Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-12-28
OUR CANDIDATE IN 1900
What Are Vested Rights.

The doctrine declared by the courts,
in the Dartmouth college case, en-
braced only the protection of proper
ty rights; but, since then, all manner
os rascals of the upper class, have
claimed the right to peculate and
plumber tie public under the decis-
ion. The national bank swindle
claims vested rights congress canno5
interfere swith. Railroad magnates
insist that they have the vested right
to disregard public rights. The sugar
trust and standard oil thieves put in
the same plea in support of their
assumed right to levy unjust tribute
upon patrons of their monopolies. So
is it with every other LOCALIZED
trust including the whiskey combine.
Official thieves are now claiming vest
ed rights. A notable case is that of
Joseph BARLEY, ex-state treasurer of
Nebraska, who embezzled five hun
dred thousand dollars of public mon
ey. He is now in the penitentiary to
which he was sentanced for 90 years
for his crime, and which, his accomp-
Ices and bondsmen claim, is a vested
right which exempts them from pros
ecution to recover the stolen money.
1t is becoming a popular plea of all
official scoundrels that their right to
rob the public is vested. There are
notable instances in Minnesota. The
old state credit loan railroad bond
STEAL the McIlrath school fund rob-
berry of 100000, the Munich state
treasury theft, the iron mountain ras-
cality that robbed the state of about
100000, 900, the lootiug of the State
University and Agricultural college
endowments of millions which are to
be immortalized by monument to
the hooters, the swamp land thievery
and many other dastardly vested
rights, purchased and stolen.
But now the vested right bushes is
being questioned in Kentucky. The
legislature, years ago, granted lot
terry franchise without named limit.
Finally, responsive to public opinion,
the franchise was revoked. The lot
terry went into court to protect it's
vested right. The case has finally
been disposed of by the United States
Supreme court. Its decision declares
that a wrong cannot have a vested
right; that the state had only attemp-
1 ted to regulate an evil without sur
: rendering the right to abolish it at
any time. This decision is more inn
portant than the casual reader may
have thought 1t reserves to any
state legislature the right to repeal
any unjust legislation of a proceeding
legislature. u right that has been gen
orally surrendered when Shylock has
made his appeal from the lobby. The
sovereign right of the people cannot
be given away by any legislative body
except by criminal usurpation. An
attempt to do so is treason of which
congress and state legislatures are
guilty and for which they would be
punished il the people were just to
themselves. The price of liberty is
eternal vigilence against senators and
representatives who habitually sell
their votes to rascals constituting
trusts and combines that apply to
legislative bodies for special privi.
leges. But for such villainy the state
of Minnesota would have a self-sup.
porting University and agricultural
college; the interest on the public
school fund would take care of heI
public schools without taxation, and
there would have been enough reve.
nue. from her swamp lands and in
ternal Improvement lands to meet al
legitimate public expenses. The
VESTED right to steal everything in
sight belonging to the collective PEG
pie has been tolerated until there re
mains but lutte more to steal. TURF
the rascals down and save the rem
nants National Republican.