VOL. XIV., NO. XL 1 1.
ESTABLISHED IN 1880
PKICE FIVE CUNTS
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LINCOLN, NliBR., SATURDAY, OGTOBISK 21, 1809.
KNTKKKUIN TIIK IMISTOKFIGK AT MhCOLN AH
wrrnvn n.Aww matter.
PUULI81IED EVERY SATURDAY
IHE COURIER PRIUlD PUBLISHING GO
Otllco 1132 N streot, Up Stairs.
Telephone 384.
SARAH B. HARRIS,
Editor
Subscription Katcp In Advance.
Per annum , 9100
Six months 75
Three months CO
One month 20
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TnE Courier will not bo responsible for vol
nntnry communications unless accompanied by
roturu pontic
Communications, to rocoivo nttontlon, must
bo stoned by tno full namo of tlio writor, not
moroly as a (tuurantoo of good faith, but for
publication if advlsablo,
:
'V03tl''
S OBSERVATIONS.
4''VCO
The New Fire Chief.
Since Mayor Win null assume! the
office of mayor lie has been searching
for si competent fire chiif Chief
Wiodman who lias ticltl the otliee until
now is an honest industrious man who
has the respect of all who know him
intimately. But he lacks the peculiar
power to control and organ!?! men so
necessary to the chief of a lire de
partment. Lucking the magnetism
and energy which can inspire llfty
man to Wiir'.c as one, Chief Wlejnun
has not been able to organize the de
partment into the unit it should be
for effective service. Mayor Wlnnett
lias visited Denver, St. Paul, Mlnneap
oils, Kansas City, and Omaha Until
lately he has not been able to lind a
capablo man who would come for the
salary ol the Lincoln lire-chief. Pri
vate individuals from their own in
come have been asked to guarantee nn
extra three hundred dollars. The
success of tlio petition which lias been
circulated, and the promise of one
responsible citizen In particular war
rants Mayor Wlnnett in securing as
chief a unni.-ntont cinUln of one of
the lire stations in O.naha. He is a
man with a brilliant reputaton as
a iircman. Tlio mayor does not know
to what political party or to what
church ho belongs. IIo was secured
entirely on his record aB a tireman
and captain. All who know Mayor
Winnett'sastutjness In the selection
of men to perform certain specified
functions and his absolute purity of
motive are willing to greet the new
fcVhlof from Omaha with certainty of
Ills ability and stiong character.
The fire department of Lincoln Is
disorganized by changes an'l rumois
of changes. The firemen are few in
number, unci slpllned and at titles
disorderly. In building up the de
partment into an efficient lire fight
ing machine the chief should have tho
cordial co-operation of the city officers,
the council, and the citizens In gen
eral. With returning prosperity the
time has come to begin to desert the
old loose village organization and to
establish tlio department on an cllic.
lent cosmopolitan plan.
The city has lost more in taxes the
last three years by the burning of
line buildings, than four times the
cost of tlio present fire departmotit.
And with an effie'ent lire-chief and a
well organized department many
buildings besides the Richard's block
and tlic Methodist church could have
been saved.
The Paving.
There Is just about enough in the
city treasury, lacking sixty dollars, to
pay for the intersections already un
dertaken. In spite of the need of
new pavement on P street I hope that
the council will not order paving it
has not tlio money to pay for. If tlio
street car compromise had been al
lowed to proceed the city would liavo
.had, after paying tho pav ng bonds,
about $14,000 for the intersect ons.
As it is the assessment is not sufficient
todo any more paving in the current
city year which began the first of
September.
Dead and gone councils have order
cd paving and other city improve
ments without considering at all
the sums on hand to pay the contrac
tors with. Tho present council, to
gether with the citizens whom it rep
resents have J i.st passed through five
very lean years wherein the extrava
gance of their predecessors has dome
heavily upon t'-.em. All thoughtful
citizens are hoping that the lessons of
adversity have been learned by the
council and that it will not vote pav.
ing that there Is no money to pay for.
However wretched and uncomfortable
the condition of the streets, there is
ssmothing worse, and that is bank
ruptcy and the Imposition of burdens
on the succeeding decade. The clamor
In the daily newspapers for paving Is
but clamor, and there arc no serious
consequences from Ignoring it. On the
other hand the consequences of over
drawing an account and borrowing
money that is not actually needed
and which there Is no prospect of pay
ing are writ largo in the biographies
of all spendthrifts whether It be a
spendthrift city or a spendthrift heir.
Bankruptcy and a poverty ten times
more bitter than that which the loan
was contracted to prevent ure inevit
able Besides the spendthrift council
who borrows expects that an entirely
different council will be called upon
to pay. The recklessness of moulder
ing councils bus driven Lincoln to a
poverty which has prevented und
will prevent her flora enjoying to the
full the new era of prosperity which
lias dawned full upon more conserva
tively and economically administered
tOWLS.
The Official Organ of the N. F. W. C.
Tho presidents of about sixty wo
men's clubs assembled at York last
week passed a resolution that The
Courier be adopted as the official
organ of the Nebraska Federation of
Womcns' Clubs. This resolution
which was more in the way of a rec
ommendation was ratified by the
delegates of the federation on the fol
lowing day.
Considering the imperfection of all
earthly things, considering that no
flower, of all the billions that bloom,
Is perfect, I do not believe that the
clubwomen of Nebraska will be en
tliely satisfied with The Courier as
an organ. 1 ho department of clubs
will be conducted by Mrs. Iticketts,
the state chairman of correspondence,
who has been the able editor of that
department for a year. I hope every
club secretary In the state will send
her the enrrentclub year book so that
she may become familar with the
nbject and occupation of each club.
These year books will also aid in the
compilation of the calendar which is
published at the head of the club de
partment of 1 he Courier.
At the sess'ons of State federations
the object and result already accom
plished by women's clubs and by the
State and United States federation is
more apparent than in the fortnight
ly meetings of the component clubs.
To one who has attended the five an
nual meetings of the Stato Federa
tion tlio growth of tlio bond of union
which exists between the clubs In
different parts or the state, the dc
ve'opment of sympathy and of under
standing and of friendliness between
them is tho most satisfactory result
of the federation. At the first and
second meeting of the Federation tho
desire to be acquainted and to work
together was apparent. But it was
then only an aspiration. The five
year's association has familiarized
every attentive club woman with tho
plan of work and tho pcrsoncllc of
every club in the state, from the
Zetetic of Weeping Water to the Wo
man's Club of Omaha. Acquaintance,
co-operation and unity must precede
any evolution of the sort tho women's
clubs were organized to accomplish.
That it has been effectively accom
lished In five years is a commentary
on the breadth of view and charity
of Nebraska women.
. The clubs need an official organ to
keep alive the interest so unmistak
ably manifested during tho state fed
eration meeting. Whether The
Courier can be of value to the clubs
of the stato depends quite as much
upon the members of clubs as upon
tho editors of tho paper who are
pledged for a year to serve the in
terests of clubs to tho extent of their
ability and knowledge. But it is a
subject which has two cuds and how
ever high this end bo lifted, the ot'ier
will remain prone upon tho ground
unless the club vvomeii of tho stato
co-operate with the publisher of Tlio
Courier. Letters written by the
Piesldentof tho Federation to the
membership will tall to reach their
address unless the membership of the
state take the paper and the calendar
will not be valuable unless It bo a
comp'ete record of the work the clubs
of the state are doing
At present not more than a fifth of
the circulation of The Courier, so far
as a publisher can judge, take it on
account of the cl.ib news and com
ment. It depends entirely upon the
club women of tho state whether tho
club department of the'r official or
gan shall be enlarged and made an
adequato expression of the needs and
achievements of more than three
thousand Nebraska club womcii.Thcir
subvert ptivnsjeports and Interest will
make it a paper noted umong the
state official organs of til s country as
they themselves supply inspiration
and examples of the best type of club
wbmen to the General Federation.
But unless the c'ub women do take an
Interest in The Courier and contrib
ute their subscriptions and reports
the title, O.licial Organ of the Ne
braska Stato Federation of Women's
Clubs Is an empty one and after a
year's trial If tin rasu'ts are unsatis
factory to tlio club women- the pub
lisher .vlil be unwilling to wear it
longer without deserving It.
Dewey's Victory.
Philosophers who deprecate, exag
geration are insisting that the battle
of Manila Bay should not bo classed
among the great battles and victories
of history. They insist that it was
an aleatory victory and that the
achievement showed no greater
genius than Commodore Sampson's or
Schley's battle in the Atlantic ocean.
Temperate, reasonable folk said tho
same thing about General Grant's
first victories. Afterwards when tho
number of battles lie won destroyed
the theory of chance the audience
who stayed at home for the purposo
of explaining the campaign to simpler
people with enthusiasms, admitted
that General Grant was a militury
genius.
Now the victory of Manila Bay was
preceded by systematic target prac
tice and drill. Every man In the
fleet was under the direct inspiration
of Commodore Dewey and every ship
in the fleet maneuvered according vto
his plans. Between him and the
enptuins and crew of every ship there
was a complete understanding. The
captains understood the general plan
of action in case of un engagement
and the crews understood that the
Commodore knew tlio capacity of
every ship and had ordered the drill
ing and target practice or the salloiH
and murines in order to accomplish
a definite purpise. 'Ah a fighting