A f ) Lit The Wealth Makers and Lincoln Independent Consolidated. VOL. VIII. LINCOLN, NEBR., THURSDAY, Oct. 15. 1896. NO. 19. mm i It Ml SITUATION Ooldbugs of Nebraska Facing a Very Decidedly Gloomy ' Prospect. BEYAN S EXCELLENT CHANCES Becent Republican Polls Give Him a Majority of 15,000 Votes. A SPECIAL AGENT ABBIVES .And Pays the State Committee a Visit in the Dead of Night "HE HEARS VERY POOR NEWS Told That it 1b Impossible to Stem the Tree Silver Tide Here."." The Plain Facts. In the Chicago Record, in its issue of r October 8th, appeared the following spe v V ( $Tal telegram concerning the sitnation in i jy Nebraska. That it is true in almost yjr very particular and that the republicans Sk v,re in a cold sweat, no one who under Jf stands the situation at all, has any rea- son to doubt: ' Omaha, Neb., Oct. 7. Bryan's tour of the east has intensified the interest of eastern people in the outcome of the election in Nebraska. The fact that 7 V VNebraska has only eight electoral votes jloes not in the least lessen the apparent anxiety to know the exact situation in the state where Bryan T-esides a state which has given a good miajority for re- publican presidential electors ever since ; its admission as a state in 1867. Certain eastern papers have attempted to meet the demand for reliable information con cerning the campaign in Nebraska by sending special representatives here to feel the public pulse. They have talked "with leading partisans on all phases of . the situation, but they took account J " only of the outcroppings; they could not " ' get below the surface. There can be no doubt of a desire If upon the part of the eastern press to tull the who.e truth with respect to the 4 situation in Nebraska. It caunot, how everbe acquired in a visit of short duration. There is a gloomy prospect ahead of republicans in this state. There is con sternation in the councils of the leaders amounting to demoralization. In the first place a grave blunder was made in picking men for the state central com mittee. In the , most part they are re garded among many party leaders as . not only incompetent for the duties of a hot campaign but they are personally offensive to the voters at large because of the records made by them in the past. Stbe strong men of the party have been fehced out and they view the situation ftp utter hopelessness, A few days ago. Wowever, an attempt was made to inject Hiw; blood into, the campaign and "Brad" Slaughter, an old campaigner, was quietly put in actual control of the jf. working forces. This gave some degree J of confidence to the party leaders I throughout the state and more efficient I. work is being done; but the fear is enter tained that the change was made too late to enable republicans to recover lost ground. Ten days ago a poll was taken by the republican committee which showed that Bryan had a majority of at least 15,000 votes. This information leaked to the opposition camp, and, in fact, the democratic-populist leaders are now in posses sion of the poll made by the republicans covering a considerable portion of the state." The result of such a disclosure can readily be imagined. In ess than y ifelve hours the intelligence was flashed over the state. Hundreds of voters who act upon expediency father then princi ple got. off the fence and are now march ing with the army which they believe will win the fight in this state. The rank and file of republicans have not yet re covered from the shock which the an- , ..nnn...) nl tli. .mult il tl ........ fjj 1 them. The enemy has put them in con tusion. A rew 01 Major Alc&iuley s inti mate friends, realizinir the danirer threatened, lost no time in acquainting him with the facts. These letters were r promptly returned to the Chicago office of the national committee and the com mitteemen replied to them in an indiffer ent way. Last week a confidential agent oft be national committee came into tie state and interviewed some of the leaders in the dead of night. He was told Cat the republican state committee is powerless to stem the tide o! free sil ver among the farmers. Heretofore republicans have been strong in the country towns and have exerted srreat influence upon the farmer vote, but this year, prices being so low. and the nominee being a Nebraskan, the country merchant could make nocon verts as a matter of fact feeling rune so high in the country towns that farmers boy cott merchants who declare for there publican platform. In previous years Nebraska has been safely repnblicanand the party leaders paid little or no at tention to the farmer vote; now, when they are in sore need of that element, it is far beyond reach. Money cannot in fluence it. The confidential agont was also told ot the utter incompetency of the state committee, which As a matter of fact has hindered rather than pro moted the campaign from a republican standpoint. He was told that the com mittee has been surrounded by a horde of discredited camp fol lower, obnoxious not only to the res pectable element of the party but to voters generally and that if the re publican national committee expected to win for McKinley the fight must be made under new commanders. He was told further that the committee had sent only $ 2,500 into this state, which was only a drop in the bucket. A heavy as sessment had been levied upon the can didates and the money thus derived had been spent in getting a poll to pay salaries of the drones who put in their time around committee headquarters. The upshot of it all was 'that the na tional committee became fully aware of the situation in Nebraska and republi can, leaders began throwing ballast over board. There was a panic in party cir cles in Omaha. Leading business men and capitalists met in secret meetings to formulate plans for saving the state for McKinley and "sound money," In these conferences the fact was developed that no dependence could be placed upon the state committee, and, that being true, any funds contributed by Omaha cap italists must be disbursed by others. ' Meanwhile frantic appeals were sent to the national committee for help, but so far tbe committee has done nothing but steer a few big speakers this way. There is an indefinite promise of money, and the latest rumor is that Senator Thurs ton will from this time on stay at home and direct the fight; that the national committee will deal solely with the sena tor in all efforts in behalf of the republi can electoral ticket. The senator said to a party of workers yesterday that he had grave doubts of the success ot the republican ticket in Nebraska. Every body hopes that the national committee will storm the state and make a hand to hand contest, but there is little confi dence that this will be done. Nebraska has only eight rotes in the electoral col lege, while other states have man'y votes. Under such conditions the nominees on the republican Btate ticket are in a cold sweat. While it is possible for Bryan electors to win and at the same time for the republican state ticket to 'pull through, there is little or no hope in re publican circles for the success of the latter. The sentiment now prevades the state house that with the end of 1896 will come the downfall of the republican regime which has ruled for more than a quarter of a ceutury. - Tne nominees met in Omaha Friday evening last.. The purpose of the con ference was to devise some means by which Omaha maybe made to give a heavy vote for the republican ticket. The local campaign was put in charge of William J. Broatch, an adroit politi cian, and $8,200 subscribed and put into the hands of Milton Barlow for the pur poses of the campaign in Omaha. In other words the state committee has abandoned Omaha and will depend solely upon the citizens' emergency committee for big majorities here. This is , tbe only encouraging feature of the local situation.. - Omaha is safely republican, but the statisticians say that this city must give at least 5,000 for McKinley and that Lincoln must give 1,500 or all is lost. A careful house-to-house canvass, just finished here, gives every reason to hope for a majority of 5.000. Republican mathe maticians say thut Bryan and McKinley will come down to Ornaha neck to neck and that Omaha's vote will be the measure of the majority. But the ex tent of the democratic-populist fusion groundswell is greater than the republi can weather prophets care to admit. In fact, the Bran people are . confidently claiming the state by 25,000 and the alarm and dismay manifested in the re publican camp give color to f he populist predition. A republican returned today from the northern tier of counties traversed by the Elkhorn road. He went to take a survey of the field in the interest of a candidate on the state ticket. He comes back convinced that the fuxioii ticket will sweep the northern portion of the state, which includes the Third and Sixth congressional districts, long since conceded to the populists. His view is only corroborative of the nmiiy other reports from that section. J. H. MucColl is the republican nomi nee for governor and Governor Silas A. Holcomb was renominated. The latter defeated Tom Majors two years ago. MacColl was defeated by Majors in con vention and the latter charges MacColl with perfidy. Majors has bad a knife ready for MacColl ever since and his friends are reported to be doing their ut most to slay MacColl in the house of bis friends. On tbe other hand populists, silver democrats and silver republicans are fighting desperately for Holcomb. Were the election to be held tomorrow the fusionists would win, hands down; whether republicans can regain their lost position within thirty days remains to be seen. PLAN OF THE GOLDDUG ANARCHISTS How They Expect to Overthrow the Constitution and Dely the Law WILL BE DONE BY THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY It was Only an Order Treasury That Established the $100, 000,000 Gold Reserve. The Truth of The republican platform of 1890 dif fers from any national platform ever be fore promulgated in this country in the assumption that there now exists only the one standard money and that is the gold standard. Take notice the plat form does not propose a doing away of the silver standard but it assumes that there is no silver standard money and that there now exists the gold standard only. 1 The difference between those two prop ositions is immense as I will show. If we have but the one standard, gold, then all our money, consists of gold and only such other kinds of money as are redeemable in gold. If silver dollars are redeemable in gold then they are not standard money and the secretary of the treasury has the power at any time to do what never has been done in this country as yet, and that is to redeem silver dollars in gold. If the silver dol lars are not by law of congress redeem able in gold then they are standard money and such redemption by the sec retary of the treasury would lawfully make the secretary liable to impeach ment. . V If there was a law of congress allowing such redemption the secretary could go at it any time, and he would have to treat all alike, pay gold to all that he con Id with silver dollars, there would be no limit to the power of tbe golditesto come and carry away tbe gold in ex change for silver dollars and silver cer tificates, the redemption of which would task the gold of the country to its ut most, the 1450,000,000 of the paper money now being redeemed in gold would be funded into bonds for want of gold to redeem it, we could not coin any more silver dollars for want of gold to redeem them, and in very truth we should be on tbe single gold basis, that condition longed for by the great creditor classes and monopolies, but extremely slavish to the great mass of the people. This business would not be pushed with in considerate haste by the goldites, but once admit the legality of the single gold standard and they will be on hand with any amount of plausible pretexts for working it as fast as can be done with out enlightening the people in the caus8 of their misery. ' On the other hand if the silver men by their voices and votes stand by the four hundred and thirty-three millions of silver dollars now in the country and defend them and maintain them as a separate and distinct standard money entirely independent of gold as they truly are in law and in fact, then the sec retary of tbe treasury cannot debase the silver dollars by redeeming them in gold without being lawfully liable to im peachment. In this case we can go ahead with free coinage, stop : the : making of gold ; con tracts, and fast bring silver in fact as well as in law into the debt paying power equally with gold. The reason why the republican party in its platform and McKinley in his letter of acceptance, have taken so much pains to set propose a change from the double standard to a single one, but simply to ignore the existance of the silver stand ard altogether and proceed as they say to preserve the existing gold standard, is that if it be established that there is by law no silver standard, then the sec retary of the treasury can proceed to re deem1 the silver dollars in gold without any act of congress on the subject, but if there is a silver standard money, then the doing of that away and the redemp tion of the Bilver dollars in gold will be such a great change as to require an act of congress authorizing it to be done, and the probability now is that no such law can ever be gotten through the sen ate, whatever maybe the result of the coming November election in other re spects fco that we see that tbe goldites are in a desperate strait to sustain the position that we have no silver standard money in order that they may without authority of congress, and by the dicta tion of the secretary of the treasury only precipitate the single gold standard basis slavery upon the country. And this is the reason why for several years past this country from ocean to ocean and in all its vast extant has been filled with falsehoods to the effect that the silver dollars and silver certificates are redeemable and being redeemed in gold, and when driven from this assertion by clear proofs, then they declare that by some indirect way tbey are so redeem able, all of which is as untruthful as the other. We see from the foregoing that it is of first-class importance that the voters of tbe country be correctly in formed whether in fact the silver dollars do or do not constitute a standard money, that is whether or not the are of the Secretary ol the the Matter. in any manner either directly or indi rectly redeemable in gold. And this iu auiry we will now consider. NEVER WERE EITHER REDEEMED OR REDEEMABLE IN GOLD. This proposition will be established by the following proofs. That there is no law for such redemption and it has never been done. On October 9, 1893, the senate of the United States adopted the following resolution: Resolved, that the secretary of the treasury be, and ho is hereby directed to inform the senate, whether silver dollars or silver coin certificates have been re deemed by the treasury department, or exchanged for gold or paper that is by law or practice of the government re deemable in gold. Under date of October 17, 1893. J. G. Carlisle, secretary of the treasury in an swer to this resolution reported to the senate that no such redemptions or ex changes as described in the resolution bad been made. Then in the same re port be says: "In the early history of the standard silver dollar and silver certificate many of the latter were paid out at San Fran cisco, in exchange for deposits of gold coin, but the amount caunot be given." Here follows in the same report a long statement of gold coin and paper re deemable in gold received withiu certain times at the treasury every year from 1880 t..-l 893 inclusive, in exchange for the silver certificates and standard silver dollars, amounting iu all to $100,436, 842 in silver certificates, and to f 67, 421,290 in silver dollars; total of both, $168,858,132. And under all of this is the signature official of J. G. Carlisle, secretary of the treasujy. ; , The foregoing senate resolution and report of secretary Carlisle in answer thereto, are publish in full on pages 328 and 329 of the book entitled "Coinage Laws of theUnited States, 1792 to 1 894." Every voter should have a copy of said book and can get one by writing to the secretary of the treasury for it, Wash ington D. C. ...... On April 22, 1895, 1 wrote to the sec retary of the treasury asking him what ppriod of time his report to the senate above given should be considered as covering; relative to redemptions of silver dollars and silver certificates, to which letter I received the following an swer, , Treasury Department, Office of the Secretary, Washington. D. C, April 29, 1895. Mr. Marvin Warren Dear Sir: Your favor of the 22d instant is received, and in answer lhave the honor to say that, so far as I know,, the policy stated on page 328 of the volume to which you refer has been pursued by the treasury department ever since the passage of the so-called Bland act. Very truly yours, i J. G. Carlisle." From all the foregoing, it appears plain that there never has been any re demption by the treasury department of either silver dollars or silver certifi cates in gold or in any paper redeemable in gold, but, on the contrary, it is shown that between 1878 and 1893 inclunive, there was brought to the treasury $167, 858,132 in gold and paper redeemable in gold, and much more than this, the amount of which cannot be ascertained, in exchange for all of which the govern ment, byrequestof the parties interested, paid out silver dollars and silver certifi cates. What, put these silver dollars and certificates in such good credit that so large an amount of gold and paper re deemable in gold was brought ' to the treasury with request that it be taken in and silver dollars and certificates to be given in return? Not that they were re deemed in gold, surely, for they never were so redeemed. It could be nothing else but the power of legal tender ap plied to tbe silver dollar, although made of bullion worth much less than a dollar. I direct special attention to the state ment in the report that neither silver dollars nor silver certificates are redeem able in any paper that is redeemable in gold. We see and hear it stated that although silver dollars and (certificates are not directly redeemable in gold but I that they are indirectly so redeemable. because that tbey are redeemable in greenbacks and the greenbacks are re deemable in gold. 13ut this plea of in direct redemption of the silver dollars and silver certificates is cut off by the secretaries report because it shows that they are not redeemable in any paoer that is by law or the practice of the gov ernment redeemable in gold. 1 have beard it said that although the silver dollars and certificates are not re deemed in gold, yet they can be traded voluntarily with private parties or banks for greenbacks or treasury notes, and these are redeemable in gold. That is true, but before they can be traded for greenbacks or treasury notes something must give them a value equal to the greenback or treasury note, and that something is nothing else than the legal tender power given them by law, for there is nothing else to give tnem such value. But here is proof indisputable, that the silver dollars are standard money by law and are therefor under present laws absolutely not redeemable in gold under any circumstances or conditions whatsoever. I refer here to the aot of congress of November 1, 1893, wherein occurs the following words: "And it is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to continue tbe use of both gold and silver as standard money." Page 77 of the "Coinage Laws," herein before referred to. Here in this act of congress is a clear recognition that at that time the silver dollars were standard money, and it is there declared to be tbe policy of the United States to continue them so. This provision of the statute has never been repealed or modified in the least. The further proof of the standard character of our silver dollars let any one write to J. G. Carlisle, secretary of the treasury, Washington, D. ft, and re quest to be furnished with circular No. 123, dated July 1, 1896, and he will re ceive a pamphlet, on the 12th page of which are these words: "Gold coins and standard silver dollars being standard coins of the Uhited States are not re- TO SUM THE MATTER UP, we now have fonr hundred and thirty-three mil lions of standard silver dollars in the country, all of which are and always have been entirely irredeemable In gold either directly or indirectly, are entirely independent of gold for their value, as completely so as tbe gold coins are in dependent of the silver dollars, and they are par with gold and always have been for the whole eighteen years since they first began to be issued under the Bland Allison act of February 28, 1878. About $342,000,000 of these silver dollars are in the treasury of the United States rep resented . by just the same amount of silver certificates in circulation. The silver certificates are interconvertable with the silver dollars at the option of the holders, greatly to the convenience of the people because it enables them to keep in circulation such amount of the silver dollars and such amount of paper money in lieu of them as tbey see fit. These silver dollars and silver certifi cates, dollar for dollar enhance the val ue of all property in the United States more than any otherkind of money that we have except the silver coins, gold not excepted, becanse tbey are proportion ately more in actual circulation than any other money with said exception, and by reason of the greater - propor ate circulation they constitute about half of all the actual money circulation of tbe country. resolution. Notwithstanding the importance and standard character of our silver dollars Mr. McKinley and bis platform both aim to make the Bilver dollars and silver cer tificates redeemable in gold, invite the worlds money wreckers to come and carry away the gold in exchange for them, degrade tbe silver dollars to credit money, make every silver dollar a debt to be paid in gold by Uncle Sam just as often as any wrecker brings it around, and as herein before shown reduce our actual money circulation to naif what it now is, to the actual gold basis. And how does Mr. McKinley and his platform propose to do all this? Do they propose to procure a change of the laws necessary tor it? isot in tbe least. It is not expected that any . necessary change of laws for this purpose can be gotten through the senate for some years, probably never. It is clearly the purpose of the platform by its reading and by Mr. McKinley by bis letter of ac ceptance to do all tbis by a bold revolu tionary defiance and subversion of tbe laws as they now are relative to this matter. If be can be elected president, and a goldite house of representatives can be elected that will not impeach his secretary of the treasury, therefor he will appoint a secretary of the treasury who will redeem the silver dollars and silver certificates in gold, and all the rest of the horrible business - wu! corns - alGiig sooner or later as a matter of course un less such redemption shall be stopped by injunction and the people will do well to take no chances of an injunction in such a matter as this, but do up their own work in their own interest, and see to it that neither McKinley or any . goldite house of representatives y,oa luere. mckinley's sayings. In his letter of acceptance McKinley says of the present silver dollars, that tbe government bos promised to keep "them as good as the best dollars we have." Yes that is so, and it has prom ised the same in respect to all silver dol lars that it shall issue in the future, Mr. McKinley to the contrary notwith standing. And the government has uot only promised this but it has stated how it will do this, which Mr. McKiuley dares not state because it would destroy his single gold standard, that is bis redemp tion of silver dollars in gold. All this is promised in the act of congress of No vember 1, 1893, which says: "And it is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to continue tbe use-of both gold and silver as stand ard money and to coin both gold and silver into money of equal intrinsic and exchangable value." Coinage Laws of the United States, page 77. We see from this that the government has promised to defend the silver dollars against the very depredation that Mr. McKinley and his platform are aiming to force them, tbe depredation of tbe single gold stand ard. McKinley says the government has promised to keep them as good as the best dollars we have. That is so. To keep ther as standard dollars will make them b ter by 500 per cent than to make then, redeemable in gold. Mr. McKinley ays that the promise of tbe government extends only to the silver dollars that we now have and does not extend to any that shall be coined under free coinage. The reading of the statute above quoted shows plainly that this is not so, but that the promise extends to all silver dollars that shall be coined in any manner by authority of government It amounts to this that the government will not tolerate the depredation of either money metal by making tlia other a single standard. And see the statute above quoted goes further than this. It declares to be the policy of the United States to coin both gold and silver into equal intrinsic and exchangeable value. This means to bring the metals into parity as well as the coins. And this eannot be done, and never was done in any way except by the free and unlimited coinsgeof both metals which thing Mr. McKinley aad his platform are opposed to except by an impossible agreement. . Ho we see that Mr. McKinley and his platform are hostile to the government , policy and promises on tbe whole coinage subject. - Mr. McKinley says "This legislation secures the largest use of silver consist ent with financial safety and the pledge to maintain Its parity with gold." He has no right to say this. NeSt&tr he nor any other person has ever seen . any signs that tbe silver dollars would drop below tbe parity of gold even under present laws and as they have existed during the eighteen years of this money existence, and he does not know bow much could ' have been circulated nndar the same legal regulation, but certainly the quantity issued and circulated has never tended in the least to impair the parity and no doubt twice as much could nave been circulated under the Eland Allison law wit e parity kept firm. ; He tells us that the present amount of silver circulation is all that can be kept op In any manner with the parity gold. Nonsense. In order to make us believe that silver bos an equal chance with gold under the law be tells us in his letter of acceptance that silver dol lars are a full legal tender to pay all debts public and private, which they are not as they are not a legal tender In cases where gold is contracte for. Let the gold contracts be abolished and let . silver be a full legal tender to pay all debts including tbe redemption of paper money tbe same as gold, which silver re demption is according to law now, but . not according to the administration of it) then can silver be coined freely ths same as gold with tbe coins of both firmly at parity. 11 silver dollars are to m made redeem able in gold as Mr. McKinley and bis platform aim to do then I admit that the present stock of silver coin Is all that can be sustained at parity and in a year or so the goldites would clamor to hare half of the present meager supply of silver dollars destroyed to prevent de pleting the treasury of gold. ' Mr. McKinley's letter of acceptance contains many errors of fact. He says that from 1880 to 1892 this country was on a gold basis, which I have shown to be untrue for by so much as we have these standard silver dollars we are not on a single' gold basis, and .that means a long ways from it now. Again he says "the only measure of a genera! nature that affected the treasury and the employment of our people passed by the Fifty Third congress was the gen eral tariff act." He forgets about tbe repeal of the purchasing clause of the Sherman act by which from 1890 to 1893 over $4,000,000 of treasury notes were added to the currency monthly, causing more than anything else, the boasted prosperity so called of 1892, and but for which repeal the Sherman law, had it been administered according to its terms, in redeeming the. treasury notes with the silver purchased there with and coined instead of gold, would have been a measure promotive of great monetary and industrial prosperity, the goldites rebellion. In the common business of life ths debtor pays iu such legal tender money as he chances to have or is easiest to get and the creditor does not complain of this, or if he does it does hint no good, be must take it or get nothing. ? r But against this long established order of things there has arisen goldites, re bellion having strong foot hold in En gland and Amerieavl When these goldite rebels commenced their stealthy tinker ing iu tfc;s'couutry 1u1873, silver dol-r lars were at a premium over gold at three per cent. And uow when they talk to us about the 50 cent dollar they are simply expatia ting upon the results of their own infamous work. These rebels make ' great boasting of their) love for parity. Now one thing important to establish and maintain the parity of tbe t wo metals as well as coins, is for all debtors, and especially the government, as between the metals, always to pay in that kind that may be legal tender for the oocasiop and already in hand or easiest or cheapest to be ob tained. In all ordinary matters tbe peo ple do their business in this manner and it is right that they should. For eighteen years it has been estab lished that by law the silver dollars equally with gold coin, are a legal tender to pay principal and interest of all gov ernment bonds, and to redeem all paper money redeemable in coin at all, except coin certificates. And yet in all that time these payments and redemptions have all been made in gold except in a few cases where parties have preferred silver. Why is this? It is because every president in all that time, (unless Gar field was an exception) has been known to the goldites before elected, as a friend to their rebellious policy. Neither these presidents nor tbe secretaries under tbem, nor people in general were ever ac customed to do their own business in any such way as to allow their creditors to dictate what money they should pay their debts in. All these presidents and the secretaries of tbe treasury under them, being placed there to do the peo ples business in a business way, have simply violated the trusts reposed in them by subserviency to a rebellious in terest. And Mr. McKinley's subserv iency as it is uow pledged is worse than that of any presidential candidate ever before the American people, and has to be because his platform is the worst ever promulgated. M. Warren. tt:i v- u r lona