Bfl
j | SUPPLEMEST TO THE
ff. M'COOK TEIBUNS.
- •
R _ - - i
B Friday , July 9.
I [ Continued from preceding page.j
BUSINESS IMPROVING.
FRESH EVIDENCE FROM EVERY
PART OF THE COUNTRY.
j Democratic and Republican Journals
Vic -with Each Other in Assurances
of Returning Business Prosperity
-Reports from All Directions *
History May Repeat ,
Twenty years ago , in 1877 , the country
was enshrouded in the gloom of a busl-
aess depression , consequent upon the panic -
I § ic of 1S73. There were plenty of prophets
I who predicted that the times would never
I set any better , and the mass of the peo-
j I pie were discouraged and about ready to
1 concede that , the prophets of evil were
1 sight
I But in the fall of 1877 signs of improve-
1 cnent began to appear. The general the-
I ory was that a more hopeful feeling was
I induced by the approach of the date for
1 the resumption act to go into effect.
1 There was no doubt something in this
1 theory ; nevertheless plenty of "states-
men" were found who asserted that re
sumption would be a failure , and that
"business would be injured rather than
helped by the attempt to resume.
But in spite of all the talk , the times
continued to improve steadily. They
• were much better in 187S , and in 1879 the
rising tide assumed the proportions of
something like a boom. Some of our Min
neapolis people who carried real estate
"through the period of depression , and
nearly broke their backs doing so , will
remember that by 1880 it was salable at
advanced and advancing Ggures. In the
next few years the prices of realty here ,
and elsewhere in the country reached the
highest prices ever known before or
since.
The history of this country appears toE
l show that panics and recoveries run in
1 about twenty-year periods. There was
1 the panic of 1S73 , followed by five years
I gf depression ; the beginning of recovery
S in 1S77 ; the full tide of recovery in 1879 ,
H followed by a period of prosperity lasting
I until 1S92. Then came the panic of 1S93 ,
I followed by the period of depression
1 which we are now experiencing. To
1 some there are as yet no signs of improve-
I ment discernible , while to others there is
E I already a faint glimmer of dawn. Many
i are looking forward to the passage of the
I tariff bill as the starting point of a new
I period of prosperity. But whether from
that or some other cause or causes , it is
I < iuite probable that history will repeat it
self , and that in the fall of the present
year , or the beginning of 1S9S , we shall
witness a notable improvement , followed
ly perhaps ten or a dozen years of great
prosperity.
= ? * The cycle is nearly completed. We
J jaYe experienced nearly five years of de-
M • * pression since the election of Cleveland in
$5 ? f iiral order of things. Exchange ,
branches of bu& nt ffigjgj L.\jgfi\
agement. In amount of. deTaH ted li g pb
ties the month was the smallest since
September , 1895 , in manufacturing lia
bilities the smallest since November , 1893 ,
and in trading liabilities the smallest
since September ( excepting the last
month ) 1S94. Failures of general stores
liave not been as small in any month as
an May. 1S97 ; in only two months out of
thirty-six have there been smaller failures
In books and hats ; only five in groceries ;
and not one trading class in that month
has reported failures Jarger than the
lalf during preceding months , though in
furniture failures are rather numerous.
In clothing manufacture the month wa3
tie smallest except four out of thirty-six ,
except five in chemicals , six in woolen
goods , seven in machinery , lumber and
I miscellaneous manufactures , and exceed
ed the average only in iron and cotton
goods and earthenware , owing to a few
failures of exceptional size. Nobody can |
mistake the meaning of such returns.
The statement that , except for the tem
porary depression in prices , the volume of
business transacted is now larger than
it was in 1S92 the year of greatest pros
perity has been questioned by some. But
a. comparison of prices this week in the
leading branches of manufacture not
• only confirms that view , but shows a
remarkable similarity to the course of
prices in the earlier months of 1S79 , when
the most wonderful advance in production
and prices ever known in this or any
. Dun's
other country was close at hand.
Review.
Distinguished Business Men Fpealf.
The New York Mail and Express last
week published interviews with three men
in business and finance just as
1 I prominent
-they were about to sail for Europe , with
the following result : George J. Gould
said : "Everything is on the up grade and ,
# so far as I can see , the signals are set
for a clear track ahead. The improve
ment , whether it be in Wall street or else
I where , is coming slowly , it is true , but it is
better that it should move along slowly ,
JvH-nnse it will be more lasting1 and satis-
factory to all concerned. " Andrew Car
negie said : "I believe business in this
• country is actually beginning to perma
nently improve. The outlook is excellent
and I expect to see very busy times when
I return. " Chauncey M. Depew said :
• "What shall I tell them ( foreigners ) of the
outlook ? Well , I shall tell them that it
seems to me we have crossed the Rubicon
that ahead of us now are good times
business activity , general prosperity. "
Rifts in the Clouds.
I
Secretary Gage , who recently talked
with the members of the Commercial
• Clubs in session at Cincinnati , all of
whom were representatives of the great
Business interests of Boston , Chicago ,
• Cincinnati and St. Louis , made the reas
f suring statement in Washington that they
reported a better business feeling than
tad been noted for some time , which they
regarded as a forerunner of a permanent
improvement. It is worthy of note that
business
• they reflect the common judgment of
ness firms whose transactions are so wide-
* pread that they are fairly symptomatic
• of the pulse of general trade. Nor on a
• view of the whole field is it unreasonable
to think that there may be a lifting up
? i" fri * - uS-sSrf " " " ? * j 1 * -fL ,
of tht- clouds even in advance of the
"proper legislation" which the Secretary
looks for. The passage of the pending
tariff hill , whatever may be its conditions ,
will give the country a truce on that head ;
the promise of the grain fields is most
cheering ; and though the currency ques
tion awaits solution , it is far less com
plicated with the menace of free silver
than it was six months ago. Philadelphia
Record ( Dein. ) .
. j
Views of n Veteran.
Among those who have spoken in this
vein is Russell Sage , a veteran financier ,
who is cautious in statement and not
prone to rush into print for the exploita
tion of his views on current matters. "I
think , " he said , "that we are going to
have steady progress toward far better
times. I do not look for any boom , but
a gradual improvement from now on. The
railroads are getting more traffic , and
they are working more harmoniously. The
settlement of the tariff question will be a
great relief to the business community.
After the rates of duty have been agreed
upon and a bill passed we can settle down
with the assurance that we shall not be
again disturbed by tariff measures for at
least twenty-four years. The properties
in which I am interested are doing well.
Yes , I think there is every reason to be
lieve that we have long ago passed the
turning point. "
This sentiment is widespread , and
though there may 'be some unscrupulous
politicians who would block tariff legisla
tion until after the fall election in the
hope that thereby the opponents of the
Republican party would be able to gam
some political capital and advantage , it is
possible that better counsels will prevail
and the bill will be passed sooner than
was expected. Albany Journal.
Most Encourasrinsr for Tears.
In a broad way last week was one of
the most encouraging in business circles
that this country has experienced for sev
eral years. The general outburst of con
fidence in financial circles was reflected
in the course of the stock markets , which
were bullish , from start to finish. The
reassuring utterances of the President
and the leading members of his cabinet
produced a very favorable impression ;
but beyond that it was seen that a number
of encouraging factors were in evidence.
It was perceived that the price of iron
had gone up ; that railroad earnings were
increasing ; that money was in ample sup
ply for all legitimate purposes : that the
gold exports bad dwindled to a mere noth
ing and that the prospects of a speedy en
actment of the tariff bill were daily grow
ing brighter. This induced a buoyant
tone in the prices of all. Minneapolis
Tribune ( Rep. ) .
Good Prophets in the Northwest.
In Minnesota and other States of the
Northwest the spring opens with the
promise of abundant crops , especially of
onr leading staple , wheat. And in spite
of the low prices now prevailing there is
every ground , as shown elsewhere , for
believing that our farmers will realize
fairly good prices for their crops. This
will almost certainly stimulate the ac
tivity of trade and industry in the cities ,
so that by next fall , with the aid of the
new tariff , it is pretty safe to anticipate'
a restoration of wholesome business con
ditions. Minnesota , therefore , is in full
sympathy with the cheerful prognosti
cations of Mr. Gage St. Paul Pioneer
Press.
Freed from the Slough of Despond.
* * Qsfprring separately , the increase in
[ yl'tjKruid ' the decrease in . failures would
( vhich the coudfrT > < 6ming coincidental-
The expansion in the ofe saa\u 0Uixrr at
aess is on the increase , while he co\s , :
traction in the other proves that business it7
is carried on under better conditions than
prevailed recently. This is a state of
things which justifies financial confidence
and cheerfulness. The country is not yet
entirely out of its slough of business despond
spend , but it has advanced so far in that
direction that its complete extrication can
not be long delayed St. Louis Globe-
Democrat.
The Campaiscn of Calamity.
To read the daily wailings of the organs
of free silver and free trade will con
vince any fair-minded person that those
noisy journals have started in to fight the
calamity campaign of 1896 all over again.
They are preaching the old pernicious dog
mas of discontent , disorder and disaster
with all the reckless rhetoric of the dem
agogue and the anarchist. Professing
friendship for the cause of labor , they are
wickedly striving to arouse tbe workingman -
man against his employer ; pretending to
favor the restoration of prosperity , they
are deliberately trying to stifle the grow
ing spirit of confidence in business en
terprise ; and , while ostentatiously mourn
ing over the depression of industry , their
whole influence is being exerted to make
it permanent and hopeless. !
Such are the real purposes of the new
campaign of calamity. In furtherance
of them its organs publish daily columns
of dispatches to show that trade and in
dustry are steadily going from bad to
worse , and that the condition of labor
is becoming more and more desperate.
To these prophets of evil the report that
a factory has closed its doors , that a fur
nace has banked its fires , or that a mill
has curtailed its working force is a mes
sage of joy. A story of business failure
or abandoned enterprise is a delight ;
tales of idleness and want are hailed
with glad acclaim , and every line that
tells of paralysis in trade , loss in capi
tal and earnings or despair among those
who toil is eagerly welcomed ana osten
tatiously displayed as a fulfillment of
gloomy prophecies.
Back of this eager quest for evil tid
ings is a stealthful purpose to provoke
antagonisms between labor and capital ,
and thus undermine the foundation of
the rising structure of business pros
perity. Good times mean death to the
agitation for free trade and free silver.
The calamity organs know it , and this
knowledge is the inspiration of their
desperate attempt to postpone the day
of returning confidence and prosperous
business.
The intelligent masses of American
wage-earners fully understand the situ
ation. Their condition is far from what
it ought to be in employment and pay ,
but on the other hand it is much less
distressing than the mouthy oracles of
chaos would have it appear. The conduct
of the great body of workingmen under
the harsh conditions whicb now prevail
has been admirable in its patience , hope
fulness and self-restraint. The attempt
of demagogues and charlatans to incite
disorder and strife in the ranks of labor
will receive its sharpest rebuke from the
1 workingmen themselve *
' , , . . . " " n ' . , ' " * . " * ' ' "
Ij I - ii ' i'j ' r : ; LlrN''u" ? frTa''MT"r !
OUftTARllTfllSTOBY.
NO PRESIDENT SO PROMPT AS
'
M'KINLEY. . . , ' '
His Tariff Law Will Be on the Stntute
Books Earlier than That of Any
President Since Washington Facts
Which Should Silence Croakers.
Good Progress Mnde.
Special Washington correspondence :
People who are complaining of what
they assume to be the slow progress of the
tariff bill will probably be surprised to
know that no administration since that
of Washington ever placed upon the stat
ute books a tariff measure within as brief
a period of its inauguration as will that
of President McKinley. There is every
reason to suppose that the tariff bill will
go upon the statute books before the end
of July , probably much sooner than that.
If this shall happen , President McKinley
will have an opportunity to attach his
signature to a general tariff measure ear
lier in the history of his administration
than has any President since George
Washington signed the first tariff act on
July 4 , 1789.
This remarkable record whicb is likely
to be made with reference to the present
tariff bill is made more remarkable by
two facts : First , that every yenr's devel
opment of our commerce and manufac
tures adds to the complications and diffi
culties in framing a tariff measure , and
second , the fact that the party in control
of the administration controls only one
branch of Congress. It has seldom hap
pened in the history of the country that
a general tariff measure has been placed
upon the statute books when Congress
and the administration were not controll
ed in all their branches by a single party ,
and that it should be possible to pass a
tariff measure so immediately following
such a hotly contested campaign as that
of six months ago with one brnnch of
Congress controlled by those who were
pitted against the Republican party in
that contest , is the more remarkable. In
deed , a study of the history of the tariff
legislation in the United States would
not have warranted a year ago the pre
diction that a protective tariff bill could
have passed a Congress which was not
controlled in both its branches by the Re
publican party.
It may be of interest , both by way of
presentation of some tariff history and
also of satisfying those who are inclined
to criticise what they assume to be the
slow progress of the work upon the tariff
bill , to run briefly over the history of the
tariff legislation of the country from the
beginning down as connected with the
various administrations.
The first tariff act placed upon the stat
ute books was signed by George Wash
ington , July 4 , 17S9. Not only was it
the first tariff act under the constitution ,
but the first protective tariff measure , in
dicating in its preamble that "it is neces
sary for the support of government , for
the discharge of the debts of the United
States and the encouragement and pro
tection of manufactures that duties be
laid on goods , wares , merchandise import
ed , " etc. The consideration of this act
occupied but about two months' time , as
Washington was not inaugurated until
April 30 , and the work upon the tariff
bill did not begin , of course , until after
that time. This tariff act was of course
very brief , the space occupied being prob
ably less than one-twentieth of the bill
now under consideration. Several other
tariff measures were adopted during
Washington's administration , most of
ti gSgbeing an increase upon the rates
[ • ( ktiiefir Lmeasure.
jj hgnj fc.V JPe President
asses , wines , etc. , unrn sral S
> ver three years after bis inauguiu' ' l. * P
Jefferson , who was inaugurated March
1 , 1801 , did not attach his signature to a
jeneral tariff bill until March 26 , 1804 ,
the bill passed at that time having for its
abject an increase in the revenues to sup
ply funds for the war with the Barbary
powers. This act increased the ad va
lorem rates , and on the following day , a
similar act increasing the specific rates
was signed , both of them being more than
three years after Jefferson's inaugura
tion.
tion.Madison
Madison was inaugurated March 4 ,
1809 , and the first important tariff , to
increase duties 100 per cent on account of
the war with Great Britain , was signed
July 1 , 1812 , more than three years after
his inauguration. He also signed a gen
eral tariff act April 27 , 1816 , three years
after his second inauguration.
Monroe was inaugurated March 4.1817.
and signed his first and only general tariff !
act May 22 , 1S24 , more than seven years
after his first inauguration.
John Quincy Adams was inaugurated
March 4.1825. and signed a general tariff
act May 19 , 1S28 , more than three years
after his inauguration.
Jackson was inaugurated March 4.
1828 , and signed his first general tariff
act.July 14 , 1S32 , more than three years
after his inauguration , while the Clay
compromise reduction act was signed
March 2 , 1833.
Van Buren's presidential term , which
began Ma ' rch 4 , 1S37 , was not marked
by the enactment of any important tariff
legislation.
William Henry Harrison , who was in
augurated March 4 , 1S41. issued on
March 17 a call for a special session of
Congress to begin May 31 , indicating by
the proclamation that the subjects to be
considered were the financial difficulties of
the Government. The tariff act finally
passed by the Congress which that proc
lamation called into special session did not
become a law until August 30 , 1S42 , or
fifteen months after the date named for
the beginning of the special session.
Polk's term of service began March 4 ,
1S45 , and the "Walker tariff , " which was
the special tariff feature of his term , did
not become a law until July 30 , 1846 , six
teen months after bis inauguration as
President.
The Taylor administration , which began
March 5 , 1849 , did not witness the enact
ment of any general tariff legislation , ow
ing to the fact that the Democrats con
trolled the House of Representatives during - j
ing the first two years of the term and \
both branches of Congress in the second
half of the term.
Pierce , who was inaugurated March 4 ,
1S53 , signed on March 3 , 1S57 , the last
day of his term as President , the only
general tariff measure enacted during his
four years in the White House.
Buchanan , during his four years , which
began March 4 , 1857 , . signed no general
tariff legislation untiLMnreh 2 , 1861 , two
days 'before the close of'His term. This
act , signed two days before his retirement ,
was the "Morrill" tariff act , a thoroughly
protective measure , whose passage was
made possible at that time because of the
fact that a large number of the Southern
Democratic members of the Thirty-sixth
Congress had withdrawn , leaving Con
gress in the control of the Republican
party , which thus placed a tariff act upou
the statute books two days before the in
auguration of Lincoln.
President Lincoln , who was inaugurat
ed March 4 , 1801 , signed his first general
tariff act on Aug. 5 of that year , and this
was followed by the passage in July , 1862 ,
nnd June 3,1864 , of other tariff measures ,
to which , his signature was attached.
Grant , who became President Mnrch 4 ,
1869 , signed on July 14 , 1870 , his first
general act relating to revenues , by which
the Internal revenue taxes were reduced ,
this being followed by another reduction
on June 6 , 1872.
President Hayes , who was Inaugurated
March 4 , 1877 , signed n < / general tariff
legislation , the House being Democratic
in the first Congress under his administra
tion and both branches Democratic in
the latter half of his term.
The Garfield-Arthur administration ,
which began March 4 , 1831 , did not wit
ness the enactment of any general tariff
legislation until March 3 , 1883 , two full
years after the inauguration.
Cleveland's first term was not marked
by the completion of any genernl tariff
legislation , the Mills bill , which passed
the Democratic House in 1888 , failing in
the Senate , which was so closely divided
politically that it was found impossible
to pass through it a measure satisfactory
to the administration , the substitute
which was adopted by the Senate being
rejected by the House , where the Demo
cratic divisions on the tariff question , now
so strongly marked , was then beginning
to make itself apparent.
Benjamin Harrison's term began Mnrch
4 , 1889 , and the first general tariff act
passed under his administration was sign
ed Oct. 1 , 1890 , eighteen months after his
inauguration.
Cleveland's second term , which began
March 4,1S93 , with his own party in con
trol in both branches of Congress , did not
witness the completion of its tariff meas
ure until Aug. 28 , 1S94 , nearly eighteen
months after he took the oath of office.
A study of the above history of the tar
iff from the beginning of the Government
down to the present time will indicate to
those who have been inclined to criticise
what they assume to be the slow action of
Congress that instead of its action being
unusually tardy , it has been unusually
prompt , and especially so in view of the
fact that the party in control of the ad
ministration controls only one branch of
Congress , a condition under which it has
seldom been possible to pass a tariff meas
ure , even in a much greater length of time
than has been or is likely to be occupied
in the present instance.
GEORGE MELVILLE.
Political Pith.
President Cleveland pulled down the
American flag in Hawaii ; President Mc
Kinley pulled it up again.
One-third of the Southern vote in the
present Congress has been cast for pro
tection.
Every day's consideration of the Senate
schedules of the tariff bill brings them
more in harmony with those of the House
bill , and it is probable that the bill , when
it goes into conference , will differ but lit
tle from that which passed the House.
The shades of the late Samuel J. Ran-
.dall are now being invoked by the Democ
racy of that section which fought him
most bitterly during the closing period of
his useful career.
With one member of the Democratic
team pulling in the direction of free trade ,
another towards protection , still a third
in favor of freegsilver , and a fourth head
ed resolutely toward" the gold standard ,
the iT ? Sigonian-Jacksonian band wagon
r pigi-QjQ much progress.
Df tlfl ver Rubcer Republican" confer-
many "isms" and is toerrst | | t
men who are putting up the moueJI W S
half of the silver-cause. <
No subject is being more carefully considered -
sidered by President McKinley now than
the Cuban question. It has been the
cause of much anxions thought by him
from the beginning and there is good rea
son to believe that his plan ? are well de
veloped and will be recognized as wide
and satisfactory when they become
known.
The trade reviews and the daily papers
of the country unite in the assertion that
business is brightening in all parts of the
United States. More men are employed ,
the volume of new orders is increasing ,
and the amount of work done is steadily
gaining. With the final action on the tar
iff bill , which may be expected during the
present month , an increased improvement
is confidently expected.
People who are surprised that the Re
publicans in the Senate are not answering
in detail the attacks made by the Demo
crats upon the pending tariff bill need not
suppose that it is because of lack of argu
ment or facts upon which to base them.
Their silence is simply because of their
of
a moment
unwillingness to consume
time more than is absolutely necessary
in getting the bill before the Senate.
Can't Be Fooled Every Time.
Some people can be fooled once or
twice , but very few more than that. Mr.
Bryan in his speeches last fall asserted
that the forty-two million dollars neces
sary to keep pace with the growth of pop
ulation in the United States could not be
produced since the suspension of free
coinage of silver , and quoted Senator
Sherman in support of his theory that this
be added to the
to
amount was _ necessary _
* XT n
eacn year. xj. . -
currency of the country
was undoubtedly right in his quotation of
Senator Sherman , but both inaccurate and
misleading in assuming that this amount
of currency cannot be and is not added
to the circulating medium of the country
present facilities. The
by means of its
coinage of the mints of the country in the
year which ends with the present month
will be , in round numbers , one hundred
million dollars , three-fourths of it gold ,
calendar year 1S96 was
while that of the
ninety-nine million dollars. Add to this
the fact that the money in circulation
is $138,000,000 more than it was
to-day
j and it will be seen that Mr.
ago
a year
Bryan's statements in this , as well as
in many other things , were , to say the
least , misleading.
Populists Want No Fusion.
Populist leaders are advising against a
continuance of the fusion of last fall be
tween their party and the Democrats.
The uncertain attitude of the Democratic
questions , protection
party on the two great
tion and silver , is the cause of this un
willingness to continue the unholy alliance
of last year. The fact that large numbers
of Democrats In every State where cam
paigns are to take place this fall are re
fusing to support the free coinage of sil
ver , and that many members of that par
ty in Congress and elsewhere are aban
doning free trade and supporting high
protection , has rendered n further alli
ance of the two parties improbable. Mr.
T. B. Rankin , a prominent member of the
Populist party in Ohio , In a recent In
terview , said : "The object of the or
ganization of the Populist pnrty was to
secure needed reforms , not to Btnb the
Democratic or Republican parties. I was
opposed to fusion last year , and am still
more opposed to it now. "
Some Free Silver Outcasts.
Some individuals , who bolted the Re
publican party Inst year and voted for
Brynn , held a meeting in this city and
organized what they call "The Silver Re
publican Party of the United States. "
For some reason they do not care to join
tlie Populists or the free silver Demo
crats. They seem to think they will have
a better chance of picking up offices if
they have a distinct organization.
These bolters cannot bo prevented from
forming a new party , but in doing so they
ought to state clearly to the public what
its principles are and what reason there
is for its existence. That has not been
done. Ex-Congressman Towne declares
that
"This is a movement that has taken
deep root , and will grow until the restora
tion of silver to an equality with gold has
been accomplished. "
What is this equality that Towne and
his associates are going to devote the
rest of their lives to securing ? Does he
intend to say that the time will come
again when sixteen ounces of silver will
exchange everywhere for one of gold ?
Towne should look the facts in the
face. The price of silver , which was 130
cents an ounce in 1S70 , is 60 cents now.
In spite of the low price the silver miners
of the United States put 50,000,000
ounces on the mnrket last year and made
money at the business.
The demand for silver by silver stand
ard countries is decreasing because the
number of those countries is diminishing.
Japan , the most progressive of Asiatic
nations , with a population of 41,000.000 ,
has adopted the world's gold standard.
Peru and Bolivia , though silver-producing
countries , are preparing to do so.
Does Towne really believe that his lit
tle "movement" will be able to raise the
purchasing power of 371 grains of silver
until it becomes equal once more to the
purchasing power of twenty-three grains
of gold ? It is difficult to believe that any
intelligent man who knows what the
present silver production of the world is ,
and how much more cheaply it is pro
duced than of old , really imagines any
thing of the kind. Chicago Tribune.
Export Bounty on Farm Products.
The proposition for a bounty on stap' .e
agricultural exports is not a new subject.
It is a departure from the protective pol
icy. It has been considered for some
years by the farmers , especially by the
members of the National Grange , where
it has been fully discussed but not yet
indorsed by a majority of that body. Some
of the propositions seem to be favorable ,
but it is doubtful whether the giving of a
bounty on agricultural products would be
beneficial to the farmer. There might be
some temporary benefits , but if it stimu
lated production the effect would be dis
astrous to the farmer. What troubles the
farmer now and makes low prices for his
productions is the fact that he is now
producing more than the market will read
ily absorb of certain commodities. So
long as he continues to do this he must
be content with low prices. If this bounty - . '
ty should stimulate the production and
increase the surplus offered in the mar
kets of the world , it would have the ef
fect of decreasing the price received by
the farmer rather than increasing it. As
[ said , it is a departure from the policy
> f those who believe in protection. The
protective jxHicy advocates the encour- !
" " • B&lliproduction in those lines ,
lave Vpul e K senough ,
o donate te the farmer ce " ' fllEV" . i
m products exported , and it is iSotttfur i
rhether it would at the most have more
beneficial effect , with
han a temporary s
bad reactionary results.
i tendency to '
From , interview with Assistant Secretary
) f Agriculture Brigham. ]
Tariff Prospects Are Helping : . '
The progress made by the Senate with '
the tariff bill has given some impetus
business and has created amore
to general
more hopeful feeling in all departments
Df trade. The matter is not entirely sen
timental or at all partisan. The doubt
and instability which have plainly sur
rounded every commercial avenue and
which always exist while tariff uncer
tainty lasts will in all probability soon
be removed. For the first time since
1SS7 the business of the country will be
in a free and untrammeled position and
the favorable effect on credit and individ
ual action canot be too highly estimated.
The manufacturer and the distributor
will be able to see clearly into the future
and the money lender and the money bor
rower will be able to act understanding .
The prospect has already caused some
activity in the iron and steel trades , and
has given definite assurance in other di
rections. The great majority of the
American people hope for and have con
fidence in substantial results. The gen
eral situation is ripe for the change.
Money is abundant at low rates. Price
is on a level which practically guaran
tees judicious operations.
Disappointment for Popocrats.
Dissappointment follows disappoint
ment among the Popocratic leaders. Not
only are they disappointed in tne iact
that the Republicans have presented a
solid front on the tariff question and fail
ed to quarrel among themselves upon cur
rency , or any other question , but they are
even more dfstressed to find their own par
ty falling to pieces on the question of pro
tection as well as silver , since their vote
against the protective features of the tar
iff bill is growing weaker daily , while
their arguments in behalf of free silver
are being disproven by every week's de
velopments since the election.
Antics or Jones , Vest , and Mills.
Senators Jones , Vest and Mills didn't
know it was loaded. They began shout
ing about a small advance of about 6 per
cent in the value of sugar trust stocks
simultaneously with a settlement of the
sugar schedule by the final action upon
it in the Senate caucus , but had evidently
forgotten that when the tariff bill was in
their own charge , in 1S94 , stocks of this
same sugar trust advanced 55 per cent ,
in value during their manipulation of the
bill. - -
wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS LOADED.
The Snirar Trust 8crcamers Find Their
Attackn Rcactinu on Tlicmnelvcn.
There has been some especially sharp
talk Jn the Senate aud some of the people
who are seeking to make political cnpitul
by throwing duBt with reference to the .
pending tariff bill hnvo suddenly dia- )
covered that there are two sides to almost
any story. Two or three Democratic ,
leaders seem to have reached the conclu
sion that they could once more fool the i
people , and that their most convenient (
way to do it would be to charge that the
sugar schedules of the tariff bill as agreed
upon by the Republican caucus were fa
vorable to the sugar trust. So they pro
ceeded upon the "stop thief" plan to make
all sorts of malicious charges of this kind ,
taking advantage of the fact that Repub
licans in the Senate have been refusing to
discuss any fentures of the bill not abso
lutely necessary to be explained , simply J !
for the purpose of gaining time nnd get
ting the bill through ns promptly ns pos
sible. The gentlemen have found , how
ever , thnt there is a limit to the endur
ance of the public who are being Imposed
upon with this sort of falsehood , and the
newspapers of the country have suddenly
revived the fact that the very men who
are now shouting sugar trust with refer
ence to the pending tnriff bill are the
ones under whose guidnnce the "per- )
fidy nnd dishonor" bill of 1S94 was fram
ed and its sugar schedule so shaped ns to
create the greatest scandnl that has been
known In political history in many yeara.
Attention is called to the fact that the
three men , Senators Vest , Jones and
Mills , whose mouthings about an increase
in prices of sugar trust stock aa a result
of the pending tnriff bill have been the
features of the week , are the very men
who framed the sugar schedules of the I
Wilson bill under which sugnr trust I
stocks advanced 66 per cent. , while the I
advance during the entire consideration I
of the present bill is only 6 per cent , and 'J
this a mere incident of the general advance - '
vance which has been strongly marked
meantime in all stocks. That the three *
men whose manipulations in the schedules
of the Wilson bill caused an advance of
66 per cent , in the price of sugar stocks s
should now be screaming like madmen
because sugnr stocks have increased 6 per
cent , during the consideration of the pres
ent bill would be unaccountable but for
the fact that they arc apparently doing it
to not only make political capital against
the Republicans but at the same time
conceal as far as possible their own rec
ord in this very line.
i
Politicians AVorkinjjCountry People
The dangerous characters who were last
fall hired to stir up dissatisfaction and
sow seeds of nnnrchism and riot in the
cities are now being sent through the
country districts for the same purpose.
They travel in gaudily painted wagons ,
bearing false or misleading quotations
From distinguished men. which are dis-
iorted into apparent support of the free
: oinage of silver , which is now worth less
; han one-half what it was when these
ltterances are alleged to have been made.
To conceal their real purposes these men
irofess to be obtaining subscril > ors to a.
Iree silver publication , with which is fur-
lished a copy of a book by "Coin" Har-
rey , whose writings are now recognized
is not only untruthful and misleading ,
jut purposely and maliciously so and an
mposition upon those before whom they j
ire placed. This attempt to distribute the J
; eeds of distrust , anarchism and riot in 1
he agricultural communities for the pure- i
y selfish purpose of making a market I
ror the property of silver mine-owners I
md placing a few politicians in office de- ' fl
; erves the contempt of those upon whom. I
t is being imposed. It is of the same
rlass as that by which the tin peddler M
vagons spread falsehood through the fl
jountry in the Congressional campaign of 9
890 , but is vastly more dangerous to fl
he country from the clnss of employed , fl
he doctrines they disseminate and the fl
lesperate schemes of those who support fl
hem in this performance. The silver fl
aine-owners and their political allies have H
esorted to this new device to deceive the | |
ieopIe , who are , however , rapidly discov- J R
rfe Bj nifc is tiey practice. M
eems likely tobf the next ste ; > TTrirC(1 > . ]
dministration , after the passage o . . 3. M
takc- place H
ariff bill , which will probably _
lefore the end of the month. It is un-
[ erstood in Washington that the I resi- jH
the tariff bill pa sos M
lent will , as soon as
message to C on- J m
he Senate , send a special
; ress urging the creation of a commission H
vhich shall devise a plan for the general V
of the H
system
• evision of the currency
for consideration by Con- m
• ountry in time
; ress when it meets in its regular session M
ave months hence. H
Their Theories Exploding. H
Hand
If farm prices do not stop advancing :
their downward - H
and silver prices do not stop
ward course , there will be nothing le tto H
sustain the chief theory of the free com- H
age orntors of last fall that prices of H
with those of si. - H
farm products kept pace
have in- mm
ver. Leading farm products
creased in price from 50 to 100 per cent. > fl
since this beautiful theory was exploited
on the stump last fall , while the price ot m
silver has meantime steadily decreased.
Moving : with Caution.
Fverv < ; ide of the Cuban question is being -
ing considered by President McKinley |
of action is likely to be
now , and a course
indicated in the near future. The importance - 1
ance and gravity of the issues involved I
and possible consequences of a mistake I
that the President and his
are so great
advisers are moving with the utmost
caution , as any judicious citizen would
pucIi responsibilities were
do if grave
placed upon his individual shoulders. i
Plan to Dump Bryan. /
"Rotation in office" is popular with the-
friends of free silver as well as others.
It is whispered that the real cause of the-
Chicago gathering of a few days since
which organized what was called the sil
ver Republican pnrty was to set on foot
a movement which should push to the
front an entirely new leader for the silver
cause and dump to the bottom of the deep
blue sea William Jennings Bryan , who
led the party to defeat last year.
Distressing to Political Enemies.
The absolute unanimity of purpose in
the Republican party and the solidity of
its ranks in the Senate is distressing its
political enemies greatly. The party
dissensions which they had expected to
see crop out among the Republicans hnvo
made iheir appearance on their own side
of the chamber , however , and this adds to >
the distress of the handful of gentlemen ,
who assume to be the leaders of that
