The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1903-10-29
x LET'S WIN THIS TIME ~


Next weeks issue will give the result.
Whether Judge Sullivan is to sue
ceed himself on the supreme bench de-
pends in great measure upon the pop
Ulists of Nebraska.
Whether DR.. Weber and Prof Jones
will succeed the outgoing regents de-
Tends also in no small degree upon
the populists of Nebraska.
And also upon the populists largely
will rest the responsibility of deter
mining whether majority of the dis
trict judges, anc the county officers
ere to be republicans or anti-republi-
cans.
The democrats, too, must do their
full duty if victory is to be won;
but The Independent is a. populist pa
Per and as such prefers to address it
self first to it's own party adherents,
leaving to democratic papers the duty
Of speaking to democratic voters.
There are hundreds of good reasons
why Judge Sullivan should be re-
elected; not one for his defeat. He
was the populist choice in 1897 and at
no time in the six years has he given
any cause for regretting that choice.
He was unanimously renominated by
the populists at Grand Island, because,
notwithstanding he calls himself
democrat and affiliates. with the DEM
O6ratic party, he is better exponent
Ci populism than many of our own
party. His record on the. bench shows
him TO be consistent anti-monOpOl-
ist Without any pettifogging or
g1andstand play his opinions and voice
On the bench have always been to hold
the railroad corporations strictly to
the law, but to give them exact JUS
tice. and no more. His dissenting
opinions in several railroad cases are
models of clear reasoning and concise
statement.
OF course. this is not what the rail-
roads want. They live and rob the
producers of wealth by means of spe-
cial privileges in legislation, in ad-
miEistration and judicial decisions.
Justice would mean an end to the
robbery. But Judge Sullivan, always
fearless and conscientious in his eN-
cry act, has taken no advantage of
popular clamOr to make political capi-
ia, for himself. The Omaha Bee sneers
at his decision in the ROsewater-State
Eoard mandamus tax case; but any
layman knows that the supreme court
has no power to assess railroad prop
e1ty and no right to require the board
to reassess unless fraud is clearly
proven. 1t is one thing to feel quite
sure that the board was ased in fav-
or of the railroads and quite another
to prove the fact in court.
Had ne been a political trimmer he
might have catered to popular Opin-
ior by favoring a writ to compel reas-
sc ssment; but he would have lost the
respect of good lawyers, who know
that the right way to get higher rail-
road taxes is by having board with
nerve to put up the assessment-and
rot by writ of mandamus.
And hundreds of republican lawyers
are secretly favoring his reelection,
hut doing nothing openly-because ey-
cry man Jack of them has aspirations
to be governor or congressman or
senator or Judge himself some day;
and the republican party is strict
Lisciplinarian!
Year by year the struggle between
the farmers and the railroads becomes
more intense. The farmers are learn
ing this lesson bitter every day. Up
tc this time they are content with
fair and square deal; but If railroad
domination continues for few years
az high-handed as it has In the past,
and the supreme court passes under
railroad control by the election OF
Judge Barnes, there may come time
when the farmers, aroused by the
wrongs they have suffered in freight
eytortions and determinations and
railroad tax-shirking, will not be con-
tent with simple justice-they will
demand restitution; and they'll get
it.
There is always a calm before
storm. and apathy before revolution.
Ii may be that populist farmers viii
permit Judge Sullivan to be defeated,
but if they do, there is no doubt that
both they and the railroads will re-
gret it-for Judge Sullivan's election
this fall will be some check on rail-