.... ..::i. ,. -
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THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT.
July 19? 1900.
e ttebraska Independent
; UbccIb, RtbrMSka
fZISSE ELDS, CORXER OTfl AND N STS
Eurrrjrra Teas
PrXISHX3 EtUT THCXSCAT
.CO Pi"? yrif? ADVANCE
Wbra raiittae do cot Uin moaj
witii sw eeis, potatr. t-c, to b
Jarwrd t-T tiUm. Tfcy frqtlr ttgrX. or
rcx.it irrs.t mat tLa w lft wit
tm. A&d tL sic3ibr fil to gtt ixpt
A&drmmt mil Mmc&lctiGM, Ad zmmkm all
drill. fe&rr order, etc, MJ'W to
C& tlthrsskm Tndeptadtmt,
Lincoln. Ntrmskm.
atioea will set b
lifted.
2L;rtd ar;t will be
For President.
Wniux Jxjurxsroa Bar as
For Vic PreiierL
Charles A.Tom
For Congre-ssgian IctDkt
fl. W. litsr.e. TJnentn
Tor Trvt&tztt&ml Starter......
J, ii. Kaxha. FASK L. Bao, W. H.
axt. W. O. JLlalskao. W. u. Swam.
K. scat OkAxriXAEA. L. X. Wurrs, Jail
Toe Hmwtrt Governor .... M .......
................... .. ...... E A. QlXSaaT
fcr fiury l SutoMMMMM
. ii .. .1. .1. ". . r 1 1 in iT I irnr IT. &VOSOOA
Fee Aoiiior Ptibii Aeeoc&M ..
........Tsioooa Oaeim
rrSUiMGmM.MMMM....
.... .. ...... .... .... ......... B. HowAan
For Ccw'r of PcUie Lasd tad BXdr
mMM.w.,...........F.J.Cun
For gcpTisfifciSafct Pub!! Ixtru"iioo
. ii . ........ .... ......... .... i fl IjOf
Jar Atfcerwjr GMmLMm.
.................W. B. Olskax
No word ha come of the conviction of
m sang ooe of McKinley's Cuban thieves.
IUthbos' threat ttLU fUnd good.
Tie fold be? said La DG that Bryan
stacpeded the Chicago convention. It
cow appean that a oenvention cannot
irjpede Bryan.
W have both silrer and gold money
arid if Id to 1 is cot the right ratio why
don't McKinley and Hanna hustle
around and tell os what is the ratio?
A j Art of Roosevelt speech was eo
ure to drire erery German away from
the republican party that the State
journal cut that jortion out when pre
teodic; to y rict his acceptance speech.
A stew battle cry is heard. It sounds
fruQ ocean to ocean and from the pine
clad hills of the north to the shores of
the gulf. Join the mighty throng and
take cp the cry: The flag and the con
stitution. One and inseparable."
The claim that leering the ratio out
of the Kansas City platform would hare
deceived the gold democrats to such an
client that they would all hare voted
for th emost pronounced bimetallist in all
the world, is thinner than the gossimer
wir-g A the smallwt ephemera.
The Sterling Sun, after a wail Ter
the way the pops were treated at Kan
sas City, atJcs: "Where are the pops at,
any way? The pops are t" the state
hotie and will continue to be there for
the next to years. If the Sun has any
doubts about it, juxt come up and
A rery large proportion of the fusion
press printed the declaration of inde
pendence in fall, but no republican
paper dared to do it so far as has been
reported. Worse than that there is not
a line of it that they dare to reprint as
an authority in furor of any of their pol
icies. The republicans claim that they hare
a truisp card in their hand which they
expect to play at the proper time, takd
the last trk-k and win the game. It is
probably the claim that "McKinley never
betrayed a trust."' But that will be to
1 1 j the deuce for do one denies it. The
trusts hare the utmost confidence in
h i ra,
Dr. Hall, the bank coci:sUioner, has
been re-elected chairman of the demo
cratic state committee. Every populist
will be rejoiced at that for they ail lock
epos Dr. Hall as one of the safest coun-
and soundest economist in the
state. He is always just, upright and
evident ana one oi tne greatest peace
makers on earth.
Hanna annotirced that all the volun
teer in the Philippines would soon be
brocht Lor-. That was put out as a
vote catcher. But when McKinley tele -
... m . . . - ;
prjjri ix uxxjps w j u ,&ihm lira-
eral ie.lrthar answered that all the
troop in the Philippines - were needed
thef and would be for months to come.
One regiment only was nL Since Otis
left, we hare had no cables saying, the
war is over.""
Judge Neville was renominated for
congress the other dsy by acclamation
by both the democratic and populist
cosrectioes. That is different from
what it was two yeaw ago. Perhaps
soeae of those 4rth district fellows will
be down here telling us some more
about di&atisfaction up that way. The
way they bowled at the state convention
would have led ore who didn't know, to
believe that the tops up there had all
gone crazy.
CURSE OF REPUBLICANISM
Republicanism was a curse to this state.
It robbed the people and , continued to
rob them until 'fusion officials got after
the biggest thieves the thieves whom
they had elevated to the highest official
position and sent them to the peniten
tiary, i It is a standing blighting curse
to this fair city of Lincoln. Down at
Kansas City the republicans were as
hospitable in their reception of demo
cratic, populist and free silver republi
can visitors as were the resident demo
crats. The same was true of Sioux Falls.
The commercial organizations exerted
themselves to make every man feel wel
come and looked after every want At
Kansas City they all went around with
great big badges on which read: "Ask
me." Whatever the stranger wanted he
got if it was in the city. They hung out
banners of welcome, they placed barrels
of ice cold spring water on almost every
street corner.
But here in Lincoln! How' different!
Three tnousand delegates and men of
national reputation from almost every
state in the union stopping at our hotels,
not a flag displayed, not a sign of wel
come anywhere exhibited and the only
morning paper filled with billingsgate in
defamation of the cities guests and in
sults to every man of prominence. The
commercial club without a representa
tive to give information or. welcome.
Not a drop of ice water furnished to the
perspiring men who sat in crowded halls
for thirty-six hours or for the distin
guished guests! When the authorities
were asked to open the windows on the
roof, they sent a bill for the payment of
the boy who did it.
Men were hired to go down into Mr.
Bryan's ward and coax, cajole and beg
the citizens living there to allow them
to put up McKinley pictures in the win
dows and when they were refused asked
to be allowed to put them up outside of
the house, so as to induce the distin
guished gentlemen who were here to be
lieve that Bryan had no friends in his
home city.
So bitter and continuous were these
insults that serious consideration was
given to the proposition to move all the
headquarters and business of the cam
paign away from Lincoln to some city
where the people were accustomed to
practice the ordinary courtesies of civ
ilized life. For three days thousands of
fusionists spent their money in Lincoln
until the tills of the hotels, restaurants
and other business places were full. In
return for bringing this business here,
we received nothing but insults. All
this and the future loss to the city is
the result of the curse of republicanism,
the Lincoln sort of republicanism. Their
auditorium will remain from this on a
wilderness of vacant space for all that
the majority of this state will do from
this on until the authorities here learn
to practice the common amenities of
civilized life.
We hope that every fusion paper in
the state will roast thi3 town every day
in the week for the next year and pre
vent every fusionist from coming here
until the republican bosses here are
forced to adopt the methods of civiliza
tion which are practiced in every other
city in the state.
The Independent knows that there
are many republicans in Lincoln who
feel disgraced and humiliated by the
action of these degenerates, but they
must endure the results along with the
respectable minority until they can gain
courage enough to help put a stop to a
course that tends to ruin Lincoln's bus
iness and give a reputation for vulgarity
not held by any other town in the civil
ized world.
CURTIS YS NEBRASKA
The Chicago Record keeps on its staff
of correspondents, and if we are to judge
from the prominence it gives to his
writings, at the head of that staff, the
most accomplished and brilliant liar in
the United States. HU name is W. E.
Curtis. During last week he was sent
to Lincoln. Strange as it may appear,
with such an elegant opportunity for dis
playing his skill at prevarication, he
made a disastrous failure such a fail
ure that all the liars of the State Jour
nal hold him in contempt. Of course
the degenerates rendered him all the
aid possible, furnishing him what they
considered excellent raw material and
then Curtis bungled the whole job. He
sent a long account about the formation
of that heavy artillery regiment that
Captain Dudley wanted to command.
Everybody knows that the regiment,
which never existed except upon paper,
was offered to McKinley and refused,
and that Bryan never had anything to
do with it. But Curtis after telling how
, j, an enlisted in it as a private, was a
I ....
candidate for office and the boys would
have nothing to do with him, draws the
portentious conclusion that that episode
would beat Bryan fcr the presidency.
The lying was so barefaced concerning
erery fact mentioned and the conclusion
hd absurd that it only made those who
took the trouble to read the effusion
laugh, and that, whether they xere e
publicans or fusionists.
Then Curtis went down to Nebraska
City to view Morton, and telegraphed to
his paper a few of the contradictory im
aginings of Nebraska's old growler.
Look at these two following statements
which Curtis says that Morton favored
him with:
Herein Nebraska City. a place of
10,000 population, the banks carry de-
I . - t a . nt11T","i Ann.
stantly. Bight miles 'west in the village
of Dunbar, is a bank of $10,000 capital
which has $110,000 of farmers' money on
deposit. Last week money was loaned
on land adjoining some of my own for
three years at simple interest of 5 per
cent oa a valuation of more than $30 an
acre, and I saw that same land begging
for a purchaser at $2.50 an acre not long
ago. Under the gold standard that land
has become so dishonest as to increase
its purchasing power so that now one
acre of it will buy 100 gold dollars, and
when I saw it sold first one acre would
buy only one dollar and a quarter. Ac
cording to the economics of Bry anarchy,
this land, with a constantly increasing
purchasing power, is the enemy of the
poor and a menace to society. Accord
ing to the democratic platform, good
honest land should never appreciate in
value,nor should any other honest thing."
"His (Bryan's) arguments . were very
nearly in accord with my own .views on
the tariff. His denunciations of high
prices for staple goods were cogent and
convincing, but six years afterward this
same economist was traveling the same
state denouncing low prices and declar
ing that unless higher prices could be
obtained commercial catastrophe and
ruin would be universal."
Now please don't blame Morton too
harshly for this plain contradiction put
forth in one and the same interview. It
is what the gold bugs are forced to do
every time they undertake to make a
gold standard argument. There was
never one made yet that was not self
contradictory. It is not at all strange
that Morton first denounces Bryan be
cause of high" prices and then says that
he commended Bryan when he travelled
over the state denouncing low prices.
Bryan denounced low prices in 1892 and
Morton agreed with him. High prices
for land, Morton says, has been secured
down at Nebraska City, though he lies
like a thief when he says that land down
there now valued at $30 an acre went
begging for a purchaser at $2.50 "not
long ago." But nevertheless Morton de
nounces Bryan, for high prices and for
low prices.
Every fusionist in the state hopes that
the Chicago Record will keep its chief
liar in Nebraska during the whole cam
paign, and that he will telegraph two
columns a day of the very same sort of
stuff that he sent last week. If the
Record will only do that, we all feel sure
of carrying the state by 75,000 majority.
Please send W. E. Curtis back here
right away.
FOB FIFTEEN CENTS
With many thanks to those unselfish
workers who have so largely extended
the circulation of the Nebraska Inde
pendent during the last few months, the
1
management this week, being deter
mined to do its full part in the cam
paign, makes a new offer. The Inde
pendent will be sent from now until the
end of the campaign for fifteen cents.
This is the best offer made by any Ne
braska newspaper. Some few counties
daring the last campaign put most of
the funds raised for county purposes in
to sending each week to voters in their
counties a copy of the Independent.
This resulted in sucn large increase in
the fusion vote of these counties that
every one of them have adopted the
same plan for this campaign and have
sent in tneir money and list 01 names.
One county subscribed last year for 400
copies. The first thing that their dele
gates to the state convention did when
they arrived m Lincoln was to come to
the Independent office and renew their
offer for this campaign.
The Independent is needed, not only
to send to doubtful voters, but to popu
lists who do not take it so that they
may be supplied with the facts and
figures with which to meet their oppo
nents in discussion as the fight goes on.
The Independent will furnish more orig
inal and home print matter than any
other reform weekly in the United States.
Along with this liberal offer of the
paper for the campaign for fifteen cents,
go the premiumg for the clubs. The
premiums are just as represented and
are of real value to all.
Some of us hare been fighting in the
reform ranks for many years. Now
there seems a prospect of success such
as we have never had before. There is
everything to make our hearts glad
Let us work as we have never worked
before, and there can be no more effec
tive work for reform principles than
sending the Independent each week dur
ing the campaign to some one who does
not take it.
To any man the enormous amount of
matter that will be printed in the Inde
pendent during the next three months,
will be worth much more than fifteen
centsV The paper has" many depart
ments. It contains the current news of
the world. It has matter for the family.
It gives the markets. It contains stories.
It stands up for Nebraska and the west.
It fights for the common people on every
issue. It furnishes much of the matter
used by public speakers. Your neigh
bor wants' it. Call his attention to this
offer. -
You will find a subscription blank on
page 7. . Fill it with campaign subscrip
tions at 15c each and mail to this office.
AN HONEST MAX
The New York . Outlook, which is im
perialist, pro-English, anti-Boer, gold-
bug and; republican to the -core is at
east compelled to speak in respectful
erms of Bryan. In its last issue in de
scribing the powerful influences brought
to bear upon Bryan it declares that
such influences were never more in evi
dence than at the Kansas City conven
tion and then remarks:
"Nor any in which men of "pure lives,
sincere purposes, honest and disinter
ested beliefs," and popular sympathies
were more in evidence. Of this element
William J. Bryan, the candidate of the
arty for the presidency, was the most
istinguished representative. Mr. Bryan
has been called a 'shifty politician.'
That is exactly what he is not. To the
doctrine of 16 to 1 he has adhered with a
pertinacity which only a vital faith
could produce. By his personal influ
ence he defeated the policy of evasion
and secured the explicit affirmation of
this financial doctrine, despite the fact
that it e very state wich voted for it m
the convention . should vote for him in
November, and no others, he would lose
the election, and despite the apparently
well-authenticated warning that his pol
icy would insure his defeat. William J.
Bryan has proved himself an honest
man,-a sincere lover of the people, his
dominant motive of passionate desire at
once to lead and to serve them, his
strength a faith in them and in himself
as one of them."
Dr. Lyman Abbott who 13 the editor
of this magazine, is one of those men,
who being always surrounded by the
plutocratic influences of New York, has
unconsciously drifted away from the
doctrines- of liberty which made his
youth memorable, but he still keeps the
instincts of honesty inherited from a
line of abolition ancestors. Never be
fore has a man refused a nomination for
the. presidency for any cause, much less
over a dispute concerning the form in
which a principle should . be . stated.
Bryan's determination to have no eva
sions in the platform and every doctrine
advocated made so plain that no man
could be mistaken, has forced from his
most virulent opponents the statement
that he is "an honest man."
HURRAH FOR ROOSEVELT
It is said that as soon as Roosevelt's
acceptance speech appeared in the Ger
man papers and Mark Hanna began to
get returns that there was a hot time in
the republican shop. These citizens who
have objected to some of McKinley's
policies are denounced by itooseveit as
not worthy of . the name of American
citizen. He began his address after the
following fashion:
"I accept the honor conferred upon
me with the keenest and deepest appre
ciation of what it means ' and, above all,
of the responsibility .that goes with it.
Everything that it is in my power to do
will be done to - secure the re-election of
President McKinley, to whom it has
been given in this crisis of the national
history to stand for aijd embody the
principles which he closest to the heart
of every American worthy the name."
The Germans came to this country to
escape the arrogance of the ruling class
and the men in uniform, two of whom
every producer has to carry on his back.
There is no martinet of the German
army who ever used more offensive
words to a civilian than those of Roose
velt to the men of that race and every
other race who have been unable to see
the wisdom of some of McKinley's poli
cies. Carl Schurz, ex-Senator Boute
well, Tom Reed and hundreds of other
republicans as well as we populists are
not worthy of the American name.
If such arrogance as that is the be
ginning of imperialism, what will the
end be? When that big standing army
is established, when the men "born to
rule" are in the saddle, then the humble
American citizen who expresses an opin
ion differing from that of the rulers, he
will feel the lash of a whip or be incon
tinently kicked into the gutter. Hurrah
for Roosevelt! If he goes on at this
rate he will make the vote for Bryan
practically unanimous.
A democrat said to the editor of the
Independent: "Now be ure to give
each of the candidates nominated at the
state convention a big write up in your
next issue." His advice was intended
for the good of the party and he was an
honest and enthusiastic worker, but that
is not the populist way of doing things.
Fulsome flattery of a man just because
he was nominated for an office, is a good
way to disgust the ordinary populist.
He don t believe the candidate is any
greater or better than he was before the
nominations were made. All he wants
to know about the candidate is that he
is honest and capable. That fills the
populist requirements. Satisfied of that
fact, he don't care whether the candi
date was born in Maine or Kentucky,
whether he came to Nebraska with an
ox team or behind four mules. The In
dependent says ' to its readers that all
the men on the fusion ticket are honest
and capable and will have the ability to
perform the duties of the offices to which
they will be elected by about 20,000 ma
jority. " '
ONLY AMUSING
A degenerate may have no moral sen
sibility at all and nevertheless be at
times very amusing. In such manner do
the degenerates who write the headlines
and editorials of the State Journal dis
port themselves. One of the headlines
the next day after the populist conven
tion read: "Forced to re-nominate W.
A. Poynter." Another degenerate wrote
for the editorial columns as follows: -.
"No state conventions have ever been
held in Nebraska that were more wholly
and absolutely controlled by the office
holders and the party bosses than the
fusion gatherings which dispersed yes
terday. , The creakings of the party ma
chinery were heard during every hour of
the proceedings. The party lash was
cracked right and left and the delegates
who did not'hasten to fall in line were
told plainly enough that they would be
branded and no place would ever be
found for them at the pie counter."
Now there were 1,114 men who7satin
the populist convention, a very large ma
jority of whom were farmers. If any
man had appeared among them trying
to dictate for whom they should vote or
making threats or told that "they would
be branded" would have been in danger
of being pounded into a jelly. That the
officials at the state house could not in
any way influence them,, is proven by
the nominations made. That rot. that
has been published about a state house
ring had the effect, it must be confessed
to make the delegates turn down some
men, whom, without a doubt would have
been nominated, had it not been for the
publication of such stuff. But that only
goes to show that instead of controlling
the convention, they had no control over
it at ail.
There never was a convention assem
bled anywhere more free from outside
influences or whose action was more
fully the deliberate judgment of the del
egates.' That being the situation and
known of all men, the editorials and
headlines of the degenerates are onlv
amusing.
HAVE THEY GONE MAD 7
The republicans, are so foolish as to
continue their bragging about our great
excess of exports over imports. If there
is anything in the world that will im
poverish a country it is the long contin
ued excess of exports. That has been
the case with Ireland and Egypt, while
England's imports are always largely in
excess of her exports. It would seem
that any man with a grain of common
sense would know that if a country ex
ported more wealth than it imported, it
was by just that much the poorer. The
republicans brag about the excess of ex
ports in their national platform.- It is
incomprehensible how such a stultify
mg statement ever got into an official
document. They say there has-been "in
the short three years of the present re
publican administration an excess of ex
ports over imports in the enormous sum
of $1,433,537,094."
Now what became of that billion and
a half of wealth that we shipped out of
the country more than was shipped in.
By what kind of reasoning can they con
vince any man that that was not just so
much loss to the people of this country?
There was a billion and a half of wealth
sent out of the country for which noth
ing was returned. Have the leaders of
the republican party gone mad?
'' TheUEJhlcagd Record's traveling pre
varicator after visiting Lincoln and the
old growler .. at Nebraska City went to
Omaha where he made a new discovery.
This time he declares that the populists
have a sort of secret organization in al
most every precinct of the state which
forces both men and women into the
populist darty by the use of social ostra
cism. He declares that neither a man
nor his wife nor his sons nor his daugh
ters can attend a tea party or a social
unless they belong to this organization.
Afterwards he came to the conclusion
that Bryan was the real head of this so
ciety and it was through it that he main
tained his prominence. The strangest
thing about this whole business is that
a great daily paper will continue to print
such rot from day to day. It must be
believe that its readers are mostly fools
and that those of them who are not,
rather read pure fabrications than a
truthful record of current events.
General McArthur sends word that he
positively cannot spare any more troops
to go to China and recent cablegrams
say that McKinley's commission is bot
tled up in Manila with about as much
prospect of establishing a government in
the moon as in those islands. McKin
ley said in his acceptance speech that
he had liberated 10,000,000 people, but
these stupid Filipinos have not yet found
it out, and probably never will. The
commission is laboriously at work draw
ing laws for the government of the Fil
ipinos, but as yet not one of them dare
show his head a hundred yards in ad
vance of our picket lines, it is probable
that the inhabitants - will . never know
what those benevolent laws are.
The latest prominent deserter from
the republican ranks is Dr. L. W. Ha
bercrom, who has long been the man
ager of the German bureau of the re
publican campaign committee. In re
tiring he said: "A government exercis
ing imperial powers cannot long remain
a republic" He also calls attention to
the unwritten British alliance and says
that it will certainly embroil us in for
eign quarrels.
At one end of a railroad car can be
found a man working for the govern
ment for $3334 a month and eight hours
a day. At the other end can be found a
man who works fourteen hours a day
for an express company and gets $60.00
a month. This latter fellow is generally
against the government ownership of
railroads and votes the republican ticket.
Can some old pop tell us why? He
seems to think more work and less pay
is a good thing for him.
Nrw premium offer page 6.
Mark "Don't go into business, young
make that conquest." ' '
A PROPER SPIRIT
k - -, . . . '
In a letter, received at this, .office re
cently from a prominent Nebraskan so
liciting patronage, for a reliable Nebraska
business institution were some excellent
ideas in support of the patronage of
home institutions. It was in the nature
of an appeal to place Nebraska business
with Nebraska institutions and thus
keep at home and in circulation among
the people of our own state the money
that is now so largely sent to the . east.
It is a commendable spirit worthy the
serious consideration and approval of
every loyal Nebraskan. 1,
The letter referred to in. its course
called attention to the present popular
custom of spending money . in Chicago,
New York and Europe and added:
"I hope you are not of the kind who
returns from a short trip out of town
loaded down with bundles or whose wife
and daughters buy their apparel through
professional shoppers in New . York or
Chicago. It is a fad with some people
you know to buy' in the east. They as
sume an air of superiority as they swell
up and say: It came from New York.'
"It is gratifying, perhaps, but it does
not pay Quit it. The balance of trade
will always be against us while we do it.
I take it for granted you have outgrown
the foolish notion ana are proud of the
growth of our western institutions.
Do you know in twenty years we tiave
sent east from Nebraska for insurance
about twenty-four millions more than
has been returned? Why? Not because
eastern life insurance is . any cheaper,
better or safer. The laws governing
Old Line companies : make all equally
safe, the security is absolute east or west,
young or old. Would it . not have been
better for all of us if this money had
been retained where it was earned? Will
you patronize home institutions if they
deserve it?"
Referring to a particular . insurance
company the letter continued with facts
to show that a Nebraska company can
give a better contract than any eastern
company.- Taking" the average. of the
three largest eastern companies it was
shown that the Nebraska companies ex
penses are half, the death rate one-third
and the interest earnings on assets two
per cent per annum greater. Under
such a showing what reasonable excuse
is there for giving your patronage to an
eastern company, in preference ; to a Ne
braska company? ' '
Agents for eastern companies tell of
their magnitude, and show a bewildering
array of figures running into the millions.
Divide their assets by liabilities ' how
ever and you will find almost without
exception the western companies to be,
not the largest, but the strongest.
When spending your money give the
preference to Nebraska institutions. It
will keep the money in the state and re
turn through many channels to help
you in your own business.
If the "quantity" is not the vital thing
in the money question why is every . re
publican newspaper and campaign era
tor constantly drawing attention to the
increase in the "quantity" since McKin
ley's inauguration? If ."quality" and
not "quantity" is the vital question , as
they asserted in 1896, what interest can
the people have in this increase in' the
quantity?
WHY SIXTEEN TO ONE ' ,
In answer to a correspondent in
Omaha and because the matter is of
general interest the Independent says:
The longh eaded, cold hearted robbers'
who have so manipulated the govern
ment of the United States for the last
25 years as to concentrate most of the
wealth of the country into the hands of
a few thousand millionaires, are not to
be moved from their .purposes by any
little quibble like the re-affirming of the
Chicago platform or the restatement of
the question of free coinage as first pro
mulgated in that platform. The prom
ise that they made to support the ticket,
if the Chicago platform was reaffirmed
and nothing more, was simply one of
their devices to beat Bryan. While the
people are. moved by sentiment and often
fooled by catch phrases, those chaps are
not. The re-affirmation of the Chicago
platform meant the free coinage of silver
just as much as to restate the plank.
What "they wanted was' a chance: to
make an assault upon Bryan that would
drive away from him thousands of popu
list and free - sil ver republican votes.
Every republican paper in the land gave
aid and support to the movement ! to
keep a restatement out of the platform.
They believed that it would aid in de
feating Bryan or they would not have
taken that stand. To gain a victory by
the aid of the gold bugs, who call them
selves democrats, would have- resulted
man; 'we will need you in our army, to
' . 1
in nothing for reform- Every honest re
former stood by. , Bryan when ; he said
that he would rather be defeated than
gain a victory by any such evasion. It
effective reform legislation is not to fol
low the election of Bryan, then the con
test is in vain. If these eastern felloes,
were given standing and influence in the
party, they would have defeated any
legislation on reform lines even if Bryaa
were elected. New York may be carried
on account of the general disgust cre
ated by Cow Boy Teddy and Easy Boss
Piatt, but the leaving out of 16 " to 1
would not have added a vote, not even
in the east, to the reform lines and would
have driven thousands of them away in
the middle and western states.'
If anybody thinks a pop editor has an
easy time of it let him , come into this
office and write fifteen or twenty col
umns a week for two or three weeks. If
in all that writing there is one carelessly
written sentence or a misplaced wordXhe
will hear from it It seems that every
line in the paper is read and re-read by
men who are posted On every subject
discussed. In writing on sugar and
Havemeyer the word "pounds" got in
where "tons" should have been printed.
The consumption of sugar in the United
States has greatly increased in the last
ten years and the profits of the sugar
trust, while not nearly so great as that
of the Standard Oil, is almost beyond
computation. Since the article spoken
of was writren,the sugar trust has again
raised the price one-tenth of a cent, mak
ing a raise of a, cent a pound or $20.00 on
a short ton in the last few weeks. The
increased cost to the people, or addi
tional taxation of the people of the
United States by these increases in
price, will amount to about $70,000,0u0.
The sugar trusts.' exercise the "pqwer t
tax" and; that without representation
There hasbeen no increase in cost of
productibn'.feand none : in the wages of
labor employed by the trust.
NOT MULLET HEADS '
The Independent has been in the
habit of charging many of the assertions
made by the republicans to their igno
rance and not to depravity, but late as
sertions by many of them, go to show
that the arguments that they used in
1896 were not the result of their igno
rance at all. In 1896 they declared with
one voice that the value of the gold dol
lar, was unchangeable. That the value of
wheat, corn and . cattle might change,
but the value of the . gold dollar never.
The change was always in commodities,
never in gold money, for that was in
trinsic and as unchangeable as Deity
itself. When we pointed out to them
that money had increased in value, that
its purchasing power was double what
it was twenty years ago; they called us
idiots and repudiators. To avoid the
charge of unfairness in assuming that
they knew better and were not making
an argument that they knew was false,
the Independent let them . off by simply
saying that they. were mullet heads and
rarely believed that the gold dollar
changed in value but was always the
same : . " 1 '
It appears now that we are too lenient
with them. They knew all the timtr
that the purchasing power of money
could and did change. The unlooked
for output of gold resulted in a slight
rise in prices and immediately these
6ame men began to talk - about the de
crease purchasing power of money under
the McKinley administration and the
blessings it had brought to the people.
In last Sunday's State Journal, Bixby
says:
"Most of the farmers own their homes,
and those who have acquired mortgages
are quite generally reconciled to iiqui
date them in money of the , same value
that was received when the papers were
drawn..' . .
, That shows that Bixby: fully under
stands the contention tna'de in 1896. We
were - then contending 'that we were
forced to pay debts, not in money .of the
same value that was received when the
mortgages were given, but. in money of
double the purchasing power. The In
dependent has come to the conclusion
from this statement and many others of
like nature found in -the gold standard
papers Of late, that' the men who made
the fight for the gold standard "were not
mullet heads at 'all, but unmitigated
rascals intenl upon" robbing the debtors
and making them ; pay ... their debts in
money of greater purchasing power than
that in which they .were contracted. ,