Til K CO Pit IE It
-
IN THE REALM OF
POLITICS
UiEWEIJAX I.. LINDSEY.
Recently Appointed Surveyor of the
port of Lincoln.
JUDGE J. B. BARNES, of Norfolk.
Appointed a Member of the Nebraska
Supreme Court Commission.
The next surveyor of the port of
Lincoln will be Llewellyn L. Lindsey.
The poit of Lincoln is a government
fiction. There is no actual port here,
but there are quite a number of Lin
coln merchants who purchase goods
from abroad and for their convenience
a customs service has been established
at Lincoln, with a bonded warehouse,
a surveyor and collector.
The oflice of surveyor and collector
pays $'J00 a year in salary. In addi
tion a three per cent commission is
allowed, which adds an average of
about $1100 more. The surveyor is also
custodian of the government building,
a duty formerly devolving upon the
postmaster, but for this he receives
no added compensation. The duties of
the ollice are not exacting, and as the
government allows a clerk, its occu
pant can find time to look after his
private business. If it is not too ex
acting in character.
Mr. Lindsey is a native of Frank
fort, Kentucky, but he has been a resi
dent of Lincoln since September, 1S77.
He came to Lincoln from Chicago to
take the place of head waiter at the
Commercial hotel, then operated by
Joseph J. Imhoff. In Chicago Mr.
Lindsey was third head waiter at the
Tremont house. He remained with Mr.
Imhoff for a number of years, after
wards engaging in business for himself.
He is at present the proprietor of one
of the largest retail cigar and news
stores In the city.
Bud" Lindsey, as he is familiarly
known, is a natural born politician.
He began taking an interest in the
game when a boy of seventeen, and as
a reward for participation in a lively
municipal contest in Frankfort was
appointed street lighter, a contract
which he promptly sublet at profit to
himself. The only other public oflice
he has ever held was street commis
sioner under Mayor Frank Graham.
Previous to Mr. Lindsey's occupancy of
that oflice its affairs were run in a
slipshod manner, leaving open an
avenue to fraud in the way of padding
the pay roll. He promptly established
business methods, cut down the ex
penses of the department and added
greatly to its efficiency.
Mr. Lindsey has long been recog
nized as one of the ablest political
tacticians in the county. He served
two years as a member of the state
committee, and during half of his resi
dence here has been on either or both
the county and city committees. Fi
delity to his friends and staunch ad
herence to a promise once given are
the two distinguishing characteristics
of his career as a politician, ere are
many men who pose as pclven s Who
promise everything to oo. Carjy and
redeem only such p'ng. is seem
to them best for their . Jal Inter
ests. They seldom last long, ignominy
and execration beingtheirdesc rved fate.
Bud Lindsey is not one of them, and
the best test of his character is found
in the fact that the better he is known
the more highly is he esteemed. Es
pecially is this the case with those who
have known him only as the bogie man
created by the reformers but who find
him out afterwards for what he is.
Mr. Lindsey has brains, honesty, truth
and stability.
He has helped many a man in this
county and city to high places, but his
rewards have been meagre. He has
richly earned the place that is soon to
be his, and none who know him be
grudge him either the honor or the
salary.
Judge John R. Barnes of Norfolk, re
cently appointed as supreme court
commissioner to till the vacancy
caused by the succession of Commis
sioner Sedgwick to the supreme hem h.
is one of the best known lawyers in
Nebraska.
An index to his character and stand
ing is evidence by the extremejy large
vote he received in the last republi
can state convention, when, in compe
tition with such jurists as Judges
Keysor, Sedgw ick and Davidson, he re
ceived a vote rivalling theirs in num
ber. The strong endorsement he re
ceived afterwards at the hands of the
state bar is only an added testimonial
to his ability and character.
Mr. Barnes has been identified with
northeastern Nebraska from her earli
est days. At Ponca where he formerly
resided, and at Norfolk, where lie has
lived for sixteen years, no man stands
higher than Judge Barnes. At Ponca.
he served two years as county at
torney, and when E. K. Valentine was
elected to congress the first time Gov
ernor Nance made John B. Barnes a
district judge. At the end of that term
he was elected for four years more.
Mr. Barnes is a native of Ohio, nnl
as a boy enlisted in the light artillery
and served his term as a soldier. loiter
he studied law. but was not admitted
to the bar until he came to Nebraska.
J
C t-C iT
"When Judge Ben Baker heard the
news the other day that he had been
confirmed as judge of the federal court
for New Mexico, he told a correspond
ent sitting by that if the senate judi
ciary committee had known him better
they would not have acceded so unani
mously. Everybody who knows Ben will cor
dially agree with him in this senti
ment. Few men in Nebraska politics
have such sincere friends and such bit
ter enemies as Ben Baker. His friends
have been the more powerful in the
past, but his circle of enemies has
never materially diminished. .Mr.
Baker is a man who has looked out for
No. 1. meaning thereby Ben S. Baker,
every hour. If he ever coveted an of
fice he was never backward about Hay
ing so. He early learned that no mat
ter how good and worthy a man was.
lie never achieved place anil power by
tailing attention to his noble tialities;
that the watchword of success in poli
tics was hustle, and to keep hustling.
He discovered before he was long in
the arena that the nominations did not
always go to the best man. but to the
fellow who knew what wires Were
necessary to be pulled ami who could
best do the pulling.
Baker is not yet fifty years of age.
yet sixteen of the twenty-nine since
lie reached his majority possibly more,
.is (he returns are not all in yet have
he n spent in tile pay of the public,
lie was barely twenty-one when he ran
for his first oflice, that of county sup
erintendent of schools at Webster City,
Iowa. Previous to that he had been a
school teacher, studying law between
times. Here is his record so far as
history has embalmed it:
Four years as county superintendent
at Webster City, la.
Two years as representative from
Jefferson county. Neb.
Four years as United States district
attorney for Nebraska.
Six years as district judge of Douglas
county. Neb.
Raker is a man of force and energy.
As a mixer and as a campaigner he
ranks high. He is a glib talker, but not
an orator. His speech before the last
republican state convention, which he
piesided over as temporary chairman,
was tiresome and inordinately long.
His vanity suffered its severest shock
when the convention compelled him.
by its mark of dissent, to cut it short.
Baker achieved some fame as the
man who sentenced Hartley to prison.
He gave him twenty years, one short
of the maximum. At the time anil
many times since it has been freely
charged that Baker was influenced to
hit Hartley so hard because he thought
he saw in it a chance to make himself
governor and possibly United States
senator, for there never has been a
limit to Baker's ambition. His ex
coriation of Hartley was in marked
contrast with his action as the prose
cutor of Charley Mosher. He was
I'nited States district attorney then
and he used his influence to get Mosh
er off as light as possible. Mosher was
a man of might in 'those days and
Raker was looking to the future. Yet
Mosher's crime brought many times
the distress to Nebraska people that
Hartley's did. To have prosecuted
Mosher rigorously would not have en
hanced Raker's political fortunes, to
sentence Hartley to twenty years, he
thought, would make him great in the
eyes of his fellow-citizens. He never
succeeded in getting close to the goal
upon which his eyes were then fixed,
and while he has never given up hope,
his active ambition sought new fields
to conquer. He wanted to be congress
man. To sidetrack him Dave Mercer
got him named as federal judge for
New Mexico.
A carpetbag official is never very
popular, but Raker will not mind that
in New Mexico. His first care will be
to make himself solid with the people
down there. This he can do because
he is a man of winning personality, a
good fellow and a hustler. He will
soon find out who make men in that
territory, and when the day comes that
New Mexico is admitted into the sister
hood of states, watch out for Ben
Baker as one of her United States sen
ators. If any doubt of his ability to
get there exists, a survey of his career
in Omaha will brush it away. When
he w?s named as district attorney he
lived in Fairbury. The duties of his
oflice called him to Omaha and there
he took up his residence. He was a
carpetbagger there, but he wasn't out
of ollice two years before he landed a
district judgeship. So my advice to
aspiring republicans in New Mexico is
to watch Baker.
National Committeeman R. B.
Schneider is down at "Washington
again. Mr. Schneider Is as secretive
as ever. He glides Into town, moves
about In a mysterious way. shuns the
reporters and If they corral him he Is
non-coimmiuicative. Mr. Schneider
doesn't believe In carrying on his polit
ical business with a brass band ac
companiment. He Is, perhaps, the iwrtt
representative Nebraska has in the line
of gum-shoe statemen a term used to
designate those politicians who work
quietly and silently. His present mis
sion Is understood to be for the purpose
of settling the Grand Island and Fie
MHUit postofllce controversy. W. II. II.
Harrison, the Nasby of the Hall county
capital, was an offensive aiitl-Thomp-sou
partisan during the last senatorial
campaign. He came here early .mil
worked late to defeat the Lincoln
man's ambition. Harrison Is a rough
and ready sort of politician but he has
a cunning brain and Is resourceful
Whether he can succeed in holding oil
at Grand Island in spite of Ids record
is a question that is of interest, but It
is no wise of such importance as would
Justify its being made a state Issue.
It Is understood in political circles
that the senators have decided on
Swanson as postmaster at Fremont,
but whether Mr. Schneider can over
turn this and get some one else in onl
the future will prove. Ross Hammond
says the whole trouble lies in I. I.
Richards' jealousy of Schneider and
takes this crack at his old-time ally.
"The trouble was two months ago
amicably arranged between the pa
triots wiio want the postofllce (that is
to say, between two of them, for there
are a host of others who would be glad
to take it if they saw it coming their
way), but this one Jealous man would
not stand for a kind of harmony that
didn't have his brand blown In the
bottle, though it fixed his vacillating
candidate all right. This sort of evi
dence of a determination to have a
tight almost made me mad. I couldn't
help thinking at that time that the
jealous man made an exhibition of
himself. Since then nearly everybody
in Fremont has said so and many let
ters from outside hae been received
to the same effect. You will therefore
readily see on whose shoulders rests
the resiMinsibility for disturbing the
peace. And it will be made plainer
when I tell you that this man's can
didate was slated for another position.
He had the promise of those high In
authority and would. In due course,
have been cared for and greatly re
lieved. Rut the man behind the can
didate spat on his hands and shoved
him into the fray and the man has
been having a blamed hard time keep
ing the candidate under control.
The jealous man referred to has said
of another man brought Into the fray
by his endorsement of another can
didate, that 'he is getting too d 1 big
for the town" and so he. the jealous
man, is doing his best to prune him
down to his own size. "Wouldn't that
cork you? This Is a good town, but it
needs five hundred more big men, men
too big to get anything 'up their nose
when they see others passing them in
the race of life."
Loyalty to his friends has ahvavs
been one of D. E. Thompson's strong
points. Recent appointments in Ne
braska demonstrate that he is still
hewing along this line. When he was
running for senator last winter he had
the advice and counsel of a strong ar
ray of republicans. Among these were
E. B. Stephenson. E. R. Sizer. W. II.
Dorgan, A. R. Cruzen, W. A. Green, L
L. Lindsey and Alva E. Kennard.
Since then Mr. Stephenson has been
made United States revenue collector.
Mr. Sizer is to be iostmaster. Mr. Dor
gan's brother is in the revenue service.
Mr. Cruzen has been named as a com
missioner to Porto Rico, Mr. Green is
to be register of the Lincoln land office.
Mr. Lindsey has been named surveyor
of the port of Lincoln and Mr. Ken
nard is to be receiver of public moneys
in this city. There were others, but
their rewards, if they desire any, will
doubtless come later.
Among Mr. Thompson's supporters
was Senator VanBoskirk of Alliance
VanBoskirk has had his eye on the
land oflice at Alliance for some time,
and he has just returned from "Wash
ington, where he went to get the sup
port of the two senators. It Is said
that Senator Dietrich has not agreed
to help VanBoskirk. and if he doesn't
there is likely to be an explosion. The
oflice of register Is now held by F. M
Dorrington. His term does not expire
until next August, and meanwhile the
senators refuse to commit themselves
for any man.