Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, February 23, 1903, Page 4

OMAHNA DAILY BEE: MONDAY. FEBRUARY 2 THE ©OMAHA DAILY BEE B. ROSEWATER, EDITOR. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTIO Dailly Bee (without Sunday), One ¥ Dally Bee and Sunday, One Year.. lllustrated Bee, Une Year Bunday Pee. Baturaay Be ar.. . Twentieth C ury Farmer, DELIVERED BY CARRIER. Dally Bee (without Bunday), per copy.... 26 Daily Bee (without Sunday), yer week...13c Dally Bee (ncluding Sundayy per week..17c Bunday Bee, per copy . . 80 " Sunday), pe & Bee (without (including Sunday), ing Hee week . Complain ehould be pa@ment. i irreglilar dressed to City Circulation De- OFFICES. Omaha—The Bee Bullding. South Omana—City Hall Bullding, Twen- ty-fifth and M Streets. Councll Blufts—10 Pear] Street. Chicago—16# Unity Bullding. fork-2s Park Row Bullding. Washington—1 Fourteenth Street. CORRESPONDENCE. Communications relating to news and ed- ftorial matter should be addressed: Omaha Bee, Editorial Department. REMITTANCES. Remit by draft, express or postal ordor, ZAYRNQ to The Bee Publishing Company. nly 2-cent stamps accepted in payment of mall accounts. ‘ersonal checks, except on Omaha ot eastern exchange, not accepted. THE BEE PUBLIBHING COMPANY. STATEMENT OF CIRCULATION. State of Nebraska, Douglas County, se.: George B. Tezechuck, secretary of The Bee Publishing company, being duly aworn, says that the actual number of full and complete coples of The Dally, Morning, Evening and Sunday Bee printed during the month of January, 108, was as follows: sgEpREESSE Less unsold and returned coples. Net total sales.. Net average sales GEORGE B. TZSCHUCK. Bubscribed in my presence and sworn to before me this Slst day of January, A. D. U M. B. HUNGATE, (Seal.) ‘Notary Publlc. It was a hatchet club, not a knock- er's club, that George Washington es: tablished. If all paper plans only materialize Omaha experience a brisk bullding season as soon as the cold weather de- parts. W——— Perhaps the legislature does not want to look into that Bartley cigar box for fear it might find something it is hunt- ing for. It seems that the more patching the proposed revenue bill recelves at the hands of the joint committee the worse it gets. S— The Rockefeller experience justifies the admonition that telegrams should be in the same class with letters with the politiclans. This practice of promiscuous shooting | hereabouts must not be allowed to be- come a Habit. Some of the stray bullets may stray in the wron“d.lrecuon. ' Eeeia—— The latroduction by Senator Hanna of & bill to pension ex-slaves lends color to the suspicion that Walter Raleigh Vaughn must be lurking somewhere in the neighborhood of the national capi- tal e——— ,General Miles has been entertalning Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces In- dians at his residence in Washington. General Miles gave him a livelier en- tertainment in the wilds of New Mex- ico and Arizona some twenty years ago. ———— On a basis of one representative for every 10,000 population Douglas county would be entitled to more than thirteen representatives and four state senators, proposed in the McAllister apportion- ment .blll. Still, small favors will be thankfully received. 1t is sald the experiment with the new postage stamps is not proving as suc-.| cessful as was expected, especially with reference to the design for the two-cent stamp. The Postoffice department should get a stamp that will stick and then stick to the stamp. ESmm————— Tt seems that the corporation lobby is growing with the advauce of the ses- slon, raflroad cappers being called In from all parts of the state. If our law- makers want to maintain themselves be- yond suspicion they will send the pald lobbyists an invitation to go home, e It we would belleve the hot air emitted by John N. Baldwin, as chief of the Union Pacific lobby, the rallroads are so fearful that they will not pay enough taxes In the rural districts that they are willlng to spend money to make sure the opportunity is not taken away from them, Why should a member from Dodge county be concerned in the detalls of the South Omaha charter, anyway, that he should prepare amendments to be bitched onto it In committee designed to relieve the rallroads from paying mu- nicipal taxes the same as other property owgers? A Word from Washington is to the ef- fect that there is no chance for any land leasing legislation during the remainder of the fast ebbing session of cougre: People out here, however, will belleve that the edict for the fences to come down is to be enforced when the fences are down. eEETT—————— Whatever may be done with the bill to extend the life of the supreme court commission nothing should be done that will prevent the enlargement of the su. preme court by the addition of two more judges at the earliest possible time. One of the influences that helped defeat the constitutional amendment in- creasing the number of supreme judges in 1806 was traceable to the members of the old supreme court commission who waated to bold :A L No STEP BACKWARD. The citizens of Omaha are rightly aroused over the attempt on the part of the franchised corporations to smug gle into the new revenue bill a provi- slon that would undo all the reforms accomplished In the direction of the as- gesement of municipal franchises that previously escaped taxation. The pro- posal to make the assessment basis for the franchises of these public service corporations one year's gross receipts in- stead of the actusl market value has nothing whatever to.commend it. It le purely arbitrary and fictitlous and di- rectly contravenes the letter and spirit of the constitution, which requires all properties and franchises to be assessed equitably and uniformly. There is no more reason why one year's gross receipts should be taken to represent the value of the franchise of one of the public service corpora- tions than_that six months' earnings should be taken, or that two year's earnings should be taken. The gross earnings of such a eorporation has no definite relation to the value of its spe- clal privileges. Two corporations with the same amount of tangible property and the same gross receipts might, in fact, be worth on the market the one several times more than the other. This much it is safe to say, that if the pro- posed change did not mean that the franchised corporations would escape some of the taxes they are now com- pelled to pay they would not be advo- cating a change. This is a matter that affects not only Omaha but every city in the state and it affects not only the people of the citles, but the taxpayers everywhere. All this property enters into the grand assessment roll of the state, and to allow any part of it to avold assess- ment on the same basis as the other property simply shifts the burden of taxation to other property owners. If the joint revenue committee has acted ignorantly in this matter it should re- consider and ‘retrace its steps. If the committee persists in reporting the bill with the provision for the substitution of gross receipts for market values as the basis of franchise assessment, it will devolve upon the legislature to strike out the obnoxious clause when it comes up before the two houses ———— THE CLUB THAT DOES. “The greatest thing in Kansas Oity, chief maker of Kansas City, its prophet, apostle and crowner, is the club that does. The Commercial club is the title of it.” So writes H. Alloway, the well known financlal editor of the New York Times, who has been making a tour of the southwest to find that the Kansas City Commercial club has been the chief factor of the marvelous growth and prosperity of that city. That this was 4 revelation to the man of the east goes without saying, for he waxes even more enthusiastic as he continues: It is not merely in the bringing of new manufactories to employ labor, utilize raw material and distribute pay rolls; it is not merely in the development of plans for ex- panding mercantile connections that this organization is industrious. Along those lines it does wonders, but its fleld 1s broader. Not less conspicuous in its char- acter is the campaign waged constantly for municipal cleanliness. Through it has started plans for a public park system great in acreage and greater still in its developing beautification—close to $3,000,000 has al- ready been invested in it, with $3,000,000 more to be speedily able. Falr record this for a western river town whose assets and credits were texts for jocularity a decade and less ago. The writer goes on to tell how under Kansas City's leadership every town and hamlet of consequence in the south- west has hastened—and that enthusias- tically—to establish home champlonship organizations of the same type. “In twenty alert towns of western and northern Missouri, of Kansas and Okla- boma and Texas, and even in the quon- dam quletude of Arkansas—in towns that I have been personally visiting— this Commercial club idea is not merely accepted but has come to be controlling. Thus Kansas City has actually sten- cilled the whole southwest over.” It is not with the special intention of paying tribute to Kansas Oity as the home of live and hustling business men that The Bee calls attention to this de- lightful description. It is to remind the business men of Omaha of the opportu- nities their Commercial club can have if its members will only cut loose from the strings that have held them to inaction in too many matters of vital concern to the well belng and progress of Omaha. If our Commercial club will only set about it it can furnish a text for eastern newspapers as well as Kansas City. E——— 4 NEGLECTED COMMERCE. The officlal statement of the foreign commerce of the United States for 1902 shows that no progress is belng made in securing South American trade. In- deed, it appears that while our imports from ‘the southern countries have been steadily growing our exports to them last year were not as much in value as twelve years ago. lere Is a great market, from which we buy heavily, the imporfs from South America amounting last year to about $120,000,- 000, yet our manufacturers and mer- chants were able to sell there only §38,- 000,000 worth of merchandise, or less than one-third of what we bought. It Is very apparent that this market, which is steadily growlng in fmpor tance, is not being cultivated as it should be by American manufacturers and merchants, that they are doing lit- tle or nothing to compete with the Brit- ish and Germans in South America, or else that they are at such a disadvan- tage that their efforts are futile. There is ove important respect in which un- doubtedly they are at a disadvantage, which is the want of lines of American vessels salling frequently acd regularly to all ‘the principal South American ports. Mr. McKinley polnted this out, saying that “one of the peeds of the times is direct commerclal lines from our vast fields of production to the fields of consumption that we bave but barely touched.” He declared that next in ad- vantage to having the thing to sell 1s to have the convenience to carry it to the buyer and therefore we must en- courage our merchant marine and have more ships under the American flag, bullt and ranned and owned by Ameri cans. It is not to be doubted, if the testimony of South Americans them- selves is of any value, that much would be gained in the way of trade if we had steamship lines sailing frequently and regularly to the more important South American ports, but that is not a promise of the near future. Undoubt- edly there are other and quite as seri- ous disadvantages that may be reme- died in time, When we are seeking markets for our surplus manufactures the fact that we are making no progress in the large and valuable markets south of us seems very remarkable. British and German trade with those countries steadily grows and it appears like a reflec- tlon upon American energy and enter- prise that there s no increase in our South American commerce, p——— FREEDOM OF DEBATE There was an interesting and some- what instructive discussion in the Uni- ted States senate a few days ago on the old question of unrestricted debate in that body. It was brought about by a proposition that the senate agree upon a time for closing debate on the statehood bill. While the discussion was not general, there was enough to make plain the fact that a large ma- Jority of the senators are opposed to placing any restriction on debate. Men of both parties favor the largest lati- tude of discussion. Senaor Spooner and Senator Lodge advocated it on the part of the republicans and the views they expressed were concurred in by such democratic senators as Cockrell and Ba- con. Senator Lodge sald that when he went to the senate from the house of repre- sentatives he was strongly prejudiced in favor of vigorous and prompt methods of closing debate. He had since reached the conclusion that the practice of the senate is on the whole a wise one and the safest system for the country and for the general interests of the government. Senator Bacon said there are three dis- tinguishing features of the senate which Justify terming it the greatest delibera- tive body In the world and the chief of these is the right to unlimited de- bate. The arguments of these senators, however, were not entirely convincing, for they were compelled to admit that under the prevalling practice the will of the majority may be defeated and this fs certainly not consistent with our republican system. There Is no doubt that the statehood bill, if brought to a vote, would pass, but the minority has kept up the discussion of that meas- ure with the avowed purpose of talk- Ing it to death. In the case of the Pan- ama canal treaty the right of unlimited debate is delaying ratification and this delay is due almost wholly to a single senator, there being no question that more than the necessary ‘two-thirds of the senate would vote for ratification. In this the popular will as well as that of a majority of the senate is be- ing baffled, yet as long as Senator Mor- gan is able to talk he can olistruct ac- tion on the treaty. It Is pretty difi- cult to find any sound defense or justi- fication for such a system in a re- public. But it will be adhered to untll, as was sald by Senator Mason, “the peo- ple of the United States so shape their constitution that the senators will owe their seats to, and answer directly to, the peonle, who ought to elect the sena- tors.” The time will assuredly come when the people will insist, in a way that cannot be dlsregarded, that there shall be some limit placed upon debate in the senate, so that a few senators shall not be able as now to obstruct and even defeat legislation favored by the majority. The fact that the exist- ing practice has prevailed for nearly a century is no justification of it and does Dot relleve it of the charge of being essentially unrepublican, e In a Chicago court a verdict for dam- ages has just been recovered against a surgeon, who undertook to perform an operation on a patient without first se- curing the assent of the patient or law- ful representative, and the outrome of the suit has stirred up a vigorous dis- cussion of the lengths to which med- fcal men may go in a professional ca- pacity In the use of the surgeon’s knife. All the experts agree that the patient’s consent should by all means be a con- ditlon precedent, except possibly where his condition requires immediate action, Justifying the surgeon In using his own Judgment and accepting responsibility for his decision. At the same time there is no question but that over-eagerness to use the knife is altogether too preva- lent in the profession and that the de- cislon In question should have a whole some effect in putting the brake on rash experiments. EE—— The defeat of the county commis- sloner bill means that the county court house In Douglas county will remain In the hands of the democrats until the re- publicans choose men as candidates for commissioner who can command the support of a majority of the people in their own districts. There are plenty of republicans in every one of the five dis- tricts, with possibly one exception, who can carry thelr respective district: Douglas county republicans may as well make up their minds now if they hope to regain control of the county offices to put up the bars against weaklings for these important positions. One by one the legislatures of the va- rious states are adopting resolutions calllng for a constitutional convention to propose an amendment to the federal constitution for the election of United States sepators by the diréet vote of the people. When the Ust is made up v it will be found that the states joining this movement will be perflously near the number required by the constitu- tion. Congress might as well get ready to act. —_— Give the legislature credit for mani- festing a disposition to insist on fire- proof construction in all new bulld- ings for state institutions. . Nebraska has lost enongh by firetraps, to say nothing of what s still more serious, the exposure of the lives of helpless and dependent wards of the state. When- ever the state builds let it bufld In a substantial manner. General James B. Weaver Is already casting about with a view to. landing the democratic nomination for governor of Towa next fall. General Weaver has been a standing candidate for about everything on the political calendar. If the Towa democrats find themselves compelled to fall back on this perennial office hunter they must be in hard lines indeed. Rounding Up “Easy Marks.” ] ‘Washington Post. Tie E. J. Arngld Investment company has 156 agents on the road soliciting suck- ers. It evidently went on the theory that & sucker is worth going after. ‘Whittled to a Polnt, Indlanapolis News. In brief, Judge Grosscup holds that men that buy beef in one state and another are engaged in inters merce, even it they themselves say that they are not. Worth Rightly Rewarded. St. Louls Republic. Mr. Cortelyou's confirmation as secretary of commerce s a cause of general sat- action to the pation, which formed a strong friendship for him during several years of capable service, Downward Pitch of the Pole. St. Louls Republic, At the lowest estimate it will cost $200,- 000 to reach the morth pole, according to Lieutenant Peary, who ought to know, it anybody knows, but Medicine Hat may be reached by tourist car and side ac- commodations for a fraction of that sum. A Polnted Illustrat Kansas City Journal By way of emphasizing his statements in regard to the dwindling of families, President Ellot might point out that the democratic family has shrunk frightfully in recent years and that the populist fam- ily has become wholly extinct. Perils of Speculation, Kansas City Journal. Our present prosperity is bullded on a firm foundation. But that foundation can not permanently stand against rash spec- ulation. Whether the present conditions shall continue depends much more largely on the people than on the government. It they persist in golng into “get-rich-quick” schemes instead of investing their sav- ings conservatively they are certain to lose their savings; and 1f the tendency to over- speculation continues to grow, it is only a matter of time until we shall run upon breakers. » INCORRIGIBLE INVESTORS, Wil Publicity fiq‘u. the Nu Dupes of Fake Concerns? Chfchgo Tribune. Judge Grosscup' waid some time ago that we ought to “peopleize” the great indus- trial corporations of this country. By which he meant this: Keep a govern- mental eye on them; give all their opera- tions the widest possible publicity; then all will know exactly what is doing; will have confidencé In their securities and in- vest their savings in them, instead of put- ting their savings in banks. The two pillars of this idea, it will be seen, are publicity and confidence. - But is not a searching light thrown on the publicity and confidence idea by the re- cent history of “get-rich-quick” concerns in Chicago? People are so anxious to fn- vest that no amount of lack of informa- tion deters them. They seem to regard business as a kind of ‘“great magic,” an alchemist’s crucible, an Aladdin’s lamp, & department of the occult. They want to put money in a slot and by some bewllder- ing and awesome process see dividends handed out to them on a tray. Hence the curfous fact that to so many of them the difference between the firm that offers 4 per cent a year and the firm that offers 4 per cent & month seems to be in favor of the latter. Nor does a burned public dread the fire. Three years ago Chicago was the scene of revelations similar to those which are now taking place. The newspapers sald then: “The game is exposed; the public is here- after safe; in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird.” But here came in the difterence between bird and human intelli- gence. The net was again spread and in- vestors walked into it With as much equa- nimity as on all former siwilar occasions. Which drives the observer to the depress- ing conclusion that the fact that people do not invest in Industrial securities is not due to sny lack of information or lack of confidence with regard to them, but besause no industrial corporation promises to pay such dividends as the “get- rich-quick” concerns, which pretend to operate on stock boards or race tracks say they will pay. There are men and women whose money cin always be had by the sharper who will offer 4 per cent & month. LIFT THAT CIGAR BOX LID. David City Record: It might be of in- terest to have our legislature Investigate our late pop ex-Treasurer Meserve to find out how much accrued interest he pock- eted from the school fund deposited in his banks during his officlal career. Our fusion triends have always been a little sore on this charge, but the irritation may cease when the festering sore is once fully ex- posed 80 the atforney general may recover some of this umearned increment if the legal rules permit. Pawnee Chief: It has been suggested that the present legislature demand the contents of that much talked of “cigar box" be made public, and the Chief hopes there are enough members of joth branches who are not tainted with Bartleylsm to pass a resolution looking to this end. Ob, but wouldn't there be some eurprises if the beneficlaries of Bartley’s peculations were singled out and named? But honest men universally are in hopes our legls tors will call for a “show down. Stanton Picket: The demand for action by the legislature to Investigate the Bartley steals, the alleged crookedness of Meserve and Mr. Stuefer's bond transactions should be complied with. If there is any way of finding out what Bartley has done with the money embezzled from the state it should be dome. If other state treasurers have gone crooked let it be known. Take the 1id off that cigar box and show the public what is inside. Let there be an investiga- tion and such a one &s will Investigate and not whitewash. The legislators have it within their power to do good service for their constituents in this matter and it should be done, and let the hit birda Qutter. WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR. Former Mayor of Minmeapolls ¥ 1t Quite Roecky. The fugtitive ex-mayor of Minneapolls, A. A. Ames, has been run to corner in the obscure village of Hancock, N. H., where relatives reside. Although he is reported to be @ mental and physical wreck, he battled through lawyers to prevent forei- ble return to the scene of his degrada- tion. He does mot love the people of Min- neapolie as he did in years past when they showered honors upon him regardless of party tles, and it s reasonably certain the people cordially reoiprocate the sentiment. Several criminal {ndictments which he dodged last summer awalt his return, and there appears to bo a strong disposition to press them to a conclusion in the courts €0 as to place the seal of justice on the author, promoter and bemeficiary of the clty's shame. In his better days the former was a practicing physician as was his father be- fore him. He made a good record in the civil war. He had been a candidate for governor of hiy state, recelving a compara- tively large vote, for Dr. Ames was then a democrat in a state where democracy fs usually in a hopeless minority. Twice he was elected mayor of Minneapolls as a democrat, and while he had what was known as ‘‘wide-open” administrations, he was never accused of personal crookednes To his friends and assoclates, Dr. Ames was known as generous to a fault. He dia more charity professional work than any other physiclan in the city. But Dr. Ames’ personal habits were bad. He chose assoclates of the slums. Dr. Ames’' per- sonal recklessness led to family dificulties and the breaking up of his home. It wi his stolid indifference and shameful levity at the funeral of his divorced wife which first caused a revulsion of popular feeling toward him. But still he had a following and was again elected mayor of Minneapo- l1s as a republican, following the demo- cratic administration of Mayor Gray. From the moment he came to office the last time he seemed to be bent merely on loot. Crooks were placed on the police force. Colonel Fred Ames, Mayor Ames’ brother, who had come back from the Philippines, where he had served without honor as an officer of a volunteer regiment, was made chiet of police. He was weak and pliable. That was the reason for his being placed in such a post. The word went out that ‘something was doing” in Minne- apolls. Crooks flocked there from all over the country. There was to be a carnival of “graft.’* Crooked gambling “joints” started up all over town. Mayor Ames appointed a detective and assigned him to the mayor’'s office. The duty of this detective was to collect corruption money from gamblers and female keepers of im- moral resorts. Vile “joints” were opened all over town under the gulse of candy stores. Everything paid revenue to the police department and the mayor. City detectives were detalled to frighten out of town men who had been swindled by con- fidence men. The crooks were paying for protection, and the police department must see that they got it. There was too much “graft.” The police divided into factions and fought over it. One faction harassed and arrested, the crooks protected by the other faction, and the crooks resented it. It was at this stage of municipal rottenness that an ag- gressive young business man was named as foreman of the grand jury. The split in the police department and a fight started upon the sheriff by the Ames gang, so that no officer of the law would be left to look after law breakers, gave'the grand jury. foreman an opening. He and some other members of jury made up a fund among themselves and put prit ds tectives—two sets of them—at work col- lecting evidence against the city admin- istration. One set acted as decoys. The other set did business. Some of the dis- gruntled gamblers squealed. Ome after another Ames' friends and tools were in- dicted. Ames was defiant. He thought himself too strong for prosecution. No officer of the law would dare measure strength with him. Detective after detec- ive was enmeshed. Gardner, Ames' col- lector of corruption money, was Indicted. Then came Ames' brother, the chief of police. Finally Ames himself. Colonel Fred Ames got six years in the peniten- tlary. Gardner got a penitentiary sen- tence, but will get a new trial. “Coffee John" Fichette, once captain ot police and a collector of “graft,” was caught in the net. Death saved him from punishment. So went the list. Six indictments were returned agalnst Dr. Ames. One charged Dr. Ames With collecting through ““Coffes John Fichette $1,000 for permitting a vile theater to do business in volation of the law. Onme charged attempted bribery of County Com- missioner Sweet in order to secure his vote for an Ames tool as sheriff, after Sheriff “Phil” T. Megaarden had been de- posed from office. Two indictments charge him with receiving bribes from women in consideration of permitting them to conduct resorts. Still another charges recelving bribes through Gardner. Dr. Ames was arralgned on three Indict- ments before District Judge Harrison of Hennepin county. He pleaded “not gullty,” but sald he was too i1l to stand trial. This was July 14 ) The cases went over the term. Dr. Ames gave $10,000 bail, and went to West Baden, Ind., to regain his health. It was announced at the time that he might not return, as he was to become house phy- siclan of & sanatorium there. But Indiana aid not care to add to its list of physicians a man who was under {ndictment as a felon in another state. Dr. Ames was not licensed, He had to give up the prospective place. He resigned as mayor of Minneapolis on August 71 He failed to appear when the cases agaipst him were called in the September term of court, and was technically as well as actually a fugitive from justice. Since that time he has been in hiding, pursued with more or less ardor by Miuneapolis officers of the law. Judge Harrison put an end to this proceeding by instructing State’s Attorney Boardman to see that Dr. Ames was brought back for trial. The doc- tor's bond of $10,000 has been forfeited Officers of the law have bim. If he should live to stand trial, he is likely to be shown little mercy by the persons who once de- lighted to honor him. PERSONAL NOTE! Secretary Cortelyou is & fine musical eritic, samething that has long been needed 1n the cabinet. 1t 1s proposed in Brooklyn by prominent citizens to give Minister Bowen, who was formerly a resident of that city, a banquet before he returns to Venezuela. It s significant that within three days after it was announced that the president was golng to practice swordsmanship the allles agreed to sign the protoco! On the site of the old home of the once famous Captsin Kidd in New York a sky- scraper fifteen stories high will séon be erected by the Century Realty company and Willlam F. Havemeyer. While Colonel Arthur Lynch, the member of the British Parllament recently con- victed of treason, has been in prison he has recelved all Parllamentary documents with great regularity, the same the other members. Though serving a life sentence he still has & standing as Galway's repre- sentative 1o the lawmaking body at West- winstes. MUNICIPAL TAXATION OF RAILROADS Fremont Tribune: It {s clear if the Omaha | plan should be followed the taxation of the roads would be greatly increased, for then the terminals would be assessed once for municipal purposes, whereas under the unit system that part of the terminal value apportioned to mileage between _stations now escapes municipal taxation. The rcads now escape this. Falrbury Gazette: The rallway man- agers are making a mistake in opposing H. R. 171. Two wrongs don’'t make one right. It 18 no excuse to say that railways should not be assessed at a fair cash value be- cause horses are assossed at $10 and mules at $5 per head. All such assessments are ridiculous. All property must come up to a common level for assessment purposes. It the rallway people persist in their op- position to fust and fair assessments, they will force the issue into a campaign, and then there will be something doing of a very radical nature. This sethent ques tion will not down, nor will it be settled until it s settled right. The members of tke legislature who are mot with the peo- ple on this question, and their actions at Lincoln this winter are being closely in- spected at home, will find their future po- litical aspirations will vanish in the air. They must be fair t6 the railways and falr to the people. proposition. Rushville Recorder: The Recorder has been inundated with leaflets, pamphle and foolets on the taxation of railroads this two weeks, and we have come to the conclusion that the attempt of the rail- roads to buy editorials in the press has acted like the lease law on the stockmen. When people begin to stir up a heap, they must look out for odors. It certainly looks a8 though the city of Omaha was making out by far the stronger case in its fight for equal taxation on city property. While the ralroads have conferred immense ben- efits on Omaha, they bave to some extent offset these when we see of railroad property there conducted fin such a ridiculous manner. Nebraska has a very high position among the 8 on account of fits literacy, but we shall not have much faith in that kind of boast until it is exercised enough to place the railroad taxation on somewhere near the same basis it occuples in older states. In Indiana the state, under its revised taxation scheme in one year raised the assessed valuation on rallroads from $60,000,000 to $160,000,000 and the railroads and state a till doing busi- ness, There {s not the least doubt on earth that the railroads here in common with a large number of citizens are assessed too low and Omaha is not the only place where the evil can be found. We are only afrald that the matter of our new revenue laws generally are being rushed through too quickly, and that more time should be given to revising our whole fiscal system. Long Pine Jodrnal: The Journal should think that the railroads having terminal property in Omaha would be ashamed to send out the fool literature tuey are in- filcting on the country newspapers in re- gard to the local taxation of their ter- minals. In Omaha the assessing for city taxes is entirely separate and apart from the county assesing. All property s as- sessed at its cash value, except that in the case of the railroad property a clause in the law, inserted there for the benefit of the rallroads, compels the tax commis- sloner (as the city assessor is called) to take the ssment made by the state board, which {s a ridiculously small frac- tion of the real value of the property. The Omaha people want this clause repealed, so that they may assess the railroad stations etc.,, at full cash value, for clty purposes. Of course this means a big increase in tax- ation for the rallroads, which are paying only a few thousands of the million dollars that must be faised in Omaha each yesr. Thelr cry now is that this increased taxa- tion in Omaha would mean just so many dollars taken out of the rockets of the out- side counties, as rallroads are ass d as a whole. If Omaha hogs the tax, they say, what 18 left for the rest of the state? It will be seen that the rallroads are delfb- erately confusing the state and city asses ments, which bear mo relation to h other. It {s true that the state board as- sesses the rallroads as a whole and then apportions the assessment, 8o to speak, among the countles, villages, etc., according to the number of miles of rallroad within them, but this {s for county, school and other taxation. The rest of the state will not lose a cent if Omaha taxes them $1,- 000,000 a year, and any man of sense ought to know fit. Nebraska Independent: state government covers every foot of rallroad within the state, and so far as concerns state taxes it matters little from what particular county or counties they come, so long as railroad property on the o pays as much state tax per $100 as other property over the state pays on the average. Out- lying countles along the line of railroads having terminals in Omaha contribute to the creation of value in those terminals, and the system of dividing the total value of any given road by the number of miles of “line” in that road—thus arriving at a per milo valuation—could have no other ob- ject than to give outlying countles, for local taxation, a greater share of railroad valuation than the value of rallroad prop- rty within those counties would warrant if sessed without reference to any other part of the road. It is also obvious that county government aleo extends over y foot of railroad in the state, and whatever of the value of Omaha terminals is not taxed for county purposes in Douglas county is taxed for county purposes in other counties along the line. Whether the entire as- It is obvious that Nobody can object to that | the valuation | question and meed not b discussed here. It 1s equally obvious that school districts cover every foot of rallroad in th® state and as far as concerns the assessed valus. tion of raMeoad property the “distribution’ | for school distriet purposes is just as com. | plete as it ia for county purposes. But j city government does not cover probably | to exceed a tenth part of the miles of rall | road “lHpe” in the state, and the “‘distri- | bution" theory s obviously wrong—even it we concede it right for other purposes— because ut least nine-tenths of the great terminal values in tho larger cities wholly | escapes paying city taxes anywhere. Hartington Herald: The city of Lincoln | and Lancaster county seem to be abso- { lutely under the control, politically, of the rallroad crowd. The latest wvidence of that fact s the open allgnment of almost the entire Lancaster delegation in the legls- lature with the raflroad lobby and fts de- mands. The only one of the delegation baving the manhood to stand for the in- terests of the large majority of his con- stituents is Senator O'Nelll of Lincoln. It is at least refreshing to know that there 1s one oasis fn the Lencaster Sahara. Omaha fondly imagines that the Douglas county delcgation fs free from raflroad domination. Some time ago, however, wo noticed, that when an earnest member, dis. gusted with the brazen eftrontery of the raflroad lobby, offered a reolution which made the lobby quake in its boots, deny- ing the lobby the freedem of the state house during the session of the legislature, it was a member of the Douglas delegation, who with that most effective of all weap- ons—ridicule, compelled the house to al- most unanimously table the resolution. | The discouraging feature of the whole busl- nees s the evident fact that the members of the house were either too dense to see that they were being worked by a tocl of the lobby or else were afraid or un- willing to banish the lobby. The Herald hoped for great things at the hands of the present legislature. We say “hoped” ad- { visedly. At the outset we predicted a busi- ness session. Thus far it has been anything but a bueiness session. The time of the greator portion of the eession has been fooled away with very little important work acéomplished. Soon the inevitable rush of bills will come, with little or no time for careful examination. Then the lobby will have {ts inning and then the thousands of small tax payers in the state will, no doubt, have good reason to quake fn their boots. SMILING REMARKS. Cook—Well, the proof of the pudding fs in_the eating. Mr. Bouncer—No, it ian't. It's in the digesting.—Detroit Fres Press. Hewitt—You're a_llar. Jewett—You're a Har. Both—We seem to be In prettv bad com- pany.—New York Sun. nsumer—Well, with such a winter as this I presume ice will be cheaper next summer. Dealer—Cheaper? My dear s think of the sufferings of the poor fellows that have to cut ice such weather as this!—Chicago Tribune. wi “I expect pretty soor to have affairs in such shape that the world will give me no e grounds for complaint what- '—Washington Star. “Did it hurt?” asked the dentist. The patient looked at him reproachfully. “Now, doctor,” he sald, “do I look like a man who would yell just for amusement o¢ to pass away the time? '—Chicago Post. Tess—He tried to kiss me, and he declared the more I struggled 4 screamed the more he'd kiss me. He's no gentleman. Jess—But, my dear, gentlemen solietime do that sort of thing. Tess—But when I screamed he ran away. A gentleman would keep his word.—Phl delphia Press. In olden time It {s said that it was. possible for & man to render himael —Pshaw. That's not at all remark- lhalz..r uPa.n in this country are doing it *Niye ?r:;u don’t tel! me! How do they Gyer—By marrying famous women.—Ohi- cago News. ever." Staylate—Do you belleve in long court- s MAnmie-Well, 'm in favor of a six 83 Annie—Well, i hour limit on each session.—Chicago News. “Well,” sald the wife, Whowe thoughts ‘were gn he:‘l‘:';‘l‘!er bl)nl . “‘ll':l {ol‘ l"tu forget your ng out late las! -3;';3035"1'11 alwaya have to be forgiving | somet nr-‘ e s ‘whenever you're for getting some- thing," Teplied the brute, her husband.— Indianapolls ows. The pompous pew resident had been hav- tng & 96ito with the smart boy ot the nelg fhorhood. "Thls “was the youngate ot: P Jou don't nged ¢ think you're no whole' legislacher fist becoz ev" y's l'ays presentin’ bills to youl"— American. A PRICELESS PARADISE. BEdmund V. Cooke in Baturday Bvening Post. It some weird gnome should seek my home, Somo genle, fairy, which, i 1 ! eve! TO0 e, ana askc me “Which?" LN 1 think 1'd choose_in half a trice, This boon: to never ask the price. 1 would not claim a gilded name, be a financler, “ Nor would I hold the wide world’s gold; And yet I somewhat fear I'a ask a just sufficlent slice That I might never ask the price. A coat-of-arms has meagre charms To men of mode™n views, Yet were it mine to make design, 1 know which one I'd choose: An open purse, with this device, A “He never, never asks the price, Is heaven a state, a place, & fete, ture, or a re The ‘question's 0ld and each may hold sessed valuation in the several countles is high enough compared to other prop- erty in those counties, is wholly another His own opinion best; But my {dea of paradise ; 1s where one need not ask the price The doctor orders the medicine, the me aids nature, and nature makes the cure. Ask your own doctor about it. He has our formula. He knows why Ayer’s blood pure and Sarsaparilla makes the rich, why it tones up weak nerves, and why it overcomes .all debility. Ayer’s Pills aid the Sarsaparilla. '_l'.hey keep the liver active, cure constipation, biliousness, sick-headache, nauseca. J. 0. AYER CO., Lowell, Mass.