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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1899)
THE COURIER. ir IK' aft. ''Off W & w & Manila or Sampson at Santiago. They stood up in that court against tho op pressor of (humanity, as enduring" and ns resisting1 as the Rock of Ages. So it has come .to pass rthat D. E. Thompson1 won'ts to represent the state of Nebraska ins tlio United) States senate. Well, there's nothing" small about D. E.'s aspirations, and especi ally when it comes -to good) selfish grabbing" and D. E. Is the dispenser. Tlic dividends of the illation's stock holders will bo as loan, a those paid to the depositors of the Oaptial Na tional bank. Senatorial -timber must be scarce in. Nebraska when D. E. Thompson, unsolicited', comes to the front and .offers himself, to the pre sumed detriment and sacrifice of his own. personal business. It is a clever piece of financial engi neering for a lot of robbers to' make a dash and' raid a city, plunder its peo pis and leave it a bankrupt. One of the cleverest of tlhe gang" returns and says: "What kick havo ye coining? Did I not dispense a fraction, of my portion of the steal, build' you a read ing room, let your ragged, hnlf starved, (half naked, children get Sun a ton of flour, acar of coal and, inci dentally, let all the papers of the city and state know of my good' works?" D. E. Thompson's promotions were rapid. Frome brakeman) lie rose to division! superintendent. lie was looked upon) as a very slhrewd specula tor and money maker. In1 those rapid strides of success be became a banker. He joined (hands with. Charley Mosher & Co., the bank-wrecking- experts. When those two great heads formed1 a junction it is said that the stock of the bank ran from par $11 to $140 per share. It actually attracctedi the at tention of easterm speculators and such an able financier as the Chemical Naitfional bank was struck by. this slick firm of bankers and1 it was so easy for the smooth, president anldl Ms cashier to furnish capital. Alt they required was that they, themselves, put their pergonal' paper in the- bnnk with no security. The president, it is claimed, 'had $75,000 of this kind) of capital and the cashier $50,000. And) this kind' of paid up stock, it is said, was O. K.'d by the government examiner and it drew 15 and often as high as 18 per cent interest Bemi-annually. In this boom of prosperity it is cluiraedi thaifc D. E. Thompson) got in his fine work on his acquaintances in the employ of the "Q" system, from the engine wiper in the round) house, the car-greasers, the section foreman and his hands, the telegraph opera tors, the road boss, to the lunch room ovmer and the hotel keepers. If he could not get the proprietors of the. hotels to come to the Capital Nation al bank it is said that ho worked on the landlord's wife and the latter had . such confidence in) Mr. Thompson, that she went against the judgment of her husband and) deposited im the Capital National, on the recommenda tion of D. E. Thompson, this guardian of the wealth of the Mumble. It will be seen later on how he protected' and stood by. his clients and every tax pay ' er in the state. If the republican! par ty thinks that tho selection! of D. E. Thompson for United States senator will heal the wounds and brinff the erring lambs of the party to the fold they oto much mistaken as was Spain when she declared war against Un cle Samv I ' Now, Mr. Courier, a largo majority of American voters demand an nmend " menlt to the coustltutBoni to vote for Urited States senators, the Bomo as for any other candidate running1 for office. It is just. For the purity of politics such should be the case. If the people cannot get just this change, would it noe bo wise for the ' present legislature of Nebraska to en- net a law, the substnnco of which is that all candidates for tho United Stntes senntorship should come under a civil rule and stand examination by competent judges? Take it for granted tint that is already a law on the stati. utc books of Nebraska and that Mir. Thompson (held an office of trust very important in the state, the office being as a heavy stock Qiolder in tho Capi tal National bank and as a director of that institution) he was an1 office hold er for the state, ns the following pro posed examination! will prove before n legiskrtive nsembly. (Before Mr. Thompson rcsigncdi as a director of the Capital National bank, he saved Qi'imsclf from tho ns Kotjcmcnb wJicid the crash came, it is believed there was to tlhe credit of city, county and state about $350,000 in) tho bank. Now comes a hypotheti cal examination before the assembled body of tho legislature. All of the cltyv County and state of ficers go in there to examine the can didates for senator and to put them through a thorough' process of sweat ing. Thompson comes first as a can dldntc. The commonwealth's officers will ask him concerning" the money their separate institutions should have had, Which was stolen by Mosher ct al. Chancellor Canfield is the first to nsk D. E. Thompson some pointed questions. 'What has become of the University appropriation?" He exhibits the plans of the addition- that was to have been made to tlite institution with tlio mon ey (hot was stolcni. "Mr. Thompson, what have you to say for yourself in respect to this money?" "I decline to answer," is the reply. The chancellor puts him in some tight places, but he gets out by evasive an swers, so the chancellor ha to put aiwny his plans and wait a few more years for another appropriation-. The state prison comes next to find out what hns become of its share of the money. William Dorgam repre sents the prison. Let tho audience pay strict atteni tioni to the withering, Wittering-, galling' fire. Mr. Dorgam brings with him smokeless powder to beni on this mam Thompson, who de sires to represent the state in the sen ate. ' Mr. Dorgan finds Thompson's mem ory in a cloudy condition to answer for tlio prison appropriation!. Well, Willinm can afford) to be lenient in th5s kind of state scrapping. His own memory in days gone by was not at all times im the mos healthy condition under fire. The next delegation is the state asy lum. "Mr. Thompson., as a stock holder and, director of the Capital Na tional bank, tell us what has become of the appropriation! for those poor weak-minded crentures im the asj'lum. What have you to say as a director?" "I define to answer." (Mark that, legislators. The next delegation is from the Hastings asylum. It is headed by Dr. Johnson. He naturally desires to know what Qins .become of the Hast ings appropriation from this model candidate for the federal senate. "Let lit (hear from you, Mr. Thompson, as to what became of the appropriation for the feeble, weak-minded pnitlcn'ts of the Hastings institution. What bnvc you to say?" "I decline to nnswer." Pay strict at tentionlaw makers of tho state, to Mr. Thompson n a candidate to the honored office to which he aspires. The nest delegation to be -heard from under the new civil service re form that of every teacher, male and female, im the state of Nebraska. Each instructor brings so many pu pils, boys nd girls, from) eight years old up. Mnks way for them to the center of tlic Intelligent legislature. They gather in1 a body. Look at them, gcL'tlenmni, tho Caining' fathers and mothers who will tuko our places when we are gone. "Mr. 1). E. Thompson!, ns a stock holder and director of the Capital Na tional bank, what has become of the appropriation that was made to edu cate those children. 1'lonsc slato can didly." i i "I decline to answer." "What. A charitable main like j-ou? So generous in flour and fuel and ex cursions? You refuse to answer? (Honored geiutleinen, we ns Ameri can citizens of tho most powerful civ ilised nation) of the world; wo pride ourselves on our institutions of learn ing1, the peer of nny in existence. Ev ery 'American of an intelligence loves his public school, takes pride im the brainy pupils' they turn; loose oni the world to work for nn honorable living in Whatever station or vocation, they may be colled. Now, gentlemen of tho legislature, how long can we maintain1 our public schools and turn out this class of scholarship if the liberal npproprln ticwiB made for their education is car ried off in the manner it was by tho Mosher gang-? Gentlemen T E. Thompson) was a director of those funds. We, gentlemen, censure other nations and governments for the igno rance of their subjects. Im Spain, for instance, only 30 per cent of the peo ple cam read or write. And well has Spain paid tlio penalty fir Its Igno rimco in- the past twelve months. Study carefuly this mau. Thompson bi frre you select him to represent you at Washington. Then comes the next delegation to Ptt Thompson' through! a cmciu. pro cess of sweating", under ill'? civil f,er vice reform. Its leadte's are well Know to every one im Lintoliu for hor csty. morality and) good) eitizcnvhlp Their records arc unimpcnchable. Mr. ChnJiinnm, please call to the .-ergeani-nt-jrins to clear the way for this com ing multitude. The sergeant cries out to the presiding- officer that all is r'endy. Conduct that delegation! to the center of the hall. Ail eyes ore turned. It comes. It is headed by the Hon. Henry Gerner and Mrs. King- and fol lowing them are eleven hundred de prsitors of the Capital 'Notional bank, representing nearly $600,000 every one of them a one hundred cent dol lar. I Legislators of the land', take nni im partial view of the body of plund ered humanity. As a director of the Capital National bank, I call on you, Mr. Thompson, to boUd up your head and take a view of those lwod'lcd crea tures, and you a director of the insti tution that plundered thnt colony of industrious citizens. Wlint have you to sny In. defense of yourself to those people? Wiry should you expect these legislators to send oyn to Wnsh'ing'ton to represent the state im the senate? Mr. Gerner will ask Mr. Thompson a few questions in regard to the Cap ital National bank steal. "Mr. Thompson, will you state to this legislature nnd to these 1,100 de positors why you sent in. your resig nation ns a director of the Capital Na tional bank, to Mosher and his under strappers dated six or eight months previous to the robberv, or failure, as you call it, and why you continued to act as a director during the interim' of six or seven months and also why the fact of your alleged1 resignation! was not announced until the eve of the closing of the bonk? Why did not even the other directors of tlio bnnk know of your resignation until their Inst meeting? Mr. Thompson', what hnve you to sav for yourself?" " decline to nnswer. You are pry ing too much into my personal nf fa'Irs." legislators of the stolto of Ne braska, Mosher lost his annii for stato treasurer im the convention of tlio summer of 1802. He knew ho was gone us far as state money was Concerned. It is said that Mosfhur lcgau at that time to send cast all negotiable paper liv tho Iwnk to bo discounted and that wot" tho beginning of the plan1 for the robbery which followed later. Then Innocent D. 'E. Thompson sneaked out, kept mum ns a dirccttor and1 let tho state, county nnd city and Individual depositors bo fleeced out of nenrly $000,000. Legislators of tho state, look call inly. Heboid, gentlemen, Moshcr's return to his victims of a inntllnted fifteen cent dollar and what rasps, the feelings of those victims most Is thnt. they were robjcd by a goeerntnent institution. Respectfully. I J. KENNEDY. BISMARK, THE MAN STATESMAN. THE Tbero is no bottor or more convincing proof of tlio valuo of "Bismark's Auto biography," published by Harpor A Brothers, than the fact that over three hundred thousand copies were sold in Germany within ton days aftor publica tion, nnd tho nppearance of these re mnrknblc memoirs is an event that con cerns not only (Jormany; it is of vast importance to tho world at large. It gives ub, of courso, almost a complete history of Europe during the last three quarters of a century, but more than that it gives us a clear insight into the private and public life of the man who, perhaps more than any other, made this history. Tho sympathy of the world was with Bisnark when, a few years ago, he was forced to resign tho chancellorship and retire to his country place at Friedrich sruh with nothing before him but the cheerless prospect of an idle and inac tive old age. He bad always been the thick of events, and it goes without say ing that the day of bis reairement was the bitterest day of his long life. But bb we now see it, that day was the most i BBBBBBBBBBP BBBBBBBM '-SjJiBBBBBBBBBB! HawrgpCHH BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLI 'S'BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBbI I HlMIHr'n ' "' iH-k.aif Pr " - suspicions one of the world. For had the Iron Chancellor remained in public life, it is probable that his monumental autobiography would never have been written, and we would never have known the great diplomat as he really was. The idea of an autobiography was first suggested to Bismark in 1880, but as he was still in active public servioe at that time, it was imposBisle for him to at tempt such a task. But after he had retired to his peaceful retreat at Fried richsruh, the thought becams more and more pleasing to him. He was a man after Kipling's own heart. He liked to do things, and with his life behind him and with the monotony of idleness be fore,dt was with relief that he turned to the doing of his last great work, the fit telling of the story of his Hie. Like Na poleon on St. Helena with the memory of his past greatness, living over again Jean, Wagrara, Waterloo and Austerlitz, one may imagine Bismark watching from afar the political arena and longing to be again at tho helm, setting his course for the nation. And in telling this his own story, Bismark is once again in the strife, he lives again in the old-time lighting days, and while in the old library at Friedrlcbsruh he dictated this won' derful biography to Lothar Bucher. the tire and vivid picturecqueness of his words proved beyond a doubt that the old statesman, in spirit at least, was liv ing again in the days when be had at laBt realized his ambition when France was crushed and Germany united.