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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 1895)
VOL, 10. NO. 52. r!tttiSU'mijmitirv'mm ijaSSf ut m m imvmnmurwpmH. I ESTABLISHED IN 1836 PRICE FIVE CENTS ; t-6 - . - LINCOLN. NEB., SATURDAY. DECEMBER 28 1895. ENTERED IS THE POST OFFICE AT LIXCOLK AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY man would so humiliate himself as to "pull" with the Journal, the accomplice of rogues? What newspaper would Join Issues with this mendacious pub lication? The Journal can "pull" as of yore, but It cannot hope for decent com panionship. Neither can It club the croaker Into silence or achieve the ex termination of truth-telling newspapers. Bt This week people have been talking ik con mi huh co. r;:inr: jetsssz Office 217 North Elerenth St. ln American flags and fired volley after volley of vocal patriotism or bombast. Telephone 384 The newspapers have talked glibly of . the Monroe doctrine, and printed sta- W. MORTON SMITH Editor and Manager tIstlcs about the standing army and the SARAH B. HARRIS Aiaociate Editor naval equipment. Idle men and adven- . turers have gone about In a most ter- Subscription Rates-In Advance. r,bIe sanguinary mood. The whole coun- m try has been carrying a red, white and Per annum BW blue chIp on Its sn0ulder, shaking its Three months".". .V.V.V.V.V.". .. ... 50 flst under Johnny Bull's nose and cry One month 20 ing, "You Just dare to knock that chip Single copies off will you?" It has all been very pa- triotic and sentimental and interesting. It has been pleasant to see the president and both houses of congress duelling to- OBSBRVATIONS ) gether In such delightful and unprece dented harmony. It has been good to see such men as Charles Antipathy Dana, whn ffr vrars hnq hppn nniincllnir What we need ln this community. tfae gtuffed prophet Qf wmam dear friends, is not a new organization sa,aamln& ,n respectful deference to the of any kind, but a united and vigorous , , ' . war-like President Cleveland. The coun- clubbing of the croaker and the speedy fy hag haQ someth,ng tQ tak abom extermination of the newspaper enter- &nd m Ugelf Jg & go(1 th . prise" that seeks to set the whole city , by the ears. A little of the old spirit But h(nv absurd lt alI lg after am of pull together would make a surprls- Just as lf there was a possibility of Ing change In local conditions. State Great Britain and the United States go Journal. Ing to war! It's a good deal like one of Sublimely characteristic is this pre- those comic operas that Messrs. Gilbert clous paragraph of puny puerility from and Sullivan used to give us. It's high the editorial columns of the morning ly theatrical and spectacular, but whol paper. It is redolent with the odor of jy unreasonable. The chances are Ven offlclal pap. It reeks with the stultified ezuela is right and England is wrong littleness that abides In the editorial and it Js probable that Venezuela will office of the Journal. It savors of the get what it wants, but It is not proba corruptlon and viciousness that have Dle that the two greatest nations on for years been the impelling force of tne earth will go to war about it. In the this abominable newspaper, abomina- flrst place a war between these two ble because It is dishonest and malig- countries would involve the whole civ nant. Lately there has been a temeri- inzed world. One thing that will pre ty in this city equal to the task of tell- vent such a war is common sense. An ing the Journal what an abomination other thing is business. Finance corn it is what a daily outrage It commits merce rules the world and this power in appearing as an apologist for crime, isn't going to allow Itself to be injured a receiver of stolen goods from the to the extent that such a war would in storehouse of municipal rottenness, a jure it. The head of the Rothschilds votary of the prostitutes of the city, said the other day. "I am for peace." male and female: of the gamblers. That settles it lf nothing else does, boodlers and thugs of the city and state. No wonder that the Journal, dis- President Cleveland has been accused turbed for once ln the placid enjoy- of Jingoism. His message to congress ment of Its plunder, wants to "club the that left a trail of financial panic ar croaker." The Journal's viciousness ound the world has been called polltl has provoked a reputable minister in cal artifice. If Mr. Dana has changed this city to proclaim Its degradation his long continued policy of contemptu from the pulpit. And Mr. Gere's paper ous abuse to that of enthusiastic com would have the Rev. Mr. Chapin club- mendation, other of the Journalistic bed. Newspaper enterprise the Journal dragons have been roused to fury by would have exterminated. Just how the the scent of blood. E. L. Godkin. of Journal Is going to club and extermln- the New York Evening Post, for years ate Is not evident. "A little of the old the high priest and incense bearer of spirit of pull together" is what the the solemn mugwamp tribe, suddenly Journal advocates. But what honest ceased his chant of praise on the publi cation of the president's message and began forthwith to belabor the execu tion. The Washington correspondents are talking of a third term, and accus ing the president. Mr. Cleveland Is hardly a man to resort to such ex treme measures to promote third term sentiment. His message to congress was undoubtedly Justifiable, 'tho lt might have been couched In more con servative terms. It was not any more flamboyant than the declaration that Issue regularly from the British For eign Official. Lord Salisbury and his predecessors have so persistently voiced belllgerancy that the English people do not go Into convulsions every time the government animals roar. In this country the people are not used to this sort of thing. Mr. New branch as he looks "Through Colored Glasses" sees things rather darkly. I Imagine the glasses are not colored at all only smoked. Inasmuch as he looks through glasses lt is too bad that he does not, now and then, place before his eyes an amber lense and see the world ln a softened glow, or changing the glass, see the beauty of violet light. The smoke on the glass takes all of the beauty and light from the picture. It leaves lt hard and ma terial. Mr. Newbranch, In this issue of The Courier takes the organism of a babe and carries it through life and drops It at the grave, a mere mass of wasted molecules, and he compares lt to a house of blocks, and asks lf the human organism or life can go on after the molecules have separated, any more than the house of blocks can ex ist after it has been toppled over. Mr. Newbranch has stated his case strong ly and vividly his writing is commend ed to those discriminating persons who value good English and appreciate the power of expression. But Mr. New branch Insists on smoking his glass. The smoke obscures the sunlight and, it may be, hides the truth. We do not know what we are: but those of us who do not use smoked glasses believe we are something more than a mass of mole cules, and that belief is something more than belief because it springs from in stinct. From the very earliest time, when the morning stars sang together at the birth of the human race, there has been innateinmanafeelingthatthe life spiritual may, nay must, have an existence beyond the vault that re ceives the decaying flesh. And this feel ing, this faith ,if you will, that has has come down through centuries un numbered and remained alert and hopeful as the human mind has been enlightened surely there Is something in this to weigh and outweigh any the ory of Mr. Newbranch's that the hu man body Is nothing but an aggrega tion of molecules that with the decay of the molecules ends all. Whatever may be the truth mankind will keep on as It has kept on letting the sunlight of hope play on the molecules of ma terialism. At any rate lf we cannot prove we are right Mr. Newbranch and all his fellows with all their smoked glasses cannot prove that we are wrong, and it seems better to be look Ing forward to something beyond than to anchor ourselves to materialism and say the grave l the end simply be cause our feeble vision cannot carry bey o ml. The definite announcement by Con gressman George D. Meiklejohn that he will be a candidate for the republican nomination for governor next year has been followed by a considerable expres sion of enthusiasm. Mr. Meiklejohn Is thus far, the only man in the state who has boldly announced his candidacy for the governorship, and he Is properly entitled to consideration at this time. Perhaps the piedominant trait in the character of this young man who as pires to be governor is determination positlveness. Mr. Meiklejohn is open and candid and at the same time force ful and energetic. Who but Meiklejohn would have the temerity to announce his candidacy nearly a year in advance of the nominating convention! This act of hi3 Is closely in accord with his char acter. Most candidates prefer to watt until a few months before the conven tion before making public announce ment of their desire. They think such a policy safer. Mr. Meiklejohn. regard less of the consequences, erects his standard and Invites attention. Seven years ago the coming month a young man took the oath of office as lieutenant governor and for three months occupied the chair of the pre siding office of the senate. My recollec tion Is that he was thirty-two years old at that time. He was modest In de meanor. At the president's desk he was dignified. On the floor he was gen ial with a certain amount of reserve. He had a way of looking you square In the face. Somehow he Impresses every body with his honesty, his sincerity, his force. When It was necessary for him to cast a deciding vote he was al ways ready for the emengercy. He never dodged. He was always there and always ready to declare himself. Senators and others were attracted by thls quiet, strong personality, and I re member frequently to have heard poli ticians say "that young man will be go ernor some day." There was much promise in his private character and public performance. And two years lat er George D. Meiklejohn had an oppor tunity of showing the mettle that was in him. and he fulfilled the promise. Many people of Lincoln remember viv idly that scene in the house of represen tatives when Mr. Meiklejohn, upholding the law, and Sam Elder, himself a vag abond and in this Instance representing disorder and outlawry, struggled for supremacy before the Joint session of the house and senate. Not one man In ten thousand would have shown the confident firmness that Mr. Meiklejohn exhibited. It was a critical time. Pop ulist frenzy was at a dangerous point. Anarchy was Imminent. But the young man of thirty-four was a solid wall of strength, and Sam Elder had to yield.
