The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, August 06, 1898, Page 2, Image 3

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been a well-governed country. Among
the many obstacles to prosperity and
contentment Is the absence of land
lords from theirestates. No landlord
of them all has seen her estate as sel
dom as the queen. No wonder her
tenant grumble and object to pay the
tax which supports her. Why should
the Irish pay for the support of a
queen who has not visited Ireland for
thirty years or more and whose right
to rule over them they dispute?
The Prire of Wales, on the contrary,
' has the iuite unroyal capacity of
looking sk things from the people's
point of view and lie has made up Jiis
mind that the Irish eltlzens of Great
Britain hnvc the same rights as those
on the English side of the channel. So
that when the good queen dies, to the
subjects on the Emerald Isle the coro
nation ef King Edward VII will
probably mean the beginnings of an
understanding with England from
the culmination of whicli many years
later both the English and Irish will
look back with thankfulnese for the
unity which makes them strong.
j
In the club department of this
week's CooitiEit may be founi a re
port of the Denver Biennial written
by the editor of the club department
of the Boston Herald for that paper
and published in the issue of July 24.
The article was sent me by Mrs. Breed
and reflects the sentiment of Mrs.
Breed's friends in Massachusetts. It
is to be regretted that women cannot
accept defeat any more gracefully, or
with less of personal vindictiveness
than men. The report, which is inter
esting and well written in itself, al
ludes to a conspiracy to defeat Mrs.
Breed.'the discourtesy of not electing
her. and of Mrs. Breed's prescriptive
right to the presidency.
There was no conspiracy to defeat
Mrs. Breed. The majority of the
delegates came to the convention un
pledged, unorganized, undecided.
After considering the candidates and
the situation, and the demands of the
position Mrs. Breed's friends thought
ber capable of filling, a large majority
of the convention decided against
Mrs. Breed's eligibility. The incum
bent of the office should possess a
catholic culture and large executive
ability. There are not many women
in the east perhaps, who could pass so
creditable an examination as Mrs.
Breed did, but she was tried and
found wanting in the extraordinary
fitness which the president of the
federation of women's clubs should
possess. Secondly, the Massachusetts
delegation said that Mrs. Breed was
the heir apparent, that at the Louis
ville Biennial Mrs. Henrotin ceded to
Mrs. Breed her reversionary rights to
tbe presidency in consideration of her
services at thaMime. One represent
ative body can not promise the votes
of that body at the next session of it
because the pereonelle of the one is not
that of the other. Such a procedure
bas been discussed in men's conven
tions and settled in the negative so
long ago that even Boston might have
beard about tt. Then as to the dis
courtesy of not electing Mrs. Breed.
So long as no one had a prescriptive
claim to the office there could have
been no discourtesy in withholding it
from any one of the live or six hun
dred delegates. Otherwise all who
were not asked to serve the conven
tion in any official way would have
felt insulted.
The Herald reporter adds that "the
balance of power In the Denver Bien
nial was in the hands of new and un
trained club women who not only
threw tradition to the winds, but had
not. apparently, the gift of foresight.''
Only Mrs. Lowe's failure to do the
work placed in ber hands by the "un
trained" delegates can prove them
lacking in foresight and the apprecia
tion of a strong character. So thi
statement is premature, atlcast.
In the enumeration of states be
longing to tne general federation the
reporter omits Nebraska which has a
rapidly increasing roster of 3,500 indi
viduals represented in the state feder
ation and a much smaller number
represented in the general federation.
Before the next Biennial Nebraska
should have a representation in it
proportioned to the number of clubs
in the state and the interest of the
membership in the real objects of the
federation. -
jt
The conglomerate convention which
met this week and the republican con
vention which will meet next Wednes
day will be influenced either one way or
die other by representatives of the
railroads. Some of the delegates have
become convinced that the railroads
are the enemies of the population
rural and urban. The contrary is
true. Nebraska owes to the railroads
what a child owes its mother exist
ence. Without railroads Nebraska
farms would be cattle ranges, and the
state's producing'capacity not worth
tabulating. The foregoing is as self
evident as the converse that the rail
roads owe their profits to the people.
The relation of one to the other
is interdependant. Railroads', as cor
porations have no political ambitions
or schemes of reform. The first rail
road company formed had no connec
tion with and no intorest in politics,
though at the present time such
aloofness; is incomprehensible. But
gradual!', when concessions and
grants became necessary, the com
panies found it expedient to get ac
quainted with the president, with
senators and legislators, even with
mayors and councilmen. Later it was
found that it was easier to select un
prej ud iced legislators than to i n fl uence
demagogues later. So the pass sys
tem was adopted for use in campaigns.
Men who would scorn to accept five
dollars as a gift or as a bribe will take
five dollars' worth of mileage to which
they are not entitled by any of the
rules of barter or commerce, and by
so doing fetter their action and opin
ion. A railroad company should not be
forced to take the offensive. There is
no more reason why it should be in
politics for self-preservation than a
company which sells potatoes. Trans
portation is valuable. Cars and steam
and employes cost money and are in
the market. If the price is too large
consumption will be lowered and
affect receipts. Freight rates and
passenger fares are commodities
which should be settled upon a basis
of the cost of production. They can
not be settled by the legislature any
more than the price of corn. The
complex result of sixty years of the
corporation fight for existence has
blinded our eyes to the inalienable
rights of a corporation and to the un
alterable laws of commerce, so that
we no longer resolve the problem into
one or two simple propositions. If we
did we would see that the railroads
cannot exist without the people, that
the people can get along, but primi
tively and very inconveniently, with
out the railroads, that political inter
ference and surveillance on the part
of the railroads is induced by fear of
illegal legislation and from a railroad
point of view is necessary, and that
above all rates and prices can not be
legislated down or up. v
Finally the employment of a man
by the railroads to see that only can
didates friendly to the roads are nomi
nated and elected is offensive to the
plain man who is apt to credit such a
manager with more power than he real,
ly possesses. After all the people can do
about as they please and a bill pro
hibiting passes will take away most
of the manager's power and restore to
the railroads the pay for services
whose value has too long been un
recognized. An editorial in Wednesday's Jour
nal attempted to justify Ihe giving of
passes to state officials by arguing that
it permitted those officials to travel
about tbeir districts in search of the
needs of their constituents. The
passes were not given for any such
reason by the roads but in self defense
and if the people of the stateneed to
see the governor "of the state they
should make his Excellency a trans
portation allowance. There is -no
reason why the railroads should be
taxed" for" this service. Besides it
would be cheaper to pay for it in the
first place.
Jt
'The Hon. Peter Sterling" in de
fining the difference Between a boss
and a reformer says in effect that the
reformer never can control the votes
necessary to accomplish his schemes
and the boss can and does.
The practice and precepts of the
political boss might well be fol
lowed by "our best citizens" who
commonly dispise him. The boss
knows the people whose votes he asks
for. He is never a Pharisee. He
grants favors to the dwellers in his
ward and what is still more he is not
above asking a favor of the humblest.
He is genial. He knows the fatal con
sequences of what is known outside
of medical circles, as swelled head
and he hides all the symptoms from
the ward when he has an attack. He
is vigilant and always stays up all.
night before a crisis He knows no
hoi polloi or if he does he loves it. The
successful lawyer who would make a
creditable congressman does not know
the first names or the residences of
the people whose votes are necessary
to send him to congress. He maybe
a great man but they do not know it
and they vote for Dave or Bill who"
has cared to get acquainted with
them. Neither Bill nor Dave may
possess the intellect useful to him
who undertakes to manage the affairs
of a nation, but they can get govern
ment buildings and numerous little
comforts which the district that
sent him prefers to statesmanship.
Of course when a wise congress is
needed to reflect and advise upon
a question like that relating to the
Phillipines or negotiations with
Spain, Dave and Bill are of no value,
especially if they do not realize their
limitations and insist upon having an
opinion. At such times Providence
alone has prevented congress in the
past from making very bad mis
takes and those who believe that
Providence always stands ready to
render the blunders of an imbecile
innocuous do not "view witu alarm"
the tendency of American people to
send "hustlers' to congress. But if
the great men in every community
would learn of the boss the grade of
congressional intelligence might be
gradually elevated.
A QUEER PARTING,
As he was standing on the platform of
the station with a lot of other people,
Tudie drove up and jumped out of the
phaeton, and came straight to him with
out a salutation to one of her friends or
acquaintances.
"You are goiog home?" she asked.
"I am."
"Did you intend to go without goodby
to me?'
"I did."
"Did you think it proper?" she asked
with a curl of her lip.
"I thought it wise. Are you going to
marry Henry Gibson?"
Such an expression came into her face.
Dick was only twenty-one, but he knew
he would never again suffer as at that
moment, when he met the look of grief,
almost despair in her eyes. But she re
plied steadily. "I am."
Just then the train came in. Holding
himself under stern control, Dick put
out his hand to say goodby. She burst
into an agony of tears, and threw her
arms around his neck. Though all the
town eeenied thsre, interested and
amused, Dick felt they were as much
alone as under the trees on the lawn. He
held her close in ber arms while the bell
-of the engine made a fearful din.
' "Shall I come back-' he whispered,.
breathlessly. "Shall I?"
"'"Sever'' she said, passionately.
"Ndver' again!"
He was obliged to run after his train.
That was the last time he ever saw
Tudie. Alice Miriam Roundy, in
August Lippincott'e.
THE CHANGELING.
The baby is gone.
- She wandered away
From the garden of childhood,
the other day.
We watched her trip
from flower to flower
As the butterfly flutters
in scented bower;
Her dear little feet
were shod in white,
Her dear JitUe face
was roguishly bright,
And two sweet little dimples
were plain in sight.
If she could but know
how much she is missed
Her rosebud mouth
was all crimped to be kissed
Did she slip by the gateway
into the road
That leads to youth's portals,
as we have been told?
Our dear little sprite
with fairy tread
And golden curb
on her dear little head .
Was surely at that hour -
safe in bed.
I followed a shadow
up childhood's lane
To the corner of youth,
but lost it again;
Some said they thought
they had seen her go
To the Grown-up Land,
where the grown-ups grow;
I found there a maiden
tall and fair
"With eyes long known,
and a gUnt in her hair
Of remembered gold,
but no baby was there.
The maiden was tender,
sweet and kind
But she was aot the baby
I had in my mind,
With its roguish smile
and bewitching grace.
And dancing eyes
in roseleaf face,
With a sweet little mouth
to be kissed each nigfat
And each day and each hour
they may be right
But how can this be
our baby sprite?
Annie L. Miller.
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