The independent., 1903-06-04

vailed that the great American desert
was desert, as much SO as any des-
ert in Africa We were told in Lin
coin, in 1870, by every citizen we con-
suited that there was no plow lanf
twenty miles west of the Missouri.
Now what change in opinion. Back
still further we remember the opinion
Of Illinois and southern Wisconsin
was almost as bad. 1t was thought
the soil must be worthless or timber
would cover it, and farmers must
have timber.
The hundreds of islands along the
coast of Alaska and back for miles
on the main land the warm China
sea current of water and air must be
felt. The west coast of Europe is
warmed by the American current the
same way. Maine is not near as warm.
as the same latitude across the At
lantic. Grass, wheat, oats, rye and
barley are reported to grow we'll
wherever they have been tried. Gold,
coal and fish with agriculture and
health are going to populate the coun-
try equal to Norway and Sweden. In
less than ten years it will be pleading
to come in as a state.
The most severe dry spell, of forty
days, has pinched the eastern and
middle states. A million of acres OF
woodland in northern New York have
been burned over. Wild game and
almost everything valuable has been
destroyed excepting trout. II there
is such a thing as armament, divid-
ing the waters Of the heavens from
the waters of the earth, we suspect
the western end has dropped down
a little and the waters of New York
and other states are falling in Ne
braSka.
If Cleveland and Hanna are nomi-
mated for president, neither of them
will get my vote, neither will men
like them get it. A man standing
with, and for, the common people is
the kind of man that some party
should nominate, then the common
people being largely in the majority
can elect them il they choose. Our
government is collecting too much
tariff and tax from the common pee-
pie while the wealthy ones are let.
out Then the money is being spent,
the most of it, to increase the num-
ber of miIlionaires.
Churches and school houses make
a fair showing in Lincoln. The, pur-
est water is supplied at reasonable
figures. Better eonvenienees should
be supplied for watering horses on
the street. Our city library we now
are proud of. There is one thing
sllort and that is public parks. We
were in hopes the city dads would
take charge of four or five blocks for
delinquent taxes and make public
parks of them. A quarter block would
make quite pretty park. Parks for
play ground for children is almost as
necessary as pure water and air.
Why spend SO much money on our
navy and army and at the same time
not allow them to do anything to ben
eft the people only in time of war;
Our navy could do commercial work
from port to port just as well as to
stand idle all the time. So our SOL
diers could do some work for their
own support and to benefit the people
Then there is another class that could
be made to earn their own living just
as we'll and better for them than to
do nothing, our criminal prisoners.
1t rakes our sensibility to be COM
PEELED to work for their support.
The referendum doctrine and gov
ernment ownership of public utili-
ties, the corner stone of the first pop
ulist platform, is being put into use
more and more every year. The cor
perations and trusts are fighting it
harder and harder. They know that
laws referred to q vote of the people
will be more likely to be just and
right just laws are not pleasing to
them. The republican city Of Phila-
delphia failed to enforce Justice in
granting street railways. The demo-
cratic city of Chicago has come out
better. All the cities of Illinois are
now under the referendum law. The
governor has signed the Mueller bill
the one that the speaker undertook
to trample underfoot.
The frauds and thefts now discov-