TH1 COURIER.
who wbb ten years ago the belle of the
little place. At times ehe denounces
thoeo whom she declares have done her
wrong. But as a rclo s ho is happy in
her hallucinations. She calls carriages,
'opens wine," sings out orders to tho
crew of tho yacht, and lavishly fees her
attendants with littlo pieces of paper
that she tears from the illustiated pa
pers that they humor her with.
Mrs. Isabel Richey of Plaltsmoutb,
many of whose poems hare appeared
from time to time in The Courier, has
received an encouraging and appreci
ative letter from W. D. Howells. Ho
says that her work is faithfully and ef
fectively done and adds: -Your best
encouragement will come from your
own consciousness of having done some
thing worth while in your own way.
Mr. Howells'head
with his reputation.
has not enlarged
He can appreciate
a poem or a book that comes
out of tho west and when he says that
"it k good" a book has started on its
way to appreciation.
Mrs. Kichey's poems dtal with the
emotions and with the aspects of nature.
The lines flow so smoothly that I have
sometime, thought a break in the
rythm would add strength to the stanza.
Be that as it may her poems have ap
peared in the newspapers of the state
for many years and have been read by
a great many people with pleasure. The
world is hard and cold and poets are
supersensitive or they would not
be poets. But not until
the poet can publish a bcok do
the reviewers pay much atten
tion to him and frequently not then. If
Mrs. Richey were a man ehe would do
hack work like Bizby and Walt Mason.
Being a woman she stays at home and
writes only when the poet's frenzy drives
her to expression. Originality in poetry
is almost impossible. Most of the situ
ations, decorations, and experiences of
life arc best expressed it they must be
expressed at all in prose. The few
that are considered tit for poetry hare
been used so many times that the com
binations are all used up. The only hope
for tho contemporary poet is that the
aame thine was written in some
for-
amttun tnncniA that Men thfl most ffil
liaous and suspicious scholar-critic Pld in the line of popocracy? Cer
can not find it When it happens so. tainly some one must be held liable, and
the poet can make his heartbeat, pay, " no be Mr Bryan; neither
and when it doc not. he starves if Sda. Holcomb. No. The republican
poetry be hi. only art. H- is not - " blame , far it- over-
lea original than the successful poet,
-.lw M,r tn hi r,vlBBor' in timo
.,4 lanonam artA 4hFlfnni WA fiarA -
au 4MUXMKW , i..ww.w. w . -v
hiard it before. The song is sweet, but
the singer stands out in the dark by our
window. He k never identified with
hk own melody, which i. forgotten, too,
by morning.
When a man claim, that he k honest,
when he tries to make you admit that
.he k not cheating you it k time to be on
your guard. When a spiritualkt asks,
"Is it not a physical impossibility that I
or any man could tie from seventy to
eighty knots a minute." every one in
the amlkace who does not believe in
spiritaslkm k forced to say no to hk
question because he ha. just At the time of the state republican
done it. If a man can do apparently convention men of the influence and
impossible things without claiming any standing of George Meikeljohn, Elijah
apernatural assktance the lookers on Filley and Judgo Hayward were before
can sot withhold their admiration. But it for gubernatorial honors. But. the
when a man claim, the intimacy and aid convention "passed them up." and chose
of spirits who are invisible and hide, the genkl and "vote getter," Jack Mac
behind a curtain while they are helping Coll, as'the standard bearer of the re
him there k an. unexplained dkcord be- publican party in this state. And, alas!
tween what he say. and what he does, it was a grave and ruinous mistake, for.
People like to be puzzled, they do not while Mr. MacColI k a pleasant fellow
like to be duped. Hermann does the and all that, he was, nevertheless, on
former while many spiritualkts do the the defensive from start to finieh. Had
latter. Such an attempt always puts an either of the three other gentlemen
madkace en the defensive at once, and been nominated, and particularly Judge
whea the evening k over the expert- Hayward, it k doubtful it free silver
!er k playing to antagonkt..
Ghost, seem to prefer to make friend,
ef illiterate i eople whose speech k flav- Major, campaign of two years ago, ex
ored with have wests,'' "I done." and"he cept that Ed Roeewater supported Mac
eeaa." Thing, are revealed to the fool- Coll. It was Roeewater who practically
ih that wkdom refuse, to acceptThe an- dictated the nomination of Jack, and
grammatical mediums selected by ghosts
who have been gone long enough from
this world to forget how to speak and
write the language they used with
grace and correctness when on earth,
tho mediums, I say, on account of their
ignorance of the parts of speech, dis-
credit the ghosts. The spirit of a mother,
whoso children learnt from her to speak
correctly, is reported by tho medium to
tho children. As"maw,'sho Bays com
forting words, in English so shockingly
bad, that the children are dismayed,and
if they are credulous they must believe
their mother in bad company. In
justice to the ghosts who can not speak
for themselves and in pity for their rela
tives and friends, graduates of the
grammar school, who in comparison to
the ordinary medium are individuals
of vast learning, should turn their at-
tention to the subject of spiritualism.
There Eeems to be money in it and awo
together with very little danger if you
do not count a tendency to embonpoint,
and thai only attacks lady mediums.
Polities ! it thou art but a serf
To execute the people's will,
What shall wo call the people
Who are controlled by theo more than thou
art by them?
Verily, politics is as fickle and capri
cious as the average fifteen-year old
girl. Until tho present time, Nebraska
has never been found lacking a good
republican majority in a national elec
tion. True, her people have at times
repudiated some republican candidate
but for all that she has invariably been
numbered among republican states on
all matters of a national character until
now.
And who shall be blamed fur this
great change? On whom shall fall the re-
Bponsibility for allowing Nebraska to be
wrested from the republicans and
"".""-""i """"""""-'',,,
" " ee' """" "
admitted by all cool
068060
republicans who have consid
ered the proposition. And were it not
true, why was Jack MacColI defeated
by a much larger vote than any other
republican candidate on the ticket?
Some may contend that this is an un
fair and unwarranted statement, but it
k not Nebraskans have, as above
stated, chastised the republican before.
They have and ala ays will insist upon
the nomination of men who will not be
placed upon the defensive, as were sev
eral of the republican nominees just de
feated. or Holcomb would nave gotten to first
base. It was merely a repetition of the
lira
mis
that fact contributed greatly to hk
defeat
It is worse than useless to parley over
tho many circumstances which brought
demoralization to tho republican camp.
Rather, let us seek a remedy for it It
would be childish for us to repress our
'chagrin. Therefore let us act wisely.
Populism is triumphant in this state,
and will be until the republican party
admits that it has a firm hold on this
state only so long as it is lepresented by
men of unquestioned honesty and integ
rity, and no longer. With Hayward the
republicans would have won; with Mac
Coll and a few others thoy went down!
But Lincoln people are interested
right here at home, and when they con
template the slump in republican ma
jorities in some wards of the city they
are dkmayed. While the republican
loss all over the city was only about
400, according to the official count, it is
safe to aver that it was
fully 800 or more. This estimate, while
it may not Eeem reasonable at first, will
become more convincing when it is con
sidered that hundreds of democrat, and
populists votod for sound money who vote
their straight tickets on other elections.
Without question, under these condi
tions, tho popocrats are in a more ag
gressive shape than they have ever been
in the history of thk city. The repub
lican party, as a result, is now in need
of the most patient and skillful nursing,
else, instead of retrieving it will lose
still more ground.
These broad assertions may grate
upon a few sensitive ears, and give rise
to some criticism. The Courier, how
ever, does not object to a little criti
cism; it relishes it, in fact. The fact k
thk paper k not given to disseminating
misleading and vishee-washee senti
ment, but advocates a vigorous and
truthful policy in all political matters.
While facts are stubborn things they
must be met. To avoid an issue k but
to experience even redoubled difficulty
when it is again encountered. Hence
the republican party of Lincoln should
realizn, and at once, that it is on the
verge of a political precipice, and that
if not properly guarded by its leaders, it
may be hurled into the yawning pit
from which there will be no escape for
some years at least. With efficient and
honest men and management, however,
the solution of the situation is plain
Lincoln, being a republican city, will
remain so if accorded fair treatment by
its republican representatives.
But the people are not fools, and will
not submit to the many mkuses of priv
ilege, which are possible under party
dominance of any political shade, as
the reduction in republican majorities
in Lincoln last week indicated. We
refer to the selection of Elmer B. Steph
enson as chainnan of the republican
county central committee a move
which coat the republican party more
vote, in thk city than the strength of
all other elements combined. Like the
selection of MacColI, Mr. Stephenson's
appointment as county chairman was
forced, and then even after the memlers
of the county central committee had
chosen a chairman. Thess assertion,
do not reflect upon any one in particu
lar, but are suggested with a view of
demonstrating the fact that a man
must wear cleanskirt.it he wishes to
trot in the republican rank, as a leader.
Mr. Stephenson as a campaigner, has
few, it any equals, in this county. It is
hk record that condemns him. There
are any number of staunch, republicans
in thk city and county who did not
once call on Mr. Stephenson, so great k
their contempt for him. The charge,
made against him on the street corner,
and from th"e rostrum could not be de
fended; . the virulent attack, made on
him by the popocratic press were taken
for granted, as both he and the republi
can papers were aggravatingly silent.
He, too, was on tho defensive, when he
should have been, by all means, the
aggressor. Had it not been foe this
bulldozing step it was no mistake the
republican party, instead of losing 700
or moro votes, would probably have
gained that many, and no man will or
can deny that a man of good reputation
would have brought moro votes to the
republican ticket than did Stephenson.
It may be arguel, however, that the
vote cast this year compares favorably
with that of 1892,but when it is shown up
as it really is, without sentiment or
bias, such a statement fadee.
'T-l-f
The above arraignment of Mr. Steph
enson k done with the purest of mo
tives, and Mr. Stephenson himself cun
not deny that he was a load on the
ticket Thk fact should impress all
republicans with this one idea that
men of unquestioned ability and unsul
lied character aro the only kind of men
who can carry the republican ticket to
access next spring.
-
Whore aro republican bolters.
Who shoutod with vim and loudT
Why, they hare "gone to the races,"
JUobx with their demo-pop crowd.
The strongest barrier or the most
powerful influence canat times be put
down, as the last election shows.
There are surprise parties in politics
as well S3 in society.
As was asserted in the Courier a few
week, ago, republican majorities cannot
be relied upon-in thk city and county
unless the nominees merit them.
The Seventh ward never was prolific
in much beside hot scraps, but it is
to be deplored that about 175 republi
can votes went wrong in the Second.
There is missionary work galore to be
done in Jim Parker's ward.
A prominent Lincoln banker last week
asserted that the election of McKinley
meant the immediate increase of at least
950,000 in deposits in Lincoln banks.
J. W. Bowen is receiving many call,
for aid from the families of old soldier,
asd is supplying them with surprising
promptness, a fact which indicates
Mr. Bowen's fitness for the position he
filled in the G. A.R.
A. L. Sullivan has been duly elected
as county treasurer, but had it not been
for fear of injuring the entire republi
can ticket, his very name would have
been disregarded by all thinking re
publicans. Even thk paper, knowing
him as it does, spoke a good word for
him for McKinley and protection's sake.
But Mr. Sullivan is not the "brainy,
conservative and competent financier"
he k cracked up to be. On the contrary
he k quite a small bore gun when lined
up with Crandailof Firtb, Greenanieyer
of Cheney, Kimmel and Davk of the
Fifth ward, and the several other able
men who ran against him for that office.
Mr. Sullivan k another "accident" to the
republican party, and that he will be
shelved a year hence goes without say
ing. It k even now rumored that hi.
accounts are not in just apple pie order,
even though he has f urnkhed a guaran
tee bond, which, however, expires iu
January. Whether the affairs in Mr.
Sullivan's office are satisfactory or not
the Courier doe. not presume to ray, but
one thing keure the county treasurer',
books should be carefully scrutinized and
at once, lest the county be again loser
through some disreputable or unfortun
ate circumstance. It is the duty of Joe
county commissioner, to at once make
a thorough examination of Mr. Sulli
van', deposition of county affairs.
T.