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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1898)
V H'i art. w ( x$ COL 13 NO. 15 jrrMfif' ESTABLISHED IN 1886 RICE FIVE CENTS v - ',5) f r - LINCOLN. NBB., SATURDAY. APRIL, 9. 1808. &&,ss -N ilHi'v ENTERED IX THE POSTOFTICB AT LINCOLN AS SECOND CLASS MATTER. PUBLISHED EVERY SATUBUAY BT THE COURIER PRINTING AND PUBLISHING GO Office 1132 N street, Up Stain. Telephone 384. SARAH B. HARRIS. DORA BACHELLER Editor Business Manager Subscription Kates In Advance.. Per annum 9100 Six months 75 Three months 50 One month 20 Single copies 05 The Courier will not be responsi ble for voluntary communications un accompanied by return postage. Communications, to receive "atten tion, must be signed by the full name of the writer, not merely as a guaran tee of good faith, but for publication in all cases. 8 OBSERVATIONS. Considering the high winds which prevail in this section, the scarcity of fire proof buildings and competent fire chiefs and the limited supply of water the losses by fire have been few and small The Davis fire occurred on one of those rare nights when the air was still and tho smoke ascended in a straight column. To the specta tors who watched the smoke slowly in creasing in volume for the two hours before the appearance of flame, the failure of the firemen to chop holes through the floor that the water might reach the fire is unexplainable. The liremen, in fact, deluged the smoke with water without having any effect upon it except to augment it. The conclusion from the discussion over the conduct of the fire, which has al most displaced the contemplation of a war with Spain, has been that it would pay the city to employ a chief who has learnt the best modern methods of fighting fire. Upon a fire chiefs abil ity to rapidly and correctly locate the source of the smoke and flame and his knowledge of the quickest and most effective way of getting at the fire, de pends hundreds of thousands of dollars and frequently valuable lives. When fire threatens the business portion of a city it makes very little difference .to the insurance companies and to those whose property is on fire, whelher the fire chief is a democrat, republican or populist. lie should not be at the head of the fire department of any town without having served in a sub ordinate position in the fire de partment of a city large enough to keep the firemen of the different dis tricts busy. What hospital practice is to a physician, experience in a met ropolitan fire department is to a fire chief. There are scores of competent men in a subordinate position in the Jfcw York or Chicago fire department who could be induced to take charge of the department here. But if such a man were sent for, the claims of the few local and non-professional aspir ants to the place must give way to considerations of the interests of the whole city. Lincoln has never had a fire chief whose education qualified him to supervise buildings and point out dangerous devices. If such a man had been in charge when the Rich ard's block windows were walled up the openings would have been scaled as securely as the rest of the wall. The owner of a building is not supposed to have expert knowledge of conditions which are dangerous in case of fire, but the duties of the chief of the fire department, if well executed, will prevent the occurrence of many fires by convincing landlords that certain building expedients are dangerous. The conditions of the fire of last Fri day were a repetition of those which obtained when the C. C. Burr prop erty was burned. The large brick house smouldered for many hours be cause the firemen were unable to lo cate the fire which was so sluggish that it never broke into ablaze. But the house was destroyed by water ap plied to smoke and flame and not turned on the fire. The question of getting a competent man who can diagnose a fire conectly and rapidly concerns every citizen who pays in surance rates and much more those who own uninsured property, but 1 am well aware of the futility of these thousands of people attempting to in sist upon an intelligent and expert fire chief. Both Bob Malone and Chief Weidman would consider such sensi ble conduct as destructive of their constitutional rights, and on the occa sion of the first fire of consequence the new chief would have a warm time checking combustion in structures not, strictly speaking, built of brick and wood and stone, nor even of iron The support of a paper which is only nominally a party organ, but really desires to offend no one, is of a greater injury to one of its own candidates than the opposition paper. There are three principal ways in which a paper can support a candidate, viz., by formally and paragraphically ex pressing its convictions of the candi date's virtues and qualifications for the office, discrediting tMe opposi tion candidate by printing biographi cal proofs of his unfitness, and by ab staining from printing anything which may prejudice tho mind of any one against its own candidate. As to the first some of the best and most loyal papers cannot always express ap proval of the party nominees, who under our city system are frequently the worst men in the community. Such papers run the risk of losing patronage and business galore by what the professional politicians scornfully designate as "their squeamish ness." The second duty of a party organ is much easier, for where it is extremely difficult to unqualifiedly support any man. owing to the frequency of temp tation and the imperfect defences of human nature, the .opposition candi date is never invulnerable and there are plenty of authentic biographical references which will discredit him if skillfully arranged for the subscribers' perusal. This second duty is the easi est of the three and is scarcely ever omitted by a newspaper with any metropolitan habits whatever. The third duty is not so carefully fulfilled, especially if the company which con trols the paper is running a job otlice too. When a man who is a large job otlice patron, holds a meeting and abuses the candidates for whom that paper is supposed to be working, it is ery difficult indeed for the organ to refuse its patrons request to print a full account of the meeting and the charges made against its own candi dates Butbydoingsothepeoplewhodo notgotothemeetingsoftheopposition and who subscribe for only their own party organs are made aware of the charges inspired by malice and parti- zan convention, i'nnteu in their own paper they will read them with greater or less attention and having read them in an authorized organ of their own party the injury is doneand the candidates, unfortunate in the choice of a friend who will do just as much for a friend and ally as an enemy, providing the latter pays him as well, are discredited. it was not difficult for the Journal to state entire approval of Mr. II. W. Brown, a man of such integrity and withall modesty, that any news paper commendation seems a cheap impertinence. But considering that politics has gained him the censure of Mr. Wolfenbarger it is well enough to state that Mr. Brown has the good will and respect of every one who knows him. There is Just thedifference between Mr. Brown and Mr. Wolfen barger that there is between a reason able man who is willing that the rain should fall on the just and the unjust, and a vindictive egoist, convinced that the community is obstinately wicked because his syllogism will not prove. But in last Monday's Journal there was an account of a lied Ilibbon meet ing in which Mr. Wolfenbarger, in language which on the street would have been ribald, expressed his un warrantable convictions as to Mr. Brown's ultimate destination and said he would not go there too because he was too good, or words to that effect. The profanity appeared in the Journal beneath charges, which, unexplained and unconnected with any clrcnm stances would prejudice many peoplj against one of the republican candi dates for exciseman. The Journal is supposed to be the organ of the repub lican party in this city. It has a larger circulation than any other paper and in printing Mr. Wolfenbar ger's attack it multiplied his audience by a hundred and probably, by so do ing, secured some votes for the oppo sition. The moral is that a man may pretend to a friendship until treason pays him better, also that a newspa per's value as a party organ isseriously impaired by a desire to please everybody.- There are a few who believe that the culture and discipline gained by a conscientious member of a club or Chautauqua circle is equal to that of a college course. If this be so then the latter half of the century has found a royal road to knowledge which may be traveled in pleasant company, un menaced by the fear of a plucking or a "condition." A student who fulfills the requirements of a first class college course must give all his time to it. He. can not finish creditably by only filling up the interstices of his time with study, attendance upon lectures and laboratory work The four years are a steady grind at the course, pre sided over by lecturers, each one of whom requiresenough work from each student to occtiy his whole time. The voluntary devot to science or litera ture outside of college has no search, ing examinations to prepare for, no learned and exacting lecturer to urge him day by day, nor hope of Latin parchment to reward a search of the encyclopedia. Yet the study which is nowbeingstimulated by culture clubs all over this country is accomplishing what colleges cannot for the very rea son that a club will accept what por tion of a member's time she can give