the railroad stations, etc., at full cash value, for city purposes. Of course tbls means a big increase in tax ation for the railroads, which are paying only a few thousands of the million dollars that must be raised in Omaha each yeex. Their cry now is that this increased taxa tion in Omaha would mean just so many dollars taken out of tbe rockets of the out side counties, as railroads are assessed as a whole. If Omaha hogs the tax, they say, what Is left for the rest of the state? It will be seen that the railroads are delib erately confusing the state and city assess ments, which bear no relation to each other. It is true that tbe state board as sesses the railroads as a whole and then apportions the assessment, so to speak. among the counties, villages, etc., according to tbe number of miles of railroad within them, but this Is for county, school and other taxation. The rest of the state will not lose a cent it Omaha taxes them $1, 000,000 a year, and any man of sense ought to know it. Nebraska Independent: It Is obvious that state government covers every foot of railroad within the state, and so far as concerns stats taxes it matters little from whst particular county or counties they come, so long as railroad property on the average pays as much state tax per $100 of "fair cash value" as other property over the state pays on the average. Out lying counties along the line of railroads having terminals in Omaha contribute to the creation of value In those terminals, and the system of dividing the total value of any given road by tbe number of miles of "line" In that road thus arriving at a per mile valuation could have no other ob ject than to give outlying counties, for local taxation, a greater share or rauroaa valuation than the value of railroad prop erty within those counties would warrant It asessed without reference to any other part of the road. It is also obvious that county government also extends over every foot of railroad In the state, and whatever of the value of Omaha terminals is not taxed for county purposes in Douglas county is taxed tor county purposes In other counties along the line. - Whether the entile as sessed valuation in the several counties is high enough as compared to other prop erty in those counties, is wholly anotber Tfi Anctnr orders the aids nature, and nature makes the cure. Ask your own doctor about it. He has our formula. He knows why Ayer's Sarsaparilla makes the blood pure and rich, why it tones up weak nerves, and why it overcomes all debility. Ayer's Pills aid the Sarsaparilla. They keep the liver active, cure constipation, biliousness, sick-headaches nausea. j. c. ayeb co., lqwu. Maa. question and need not be discussed here. It Is equally obvious that school districts cover every foot of rsllrond In tils' state snd ss far as concerns the assessed valus. tlon of raleanad property the "distribution" for school district purposes la Just ss com plete ss It is for county purposes. Rut city government dors not rover protmblj to exceed a tenth part of the miles of rsll rond "line" in the slate, and the "distri bution" theory Is obviously wrong even If we concede It right for,, other purposes because at least nine-tenths of thn great terminal values In tho larger cities wholly escapes paying city taxes anywhere. Hartlngton Herald: The city of Lincoln and Lancaster county seem to be abso lutely tinder the control, politically, of the railroad crowd. The latest evidence of that fact Is the open alignment of almost the entire Lancneter delegation In the legis lature with the railroad lobby and Its de mands. The only one of the delegation having the manhood to stand for the In terests of the large majority of his con stituents is Senator O'Neill of Lincoln. It Is at learft refreshing to know that there Is one onfls In the Lincaster Sahara. Omaha fomlly Imagines that tho Douglas county delegation Is free from railroad domination. Some time ago, however, we noticed, that when an earnest member, dis gusted with the brazon effrontery of the railroad lobby, offered a resolution which made the lobby quake in its boots, deny ing the lobby tbe freedem of the state house during the session of the legislature. It was a member of the Douglas delegation, who with that most effective of all weap ons ridicule, compelled the house to al most unanimously table the resolution. The discouraging feature of the whole busi ness Is the evident fact that the members of the house were either too dense to see that they were being worked by a tocl of the lobby or else were afraid or un willing to banish the lobby. The Herald hoped for great things at the hands of the present legislature. We say "hoped" ad visedly. At the outset we predicted a busi ness sessiou. Thus far it has been anything but a business session. The time of tho greater portion of the session has been fooled away with very little Important work accomplished. Soon tbe inevitable rush of bills will come, with little or no time for careful examination. Then the lobby will have Its inning and then the thousands of small tax payers in the state will, no doubt, have good reason to quake In their boots. SStTLUra REMARKS. Cook Well, the proof ef the pudding Is in the eating. Mr. Bouncer No It Isn't It's In the digesting. Detroit Free Press. Hewitt You're a liar. Jewett You're a liar. Both We seem to be In prettv had com pany. New York Sun. Consumer Well, with such a winter as tills I presume ice will be cheaper next summer. Dealer Cheaper? My dear sir, think of the sufferings of the poor fellows thst have to cut Ice such weather as this 1 Chicago Tribune. "Are you doing anything to make tho world better?" "Certainly." answered Senator Sorghum. "I expect pretty aoori to have affairs In such ehape that the world will give me no reasonable grounds for complaint what ever." Washington Star. "Did It hurt?" asked the dentist. The patient looked at him reproachfully. "Now, doctor," he said, "do I look like a man who would yell Just for amusement oi to psj.a away the time?" Chicago Poet. Tess He tried to kiss me. and he declared the more I struggled and ecreamed the more he'd kiss me. He'e no gentleman. jess But, my dear, gentlemen soi.ietimes' do that sort of thing. Tess But when I screamed he ran away. A gentleman would keep his word. Phila delphia Press, i Myer Tn ' olden time It is said that it was possible for a man to render himself Invisible. . Oyer Pshaw. That's not at all remark able. Men in this country are doing it M)t3?ou don't teC met How do they manage it? Oyer By marrying famous women. Chi cago News. Staylate Do you believe in long court ships, Miss Annie? Miss Annie Well, I'm in favor of a elx hour limit on each session. Chicago News. "Well," said the wife, whoee thoughts were on her Kaster bonnet, "I'll forgive and forget your being out late last night. I . suppose 1 11 always have to bo forgiving i something' " "Yes, whenever you re for getting some thing,'' replied the brute, her husband. Indianapolis News The pompous new rea1dent had been hav ing a set-to with the smart boy of the neighborhood. This waa the youngster's parting shot: "Aw you don't need f think you're no whole leglslacher jtst becos eVrybody'B al'ays presentln' bills to you I" Baltimore American. A PRICELESS PARADISE. Edmund V. Cooke in Saturday livening Post. If some weird gnome should seek my home. Some genie, fairy, which. To blink my eyes with every prise Of life, and aek me "Which?" ; I think I'd choose In half a trice. This boon: to never ask tho price. X would not claim a gilded name. Or be a flnanoler, Nor would I hold the wide world's gold; And yet I somewhat fear I'd ask a ust sufficient slice That I might never ask the price. A coat-of-arms has meagre charms To men of modem views, Yet were it mine to make design, I know which one I'd choose: An open purse, with this device, "Ho never, never ak tho price. Is heaven a state, a place, a fete, A rapture, or a rest? The question's old and each may Hold Ills own opinion best: But my Idea of paradise is where one need not ask tbe price: medicine, the medicine
