IB SUPPLEMENT TO THE
II M'COOK TRIBUNE.
I Kj Friday , Sept 10.
II OHIO DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.
fl iHj Its Assertions and Arguments Con-
H 9e aidered and Answered.
fl E Ue 'cogalzlng that the money .question Is
I § paramount to all others at this time , we In-
flf vlte attention to the fact that the Constltu-
fl iflj Hon names silver and gold together as the
fl SJ money metals of the United States.
H SJ This statement is inaccurate and inten-
H 9j lionally misleading. The only place in
fl B which the constitution "names silver nnd
H H cold together" is where it declares that
fl B "no State shall make anything but gold
H fl and silver coin a tender in payment of
H fl debts. " It does not say that silver and
HI flg gold shall both be coined in an unlimited
H Hj manner or that cither one or both shall be
H flj coined nt all , but specifically gives to Con-
Hi HJ gross the power to determine what the
Hj HJ coinage of the United States shall be , both
Hi HJ as to the metals used andtheir , relations ,
Hi HJ by saying in explicit terms in section 8 :
H ] Hj "The Congress shall have power to coin
Hi fl money and regulate the .value , thereof. "
H. H It does not "name silver and gold togeth-
H fl er" as o platform says , but names gold
H fl and silver together , pointedly giving the
Hi H preference to gold by saying in section
HI H 10 : "No State shall make anything but
Hj H gold and silver coin a payment for debts. "
H H If anything is to be inferred as to the re-
Hj m lation which it intended that the two
llj H metals should bear it is clearly tbat gold
H H waste be preferred , since it is first named
H B in the only place where the metals are
H 9 mentioned. If the framers of the platform
j m wanted to be frank , why did they not
H jg follow the wording of the constitution in
K ma their statement and say "gold and silver"
I m instead of reversing it and saying "silver
M and gold ? "
KJ m The first coinage law passed by Congress
' m under the Constitution made the silver dol-
H ft ! lar the money unit and admitted gold to free
coinage at a ratio based upon the silver dol-
m , The first coinage law clearly made gold
11 1 a standard by first naming all the gold
H coins which , it said , should be of the
I H value of a given number of units , and said
! flj that the unit should be "of the value of
1 1 . a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now
By flj current , and to contain 416 grains of
w standard silver. " If the advocates of
H M silver insist that this act interpreted the
V M meaning of the constitution and that this
B flj interpretation must be followed , why do
B H they now insist upon a standard silver dol-
B H tor "with only 312" grains of silver in-
B M stead of the 410 grains which the act
B flj specifically names ? By their own propo-
B H sition they demand a violation of what
B flj they claim is a constitutional requirement.
B flj This act-which-they claim is an interpre-
B flj tation of the constitution on this ques-
B Bj tion provides that "every fifteen pounds'
B fl weight of pure silver shall be of equal
B flj J"a nc m a payments with one pound
fl w weight of pure gold. " If this is an inter-
fl pretation of the constitution why do these"
I w sticklers for its observance propose to vio-
I 1 late it by saying that every sixteen
I 1 pounds' weight of silver shall now be
I I equal to one pound of gold ? Would there
fl not be equal authority for saying that
fl every seventeen or eighteen or twenty or
thirty pounds' weight of silver shall be
equal to one pound weight of gold ? By
- ju their own proposition to change the ratio
| ' " " Wur mitf y either the.constitution
value with one pound w hVo r gel j •
ndicates that gold was intended to be
the measure of value , for had the framers ;
SL aCt mtP . nded * * * sver shouW
I the m
measure they would have said that
one pound of gold should be equal in value
, imQn VlUa6s of silver- Alexander
I 5 ' W * ° Was one of the mers of
•
I the * *
constitution and whose
report to Conj -
j frSS Was , tLe basis of tm * 3 ct , said of
„
| the alleged unit , the Spanish dollar , "that t
| species of coin has never had any settled
. . - | Zl stan . d nJ value * * * while gold
1 to ua Xed prce by TO'sht with an eye
its fineness. This greater stability of
the value of gold coins is an argument of
force for regarding the money unit as hav
I ing been hitherto virtually attached to
gold rather than silver. "
4fJftmers of this platform insist
iw 4 .
inat .he first coinage act passed under
the constitution is an exact interpretation i
of the meaning of that instrument , why
have they and their party always insisted
that a protective tariff is a violation of the
constitution when they know that the !
very first act passed under that constitu
tion declared that the tariff duties which
it levied were "for the support of govern
ment and the encouragement and protec
tion of manufactures ? "
S , We declare that the act of 1873. demonetiz-
H lug silver without the -
knowledgeT andI anl
I I proval of the American people ! etc. P
j The act of 1873 did not demonetize sil
ver , as is claimed by this sentence of the
platform. The act itself says in specific
terms that "this act shall not be con
strued to affect any act done , right ac
quired or penalty incurred under former
acts , but every suob right is hereby sav-
. I * • thu3 clearly stating that it did not
demonetize any of the coins authorized
prior to that date , while every one of the
four hundred and fifty million standard
silver dollars-coined since the passage 'of
that act is and has constantly been a full
Jfsal tender , and none of them is or has I
| been demonetized.
L I " The act of 1873 was not passed "with-
° nt the knowledge and
4 approval of the
r. American people" as the platform asserts
% : n was submitted to Congress in Anril '
5. 1870 , printed thirteen times , discussed at
* i intervals until Jan. 1 , 1873 ( nearly three
g. ? ! ars ) the debaes and discussions fillinc
R 14 * Pases . of the Congressional Record
gfr which was published daily during the
ses-
f * si ° ns .in. which , it , was.discussed The
fv American people had ample opportunity
I5 I t0 know all of its provisions , and that
fI I there was no popular disapproval of it is
tr I Bh < > wn by the fact that 112 of the mom.
I I Ders OI tne tiouse wnicn passed it were
fi re-elected , many of them continuin" to
% serve in Congress to the end of their
% lives , while several are still members nf
p that body , notably William M. Stewart
A- of Nevada , who voted for the bill and
S who , in a speech delivered on June 19
$ . 1874 said : "The laboring man and the
: * " producer is entitled to have his product
' nd his labor measured
* by the same stand-
&r ard of ? , ue I * * * , measures your national
V debt , lou require from the laborin-
man gold to pay the interest on your na
tional debt , which is right , which cannot
be avoided if yon mean to save national
honor ; but then give him the same money
with which to pay that debt. The ques
tion will never be decided until you deter
i mine the single question whether the la
boring man is entitled to have a-gold del
lar if he earns it , or whether you are going
to cheat him with something else. "
t ; i
. . ' ' ' ' , , . ,
B B. - " 4 1 V f ' J * I
We declare that the act of 1873 • • •
has resulted In the nppreclatlon'of gold.
It hiiB not "resulted in the appreciation
of gold , " because gold has not appreciated ,
Any article "appreciates" in value only
when there is an increased demand for it
either because of the reduction in the
quantity or an enlarged need for it iu the
current affairs of life. The figures of
the best statisticians show that the gold
coin of the world and the totnl money of
J
the world have increased much more rapidly -
idly than the population since 1873 , hence
the absurdity of the claim that it has "ap-
predated" in value , as the amount for
each individual in the world hasgreatly
increased 1 since the passage of the act in
question. The gold money of the world
has j more than doubled since 1873 , the silver -
ver money of the world has nearly or quite
]
trebled . in that time and the paper money
has also increased largely , while the popj
illation of the world has increased only 25
per cent in the same period. It is thus
evident that the total amount of money
for each individual in the world is much
greater than in 1873 aud that there can
thus | be no increased per capita deniand
for 1 gold nnd hence no "appreciation" in
its ' value , while the fact that a large proportion -
portion ] of the business of the world is now
performed ' with checks , drafts and other
forms of credit without the direct use of
money ] further reduces the demand upon
gold. The mines of the world produce
more gold to-day than they produced of
gold ! and silver together in 1873 , the silver
] production of to-day is nearly three times
what it was in 1873 and the amount of
silver now annually coined is more than
]
was produced from the mines of the world
in 1873. The number of silver dollars
coined ' in the United States in the fiscal
year just ended was two and a half times
as ! many as in the entire history of the
mints ; prior to 1873 and the total number
of ' full legal tender dollars coined by our
mints ] since,1873 is 5G times as many as
were coined in the entire history of the
mint ' prior to the act of 1873.
We declare tbat the act of 1S73 • • ' •
resulted In an appreciation of gold and a
corresponding fall In prices. _ _
Since it is shown from official statis.1
tics that there has- been no a preciatidn
of gold but on thecontrary a vast increase
in ; its production and coinage and an increase -
crease , in the other classes of money of the
world , an increase much more rapid than
that of the population , the cause of the
fall : in prices of commodities must be lookj
ed , for elsewhere. This fall in prices is
due , to the enormous increase in production -
tion , and to the reduced cost of produc-
ing : and transporting the products of the
farm , factory , forest and mine. Senator
Peffer , in his report to the Senate in 1894
on , the cause of the fall in agricultural
prices , said : "In Kansas it appears from
the report of the secretary of the State
Board of Agriculture that it costs 50
cents , to raise a bushel of wheat , * * *
in Pennsylvania the average cost'of proj
during a 'bushel of wheat is about -Co
cents. * * * Wheat in India costs but
about 13 cents a bushel on the farm , 12
cents more puts it aboard ship and 25
cents additional lands it on the wharves
'
in Liverpool. This fifty-cent wheat from
India competes ( in our best market , England -
land ) with wheat on American farms at
an average cost of 60 cents per bushel.
* * * Wages of India farm hands run
from C to 10 cents of our money per day. "
The same report shows that the cost of
prodiicing wheat on the great farms of
California and the Dakotas is less than
half the average cost in the Central Mississippi -
sissippi valley , while similar conditions
jn-evaiHn Argentine and Australia , which
jAroi tiokt-v extrr-'riftij ; low/auejm fre&jhts
machincryahds ' ;
„ a'paralleljn tfieteduced
cost of manufacturing in all lines through
similar causes , and also in the reduction
in the cost of mining and the production
of the precious metals , which thus supply
the money of the world at a greatly reduc-
ed cost of that prime measure of value ,
labor.
We declare that the act of 1873 * •
has resulted in * * •
a heavy increase In
the burdens of taxation.
The increase in the burdens of Federal
taxation are mainly due to the increase in
expenditures for pensions , public build- [
ings and river and harbor improvements
,
and any party which would specifically ;
declare against a continuation of these
would quickly find itself repudiated by the [
people.
We declare that the act of 1873 • • •
has resulted in * • *
a heavy increase in
the burden of all debts , public and private.
The census figures show that .the in
crease in debts since 1873 has been , in a
very large share of the
cases , for the purchase -
chase of homes or the improvement of
farms , and that the sections in which this
increase in mortgage indebtedness has
been greatest , have shown as a result the
greatest activity and the greatest increase
in actual wealth and cenuine nmcnorjf I
* "
We declare that the act of 1873 • •
resulted In • • • the enrichment of the
money-lending class at home and abroad.
The money lending class can only "grow
rich" by the interest which it receives for
money loaned , and everybody knows that
the rates of interest have greatly fallen
since 1873 and that the opportunity for
enrichment by this means must
cense
quently have.been correspondingly reduc
ed. The usurious rates of interest which
were possible in
many sections of the
country prior to 1873 are now
absolutely
prohibited by State legislation. ulLjy
We declare that the act of isti • . .
resulted In * • • the prostration of iJ
try and the impoverishment of the PeeD ?
Industry was not "prostrated" '
or th *
people "impoverished" until the
success of
the Democratic party at the
polls '
in 1S J' >
and its free trade legislation which fo ?
lowed paralyzed industry in the UnitPil
States and transformed its
communities
of busy workmen into idlers , thus brincine
"prostration of industry and impoverish
ment of the people. " There
was never
greater prosperity in the United States or
any other country than that of the years
immediately preceding the Democratic '
success of 1892 , and never greater "pros-
tration of industry and impoverishment
of
the neonle" than that which fnlln „ . j a. . I '
Democratic . It is '
success. because
! of the
"prostration of industry and impoverish
ment of the people" through the opera
tions of the Democratic party that its
leaders now abandon their time-honored
principles and ask restoration to power on
a currency proposition which has been
discarded by the most progressive nations
of the world and is being rejected by oth
ers as rapidly as possible.
We are unalterably opposed to monnmnf
allism whiCb-has locked Cast the
of an Industrial people In the paralysisi prasperitv
hard times. " 'joia or
The adoption of the free coinage of sil
ver at the ratio of 1G to 1 would result in
true monometallism , with silver as the
money metal. This is proven by the fact
that every country which has attempted
to retain the silver standard or the con
current free coinage of both metals at a
ratio widely different from the commercial
ratio of the two metals has lost all of its
gold and retained only .silver currency and
true monometallism , while other nations
making gold the standard and coining
silver on government account circulate
both metals in large quantities , approach
ing j thus more nearly to true bimetallism
than those which by the free nnd utiHmiti
ed coinage of silver at a ratio widely
different from the commercial ratio of the
two metals obt"In only silver monomctal-
lism. j The condition of the people of the
countries maintaining the gold standard ,
or what the framers of this platform term
gold monometallism , is one of vastly
greater prosperity than that of the people
ple of the countries maintaining the silver
standard. There is more money per capita -
ita j , better wages , better homes , more comforts -
forts j of life , more education and more
general intelligence among the people of
the t gold standard countries than among
those of any of the countries having the
silver standard. Mexico , which is probably -
ably the most prosperous of the silver
standard countries , has a total of $4.93
IKsr j capita for its people , the South Amer
ican j States a per capita of less than 2
aside from the uncovered and depreciated
paper j , China $3.33 , the Central American
States j $3.GG , while Germany has $17.59
per } capita , Great Britain $20.78 per capita -
ita j , United Stntes $22.57 per capita , Netherlands -
erlands , $24.25 per capita , and France
$35.77 per capita. "Monometallism" has
indeed j "locked fast the prosperity of an
industrial j people in the paralysis of hard
times" i wherever it has been established
by j the process proposed by this platform ,
viz. : the unlimited coinage of both met1
als at a ratio widely differing from their
relative , commercial value.
Gold monometallism Is a British policy
and has brought other nations into financial
servitude i to London.
It is also a German policy , a French
policy ] , a Belgian policy , an Austro-Hun-
garian i policy , a Netherlands policy , a
Danish J policy , a Russian policy , a Chilian
policy 1 , a Peruvian policy , a Japanese policy -
icy , and in fact the policy of the most
enlightened ' and progressive nations the
world over. If the United States were to
abandon i her present system and under-
.take a greatly enlarged use of silver without -
out < the co-operation of other nations she
would abandon the company of the most
intelligent 1 , enlightened and prosperous
nations ] of the world and join the ranks of
the i weakest and least intelligent nations ,
all j of which are hastening to adopt the
gold j standards as rapidly as possible.
It Is not only un-American but antl-Ameri-
can ( , and It can be fastened on the United
States only by the stifling of that spirit and
love j of liberty which proclaimed our politi
cal ( Independence In 1770 and won it In the
war of the Revolution.
The "spirit and love of liberty which
proclaimed ] our independence in 177G" and
which is still strong in the minds of the
people ] of the United States is not in favor
of reducing the citizens of this country to
the 1 level of poverty , degradation , ignori
ance j and practical enslavement which
characterize i the condition of the masses
in i the few remaining silver standard coun
tries 1 of the world to-day. The only attempt -
tempt 1 to "stifle the spirit of love of lib-
erty" < ever made in the United States bei
gan | in 18G1 by the very party and. the
very leaders who are now proposing to degrade -
grade j the working people of this country
to 1 a level of those least intelligent and
prosperous j on the face of the earth.
We demand the free and unlimited coinage
of ' both silver and gold at the present legal
ratio of 16 to 1 without waiting for the aid
or consent of any other nation.
A policy which all the intelligent nations
of ( the world have abandoned since the
enormous ( production of silver has brought
it j to a ratio of 34 to 1 with gold and the
ffeyafee stj&in ing. e product
6y the highest officiaV authorities. '
We demand that the standard silver del
lars shall be full legal tender equally with
gold for all debts , public and private.
It is now "a full legal tender for all j
debts , public and private , " except where
such men as William M. Stewart , John P.
Jones , Arthur Sewall , John P. Altgeld ,
John R. McLean and other silver leaders |
deprive it of its full legal tender value by
making their contracts and loans and
rents and interest payable by the poor in
gold only. Every one of the 450,000,000
standard silver dollars which we now
have is a full legal tender for all debts ,
public and private , and the party which
asserts even by implication that this is
not the fact intends either to discredit
those dollars or to deceive the people , or
both.
both.We
We favor such legislation as will prevent
for the future the demonetization of any
kind of legal tender money by private con
tract.
An excellent plan ; but the fact that the
leaders of the party proposing this now
refuse to follow that plan in their private
affairs , casts a suspicion upon the good
faith of this public assertion.
We are onnosed to the policy and practice
of surrendering to the Holders or the obliga
tions of the United States the option re
served by law to the Government of re
deeming such obligations in either silver
coin or gold coin.
Every holder of obligations of the Unit
ed States can receive his pay for them in
silver if he desires or in gold if he desires.
If the Government were to insist on pay
ing in one metal to the exclusion of the
other it would immediately discredit its
obligations and at the same time injure
the standing of a large share of the money
which it has itself issued and promised by
implication or in words to keep as good as
the best. While these obligations call for
payment in "coin , " that term , when the
acts authorizing the bonds were passed ,
related only to that which was the equiv
alent of gold in value aud purchasing pow
er , and to attempt to take advantage of
the fact that the metal of which a part
of this coin is now made has iu the mean
time depreciated in value , and force coins
of that particular class upon the holders
of those obligations would" be dishonest
and would lay the Government liable , as
it does those who propose it , to the charge
of taking advantage of a technicality to
do a > dishonest and treacherous' act. It :
would bring upon the Government of the
United States , as it does UDon ihn mon <
who now make it , the contempt and con
demnation of honest men the world over.
We are opposed to the Issuing of interpc/ :
bearing bonds of the United States in timn
of peace , etc. c
So are we all of us , and but for the
misfortune that the Government of the
United States was placed under the con
trol of the Democratic party in 1892 there
would have been no necessity for issuing
bonds "in time of peace. " It is something
new for that party , however , to announce
a general opposition to "issuing bonds in
time of peace , " as this has frequently
|
happened under Democratic control of the
Government , beginning with Jefferson
and ending under Buchanan and Cleve
land.
Congress alone has the power to coin and
Issue money , and President Jackson declared
that this power could not be delegated to
corporations or individuals ; we therefore de
nounce the Issuance of notes Intended to cir
culate as money by national banks as In
derogation of the Constitution , and demand
that vrt ! japer wblch Is made a legal tender
BMSSh n i rwatiWi iimiii - , , , , - . . . n-iitTTiri
1 1 .
t i
for l public and private debts , or which la
j receivable for duties to the United States ,
fihall bo Issued by the Government of the
United States aud shall bo redeemable In
coin.
coin.This
This means that all the pnper money of
the \ country shall be issued by the Govern
ment i , and would thus be either "fiat
money" i or must be sustained by keeping
in j the treasury an enormous metallic re
serve i , much larger than the one which
now ] exists and which causes so much dis
satisfaction i to the Democracy aud its fiat
associates i of Populistic and socialistic
tendencies. i
In support.of these principles wc Invite
the i co-operation of all men who love liberty-
and ' bate corruption , oppression and tyranny.
A combination of high sounding words ,
intended ' only to mislead and inilame un
thinking people , and coming with extreme
ly ' poor taste from a party whose entire
record : up to the time of its removal from
power j in 18G1 , was directed against the
"love " of "oppres
of liberty" and iu favor
sion ' and tyranny. "
We hereby declare all trusts and monop
olies hostile and dangerous to the people's
j Interests • • * and demand a vigorous
enforcement | of all anti-trust laws , etc.
All of which sounds well. But the people
ple , are naturally suspicious of'such de
clarations coming from a party which ncg-
lected j during its four years of power to
enforce , the existing anti-trust laws , and
which framed its tariff law in the interests -
ests , of the sugar trust , the greatest trust
of i the land with the single exception of
the 1 one which it is now attempting to
place ] in control of the nation , the silver
trust. 1
We demand the Immediate recognition of
the ' belligerent rights of the Republic of
Cuba , etc. %
Which it is generally conceded would
be 1 of little practical value to the Cubans ,
and would probably destroy the opportunity -
nity i of bringing about , through the peaceful -
ful 1 and proper methods of diplomacy , the
results for which the people of that island
are now struggling.
Wheat's Valunble .Lesson.
The silver leaders are utterly unable
to * explain the rise in the price of wheat ,
and at the same time maintain their argument -
gument j of last year. The ablest of them ,
including 5 Mr. Jones of Nevada and Mr.
Teller , have ventured upon the task , but
all have failed. All are forced to confess
that I the natural law of supply and demand -
mand does apply in the present price of
wheat. But such a confession could not
have been wrung from them a year ago.
Then they were contending , almost fierceI
ly ] , that wheat was low solely because
money was scarce. Increase the volume
of money , they insisted , and wheat would
go up. But it would not and could not go
up without such an increase. Wheat is
now at the dollar mark , and even higher ,
and yet there is no more money in the
country than there was ' last year. And
free silver meanwhile has not only not
been decreed , but the policy stands rejected -
jected j at the polls.
Now that the problem has been solved ,
aud by a process which all may so easily ,
comprehend , it seems strange that so
many people last year should have believed - 1
lieved 1 so implicitly in Mr. Bryan's contentions -
tentions about money and prices. The r
Nebraska 3 leader and his lieutenants c
would allow nothing whatever to the law *
of supply and demand. Silver had been 1
struck down. By that act half of the
money of redemption of the world had
been j . destroyed , and hence low prices fol
lowed for everything. They picked out r
wheat for illustration , and now wheat ,
obeying the spurned law of supply and
demand , goes to the dollar mark. Short l
crops abroad , which create a demand for T
the j American wheat supply , knock the *
Bryan into the White House Washinc- f
ton Star
;
Myers and McLean.
At the recent Democratic State conven
tion Allen O. Myers was the personal
representative of John It. McLean. As
such he not only carried out the wishes of
his chief , but was , in fact , the most influ
ential Democrat in all that gathering. He j
dictated the platform , and on the Sunday
before the convention , which met on Wed
nesday , told a Blade representative exact
ly what it would contain , and he told it
straight.
Myers knows McLean well. He was
connected with McLean's newspaper for
years , and each trusted the other to the
exteat that he dared. For a time there
was enmity between these two men. My
ers was not drawing a salary from Mc
Lean. At this time Myers wrote a book.
It was labeled "Bosses and Boodle in
Ohio Politics. " On page 213 of this book
Myers had this to say of McLean :
He has no morals. He Is a stranger to sen
timent. He Is not deterred by scruples. If I
he has an object in view and has the money
to buy It , in his code of life no law , no man.
no community has a right to question his
act. He believes every man has his price.
He goes straight to results and cares noth
ing about public opinion , methods or the
rlKhts of others. When he can get or has Kot
what he wants he pays promptly and liber
ally. It doesn't seem possible that such a
character can exist in an enlightened aue
But John R. McLean is a fact. His exIsN
ence must be acknowledged.
And now this same McLean is boss of
the Democratic party in Ohio , and a can
didate for United States Senator , while
this same Myers is his chief henchnnn _
Toledo Blade. *
Is Pension Money Wasted ?
The outcry against the increase of the
pension list since the McKinley adminis
tration came in still continues , and we
have little doubt that it will r0 on as Ion"-
as new names are added to the roll. It is
not a popular clamor , for a great majority
of the American people , irrespective of
party , are in favor of the pension laws as
they stand and desire their impartial
en
forcement. One of our contemporaries
thinks it unfortunate that some plan
can
not be devised to
stop the growth of the
list. Death is doing a great deal in that
direction. It clipped off 3G.00O names last 1
year , and-it-will continue to clip at "n '
increasing ratio as tne years wear on ' for
even the youngest of the surviving
vet
erans are getting to be old men.
We have , in a recent issue of the Post
explained the increase of the list since
the 4th of March by showing that it was
due to the Cleveland hold-up. Nearly all
the applications granted
under the present
administration came over from the Cleve
land regime. It was the settled policy of
Mr. Cleveland to hold up claims and pass
them along to his successor. There was
no saving to the treasury in this in the
long run , for a pension dates back to the
time of the application. Most of the held-
up claims were those of widows , clearly
proven ana sure to De allowed. The
Cleveland administration deliberately
halted the work of the pension bureau
and kept thousands of poor widows out ol
the money that belonged to them. If any
one doubts this the records of the bureau
will prove it. And it is in perfect har
mony with the whole course of Mr. Cleve
land on the pension question. His views
are just about those which his ardent ad
i
-
mirer , the Baltimore Sjun , expresses in
tills paragraph , clipped from a recent edi
torial :
"It will not be long at ( he * present rate
before we .shall have duplicated the cost
of the war in pensions. This would bo
readily acquiesced in , however onerous ,
if the money all went to the deserving ,
but the fact that most of it is wasted is
legitimate cause for criticism. "
Waste is unnecessary or useless ex
penditure. The Cleveland theory , as for
mulated by the Sun , is that most of the
money paid to the veterans , their widows
nnd j their orphans , has been unnecessarily
or uselessly expended. Mr. Cleveland be
lieved that the pension roll was honey
combed with frauds. In order to test that
belief ho was supplied with ample facili
ties to hunt down and punish frauds. He
spent a deal of money in that quest , and
the result \ as n complete vindication of
the substantial honesty of the pensioners.
In his last annunl message he presented
facts and figures by which he involun
tarily proved that the pension roll was a
roll of honor. But although his hunt for
frauds was something very much like a
failure , he met with success in holding up
widows' pensions. Washington Post
( ' Dem. ) .
Mexican WorkhiRincn in Hard hue * .
A special commission sent to Mexico by
the , Trade and Labor Assembly at Chicago
cage ( , last fall reported that teamsters got
$1 per day in Mexican money in the City
of Mexico , while those in the city of Chicago
cage ( get $1.75 per day in American dollars
lars I , which , as indicated , are worth near
. ly i 2 * limes as much as the Mexican dol-
lar. ' Street car drivers get 75 cents per
dny ' in the City of Mexico in depreciated
money ' , and in the city of Chicago $2.25
per ] day in good money. Printers in Mexico -
ice ' , $1.25 per day ; in Chicago , $3. Pressmen -
men ' in Mexico , $1.20 per day ; in Chicago.
$3.50. Shoemakers in Mexico , $1.25 ; in
Chicago ( , $2.50. Carpenters in Mexico ,
$1.25 per dny ; in Chicago , $2.80. Bricklayers -
layers 1 in Mexico , $1.25 ; in Chicago , ? i
per j day. Laborers in Mexico , 37/ . cents
per i day ; in Chicago , $1.25. When it is re
membered that these wages quoted in
Mexico 1 nre now being paid in alleged dollars -
lars 1 -which arc "worth but about 43 cents
as compared with our dollars , which are
worth 100 cents , the contrast in earning
capacity is something appalling.
Business Still Improves.
Business conditions continue to improve
and I the reports which come from the high1
est authorities on this subject are all sati
isfactory. The latest issue of Dun's Be-
view , commenting on business conditions
the country over , says : "Every city reporting -
porting this week notes increase in trade
and nearly all bright prospects. The
great change in business is emphasized by
the presence of a multitude of buyers
from all parts of the country , by their
statements of the situation at their homes ,
and , 'more forcibly yet , by the heavy purchases -
chases they are making. But the customary -
ary signs of prosperity nre not lacking ,
The strong rise in stocks , the growth of
bank clearings and railroad earnings , the
heavy speculation in many products , but
most of all in wheat , have made the week
one of surpassing interest even to those
who best remember the upward rush in
1879. j
It Was Not True , of Course.
"No man in public ollice owes the public
anything. "
The calamity organs are publishing the
above and crediting the statement to Sen
ator Hanna. The Senator is said to have
written the startling sentiment in a letter
to Attorney General Watson. It must be
classed , s -j the Times-Star , among the
'
covery that it is a pure inveiTOon : Mr.
Watson declares that no letter ever re
ceived by him from Senator Hanna con
tained sufch a statement. This early ex
posure of the fraudulency of the cam
paign efforts of the McLean-Chapman
crowd is a stunning blow to the rampant
apostles of free silver.
Wool at Twenty-five Cents.
Cadiz Republican : It is with pleasure
that the Cadiz Republican can announce
this week that the price of wool in Harri
son County is twenty-five cents a pound
During the past week Messrs. C. M. II0' " '
& Son have purchased the clips of wool
raised by the following well-known farm
ers of Harrison County , 35,000 pounds in
all , paying in each case twenty-five cents
a pound. The clips of Dnnlap Brothers j
Cadiz township ; John Clifford , Green
township ; S. B. Porter , Green township-
R. R. Cochran. Cadiz township ; Joseph L
Thompson & Son , Cadiz township ; Henrv
Mclvee , Green township ; John McDivitt
Stock township ; Samuel Hedses. Oi.ii
township ; Ross Mansfield , Wayne town
ship , Jefferson County : II. B. Lacey , La-
ceyville , and Oliver Roob , Green town
ship.
What Would Happen.
"If the Democrats should gain control
of Ohio they would send to the Senate a
man who would support the vicious prin
ciples of the Chicago platform. The State
would be gerrymandered , and fifteen or
sixteen men , instead of five , as at present ,
would • be sent to Congress to support
these same vicious principles. " Chair
man Geo. K. Nash.
Brief Comment.
The increase in the production of gold
in all parts of the world is proving very
discouraging to the free silver theorists.
The value of the silver dollar has fallen
10 cents and the price of wheat has risen
25 cents per bushel since the free coinage
orators were insisting last year that J
wheat and silver went hand in hand as to I
prices. I
The 1900 election is likely to find the
world with a billion dollars more of gold
than it had in 189G. The wonderful in
crease jn the production of gold in all
parts of the world is proving very discour
aging to the free silver theorists.
The friends of the free coinage proposi
tion who have been insisting that their pet
financial theory would , if put in practice ,
increase our sales abroad are not discuss
ing very loudly the fact that in the very
year in which the country refused to adopt
free coinage its exports were the largest
in its history , amounting to $1,032,001. -
o00.
Miss Genevieve Griilith , engaged in
raising Chinese pheasants in the Waldo
hills , eight miles east of Salem , Ore , has
about 200 young pheasants that awnnn-
taking.on plumage. They are-yet running
at large , and it is hardly possible to dis
tinguish domestic from wild birds around
the Griffith place.
The continued rains of the past few
days have caused serious loss to the coal
dealers who have boats moored near Ba
ton Rouge , La. The fleet of W. G. Coyle
& Co. , about fifteen boats , filled with
water and sank.
M'LEA " N G0LD B0fifc. I
TEXT OF THE DOCUMENT AND 1
SKETCH OF ITS HISTORY- 1
Blan Who Would Pay Worklncwurac I
In 40-Ccnt SUvcc Dollars leujiio3 - I
Gold , and Cold Only , for Him-
self. I
Officio. ! Record * Show It. I
The demand for information about Jotin.
R. McLean's gold bonds continue * . - * <
htrong that we reproduce this week l e
bond in full with a brief statement of it *
history. It is its own comment upon the-
candidacy of a man who advocates a.
cause of paring workingiiH'ii iu 40-tfnt I
silver dollars anil demands good gold dollars
lars , and gold dollars only , for himself.
The transaction in question ih that of a
contract made by him with the CoIunbut
Athletic Club of this city in 1881 > . in
which he requires that organization 1 <
make sundry obligations , amounting tu
$70,000 , payable to him individually m
gold coin , both principal and interest.
The transaction related to the construc
tion of a club house for thin orgamra-
tion , the Columbia Athleti < * Club or ll t
District of Columbia. In that year ln-
madu an agreement with the dnb l y
which he sold to it certain lots iu Un
fashionable northwest part of Washing
ton , near the War , State and Na\'y De
partments ; , and erected thereupon a com
modious : and costly club house , the prior
of ' the land and the club house being $ TO. -
000. ' This money the club agreed to pay
on ; or before the 1st of March , 1009. nml
| issued bonds payable to John R. McLean ,
bearing his name upon their" face. The > ?
bonds ' he required the club to agree t
pay 1 in "gold coin of the Tinted State * tf
the ' present standard of weight and tin *
ncss ' , " also requiring it to pay the "iutef *
eg < * , thereon in like gold coin. "
There can be no doubt about the aent
racy ' of this statement. The bonds wen-
prepared 1 nnd signed by the • jllicers of the
club and turncd.ovcr to him , and some f / '
them ' have since passed into the hand1 * of /
other parties who now hold them. Not /
only are these bonds still extant and"
readily obtainable by those who desire
to t verify this statement , but a still more
permanent I and unimpeachable record i C
this 1 transaction is found upon the ofliciu !
records of the District of Columbia. TIm *
details of the entire transaction between
Mr. McLean nnd the Columbia Athleti * . -
Club < are set forth in a copy of a deed of
trust t given in connection with this trans
action. Among the details of this tran.- j
action , which are found on the ofllciabree-
ords , are copies of the two series of bond *
which the club was required to give as i s
form of agreement to pay Mr. McLean
the gold which he required from it. Titers
were to be two classes of bonds , one clas *
amounting to $45,000 , each bond to 1m :
for the sum of $1,000 , the second class i > f
bonds being for $25,000 , also payable It
gold , and bearing a 'higher rate of interi--
than those of the first class , u copy > t
which is herewith appended :
COPY OB' TflE P.OND.
TUE COLUMIHA ATIH.KTIC CMII" j 1
07 TUB DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. J 1
FIRST MORTGAGE FIVE PER CENT. GOLD BOSC J
For value received , the 0 umhla Ath-
letlc Club of the District r 0 lnmMi :
hereby acknowledges Itself I ielile I. imil
hereby agrees to pay. ts > John Ii. M * I
Lean , or the bearer hereof , on the 'Ir.t - } H
rtay Olarch. lOW. Onejg'liousaiHl Dal \
To 7old ' " Wir M'iiisisn" > States , of J
tlie Urst days of S2. ; iber and March of i *
each and every y IL ni lh < ; production
and surrender of trie prop.ir • ' • . • upon here J.
to annexed. H
This Is one of a series o * Torty-fitt-
bonds eacii of like tenor and • • n"e < - >
numbered eonserutively fn.m 1 to 4. , Ir
elusive , and seeiircil by a tirvt nmrtgaK' *
I deed of trust hearhi : ? even ri.tte iicrf-wtt'i. f H
executed and delivered by said obIir > ' I
i to said George \V. Swartze ! and A " " J-
liritton as trustees , for ih < holders < - " j- H
s.ild bonds , conveying the said e.sta •
therein described and the b..ifdbi s. ! > < t
teriuents and improvements wliieh ii : y H
be erected or placed tlieroa and ili.ly r • H
corded in the otliec of tin * IJeeorder < > " H
Deeds of the District of Columbia. H
If default of payment of I ; > t * re t < * H
these bonds is made and eonr.niied for > > ' H
days after due demand , the r riurj.i | H
thereof , at the option of ( .aid trustee _ . B
subject to the control of I lie majority s. B
Interest of said bond * , sha't ' becom" im- H
as providi 1 In said deed • > * 'rnsr. Th M
obligor hereby espressly wai. 'e.s aI. | mc H
and every benelit or privilege of sny ex ' H
tension , stay or appralsemcit lav. - ii v
existing or which may hereafter lie en r S
S aeteil and of ail rl bt or equity of re jH
demption iu ease of sale > r foreclosur- | 4sH
j under tbe terms and provisions of suM | H
J deed of trust. ;
This bond Is subject to redemption on f I
the first day of .March. 1S9-J. or on the
nrst day of .September or .March of any
year thereafter at the option of sai
ohlixor. provided proper notice at the- infl
tention to redeem and pay for heme te fl
given In writing to the holder hereof per'fl
sonally or by publication in a newspaper j fl
of general circulation In said city of fl
Washington , and In either ease not les-c fl
J than 00 days previous to the date namwi fl
for said redemption. H
In witness whereof , the said Coliimb * ) fl
Athletic Club of the District of Colniublf fl
has issued this bond to be signed in itt H
name by the President , sealed u-Ith 'hi. fl
corporate seal , attested bv Its sP.rp _ * . . . .
this first day of March. A. D. 18 > H
( Signed ) - - H
'
COLUMBIA ATIILHTIP CLUB fl
of the District of Columbia f H
CHAKLKS A. BKAHBUKY fl
IIOWAKD PEKItr. Secre. ! ' ry. Stle ! \
The interest coupons attached to tii < - I
bond lead as follows : H
? 2T .00 \
On the first day of Scpterr.br" . ISSO the
Columbia Athletic- Club of 'he DKrhr-
of Columbia will pay to the bearer Twen-
ty-live Dollars In gold coin of the United
States at the Citizens' National Bank of
Washington. D. C. being six months * In I
terestou Its first mortgage b.m < i3. Class A * I I
Mexico's Prcrticsmcrtc. I
The recent enormous fail in the price
or
silver is driving Mexico to consider th * I
advisability of going to the goI < ] standard " M
The example of Japan , Itu.s.sin , Peru and " fl
in fact , all the intelligent nations
of the
world , is having its
effect upon the state-- I
*
men of that country , and. followed , as -
is , by the business troubles growing -
on-
of the great fall in the valueof silr--r 1
warns them that they must fall i | jctr I
with other civilized nations if they expect I
to maintain their business and flnan-V I
standing. I
Business must indeed b bright wh I
the .New lork Journal , which a year ao a > I
was insisting that nothing but the fr- I
coinage of silver could bring I
prosperitr
the Lnited States , has published a 7nH- I
page article showing a prosperous comL- 1
turn \ew\ork and-the I
country over/
Dr. jae8 B. At.gell. the new United 1
States minister to-Turkey , ha. arrirci = x I
Constantinople.
• * * H