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VOL. XIV.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, JULY 24, 1902.
NO. 9.
BANK INFLATION
Dir. VtnVorhli Discusses a Subject But
Little Understood Present High
Price Due in Great Measure
to Expansion of Bank '
Credits.
Editor Independent: I am persuad
ed that not many men among evon
those of superior intelligence and
wide information know how great has
been the inflation of bank credits
since 1896, as indicated by the "loans
and discounts" of national banks
alone. If it is known to any extent
by those who are the depositors of
such banks, then the almost absolute
silence in regard to it indicates that
the significance of the fact Is not at
all appreciated. If the fact is known,
or the significance of it appreciated,
by atiy considerable number of those
who are interested in the manage
ment of the more than 4,000 country
national banks, a student of the sub
ject is left in wonder at their reck
less disregard of the probable conse
quences. The relation of this enormous Infla
tion of credits to the volume of money
is hardly considered at all. We are be
ing constantly reminded about the In
crease of the volume of money, and
the enormous production of gold, as
proofs of economic doctrines and ex
planations of commercial conditions,
but hardly a word comes from the same
sources about a fact that has more
economic significance than either or
both. No correct conclusion can be
arrived at about the quantity of money
in actual circulation, or about the pro
duction of the precious metals, or
about commercial or industrial condi
tions without a careful consideration
of the tremendous expansion of cred
its; an expansion that is out of all
proportion to the increase of money
outside of the United States treasury.
Between October 1, 1896, and April
30, 1902, (leaving out national bank
notes), according to the reports from
the treasury department, the increase
of money in circulation was $551,248,
135. Of this increase1 $423,199,312 was
gold. Of this gold $264,537,850 was, on
April 30 last, in the United States
treasury, and represented by gold cer
tificates said to be in circulation. Ac
cording to the last abstract of tho
comptroller, about $225,000,000 of this
increase has been absorbed into the
reserves of the national banks. If tha
estimate of bank credits (including
all private and state banks) made by
the comptroller Is approximately cor
rect, there was not one dollar more
money (excluding national bank
notes) in actual circulation, and avail
able for commercial transactions, on
April 30 last, than there was on Oc
tober l,il896. During the same per
iod, there was an Increase of national
bank notes amounting to $127,199,819.
Between these two dates, the in
crease of "loans and discounts" of na
tional banks alone was $1,296,165,789.
making the amount of "loans and dis
counts" held by these banks nearlv
double what it was on October 1, 1805.
The following table will show the
rapidly increasing rate at which na
tional bank credits have been, and
are being, expanded per day not ex
cluding Sundays:
Oct. 6, 1896, to Oct. 5, 1897. .. .$477,856
Oct. 5, 1897, to Dec. 1, 1898.... 408,463
Dec. 1, 1898, to Dec. 2, 1899 725,204
Dec. 2, 1899, to Dec. 13, 1900... 602,965
Dec. 13, 1900, to Dec. 10, 1901.. 916,?56
Dec. 10, 1901, to Apr. 30, 1902.. 953,915
This does not, of course, represent
the whole volume nor the full expan
sion of bank credits. It is difficult to
determine the amount of business done
by private and state banks. Accord
ing to the estimate of the comptroller
of the currency made In a report some
time ago, they do about three-fifths
of the banking business of the coun
try. This may not be correct, but it
is certain that they do a large part vf
it. This estimate can be largely ro
duced, and yet it be very certain that
bank "loans and discounts" are now
being expanded at the rate of not less
than $1,500,000 per day.
It ought to be clear to any student
of the subject that the increase of
money in circulation, even If as large
as shown by the reports, is far too
small, without taking into considera
tion the tremendous expansion of cred
its, to account for commercial and in
dustrial conditions that nave existed
during the last four or five years. Tho
increase of money said to be "in cir
culation," (by which It Is meant to
say that it is not In the United States
treasury) has served little purpose ex
cept to keep up bank reserves re
quired to be increased by the contin
ued expansion of "loans and dis
counts." The banks make their profits out of
"loans and discounts," and the temp
tation is great to expand them to tne
last cent allowed by law. In many
cases neither honesty nor caution are
sufficient to prevent the reserves be
ing reduced below the legal require
ments, as I 'have shown in former f r
: tides.
The fact is, that our commercial
and industrial transactions have come
to rest almost wholly upon credits;
not credits extended to purchasers of
articles of trade, but bank credits
"loans and discounts" made by banks
, ana controlled by them.
If the estimate of the comptroller,
before mentioned, is correct, it requires
not less than $1,500,000 to $2,000,000
, per day to pay Interest on "loans ami
. discounts" now held by banks. I re
peat what I have said before, that we
have reached a condition wherein these
"loans and discounts" are a perma-
t nent part of our financial, commercial
and industrial problem.
A debt is usually regarded as some
thing to be paid as only temporary
but here Is a volume of indebtedness
against our commerce and Industries
(to say nothing of the large indebtnl
Z ness of other kinds) that not only can
; not be paid, but must go on enlarging
- frr'Mtfa -1 Ty
interest on it has become a permanent
tribute to be paid 5 to the banks that
hold It. .
If any one who reads this has any
idea how this debt can be paid, i
should be glad to know now It can be
done. If the banks should, for thirty
days, refuse to increase their "loans
and discounts" make no loans except
renewals and insist on the payment of
interest, is there any. doubt, that there
would follow commercial and indus
trial depression? If the banks should
refuse to make any new loans, and de
mand payment of 25 'per cent of ma
tured paper and renew 75 per cent, is
there any doubt that the demand
would be followed by a commercial and
industrial panic that would ruin half
the business men in the country?
The difficulty is now that the bank3
themselves are becoming entangled In
the dilemma, and, while they are
standing together in a compact organ
ization protected by the national bank
laws, the time Is not far off (in fact,
there are some indications that it haa
already begun) when they will beg1!!
strategetic movements for advantages
against each other. There is not
much question but that the Fowler
bill is proposed legislation in the in
terest of the strong eastern banks
against the country national banks
and all banks of the west and the
south. FLAVIUS J. VAN VORHIS.
Indianapolis, Ind. ,
V
ASIATIC CHOLERA
It Is Devastating the Philippine Islands
Next Tear it Will Likely
Appear Here.
The Philadelphia Medical Journal
suggestively remarks that "this coun
try seems to be taking tne subject of
cholera in the Philippines with a great
deal on nonchalance. "We are glad
that no one thinks it worth while to
get in a panic over it and yet the fact
that we are at the present moment
having a full-blown epidemic of chol
era in United States territory, is rath
er disquieting." So it Is, to be sure.
The official reports reveal that 1740
cases of cholera have occurred in Ma
nila, involving 1385 deaths a startling
fatality. The same is true of the pro
vinces, where there have been 9444
cases, with 7038 deaths. Not since
1882, when a virulent epidemic of
Asiatic holera decimated the native
population, has there been such preval
ence of the disease as now. Further
than this, Lieutenant Colonel Mans
says that there have been probably
2000 more deaths, ill .the provinces, rec
ords of which have never Teen kept.
The natives have tried to conceal the
existence of cholera, and on that ac
count absolute authority has been
given the medical officers of the army.
Quarantine regulations make it al
most impossible to get in or out or
Manila.
Imperialism has already brought up
on us an epidemic of smallpox and
spread leprosy over several states of
the union. According to all precedent
we are to have an epidemic of Asiatic
cholera next year, for the, Intercourse
with the Philippines and- thousands
of returning soldiers will surely bring
it. That, however, is only a part of.
the aftermath of a foreign war of
conquest.
Committee Meeting
Meetings of the populist and demo
cratic state committees were held at
the Lindell hotel, this city, last Fri
day. The democrats had previously
elected Dr. P. Ii Hall as chairman, and
he was empowered to choose a vice
chairman to conduct the active work
of the campaign, the doctor simply to
act in an advisory capacity. His se
lection was made but has not yet been
announced to the public. The demo
crats selected an executive committee
as follows: H. D. Travis, Platts
mouth; J. J. O'Connor, Omaha; Geo.
L.. Loomis, Fremont; Geo. W. Phillips,
Columbus; C. B. Scott, Kearney; R. 3.
Wahlquist, Hastings; and R. O.
Adams, Grand Island.
The populists selected an executive
committee as follows: First district,
Prof. H. E. Dawes, Lincoln; Second,
J. J. Points, Omaha; Third, W. V. Al
len, Madison; Fourth, F. M. Howard,
Aurora; Fifth, Dr. Robert Damerell.
Red Cloud; Sixth, J. H. Edmisteu,
Thedford; at large, Cliff Frank, York.
Elon W. Nelson was chosen as chair
man"; and he in conjunction with the
populist candidates and executive com
mittee empowered to name the secre
tary and treasurer.
A sub-committee on conference was
appointed by each committee and re
port finally made that the two com
mittees should open headquarters In
Omaha, to be , in the same building;
and that each should finance Its own
campaign.
THE FOWLER BILL
Bull fighting has been prohibited by
law in the state of Jalisco, Mex. This
state lies on the Pacific coast and is
fartherest away from the civilization
of the Anglo-Saxon. There are over
1,000,000 inhabitants in this state and
the new law has almost unanimous
support The people of that state, ex
ceedingly, few - of whom are white
men, did not have an all-powerful na
tion of another race standing over
them telling them that " they could
have such a measure of self-government
they were prepared to enjoy, but
nevertheless their course has been
upward ever since they declared them
selves Independent of Spanish author-i
ity. The capacity of the Filipinos 's
a hundred per cent : higher than that
of the people of Jalisco when they de-
dared their Independence. . Without
the tutllage of the "superior" Anglo
Saxon they have been , developing a
civilization of their own in their own
way. The belief of the ordinary re
publican nowadays is that no rz.ee
can advance unless the syndicates Jiaye
Ah.anfip.t:thTn. rT
Mr, De Hart Encroaches Upon His Vaca
tion Time by Writing Another Inter
' estlng; letter to The
' Independent
: Editor Independent: The first sec
tion of the Fowler bill contains a good
idea, or at least the germ of an idea,
which deserves to be noticed. The
section reads:
"That there shall be and hereby Is
created and established In the treas
ury department a division of banking
and currency, which shall be in charge
of a board consisting or three mem
bers, and shall take the place of and
shall have, exercise and enjoy all the
powers and authority heretofore law
fully vested in the comptroller of the
currency and any other power and
authority authorized by the act and
shall be known as the board of con
trol of banking currency.
"The members of said board of con
trol shall be appointed by the presi
dent, by and with the advice and cou
sent of the senate. The term of office
shall be for a period of twelve years,
except that the terms of the first
three members shall be for twelve,
eight and four years, respectively. The
member appointed for rour years shall
be known as the first comptroller and
shall preside over the board of con
trol, and the two remaining members
shall be known as associate comptrol
lers, and thereafter that member of
the board whose term next expire3
shall become the first comptroller."
Strike out the rest of the bill and we
have a good idea to start with. In
stead, however of making -the board
of control a "division" of banking And
currency in the treasury department,
it ought to be a separate and inde
pendent department of government.
The secretary of the treasury ought
not to have anything to do with it.
His power should be limited to collec
tion and disbursement of the public
money. Especially, ne should have
r othing to do with the mints or banks,
except perhaps to designate what
banks should be used as depositories
of the public money. The supervision
of the mints, as well as of the banks,
should be transferred to the board f
control of banking and currency.' Mr.
Fowler makes a mistake in not giving
the board of control all power over the
mints as well as the banks. He sees
the importance of having three men,
instead of one, to manage the banks,
but he does not see the importance of
bringing the mints under the same
control, so that everything that re
lates to contraction or expansion, of
the currency can be under the control
of this same board. And the president
of this board ought to have a seat n
the cabinet; . and all the members
should be experts in finance and will
ing to devote their lives to the subject
as a service.
The members of the board of con
trol each serve twelve years (after
the first appointment). This Is none
too long when we take Into considera
tion that no member - can become
president of the board, or "first comp
troller," until he has served eight
years as an "associate comptroller."
This gives the two associate comp
trollers an opportunity to study mon
ey and currency and to become fa
miliar with the laws of coinage and
banking. Eight years is none too long
to study money as a science, especially
when a man is fitting himself for the
great responsibility of deciding as to
when the money of a great nation,
like the United States, should be in
creased or diminished. At the pres
ent time we have nobody to decide
such matters except the owners' of
gold and of the banks. These men de
cide not in the interest of the public,
but of themselves and the result is
that they are taking for themselves
all the wealth of the natron except a
bare subsistence for the workers.
Therefore we need a board of control
with power to expand the money when
the country is outgrowing the volume
of money and to contract it when
ever there seems to be too much mon
ey. The members of the board should
have a salary and not be allowed to
be interested in expansions or contrac
tions of money. They should be Mm
judges, not interested In the result of
their decisions.
In order to carry this view In prac
tice, it would be necessary to give the
board of control power to close the.
mints to "free" coinage of gold. Eith
er they should do this or else con
gress should do It. After this is dons
the board of control should have pow
er to buy . gold bullion and coin it on
government account as we now coin
fractional silver pieces. This aas
worked well with fractional pieces and
it will work equally well with gold.
It will give control or the volume of
gold coin to the government which it
ought to have. We have closed the
mints to free coinage of silver dollars
as well as of fractional silver pieces,
and there is no reason for keeping the
mints open to free and unlimited coin
age of gold. It benefits nobody but a
few men who want to maxe money by
controlling the volume of money, and
what they make Is made at the ex
pense of others.
The board of control should also
have power to put a stop to the fur
ther Issuance of bank notes. There
is no necessity for allowing the bank3
to issue their notes for money, and as
nearly all of Mr. Fowler's bill Is de
voted to this purpose, so much as re
lates to this purpose can be stricken
out. This done, the nearer of control
might be authorized to Issue United
States legal tender notes, whenever
there is a necessity for more paper
money. The democratic party . is m
jereat need of harmony. One wing of
the party warts free coinage of gold
the other free coinage of silver. If
both sides would give up rree coinaf
and agree to the proposition that the
government shall issue all the money
I on Its own account whether it be coin
or paper, there would not only be har
mony, but both sides would stand
upon scientific grounet.
"The demonetization of silver Is
I rapidly promoting th cremonetlzatloa
of gold," says a very high authority
on the science of money. Will oa?
statesmen make a note of this?
JNO. S. DE HART.
Mt. Freedom, N. J.
A REPUBLICAN SPLIT
William K. Cnrtis Believes He Can See
Trouble Ahead in the Republican
Camp
Populists and democrats long ago
ceased to place any confidence in the
mouthings of William E. Curtis in the
Chicago Record-Herald, but neverthe
less it is interesting to note what he
thinks about the possibility of a split
in-, the republican party, ostensibly
growing out of . the Cuban reciprocity
measure, but in reality a fight to the
finish on the part of manuracturers of
highly protected goods against an in
evitable change in the republican pol
icy of protection. Long ago Blaine
foresaw that the high protective tariff
idea must be dropped, and his reciproc
ity .ideas were given to the world as
a bit of statesmanship unexcelled. But,
as Senator Blackburn is credited with
saying, "Reciprocity means nothing
more or less than democratic free trade
in homeopathic doses," and it is not
human nature to give up any advant
age, however unfair it ... may be. Ac
cordingly . those manufacturers whose
goods are protected will fight to the
last ditch to prevent the administra
tion of free trade In either allopathic
or homeopathic , doses. They are all
supporters of the republican party as
long as the republican party continues
the unfair, advantages conferred upon
them;, but as soon as necessity compels
the republican party to relax in the
least its. protective policy, these pi
rates are ready to bite the hand that
fed them. As they have nowhere elsa
to go, they are obliged to stay In the
republican party and fight it out to the
bitter end.
Curtis,; writing to the Record-Herald
from New York, says:
"It is difficult to see how a split in
the republican party Is to be avoided
unless somebody yields. This morn
ing I saw two of the "boxers" who de
feated . the Cuban reciprocity bill in
the senate, and both declared with
unnecessary emphasis that President
Roosevelt's confidence In the adoption
of that measure at the next session of
congress Was very much misplaced.
One of them went so far as to declare
that the bill would not receive the sup
port at the mext session as It had at
the last, -and asserted ,that the only
thick-and-thm1 supporters the; presi
dent had on the republican side in
that fight were Piatt of Connecticut
Lodge and Beveridge. He says that
if a vote had been - taken by a secret
ballot In the republican caucus th
president's policy would have received
the support of perhaps five men, pos
sibly six, and no more, and that if it
had been proposed by any other man
than Roosevelt it would have received
no support at all." ' " -
Those," continues Curtis, "are the
sentiments of an extreme sugar beet
senator, and must be accepted with
caution, but some of the supporters of
the president think he is over sanguine
In his expectation that the senate will
adopt his recommendations next win
ter. He intends to make a great fight
for them, and one of the objects of
his speech-making tour through the
country this fall is to preach reclproc
Ity, although several of the "boxers'
have begged him not to do it. When
Theodore Roosevelt Is advocating a
cause he thinks is right there Isn't
much use trying to gag him, and in
the states and districts which those
boxers'? represent he will plead his
cause with even greater earnestness
and nersistence than elsewhere. He U
convinced that the people are with
him, and he will ask them to express
their views in a manner that, may not
be mistaken by their representatives
In congress. If some of the senators
and representatives had known what
he is going to talk about they would
not have been so urgent in pressing
him to visit their constituents.
"The president is already getting to
gether facts and figures to use in his
speeches, and they will be the efforts
of his life. He intends to force the
fighting and to stand or fall upon the
reciprocity platform, as an avowed
candidate for renomination he Is tak
ing a great many chances, but no one
can help admiring his candor and
courage and the strength of his con?
victions, although some think that his
plan proves him to be a very poor
politician. We will wait and see."
The American Protective Tariff
league, the self-styled "Defenders of
American Labor and Industries," num
bers 979 members (four of whom are
in Nebraska), nearly every one of
whom is a manufacturer of protected
goods. Curtis, avers that it was large
ly due to the efforts of this league
that the existing rates of duty were
embodied in the DIngley law, , "acl
they do not propose to have them dis
turbed, no matter what method is
proposed or what reason is advanced
The fact that nearly all of them are
personally and pecuniarily Interested
in maintaining the present duties only
makes them the more active and de
termined." The league pubishes a
weeky paper, called The American
Economist and the rot which appears
in it during political campaigns s
something fearful to contemplate. The
unsophisticated would imagine that it
was run by a committee of laboring
men whose sole object is to enhance
the price of labor. In reality, as Mr.
Curtis points out, the whole organ! za
tlon is composed of manufacturers
who are personally and pecuniarily In
terested in maintaining the present
duties" because present duties en
able them to tax the whole body of
American consumers for their personal
advantage.- -.'imii
WHY THEY DEGENERATE
The Effect of Foreign Wars of Conquest
Upon the American Armr-IV
"Was Ineritable.
The readers of The Independent will
remember how often the editor ha3
pointed out the inevitable effect of im
perialism and wars of conquest upon
the army and the standard of morality
at home. Henry C. Rowland, M. D.,
an assistant surgeon in tne army In
the Philippines, has recorded the facts
in the case with scientific accuracy n
McClures Magazine. The Indepen
dent predicted its assertions upon well
known natural laws and Dr. Rowland
has recorded the effect of those laws
as he saw them. As a surgeon in the
United States army In the Philippines
he had unusual opportunities for
studying the physical and mental con
dition of the American soldier. Dur
ing his service he visited the who'.e
length of the archipelago and cam;
in personal contact with all the dif
ferent types of our soldiers. His ob
servations and conclusions are as fol
lows:
A primary consideration of the tales
of cruelty proceedings from the Phil
ippines must naturally nrst evoke the
query, "Are they true?" ... To pre
sume that these reports of atrocities
are wholly or partially untrue would
be to eliminate the necessity of this
argument, for the sake of which we
will grant the following:
First. That United States commis
sioned officers have ordered the execu
tion without trial of natives. Second.
That United States commissioned offi
cers have ordered the torture of na
tives, and third, that these orders
have been carried out without protest
by subordinates, i. e., non-commis
sioned officers and private soldiers.
It is easy to understand a mono
mania of blood-thirstiness existing In
the individual as the result of heat,
fever, exposure, and other climatic
conditions. History is full of such
cases. The difficult task for us is the
conception of an obedient fulfillment
of cruel and savage orders by exactly
such men as we see about us every
dav. If our troons were bound by
such iii.irtiug.Luit: Lies ui uicsuiyiiuo as
characterize the rank and file of cer
tain continental armies, whse soldiers
have sucked in a martial atmosphere
from infancy, and to whom obedience
of an order is as much of an uncon
scious reflex as the act of closing ths
eyes at the report of a gun ,the mat
ter would be clearer. ...
Reading in his morning paper of the
torture and wholesale extermination
of helpless Filipinos, the average New
Yorker or Philadelphlan thinks at
once of the Tom, Dick, or Harry
whom he -happens to Know In the
Philippines, : and is, . assured that if
only all of the men Were of the type of
this particular acquaintance there
would be " no such disgraceful blors
on the pages of our nation's recent
history!
Now, as a matter of fact, it Is just
some such Tom, Dick, or Harry who
has done these things. . Let us try to
follow the military aareer of these
three types and see if we can throw
some light upon the casuistry produc
ing such results. ...
Tom. Dick, and Harry meet In the
Presidio at San Francisco. There they
are1 - physically re-examiried, and as
signed to the same company oi'tne
same regiment. ... On laading in Lu
zon the regiment i3 sent ? Immediately
to the front. At this timer almost any
direction Is the front, and they have
not far to go. At first the excitement
of the firing line, and their rnterest In
strange, new surrounding. sweep
away the nostalgia. Latere when the
glamour of the novelty has wfrn off,
it returns again, but In the sub-acuce
and chronic form which Is muck more
insidious. With it they run the usual
gamut of heat, fever, dhobie Itek aTf5
dysentery, but they are a hardy trio,
and all of these elements are but fac
tors in the tempering process. At the
end of their first year they find them
selves practically immune from petty
tropical disorders, but deep down un
der the chronic tan and the lean, sin
ewy muscles the sluggish ulcer of dis
content gnaws at their hearts.
When the regimental surgeon writes
"Nostalgia" as the diagnosis of a pa
tient he is apt to hesitate for a mo
ment to decide whether the more fit
ting term might not be "Malingering.1'
At any rate, patients with the former
malady do not receive any extra
amount of care and attention. Yet
this condition, this chronic homesick
ness, is one of the most dangerous
disorders which we have to treat. It
represents the solution from which
may crystal ize insanity. It is the
more dangerous In that it is so often
unsuspected, and will smolder along
until It finally bursts into a flame cf
suicidal or homicidal mania. It ac
counts for more dementia than sun or
fever. . .
Tom, Dick and Harry observe these
things with sympathy. Although they
have never run off their own track,
they - are able to understand how t
would feel.-. . . Often when on outpost
duty through the long, soft, mysteri
ous, tropic night,, they have felt the
gnawing pain of a heartachlng home
sickness, though they would not have
described it as such, so faint and dim
has the thought of home become. . . .
; When a man is herded with a body
of other men for a while he begins,
to a certain extent, to lose his indi
viduality. When there Is not one sin
gle familiar feature in all of his en
vironment, this loss of a former lden
tity is much enhanced. He begins to
cease to think of himself as Jones or
Brown or someone else, or such and
such a place. He is simply a unit of
a certain whole, and the discharge of
his duties in this capacity grows more
and more automatic. He is no longer
influenced by the conditions under
which he was born and bred. He
ceases to be governed by his former
code of - ethics There is; nothing
around him to remind him that he is
himself. His principles unconscious
ly adjust themselves to surrounding
conditions and circumstances. What
young Mr. Brown, of Greenfield, III.,
might have done If offered an indig
nity by any one, has nothing to do
with what Sergeant Brown, th Unit
ed States infantry, might do if, wnen
half sick and thoroughly disgusted at
the end of a long day s march, ho Is
fired on by a native from a Nipa hut.
Anderson vs. Dewey.
General Anderson, who was In com
mand of the land forces when tho
city of Manila was taken, Is hot over
Dewey's testimony. In view of the fact
that 122 of the army were killed and
wounded, General Anderson asks with
some force whether . the understand
ing with Dewey "was that American
soldiers were to be killed for the honor
of Spain?"
General Anderson regrets that there
are no written documents to which an
appeal can be made to settle the ques
tion and then says:.
"I now learn for the first time that
my correspondence with Aguinaldi
was not approved by the admiral.
Permit me to remark that he had no
occasion for a correspondence. When
he took possession of the Cavlte navy
yards he doubled the, wages of sev
eral hundred Filipinos working there.
That did not require any correspon
dence. Nor did it require any corre
spondence to induce Aguinaldo to
start his Insurrection. It Is not diffi
cult to induce men to do what they
wish to do."
HARRINGTON'S ARGUMENT
Exports Fall Off.
Exports of staple products from the
United States continue to fall off in
noteworthy measure. The June j rec
ord, just given out by the treasury de
partment, compares as follows with
that of a year ago: -
June. 1902. 1901.
Breadstuff's $11,081,051 $22,194,758
Cattle and hogs 1,919,640 3,172,137
Provisions .... 12,856,574 15,783,509
Cotton 8,279,286 , 9,785,956
Mineral oils .. 5,770,691 5,450,352
Total $40,627,282 $56,386,612
This is a shrinkage of nearly 30 rer
cent, and In breadstuffs the decrease
is one-half, due in large part to the
corn crop failure of last year. For tho
whole fiscal year the exports of staple
products amount to $775,624,206 against
$867,238,579 in the previous year a
shrinkage of nearly $92,000,000. , V
Only One Way.
Therthis only one way In which thq
trusts can be restrained and regulated.
There is only one real remedy for the
extortion practiced by the trusts upon
the people. "This is to repeal the Ding
iey protection duties which give the
tf lists" vitality and power. None of
tlkese duties are needed for revenue
Nne of them are needed for "protec-tlot-'The
only service they perform
Is jto bolster up the trusts and enable
thein to levy tribute upon American
Industry. Theodore Roosevelt used
be a tariff reformer. Why doesn't he
give Mr. Llttlefield the tip to base
his promised anti-trust bill on tariff
reform? It is the only thing that will
count in the present situation. Boston
Post
TWO PICTURES
Wsltsr Wsllmsn Contrasts the Soft Coal
Miner and William K. Vanderbllt
Down in the coal mines of Illinois
or Ohio or Indiana works a strong.
brave man. He crawls on his belly.
He faces danger. He tolls with might
and main. He breathes foul air. Hour
after hour he sweats and works. When
he comes out of the hole in the ground
and goes to his meager supper in his
humble cabin, weary, begrimmed, he
has earned $2. Of this he gives 20
cents to the cause, 20 cents In sup
port of a principle, 20 cents in defense
of American manhood. To meet this
sacrifice his wife and children must
give up something a little less sugar
on the table, no meat for supper to
day, or baby must wait till next month
for the much-needed new shoes. ,
In a palace on Fifth avenue in New
York lives a man worth $200,000,000
He ts another palace at Newport.
He has his yacht and his country seat.
Every luxury of the world is at his
command. His income is so great that
he does not know what to do with it
But he, too, has his troubles. The
thousands of employes of one of the
many great corporations which he con
trols have had the audacity to aisk for
better wages, a more Just method cf
measuring their work, and for arbl
tration. He, too, is fighting for a
principle the principle that poor men
who work with their hands have no
right to ask for anything except such
as their masters choose to give them.
Walter Wellman, in Chicago Record-
Herald. ' .
The political scoundrels who run the
imperialistic end of the government
are the most disreputable gang of poli
ticians that ever cursed a nation.
They haven't the honor of common
thieves. They made a bargain with
Cuba to the effect that if the constitu
tional convention would adopt the
Piatt amendments favorable trade ar
rangements should be made and now
they have repudiated the bargain. On
top of that . they are trying to pro
mote a revolution in the island a.nd by
that means force annexation. They
want still more bloodshed. ) They
would like to have a few more farmer
boys go down to Cuba to die of typh
old and typhus fever or come home to
go on the pension list with their whole
lives wrecked. The Independent has
its opinion of the populist or democrat
who gives aid and comfort to that
gang, but it Is afraid to write it out,
lest the linotype man would go on a
tear - after he . set It up.
Before the Supreme Court In the Manda
mus Suit galas t State Board
of Equalisation.
(Continued from last week.)
Now then, let us take the Burling
ton. I cannot In the brief time that
is permitted for this argument here
I could not in ten hours go over all
the things that should be said to show
why this assessment should be In
creased. In the division of time
among counsel I must necessarily hur
ry on and leave many things unsaid,
but I want to take up, after covering
the Union Pacific road, I want to take
up the Burlington road because th j
same effort to get a wrong judgment
by misinformation is contained in tt
brief of the Burlington perhaps un
intentionally, I don't charge counsel
with intentionally trying to mislead
the court, but here Is a condition a,
proved by the evidence here. The
Burlington railroad, all its stock, al
most 98 per cent of it, was sold to the
Great Northern and to the Northern
Pacific. It was delivered to them and
placed with a trustee In New York
city. To pay for it they issued their
oint obligations, the Great Northern
and the Northern Pacific railroads,
bearing 4 per cent, and this stock was
deposited as collateral. They paid for
the Burlington stock $2.00 for $1.00.
When the assessments of 1897 and 1SDS
were made in this state the Burlington
stock was below par. The Burlington
stock when this assessment was worth
twice as much as it was worth in
1897 and 1898. I say that that stock
at $200 a share was a cash transac
tion. Why? Because the proof h?e
shows that any man that did not want
to take the obligations of the Great
Northern and the Northern Pacific
that the cash was ready. It shows
that they set aside $50,000,000 in cash
to pay $200 for each $100 share of that
stock to any man who did not want
to take the obligations of these com
panies bearing 4 per cent interest.
But, your honors, that Is not even a
fair test although it is the first test I
am going to apply to the Burlington
railroad. The mileage given here U
utterly incorrect, the Interstate com
merce commission . has got it right.
Poor s Railroad Manual has it right
and if you will take up thelr second
report and take out the leased lines
you will get It right, the second track.
The Burlington railroad owns 7.S94
miles of railroad, or had when they
were assessed this year.
I see by the newspapers that they
are getting hold of narrow gauge and
widening it out and the other day, I
say they are getting hold of the K. C.
& O., and none of these companies ar
covered by the stocks or bonds of the
Burlington and hence are not a proper
matter to be taken into consideration.
At getting at the value per mile we
will first take the stock at $196, I took
it half way between counsel's figure
and $200, that gives it, taking the
stock of the Burlington railroad to
be $45,600 a mile. In other words on
a one-sixth basis it would be assesso'l
at nearly $8,000 a mile instead of
about $4,300, as it is. But that Is not
a true test. The Burlington railroad
Is worth more than that, and before I
pass from the mileage I want to say M
counsel I have included not only ev
ery mile of road that you give when
you made your last report to Poor, but
I have included the road that was un
der construction in Wyoming then
and . I suppose Is In operation now.
That is not the test. I said this stock
was all sold to the Great Northern
and the Northern Pacific. I said It
was sold upon a 4 per cent basis, now
when the Burlington earns all of its
operating expenses and when It earns
enough money to pay Interest on H
bonded debt and enough money is
earned to pay 4 per cent on these joint
obligations of the Great Northern ani
the Northern Pacific, the whole sur
plus goes to the fellows who still own
the Burlington stock, so when you
figure this stock at $200 a share we are
not figuring it right at all, it is worth
a whole lot more than $200 a shar.
You can't buy any of it, It Is not In
the market, but the obligations giren
for it bear 4 per cent and were takeT
at par, but this does not represent
the net earnings, there are millions
of stock of the Burlington on top of
that.
Let us take another basis, which I
think is a fairer one. Take their net
earnings for the last year and capital
ize that upon a basis of 4 per cent.
Put the value of the property at $400,
000,000, which is more than $50,000 a
mile, it will pay 4 per cent Interest on
that and leave you $1,600,000 of a sur
plus every year. So that on the very
basis on which the Burlington rail
road was cashed In the market within
a year, and taking Its present rate of
net earnings the Burlington will pay
at the ordinary rates on money on safa
investments at $50,000 a mile. 4 per
cent, and send $1,600,000 a year into
the surplus fund. Or if you will capi
talize it straight out upon the actual
basis and figure it up from an inves
tor's standpoint it is worth In the
market $55,000 a mile.
Of course this state board of equal
ization didn't know this, the railroad
corporation didn't want them to know
it, and because they didn't they didn't
want to know it.
How could these men assess this
property without knowing Its value?
How could any man tell what to assess
any property for until he ascertains
its value? You say you will assess
pfoperty at one-sixth of its valu.
How can the state board assess these
railroads at one-sixth of their valu
if the men, who make the assessment
do not know its value? If the men
who make the assessment will npt iu-
quire aoout tne valuer n tne men v:
make the assessment purposely avoid
finding out the value of it? If the men
who make the assessment simply defy
the -request, that they find the value ?