Omaha daily bee., 1921-06-19

the owners OF ''the dying concern. y
Its singularly direct and apparently
unstudied assaults were SO nearly and
naively void OF humor as to lend
them a strikingly humorous effect.
The Bee was quite true to its oppor-
tunist policy also in supporting 1n-
gersoll, who was nominated for gov
crnor at the Hastings antimonopoly
conference in 1882, in preference to
James w. Dawes, the very regular
candidate, and Silas A. Holcomb,
fusionist candidate for governor,
against Thomas ]. Majors and John
II. MacCoIl in 1894 and 1896, also
in supporting Charles II. Brown,
antinonopoly democrat, for con-
gresham in 1884, rather than Archi-
bald ]. Weaver, regular republican.
Indeed, The Bees tactics were
shaped to its discernment, though
perhaps unconscious. that the two
party plan was no longer fetish,
and that the habitual devotion to it
could be broken down. Its break
down everywhere no wseems immi-
nent, il not practically complete.
The Bee was on principle opposed
to such republican leaders as James
w. Dawes, James Laird, Church
Howe, Jack" MacColl, Thomas J.
Majors and John M. Thurston.
The rest OF this galaxy of political
stars The Bee condemned, but
Dawes it condemned: ("His public
career has been that OF a trading
politician who never hesitates to sac
rifce principles or friends for per-
sonal prcferment.") was its greeting
on his nomination for governor in
1882. Among democrats, ]. Sterling
Morton-opponent of Dawes in 1882
and l884brilliantly resourceful and
aggressive (but "the notorious rail-
road lobbyist"), was its shining
mark.
There were two fundamental rea-
sons for The Bees unequivocal at
tack upon John I. Redick, Joel r.
Phineas w. Hitchcock, St.
A. D. Balcombe, Edward B. Taylor
and Casper E. Yost-their ultra
conservatism, as The Bee chose to
appraise it, and the fact that they
were owners of the Republican. Per-
force, this border warfare by The
Bee was often unfair and not al
ways or ultimately successful; but
in its temerarious adventures, the
balancing of Inconvenience" which
chiefly constitutes life and wholly
the reformer's life, have far more
than the average marks to their
credit. Carlyle pictures the round
up: "A heroic Wallace, quartered
upon the scaffold, cannot hinder
that his Scotland become one
day part of England, but he
does hinder that it become on ty-
rannous, unfair terms part Of it."
In that crude formative period The
Bees corrective ministrations were
indispensable. Though far from a
classicist himself, the god of this
master newspaper quite clearly saw
the wisdom of first making mad
those whom it would destroy, and
it made them mad, very mad indeed,
and kept them constantly so. OF
all Nebraska's professional pageants,
This one stands out as most spectac-
ular.
Procession of the Crops.
At the beginning of the Bee,
there was much rather worse than
useless speculation by agricultural
pundits about what crops could be
grown. In the report
of the president of the state board of
agriculture. submitted January S,
1871, the planting of trees for lumber
had prominent" advocates, the rais-
ng of sugar beets was prematurely
pressed and silk. culture was whirsi-
cally considered. From the first there
was among settlers perfervid senti-
ment for planting shade trees, all
that was desirable in that line; and
the plain farmers could not be di-
verted from their clear judgment
that Nebraska was made for the
production Of the great agricultural
staples. The sequel has shown
abundantiy the soundness Of their
judgment. From the very scant be-
gining, in 1871, the state, with a
large area yet uneuitivated, has
come to rank third in wheat, fourth
in corn, sixth in hay, fifth in hogs,
sixth in horses and well up in many
other staples.
To What Ends
1t is piatitude to remark that the
achievement of the COM
pictured here has been
marvellous; but the question OBJ
trudes, What are we going to do
with it?" Can these present bruised
and broken bones live and how shall
they be properly articulated? TAX
ing counsel from common contem-
porary feeling and especially Of the
orophets-press, priest, publicist-
the system itself has broken down,
or at least has lost practical co-ordi-
ration. In muddiing along to new
firm footing, which we must assume
we are hopefully doing, our chance
Of reaching it depends upon the
states extraordinarily balanced con-
dition to which / have adverted. Ne
braska is neither over-urbanized nor
ver-industrialized nor over-rural-
zed, nor over-alienized, but the COM
,onents of urbanity of labor class
Consciousness, of rural life, foreign
people are so proportioned and of
;uch relatively sane, comeatable
temper, that it is yet practicable to
establish satisfactory and stable re-
Iations between them. Among our
most important states, Nebraska has,
think, this fortunate distinction.