Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-23
THE G CLAIMANT.

nonresident, siXth-term candidate for
congress. AS a great claimant he is
without a peer in all these United States.
MERGERS capacity as a claimant is m
bodied in a card that bears his face on
one side and a summary of claims on the
other. To be appreciated they must be
studied and digested. To a man not IA
miliar with Nebraska's history for the
last ten years one would imagine that
Mercer was the only man who repre-
sented this state in congress and the
only man to whom the state and the dis
trict Is indebted for the appropriations
made in those ten years. What are. the
facts?
Mercer takes credit for the entire
$1,s45,0O0 appropriated for the federal
building, when as a matter of fact
$1,200,0O0 Of this amount had been Sc
cured by Congressman McShane and
Senator Henderson before Mercer en-.
tered congress.
Mercer claims all the credit for the
100000 appropriated for the Transmits
sissippi exposition, when, as a matter Of
fact, the exposition bill was introduced
by Senator Allen and pushed through
the senate by Allen and Thurston, and
would never have passed the house but
for the influence exerted by the Ne
braska senators and the exposition man.
ayers
Mercer claims credit for the $40, 900 ap-
propriated for the Indian congress-, but,
as a matter of fact, the bill introduced
and put through the senate by Senator
Allen was stalled in the house and given
up by Mercer until the chairman and six
members of the Indian committee had
been converted by influences outside of
congress.
Mercer claims the entire credit of
$250,000 for Missouri river improve
ments, made chiefly for the benefit of the
railroads, when as a matter of fact,
whatever credit is due belongs as much
to the senators who represented Ne
braska during the last ten years as to
himself.
Mercer claims credit for the S25O.O0 0
for improvements expended at Fort
Crook, when, as a matter of fact, the ap.
preparations were secured through the
influence of Senator Henderson and en-
tirely regardless Of the chairman of the
house committee on public buildings.
Mercer has the sublime cheek to claim
credit for the building Of the Carnegie
library at South Omaha. He might as
well claim credit for the Omaha public
library building or the auditorium.
Mercer claims credit for the appropria-
tons made by congress for the $431,OO0
appropriated toward the construction of
postofices at Hastings, Norfolk and Lin
coin. Where do Congressman Burkett
and Senator Dietrich come in? Burkett
is a member Of the appropriations COM
mlttee and could have secured the APP
preparation for Lincoln no matter who
was the chairman of the building com
mittee. Senator Dietrich secured the
appropriation for Hastings because he
lives there and had some influence in
congress.
If Mercer is entitled to credit for all
these appropriations how does 1t come
that Wyoming. with only one congress
man, secured more appropriations from
the last congress han Nebraska with
six congressman? How does it come
that the congressman from st. Louis,
Mr.. Barthold. secured over $4,000, 900 APP
preparations this year for st. Louis, al
though he is not chairman Of the COM
mittee on public buildings2 And how
does 1t come that the District of Colum-
bia, where Mercer owns his residence,
without any representation in congress
secured ten times as much for public
buildings as Nebraska2
Crediting Mercer with the full amount
of appropriations to which he is entitled,
namely. about 81, 100000 in ten years, or
less than 100000 a year, he has nothing
to brag Of in comparison with congress
men from other states. But Mercer has
wrought wonders.
According to the great claimants lard
he secured five branch postofices for
Omaha while Henderson, Thurston and
Willard were looking on. He secured
military training in the Omaha High
school when high schools in all the other
large cities enjoy the same privilege.
and Omaha is paying for its military
trainers. He has allowed rural free de-
livery routes to be established in this
district. and SO has every other con-
gresham In his district, with Uncle Sam
footing the bills.
Last. but not least, Mercer claims to
be officially endorsed by business mems
associations, farmers clubs and trades
unions, but fails to say why or where
fore. He claims by the card to have
voted for an antitrust bill In congress,
but does not explain why the allied rain.
roads and the allied trusts have exerted
all their influence and power 30 bring
about his denomination for a sixth term.