The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, May 26, 1919, Page 8

f it it ) 1 of military age and to make of America a per- manent military camp. s 3—Natural resources: To block the “grab” by business interests of our great sources of natural wealth and to induce the government - and the states to develop these rich mineral lands. 4—Shipping: To keep our merchant marine and to prevent the shipping trust from gain- ing control of this property, which has cost the people billions of dollars. 5—RaiRoads: To assure their efficient oper- ation and to provide for their consolidation and for elimination of speculation in railroad stocks and securities. If we fail to control the profits of natural mo- nopolies, it is useless to tax them, because they will continually throw the burden on the consumer. This is the cause of the great increase in costs of every- thing we eat, use and wear. The more congress taxes the interests, the more the people, who al- ways pay the freight, are assessed. This in itself - is ‘one of the greatest arguments for public owner- ship of public utilities, all of which are natural monopolies. These are just a few of the problems that con- front the next congress. I believe there is intel- "ligence enough in this country, if it comes to- gether, to solve these problems in a manner to give greater opportunity to the average American, instead of centralizing the whole wealth of the na- tion in the hands of the already overprivileged few. The League and the Nebraska Session Nonpartisans Fight to Save Primary Law by Referendtim—Legislature Defeats People’s Will—Passes Reactionary Measures By Special Correspondent ROUSED by the at- | tempt of the re- cent Nebraska leg- islature to kill the direct primary la w, Nonpartisan league farmers have invoked a referendum move- ment to undo the reactionary work of the lawmakers. At the last election in Nebraska a Republican governor and an over- whelmingly Republican legislature were elected as a protest against the attitude of a standpat Democratic governor and the persecution of farm- ers and others by the notorious Ne- braska State Council of Defense. There was hope for a time among Nebraska progressives that the new governor and legislators might have profited by the lessons of the past. But the result of the .recent session does not indicate that the politicians learned anything. Here are a few of the things that the late legislature did: Passed a law providing that all candidates - for state office, below the office of governor, are to be nominated at old-time, boss-con- trolled conventions. This is the measure which the -League is seeking to have referred to a vote of the people at a referendum election. ‘Killed the co-operative banking bill to allow the establishment of banks owned by the peo- ple, and also, at the behest of the bankers, passed a bill that will deprive any new bank, for a period of two years, of the protection of the bank guaranty act. As new banks will not be able to guarantee deposits this will pre- vent competition to the existing banks of the state and will work more than ever to the benefit of a banking monopoly. GIVES GOVERNOR CHANCE FOR POLITICAL MACHINE Passed a civil code bill, which puts prac- tically all state boards and bureaus under con- trol of the governor, allowing him to build up a great political machine. The secretary of each bureau is to receive a salary of $5,000. ] Establshed a' new 1%-mill levy to build a new capitol, further adding to the already bur- densome state taxes. Killed all important labor bills. Killed bill creating state trade commission. Killed bill providing for state development and ownership of waterpower. Killed bill ex- empting farm improvements from taxation. Killed bill pro- viding for state ownership of stockyards. Killed bill pro- viding for state inspection of grading and dockage. The only bills passed in the inter- ests of the farmers and the people gen- erally were a grain exchange bill, in- tended to open the who will act in their interests. ] ‘“hand-picked” by a corrupt convention they will serve the in- terests that selected them. That is why it is so important that the people of Nebraska should continue to select ALL their state officials, and not merely their governor. Nebraska citizen who believes that the rights of the people are superior to the rights of special private interests will sign the referendum petition to allow the Standpat legislators in Nebraska, like those of Minnesota, - Montana and Idaho, attempted to kill the direct primary. They passed a law providing that all state officers exeept governor are to be nominated by the old convention system. The plea is made that these offices are “unimportant” and that the people are not interested in them. The interests behind this plan are the street railway, gas, electric light, telephone, ele- vator and stockyard interests that want to get special privi- leges from members of the state railway commission, insur- ance companies that want a “friendly” state auditor, and cor- porate malefactors generally who want an attorney general people to vote on this vicious law. membership of the Omaha Grain exchange to farm- ers’ co-operative associations, a co-operative credit association law based on the North Carolina law, and two or three bills making easier the municipal ownership of public utilities. : These last named - measures were backed by League men. Although the League membership in the legislature was small in numbers, it con- sisted of men who were fearless fighters for the people. It is due largely to the efforts of these men—Senator W. J. Taylor and Representatives Schmidt, Strong, Lang, Johnson, Jacobs and Fries , —that the record of the Nebraska legislature was not much worse. There were a number of other independent pro- gressives in the legislature who acted with the League men—such men as Senator Swanson and Representatives Porter, Howard, Hedges and Lau- ritzen. In fact, the League caucus—a meeting held weekly at which all true progressives were welcomed and at which legislative problems were talked over freely and frankly— was the nucleus of the whole pro- gressive movement in Nebraska. The alliance of progressives, al- though exerting a healthy in- fluence by calling attention of the public to many dangerous bills, was not strong enough i L to prevent the passage of et . the bill to mutilate the direct primary. But the people of At a time when the people were burdened with heavier taxes than ever before, the Ne- braska legislature passed a levy of 1!, mills to build a new capitol. the legislature refused to authorize the state to acquire control of waterpower development and stockyards, both of which were sought by League members of the legislature and other progressives in the body as constructive investments and sorely needed by -the people. PAGE EIGHT If these officials are carefully At the same time, the state of Nebraska may be trusted to remedy the mistake that their law- makers made. To stop the proposed law from go- ing into effect, 23,000 signatures must be obtained to referendum pe- titions. If these signatures can be obtained in time, the law will not go into effect, but will be submitted to the people of the state at the next general election. There is no doubt that the people will kill this vicious measure if they once get a chance at it. PEOPLE SNOWED UNDER REACTIONARY GOVERNOR The people of Nebraska are as pro- gressive and independent as those of any state in the Union. They showed it last fall when, aroused at the in- justice of the council of defense, which _ tried to bar the Nonpartisan league from the state, they snowed under the Democratic governor who appoint- ed that body. Governor McKelvie and the Republican legisla- ture that were elected as a result of this protest on the part of the people had an extraordinary chance to make good. They have overlooked this chance. Governor McKelvie has been more inter- ested, apparently, in building up a strong political machine, in the hope that he can thus control the politics of the state, than in paying attention to the real wishes of the residents of Nebraska. One other action of the Nebraska legislature was the calling of a constitutional convention. This move was backed by different men for different reasons:’ By the standpatters because they thought : they might control the constitutional convention that will be elected this fall and draw up a “safe and sane” constitution; by the progressives because they hope to elect their men and draw up a con- stitution in the interests of the people, broad and liberal enough so that in the course of time Ne- braska can take the same advanced steps in the interests of its farmers and workingmen that North Dakota has taken. Since the adjournment of the legislature the progressives of the state, including Nonpartisan leaguers, members of the Grange and Farmers’ union, representatives of organized labor and other independents have organized the “constitutional convention committee,” designed to see to it that the right men are elected to the constitutional con- vention. A statement issued by the committee says: “The purpose of this committee is not to dictate what shall be put in the constitution, g but rather to guard against vicious sec- i tions being put in by the predatory in- terests. Thus the first battle is to be in the selection of candidates. The consti- tution must be short and concise, leav- ing legislative matters to be dealt with by the legislature. The interests will, of course, want a long-winded document, with enough riders to give the supreme . courts of the future every possible ex- cuse to knock out remedial laws.” With such a purpose every member of the Nonpartisan league in Nebraska can be in agreement. % The most influential dailies and farm papers and most of the leading progressive political thinkers of Nebras- ka are behind this movement. Primaries for the convention will be held in Sep- tember and the election of delegates in November. The convention will m early next year. i Every i J., Al T Gl i < | 1 1 % S 7 TR SRR G 7T % PR B ! e TN AR R D T A AR RN S S RS 1 TS T S e R A T G I ST :qiv«&m-‘."‘*?_&&‘uu...r&mufl g SO R %