THE COURIER.
they cannot pay for, the grocers,
dry-goods men, and boot and shoe
merchants would all be taking ad
vantage of the bankrupt law. It is
these people, who buy only what they
have the money to pay for, that sup
port tliis town and every other. The
patronage of the few rich men in the
largest city in this country is not
comparable in bulk to the patronage
of tiie poor and of those who arc said
to live from band to mouth but
whose food is paid for before eaten,
if William Waldorf Astor's fortune or
fortunes in America and England
were divided according to the per
capita allowance of the economists
and these thousands of people were to
take themselves out of New York
and settle in London the merchants
in the latter town would be over
joyed at the immediate increase in
the number of consumers and the
New York merchants would have to
adjust themselves to a sudden
shrinkage of their market. But when
William Waldorf Astor all by him
self leaves New York for London, the
English arc not overjoyed and New
York is serene. For he can only cat
three meals a day, wear 'uc suit of
clothes at a time and live in but one
house. He can only look scornful and
haughty with one face and that one
the Prince of Wales does not like.
Economically and aesthetically lie is
but little loss. So while the poor
many do not receive the considera
tion their importance and patronage
deserves, it is well enough to remind
the retail dealers of a fact they are
well enough aware of viz, that the
patronage of the poor, makes pros
perity. The singular unwillingness
of the rich to pay their bills Is incom
prehensible to the poor who hate to
be dunned and regard It as an over
whelming disgrace.
The Com.
The last two weeks have not been
favorable to the corn. The weather
lias been too hot and dry as the con
dition of the corn In this section
shows. Much of It Is dry and
shriveled and loose on the cob. The
milk in the kernel has dried too
rapidly and yielded its moisture to
the air, leaving the kernel wrinkled
and insufficiently nourished. Thus
our only inducement (barring the
cultivation of a virtue for virtue's
sake) to patience and submission is
destroyed. The delicate, hollow, silk
en threads of nerves which contain
the pollen-fertilized milk and which
arc attached to each kernel In an ear
of corn are shrunken and destroyed
by the dry heat and the kernel is
starved. The effect of the heat how
ever Is not wholly disastrous for the
price of corn as a result has risen.
The Carter Case.
The apologists for Captain Carter
claim that his sentence was another
case of army prejudice and Jealousy
like that of Captain Dreyfus. This
is scarcely credible. Captain Carter
is not a. lew, nor does he belong to a
nation or a sect which ignorance and
prejudice lias been in the habit of
persecuting He belongs to a wealthy
family but when he was in charge of
the harbor contract he tilled the
government yacht, of which he was
in command, with his own guests
at the expense of the government.
These guests were wined and dined in
a style which only a few millionaires
can afford. When he was charged
with embezzlement every attempt
was made to destroy testimony. The
long delay in the examination of the
papers and the efforts made to in
fluence the president to' mitigate or
annul the sentence of the court
martial have awakened the suspicions
of the people. Simply saying that It
Is another case of Dreyfus persecu
tion will not allay these suspicions.
An American court is not a French
court and the testimony and wit
nesses in the Carter case were direct
and positive, and not implicatory as.
in the Dreyfus case. The epoch of a
foreign war Is sensitive and criticism
of the administration is inexpedient.
There is all the greater reason why
the president, being suspected of too
groat an affection for the rich, should
be sure that the people understand
the facts in the case of Captain Ober
lin Carter. So that no matter how
many and how influential his friends,
we nny bo sure that he receives jus
tice the same as the friendless postal
clerk who is detected in stealing live
dollars from a letter. As the candi
date of.the plutocracy alone, Presi
dent Mclvinlcy's chances for re-election
are slim. The inlluence of
money In Washington has delayed
justice and prevented the passage of
many a bill, like those, for instance,
directed against the adulteration of
foods. So great is the fear of this in
lluence among the people at large,
that if this one rich man should be
pardoned for reasons which the com
mon peope do not appreciate as sound
the effect upon the president will be
more severe than the less of a few
rich allies -the friends of Captain
Carter.
Sympathy for Captain Dreyfus, and
there are no antl-Dreyfusards In this
country, will not be diverted into
sympathy for Captain Carter, who
has not been confined for five years in
a cell on a barren Island, but on the
contrary has spent, the time since the
court martial pronounced his sen
tence, in the most fashionable of the
New York chilis, breakfasting at
eleven, driving fast horses and at
tending tiie opera or amusing him
self according to the vagrancies of an
elegant and opulent taste, unham
pered by responsibilities of any sort.
The Chief Corner Stone.
Invitations to the ceremonies of
laying the corner stone of the United
States Government building in Chi
cago have been sent to thirteen thous
and distinguished men in this coun
try. There are probably fifty thous
and other distinguished men who will
receive them, but thirteen thousand
had been dispatched when the com
mittee discovered that Mr. Henry
Ives Cobb, the architect of the build
ing, in whose otlice the invitations
had been designed, had placed Ills name
in unnecessary large letters under the
cutof thebuilding,and placed a shield
in the upper left corner bearing the
monogram U. S. and balanced it by
another shield in the upper right
corner inscribed with his own initials,
II. I. C The invitation is signed by
Governor Tanner, by Mayor Harrison,
and by the chairmen of the general
and invitation committees. When
these gentlemen discovered that Mr.
Cobb had utilized the invitations to
advertise and exploit himself, they
wero Indignant and have stopped the
Issue.
The members of a democracy object
to the elevation even of an architect
on their shoulders. Mr. Cobb climbed
up unawares and was blowing his own
horn and occupying a position in the
sight of the multitude before the
owners of the shoulders realized his
intentions. He will hardly be able to
maintain the position until the ninth
of October, the day of the celobratlon,
so man hands are outstretched to
pull him down. If he had not at
tempted to balance his own initials
with the shield of the United States
and to write his own namo ubovo thut
of the United States, the fifty thous
and other gentlemen who intend to
go to Chicago and re.eclve the adora
tion of tiie pack would not have ob
jected to the notice the architect of
the structure deserves and would
naturally secure, but his claims were
so Insistent for the chief place and all
the homage, that they are likely to
cause his eventual rejection by the
builders, each one of whom would like
to be the chief corner stone himself.
Old Stories.
A column of "DontV was published
in last week's Courier, some of which
wero peculiarly applicable to Lincoln.
Every place has Idiosyncratic features,
and Lincoln has its share. About in
its fortieth year the old codgers of
Lincoln have fallen into the habit of
relating tales of the early times. This
is all very well but "repetition maketh
a dull man" and when a racconteur al
lows himself to be teased into telling
a good story three or four times he is
likely to get Into the habit of telling
It and not wait for a request. Some
of the codgers are not fso very old, not
much older than the city, but they
have tasted the delights of story tell
ing and their appetite increases by
what it feeds on, till anyone will do
for an audience and any old thread
bare tale, that even the dogs, by re
petition, have learned the words of. is
acceptable not to the manacled listen
er butjtothe hopeless racconteur. Of
this character is the shirt story which
the original prevaricator attached to
Mr. Marquette; a story which has no
foundation, in fact, and which was in
vented by some commonplace mind
to illustrate Mr. Marquette's unusual
ability to concentrate his mind en
tirely upon one subject to the entire
exclusion of the trivialities which,
after all, occupy the time and thoughts
of most men and women. Mr. Mar
quette's mind was entirely at his dis
posal, a fact which the men who have
tittered over the story frequently over
look. Jf the hundreds who have
heard it could learn to forget so tran
sitory and unimportant a subject of
thought as the clothes they wear, not
for a week as Mr. Marquette Is said to
have forgotten them but for an hour,
the results of the concentration of all
the power of even a mediocre mind on
one subject for that time might favor
ably affect the fortunes of the scatter
brained whose accomplishments to
date are the direct result of devlded
attention. There aro also many
stories about Mr. John Fitzgerald
whose tireless energy and dynamic
purposes inspired workmen to accom
plish twice the work for him in a given
time than for any other contractor.
There are many stories of Judge
Mason and some of Mr. Touzalln who,
however, was only a nomad in Ne
braska. The other three men are
wrought into the early history of the
state. But these stories are covered
by the barnacles of tradition (so quick
ly does tradition grow) and aro not of
much use. even as Indications of the
character of the men and the times.
They are only referred to here in tiie
interests of a fatigued community in
the hope that they may fall under
the notice of at least one of the chest
nut venders and remind him to tell
his stories only to bona fide strangers
and newcomers, and only once to
them.
The County Election.
As election time approaches a num
ber of republicans express dissatis
faction with certain names on
the ticket. That ticket was nomi
nated In the convention and good or
bad, satisfactory or unsatisfactory,
the party which named the men must
accept the responsibility for them. In
county and city politics it docs not
matter much to the community, after
the election, as to whether a man Is
a republican or a democrat. But it is
a matter of vital importance to the
community whether a man Is an hon
est man or a thief. And in this con
nection thief Is not a name to bo
lightly used. No man, not even in
politics, is Justified in calling a man
dishonest without being moreexpllcit
If he Is not honest, he has stolen
something. If that bo so, what was
It? How much was it? When did he
steal it? Where did lie steal it and
whom did lie steal it from? In these
days we have progressed in plain
speaking if not in politeness, and the
candidate who accuses his rival of dis
honesty in general terms is condemned
of Injustice by the most Ignorant of
his audience. Not that a campaign
conducted in this way is admirable.
But the campaign of innuendo is
abominable. Every man, even the
transgressor is entitled to fair play
and the sportsman's blood which lills
the veins of most of the spectators at
every contest, political or otherwise,
will see that he gets it.
President and Mrs. McKinley.
None of the pictures of President
McKinley taken alone have endeared
him to the whole people like those In
stantancnus photographs stolen by
the artists of the Illustrated weekly
papers. In all of these the president
Is just a common, tender, faithful
man taking care of his invalid wife.
He has not assumed the presidential
look he has in all the official photo
graphs, where he Is shown at his desk
thinking, or getting into his carriage
from the steps of the White nouse, or
taking the oath of otlice, or discussing
expansion with ills cabinet. In all of
these the President is prepared for
the photographer and his expression
Is otllclal and there Is no opportunity
for acquaintance with his august
nibs. In t lie vacation pictures the
President is not thinking of himself
at all nor or the impression he Is like
ly to make on the several million
people who will look at his picture.
He is holding a wrap for his wife, or
he is helping her out of the carriage
and guiding her to the best place to
Bee, or to the most sheltered spot on the
boat thoy have baen eailiog in. Such
self forgetfjlness, patience, and tender
nesB as the President's face exprasses
must appeal to the most obstinate dem
ocrat of them all, so that for the moment
anti-expaoBioo, anti-protection, and
antieingle standard are forgotten and
swallowed up in appreciation of the
chivalry and devotion of the man.
Gty Lighting.
The city pays S18.G24 a year for lightB.
The gas company is not to be blamed or
called hard names for churging us much
for electricity as the people will pay. A
high price is not robbery and a compet
itive market is the only regulator. Sen
tiraout has nothing to do with business.
Busines? is neithor moral nor immoral,
it is business and unrelated to anything
except the laws of commerce.
The city council, I am sure, will koop
these principles which no one has uiado,
but which are immutable in mind, when
dealing with the guB corapauy.
Mr. Thompson is the president of the
gas company and is anxiouB to make a
good bargain with tbo city for lights
next year. His private character and
the antagonisms whteh were caused by
his political methods and ambitions
have nothing to do with the bargain the
gas company is anxious to make with
the city and the city is anxiou to make
with thegaB company.
The company is an old one. It has
enjoyed the use of the streets and alleys
for many years. Its electric light poles