The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1903-03-05

The independents motto is "The
Truth About Everything" OF course
that does not mean that it must nee
essarily mention everything; but that
whatever it does mention shall be told
with strict adherence to facts. 1t has
no space for sensational news, the
sickening details of murders, suicides,
the doings of royalty and plutOcracy,
and such like, except where mere ref
erence may be useful in teaching a
lesson.
The Independent mission as
newspaper is to teach the lessons of
political economy as outlined in the
Declaration Of independence, the con-
stitution, and the national platforms
of the peoples party. 1t is partisan
paper only to the extent that at pres
ent the peoples party is the only one
occupying the middle ground between
extreme individualism, or anarchism
Oh the one hand and socialism and
communism on the other. The indie
pendent cares nothing for party
names, however; it's only mission is to
assist in securing such legislation as
will insure equal rights to all, spe-
cial privileges to none with all that
that implies. Roughly speaking, po-
litical economy is the science of get
ting a living; or ''the science that
treats of the nature of wealth, and the
laws of it's production and distribu-
ton" Henry George says: ''Men
may honestly confess an ignorance of
astronomy, of chemistry, Of geology,
of philology, and really feel their
ignorance. But few men honestly con-
fess an ignorance of political econ
Omy. Though they may admit or even
proclaim ignorance, they do not real
ly feel it. There are many who say
that they know nothing Of political
economy-many, indeed who do not
know what the term means. Yet these
very men hold at the same time and
with the utmost confidence O~ini0ns
uron matters that belong to pOliti-
cal economy, such as the causes which
affect wages and prices and profits.
the effects of tariffs, the influence Of
IabOr-saying machinery the f7nction
and proper substance of money, the
reason of hard times" or good
times" and so on. For men living in
society, which is the natural way for
men to live, must have some sort of
pOlitico-economic theorias-gCod or
bad, right or wrong" (Sciance of Po-
litical Economy, page xxxvi.; Double
day & Mcclure Co., New York, 1889
In the very nature of things it is a
practical impossibility for The Inde-
+0 h.
ground necessary to a tolerably clear
knowledge of the fundamentals upon
which the true science of political
economy rests. At the very best it
can only show the relation of daily
occurrences to those fundamentals
This, of course. assumes that its read
ers have read books which give them
a clear underst anding of the applica-
tions made. Many of it's readers are
thorough political economists-9ome of
them teaching the science in the great
colleges and universities-but many
of them have not had the advantage of
a proper course of reading on the sub
iect, and much of the real point is
lost on them. To one who has never
read the Bible. much of manv real
ly fine sermon would be difficult to
understand: and analOgousIy this is
true of well written editorials and
communications on political economy.
In the old days of the farmers al
lance, that organization did a grand
work of primary education in politi-
cal economy. The members of the
different local organizations held fire.
uuent meetings, read and discussed