The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-12-26
THURSTON A SENATOR
HE HAS THE BACKING OF THE
BURLINGTON ROAD.
This. With the Help of the Union
Pacific, Gives Him a Cinch.

Omaha, Neb., Dec. ls.-Thurston
will get it. There is now no doubt Of
1T. The visit Of Assistant General
Solicitor Kelly of the Union Pacific to
Lincoln, which was mentioned in a re-
cent letter to the Times, was the sig
nal Of conquest.
The fact that Kelly actually in
duced most, If not all. of the Lancas-
ter county Lincoln) delegation to
sign the paper pledging their support
to Thurston simply indicated the CAP
itulation Of the Burlington railroad.
There was, OF course, Burlington
string to that Lancaster county dele
CATION. Lincoln city hates Omaha
with a mortal hatred. Voting for an
Omaha man for any Office ostracises a
man from Lincoln society. There is a
Republican Tammany ring in Lincoln.
which dictates all nominations and
controls elections. The Burlington
railroad rules Burlington, Iowa, no
more completely than it rules the
capital city Of Nebraska, it's legisla-
ture. and it's Republican ring. Once
IA while the people smash the ring.
They did twice again when A. H. Weir,
Populist, was elected mayor of Lin
coin and reelected. But the gang has
the voters of Lancaster county we'll in
hand, as was shown by the tremendous
vote given to Tom Majors, vote so
large simply because of Omaha's par
TALLY to Holcomb and especially
hatred Of Rosewater. The bosses at
Lincol n constantly play on that "Dic-
tator Rosewater" string and hence,
perha ps, Rosewaters attacks on Ma
Jors assisted the latter very greatly.
The point Of this illustration is that
since the Burlington gang rules Lin
con, when the Lincoln member of the
next Legislature got scared and in
dorsed Thurston's candidacy, it SIM
ply showed that the Burlington had
thrown it's entire influence to Thur.
ston. The Burlington would, perhaps.
have been better pleased to have Mar
quette, its Lincoln attorney, or some
other Burlington man. But, as the
ThurstOn people easily showed them.
II the Burlington and the Union Paci-
tic antagonized each other, there was
a chance for an honest man to slip
through. What a horrible thing it
would be, for example, if the anti
monopoly Republicans should combine
With the Democrats and POpulists
and select somebody like Crounse who
would, if sent to the senate, vote
against the refunding of the Pacific
railroad debt, against the railway
pooling bill, and other infamous meas
ureS! mo, we Woodworking, down.
trodden railroad fellows must get to-
gether. ThurStOn has the lead. Your
man Majors was nominated for COVER
nor, and we did all we could for him.
over to u.s." Thus spoke the Union
Pacific attorney, Kelly, and lo it was
done. The word was sent all along
the line, and the Burlington tools az
liked their autograph to the ThurStOn
pledge. There were 63 Of those
pledges few days ago, and their
names could be published. 1t requires
81 to elect, and the gang say they will
easily get them. Indeed, they claim
that Thurston has letter and oral
pledges from twelve more.
Now, this is the way things are done
in Nebraska. No state in the union
is so thoroughly under railroad dom
lnation. 1t is condition absolutely |
lncomprehensible to the stranger.
And the worst part of it is that the |
Republicans and many in the other |
parties have grown accustomed to it. |
SO that its yiciousness, it's awful |
threat against democracy, and it's cor
rupting power are not observed. The |
favor OF railroad attorneys is courted: |
the railroad pass has been made an |
ignis fatuus, to obtain which people |
sell their honor and their principles. |
1t Is moral decentralization and de- |
graduation which SayOrS of the latter |
days of the Roman empire. Occasion
ally this monopoly greed oversize
the limit, as in the case of Tom Ma |
jors, and the people revolt. But as
general thing, the railroads rule poll |
tics and government in this state and |
the peoples eyes are only slowly open
ing.
The election of Thurston to the sem
ate will materially assist the cause of
reform, for it is tOO-evident railroad |
act. 1t is entirely impossible, Of
for ThurstOn to cease his con-
1ection with the Union Pacific. He
may resign as general solicitor, but he
will be as much Union Pacific agent
ItS uc lS INV. Ills CuleI dCUlVlUy as
general solicitor has been not trying
lawsuits, but working conventions
and legislatures. He was in the early
days in charge of the Union Pacific
'oilroom" and railroad lobby at Lin
coin. He has been simply practicing
ON higher scale, that is all, and his
elevation to the senate simply means
a higher step in oilroomsm and lobby
ing. The difference between the oil
room ThurstOn and the Senator Thur
ston will be the difference between as
ISOLATION with Tom and Dick, cheap
cigars, ETC., and .broadcloth suits,
private cars, and elegant associat ties.
It's difference in degree and rank,
not'in kind.
'The king is dead-long live the
king" The battle is over-now's the
time to prepare for battle. SIN time
Of peace prepare for war;" If the re-
formers Of Connecticut are to ever re-
leem the state from the hands of
plutocracy it can only be done by edu-
eating the victims of plutocracy to
knowledge of their being victims and
how the yictimiZation is accomplished.
There are reformerS enough in the
ate-comparatively few though they
nay be-to do this, if they will onIy
=, Il 49, In tho uorE in tho ,>rrnor |