VOI. 10. NO. 51.
ESTABLISHED IN 18S6
PRICE FIVE CENTS
j J
4
3r
LINCOLN. NEB., SATURDAY. DECEMBER 21 IS95.
jjjgjC
EKTEBED IX THE POST OFTI -E AT LtSCOLS
AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY
and effectiveness that testified to the
enterprise and earnestness of the Oma
ha people. In Lincoln there are people
just as capable, and Individually, just
as active as the people In Omaha, but
somehow they do not get together. I
wonder If It would be outside of the pro
vince of the Lincoln club to do some
thing in the Ak-Sar-Ben line?
fin
(S)
At the circus there were clltterinir
bt
chariots driven by beautiful and beam-
THE COURIER PRINTING AND PUBLISHING CO. ,n women- upn ca f feroclous
wild beasts, performing donkeys and
Office 217 North Eleventh St. eccentric clowns. There were elephants
and bands of music and acrobats and
J elephone Oo4 jugglers and riders. There were scores
of young and charming girls In the drills
W. MORTON SMITH Editor and Manager and chorus and these Omaha young
SARAH B. HARRIS Associate Editor women vm parUcu,ar,y ,ove,y , the,r
white gowns and Ingenuous airs and
Subscription Rates In Advance. seductive smiles. There was all the
Per annum 8 00 noise and show, the gloss and glory of
Six mon'hs"! '.'.'.'.'. 1.00 the circus, and attractions beyond num-
Threo months 50 ber. But first and foremost in the pub
One month 20 nc eye wag the chIef rinemaater, W. J.
Single copies Bryan. The people of Lincoln may find
gratification In the fact that Omaha
had to come to Lincoln for the most
effective feature of the circus. Two
OBSERVATIONS weeks ago I felicitated the people of
Omaha upon the selection of Mr. Bryan,
and In his great success as ringmaster
In these columns I have indulged In l was more than vindicated,
some good-natured discussion of the
Omaha Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben. Now However you or I or anybody may
Isadore Rush and all that aside, this differ from Mr. Bryan politically, we
Ak-Sar-Ben movement Is really the best must all admire the wonderful veraatlll
thing Omaha has ever undertaken. I ty and facility of this man. 'tho some
don't know In whose head this scheme of us hesitate to confess It. Who in all
originated, but It was a good head. The the state of Nebraska Is so many sided.
Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben is the name of so easy and so effective In so many dlf
a secret order. The members hold fre- ferent ways, as this lawyer-politiclan-quent
meetings, and as the direct out- editor? Mr. Bryan never yet failed to
come of this movement there Is to be rIse to the occasion, and somehow he
observed In Omaha a feeling of loy- always manages to acquit himself
alty. a spirit of enterprise, that are do- with credit and distinction, whether he
ing a world of good In preventing the Is delivering a political speech or mak
citizens of the metropolis from getting ing the Introductory remarks at a bene
discouraged. The Knights of Ak-Sar- At fr a Pr author; whether he is ad
Ben are representative, public-spirited dressing a Sunday school or acting as
men, young and active, and the secret ringmaster of a circus,
order feature seems to be a good thing
In sustaining interest. The knights The little unpleasantness that may be
are responsible for the best part of the said to exist between Judge Dundy and
recent state fair attractions, and I un- myself Is Interesting, not for the per
derstand they are conspiring for other sonal aspects of the case, but on ac
demonstrations in Omaha's interest, count of the great question involved.
Something like the Ak-Sar-Ben Idea If the position taken by the grand Jury
might be utilized for the benefit of the and by Judge Dundy is sustained then
whole state. It might be tried in Lin- citizens of Nebraska, this great and so
coln. Here we have had a board of called free state will find themselves
trade and a commercial club and other In a condition properly comparable to
things, but decay or dry rot has Inva- the state of things that caused one per
rlably overtaken them. It Is possible iod of history to be known as the Dark
that an organization similar to the Ages, a time when tyranny triumphed
Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben might be pro- and the people were ground under bru
ductive of much good In this commun- tal oppression, when injustice and evil
ity. ruled and men were afraid to call their
, souls their own, when there was no such
It may as well be admitted. Omaha thing as liberty. What Judge Dundy
has more public spirit, more push, great- and his grand jury have done and are
er fertility of ideas, greater zeal in exe- attempting to do may be in conformity
cution than Lincoln. That society circus, with the ideas tha. obtain in Darkest
for instance, was a glittering, glowing, Russia, where Siberian exile threatens
glaring success. It was almost lm- all who venture to speak- against those
promptu In the haste In which It was In authority, but whatever may be the
arranged. But It went off with a vim Idea entertained by Judge Dundy and
his gang these things are certainly not
In accord with the sentiment of the
whole people, with the sentiment or
principle on which this nation was
founded, and which underlies all our
public Institutions.
The Courier simply put In print what
everybody was saying. It Is true that
the strictures on the court might have
been less severe. The men who forged
the way for American Independence
might have been more temperate In
speech. But people smarting under the
sting of a great outrage do not sit down
and weigh their words as they would
measure grains In an apothecary's
scales. Nor Is It necessary that they
should. The day of the sedition law Is
long since passed. The constitution of
the United States in its first amendment
provides that congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exer
cise thereof; or abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press. In 1798, dur
ing the administration of John Adams,
congress passed the alien and sedition
laws. The latter undertook to punish the
persons who should speak, write or pub
lish anything derogatory to the presi
dent or the government of the United
States. Public opinion was quickly
aroused and this law soon passed out of
existence. Since that time there has
been no attempt to curtail the liberty of
speech or of the press. It may be that
knowledge of the repeal of the sedition
law has not reached Judge Dundy.
Certainly the press and people should
maintain an attitude of proper respect
toward those In authority. To encour
age a general revolt against the decrees
of regularly constituted tribunals Is to
foster the spirit of anarchy that always
stands ready to wave the red flag and
appeal to the passions of men. But It
was never Intended by the men who
formed this government and made our
laws that either the press or people
should regard the government and the
public officers as Infallible. It was nev
er intended that the press and people
should stand In servile acquiescence be
fore monstrous miscarriages of Justice.
It was never intended that the press and
people should be mute and helpless while
wrongs are committed by the office-holding
hierarchy.
The criticism that appeared in The
Courier's columns was justifiable as re
flecting public sentiment. It was not
diplomatic or guarded. What was es
teemed a great wrong had just been
committed, and in the consideration of
the enormity of the wrong It was not
unnatural that righteous indignation
should get the better of conservatism.
There has long been a feeling in this
state that it is impossible to get justice
In the federal court, in certain cases.
The people have seen severe punish
ment meted out to innocent or compar
atively innocent persons, while persons
who committed great crimes and work
ed great Injury to their fellowmen
were allowed to go scot free, or given a
merely nominal punishment. The peo
ple know that political roustabouts
largely compose the juries in this court.
The people know that officers of the
court are habitual gamblers, given to
the worst species of vice. All of these
things, known to the people, taken in
connection with the selection of Thomas
H. Benton to serve as a Juror In the
Outcalt case, excited the people and
The Courier to indignation and earnest
protest: If I am In contempt of Judge
Dundy's court In publishing uncompli
mentary remarks concerning his court
then fully one hundred thousand per
sons In this state are also in contempt
for denouncing the court verbally. But
two persons have expressed to me dis
approval of The Courier's remarks, and
they are both attorneys who defended
Outcalt. Several hundred have spoken
or written in warm commendation ot
what was said in these columns.
Let those who may think The Cou
rier's remarks intemperate or unbridled
consider the abuse that has been show
ered upon the present president of the
United States) and upon congress. Pres
ident Cleveland Is every day denounced
as a fraud and a criminal only last
week a newspaper In Omaha said that
the president In having the bonds is
sued had committed the greatest crime
of the nineteenth century. Congress Is
called an assembly of boodlers. and It
is frequently said that corruption Is the
dominant Influence In Washington. All
this Is passed by. But when similar or
less severe remarks are made about
Judge Dundy's court there Is a revival
of the obsolete sedition law. and all
sorts of oppression are resorted to. Is
Judge Dundy a man so privileged that
he cannot be criticized as can the pres
ident of the United States? Who Is
he, that he can fail back upon federal
power to restrict the freedom of speech?
If Judge Dundy feels himself libelled
his remedy Is the same as that of any
other citizen, an action at law as a pri
vate individual.
The people who do business with the
federal court are no doubt Interested
in the disclosures in the daily newspa
pers, particularly the News, regarding
the conduct of the clerk of the court,
Sclp Dundy. One of the allegations In
The Courier's article to which Dundy I
took acceptlon was that the name of
Dundy had trailed In the mire. When
Sclp Dundy visits gambling houses and
other vile dens In this city and Omaha,
as he does habitually, he does not travel
incog. He gets Into the mire, and he
gets in pretty deep, and his name
trails along with him. It Is not neces
sary to point out the Impropriety of the
clerk of the high federal court making
a practice of haunting gambling hells,
where the loss or gain of $1000 at a
single sitting is merely an Incident. It
would appear that Plunger Sclp is not
even respected among his proper fel
lows, the gamblers and thugs, as they
are ready to testify to his "unprofes-
