r&K . T6USCJjW"C' -s.jqraww-ej i ?$pr x,,35FfKf$5$Pcs ' THE COURIER. 0 ' " - t -' "'-'' ' r it t., K OBSERVATIONS. Continued from page 2 The defeat of only one member of the Lancaster county republican ticket last Tuesday is worthy of study. The re publican candidate for register of deeds is a young man of unusual energy, de termination, industry, good nature and good fellowship. He is ambitious and has considerable political acumen. The CouitiKi: has no hesitation in saying that Mr. Woods name was scratched partly on account of the friends he has made. Members of all parties are thoroughly disgusted with the present city adminis tration and Mr. Woods is supposed to be n supporter and friend of Mayor Graham, Mr. Lindsey and Mr. Thompson, and that helped to turn the scale against him. It is difficult to become a mem ber of this group and retaiu the confi dence o! the plain every day people who do not pay much attention to politics jexcept in the month immediately pre ceding election day, and who usually vote the republican or. democratic ticket because they are accustomed to. They do not generally eerutinize the qualifica tions and the record of the rival candi dates. But this time the charges of cor ruption which Mayor Graham has not denied, the record of Mr. Lindsey, who as a saloon keeper was arrested seven times in three months, charged with breaking the laws regulating the selling of liquor, and the discoveries of Water Inspector McArthur that Mr. I). E. Thompson paid no water rent, although the city water was not turned off from tbe Brace block, reacted upon Mr. Woods though it cannot be said that he is responsible for Major Graham's sel ling appointments and his complacency to gamblers and saloon keepers, for the occupations which Mr. Lindsey has fol lowed sine: his residence in Lincoln, or for Mr. Thompson's ruse in cutting down the expsnses cf the Brace block. But the people perceived a connection, and as none of these men were asking for an office, Mr. Woods was rebuked as an ob ject lesson to them. On the other hand. Mr. Woods is responsible for his advo cacy of the Salt Creek basin as the loca tion for the city wells. Fome months ago Thk Coukikr predicted that any candidate who had made a record in the council as an opponent to tbe Antelope Valley water system would find it hard to convince salted voters that opposition waB not based on private interest or in fluence in contra distinction to cansider . ations of public welfare. The result has shown that my estimate of the exasper ated state of the public mind.coccjrning the water supply and those who were re sponsible for the quality of it. was cor rect. Most cities instead of dUcourrging the use of water are building public baths and increasing the quantity. If everybody is required to pay for the city water according to the rates adopted by the department some years ao there will be no deficit. Only twenty cities in this country use meters. We might as wall live in the Dry Tortugas as to be at the mercy of a system which measures out the water at so much a gallon. We want air and water without limit and without measu-e and it is unsanitary to put a premium on the careful usi of water. The people of Lincoln do not traiil meters. They want tho depart ment administered according to business principles. Mayor Graham proposes to increase tho rate and thus pay for the meters in a jear. That same money spent in pumps and electrical machinery will give better sattf factior. The sub stitution of the meter j-yttem for the one in operation will increasa the ni m ber of objections to Lincoln as a city of residence. Ana it will bear hardest up on thoM citizens of moderate meant who have proverbially the largest fami lies. With a meter the Saturday nigh t baths of a day laborsr's family often might have to be omitted. It goes against the grain to pay for water by the gallon with four fifths more of water than of land, the miserable, dwellers on this round globe were not meant to be scrimped with those exasperating machines invented by eomo one who hated humanity, to measure, the water they drink. I). tho their children with and sprinkle their lawns. A city council exis's for the purpose of meeting emergencies which tho law does not provide for as well as for ad ministrative purposes. It has been found that the law does not quite et ablo the officials to interfere with the slot machines which are in session sum mer and winter and arc educating in fant gamblers who will in time make Lincoln a rich field for the fraternity which belongs to the class, birds of prey. Tbe council should frame an ordinance strong and specific enough to destroy these kindergarten gambling machines. They are corrupting the youth. They are more pernicious than the adult games of chance which run behind lock ed and watched doors. Habitues of these pltccs are more or less vicious. These flayers know they are gambling, but tbe children are fascinated by the machines as ty a wonderful new game which rewards a winner with the un known riches of a dollar at a time. The appetite is acquired before time and ex perience has toughened the moral fibre of the victims. The city fathers ought to respond to the cry of the women all over this town to suppress the slot machines. Now, while thero is a majority of decent men iu the council the city should be redistriutcd. The ward boundaries Bhould be changed so that the members from the first, second, third and seventh wards representing one third of the vot ing population of Lincoln, will not con trol as they do now, by being able to outvote membes of the fourth, fifth and sixth, who represent two-thirds of the voting population. In other words, the small wards should be enlarged by adding to them some of the territory of the re spectable wards. As it is now the saloon wards have the power to tax: the respect able wards, although the former contain only one third of the population and that third does not own more than one sixth -of tbe property and perhaps not more than one tenth. Such a disproportim between numerical strength and representative power is analogous to the rotten lrarough abuse in England which was corrected several years ago. Representation was based on area rather than on the amount of population in that area. So that there were instances of boroughs containing only a farmer or two, send ing a represantative to parliament and per contradenssly populated areas like Sheffield being without a representative. The wards in Lincoln were districted moro than twenty years ago, and in those year3 changes have taken place which in the east would requiro a hun dred years to accomplish. These changes have sh f eJ the population so that the present boundaries work the unjustice re'erred to in the foregoing. Nemo." the correspondent whose communications occupy the first page of the Omaha Excelsior isugcntlcm:.n who resides in New York. He sup plier editorials to the E.rcelsior for ten cents a column. Nemo's essays on ove. marriage, death, housekeeping, etc., never offend or disturb the nut refined ladies. As a soporific I know of nothing o effectual. i AU-mi (Jbocolates'i sAT y-Y-a f "I 1 - jlUI 6 fljai'llJctY ; r9 (111 Pi HOI F. C. ZEHRUNG.Mgr. Corner O and Twelfth street! Tuesday evening, Nov. 9. Surpassing all competitors! The representative comedian JOB FLYNN in T I TIE Declared to be the funniest farce of them all. The best comedians, the cleverest dancers, the newest specialties, the prettiest girls. Everything new, bright and glittering;. Prices SI, 75c, 50c, 25c. Seats on eale Monday 10 a m. 'MtK0MMIttHIHMMMMIMMMIMIMMMlMHIMMll 0 F. A. HER PLUMBING 1 HEA1IR6 ft Contractors for PUMPS, IRON PIPE, SEWER AND CULVERT PIPE. Wholesalers of PLUMBING. STEAM AND HOT WATE HEATING. ( ior en iTriirr cm ttvpatv aud li'J Ol7. 1 LJLXL. Ol.. Xi-LUtAJill, HjD. .X MMOtmiMHlltMtlHHIMMIMHHIIIIMIMMCIII J. W. MITCHBLL. Wkoesale ard Retai I WJUiL ffiPTR. S (?) street anil 143 so 12tb st 'Eclcpbonc 2??. SIGX XAIXXJ:x:G A.ivr decoratixg. r -frft0 oo0o--o-oe-ooootjoojooa galace of Fashion 125 So. 12th st., Lincoln. FINE MILLINERY! HMIMM8t'MilUIIIHMIM:S0H"'MMMIIIIIlMMMMIMlll .. 111