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THE AMERICAN.
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VoUMK VIII.
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1
7
HUH HEAD
gets ms
He Voted to
Beckett, 3 per Cent, on
All Outlawed Claims.
Many of His Endorsers Profitted by
the Illegal Appropriation of the
Public Funds,
Or, Are Managers of Corporations
' Who Expect to Profit by His
Re-Election.
DID BECKETT
An Interesting Interview Which a
Representative of this Paper
Had on the Subject.
The American last week exposed Ibt
work of Commissioner-Claimant Wra
1. Kiarstead Id manipulating the coun
ty board, to allow himself over $3,600
and with It about f 100,000 of outlawed
Douglas addition claims. After the
publication of the article Mr. Kleretead
Informed a member of The American
company that be had aecured a letter
from W. I). Beckett, peclal attorney
for the board, In which Mr. Beckett
atate that the board followed hi (Mr,
Beckett') advice In the allowance
the outlawed claim, At the time of
the board'! illegal action M, II. Red
field waa clerk of the county, and the
.American this week Interviewed him
In regard to the position of Mr, Beck
ett aa claimed by Mr, Klerstead.
"Mr. BoekoU filed with me," wild
Mr, Kedfleld, In reply to our question,
"a type-written opinion, advising the
board that the claims were outlawed,
and that It waa the board'a duty to
plead the statute of limitation. I per
sonally handed this written opinion
to Commissioner Jenkins In the pre,
once of Mr. KleraU'ad, and at the next
meeting of the board, the opinion waa
formally received by the board and
should now be on file with other pa
peri of the county board. In addition
to thin, Mr. '.Beckett personally In
formed me that If the board attempted
to allow the outlawed clalma he would
top them, aa he considered that b
waa representing the taxpayer of the
county, whose interest were at stake,
Mr. Beckett further Informed me that
he would aee to It that a bill wa
passed by the legislature empowering
the board to make deed to all the
claimant whose claim were outlawed,
and subsequently I met Mr. Beckett at
Lincoln and he aald the attorney for
the claimant! wa Hunting the bill In
the legislature, ao a to make a strong
er cane before the county board."
"It wa ciialomary," continued the
ex-clerk, "for commissioners to have
committee reports made out In the
NDORSEEENT
Allow W. D.
SEGRETLY
REVERSE HIMSELF ?
clerk'! office, and after the opinion ot
Mr. Beckett waa filed I heard nothing
more of the outlawed claims for soma
time, when all at once, to my surprise,
a large number of committee reports
were laid on the desk, which I used to
read from to the board, allowing these
outlawed claims. The work of making
up the reports was done outalde of
the county clerk's office. I do not hes
Hale to say, knowing what I do, that
If Mr, Klerstead had nut read his
office to get these claim through, they
would never have been allowed, for the
member of the board were by no
means united, and at one time con
sidered the claims defeated by Mr,
Beckett's opinion."
The reporter then handed Mr. Red
field a printed circular containing Mr.
Beckett's letter, and the x-ectk, after
reading It, said:
"Mr. Beckett does not deny the fuel
s I have related them, He practically
admits that he changed his portion,
which Is what everyone know, and
the change was no doubt brought
about through the persistency of Com
missioner Klerslead, There Is noth
ing In Mr. Beckett's letter which
changes the view I have had of this
transaction. It Is the old story over
sgaln . Anything gotten from the pub
lic treasury Is by some people regard
ed aa. honest, when If it was an Indi
vidual or a private corporation which
had to foot the bill every legal de
fense would be pleaded."
The reporter then asked Mr. Red
field If It was not a fact that Attorney
Beckett got a large attorney's fee out
of the outlawed claims, and he replied;
"Mr. Beckett wo allowed three per
cent of all the money voted on the
outlawed clalma."
10 RTO IlK'ANS ARE IGNORANT.
Alderman Charles If. Rector of Chi
cago has Just completed a tour of Porto
Rico. He writes for the Chicago
Times-Herald an account of his trip.
Among other things he says:
"The Mlgl 4 the Isi4 Iwn
hotly tNsltnUie, lit tme t.eitetel
ititmfc eief rtn t4 on the Ulsnd,
and that la st INae, Aftet Wing
nfi.-tird tr a short time It wss t l4
by ntttf of somebody, and IkH vrej
until our soldier caw They
broke In the IIM doww and Ml
seMlcea ther. The pf teelhood fca
rwtlly had a greater rontrot if the
people if the Island than the rtvll rv
rwitirM, and ha. Iwcn Ihe heavy tat
gstherer. On account of this the na
tive population Is hostile to the pile a,
and will welcome the protectant
churches, which seek no connection
with the government.
"Schools have boiMi practically un
known. Such schools a were kept up
were of the parochial kind, and only
that wa taught which the church
and state permitted. The text-lxioha
furnished were grossly Inaccurate, nd
the pupil that mastered them waa but
little better off than before. I may say
that one of the greatest benefits of th
war to I'orto Rico will be that It places
In the Island forever free public
schools, free churches, Independence of
rllgious faith, and abolishment of all
tax-gathering by any church. The
priests are relegated to religious func
tions purely. I do not believe that
naturally the Porto Rlcana think very
much of any religion. Slothful In their
natures, religion compels thought on
their part, and thought la tlresomo.
Why should one think when the sun
is warm, the shade Inviting and the
earth so kind?"
UNITKI) STATES AS A PACIFIC
POWBit.
A short time before the outbreak of
the recent Spanish-American war a
discussion took place at a Washington
luncheon table between two distin
guished American public men. One of
them was a strong believer In the
"forward" policy, who accepted, and
even gloried In, the title of Jingo; the
other whs "conservative" and an op
ponent of external expnnslon and ag
gressive activity. The latter remarked
that the United States should have no
concern with militarism and Imperial
ism. "We are a paclfle power," he said.
"I guess so," replied the other gen
tleman, "But we Intend to spell pa
cific with a large P."
The words seem prophetic already.
The appearance of the United States
as an actor In the drama which Is be
ing enacted on the shores and waters
of the Pacific Ocean may turn out to
be the most abiding and Important re
sult of the brief struggle with Spain
The American republic mode Its sud
den dash Into military and naval ac
tlvlty through a series of emits which
many people regarded as fortuitous.
But If there had been no tale of out
rage In Cuba, and no shattering of the
Maine In Havana harbor, the United
States would not have been able to
maintain It Attitude of passivity and
freedom from International complica
tions much longer. A manifest des
tiny, If ever nation had one, has been
driving It In the direction along which
It has moved with startling rapidity
since the spring of the present year,
The change has been accelerated by
the circumstances which forced on In
tervention In Cuba and the rupture
with Spain; but It was Ismnd to come
In any case.
It Is a curious fact, which may pos
sibly receive explanation from some
historian of the future, when history
has become more scientific than It Is
at present, that a whole chain of causes
has iK-cn steadily drawing the United
States on the way of Imperialism. Two
years and a half ago the present writer
pointed out that the novel Interpreta
tion of the so-called Monroe doctrine
asserted by President Cleveland and
Mr, OIney, In the Venezuela dispute,
was not to be taken as a merely per
sonal m erit rlclty on the part of a par
ticular administration. The motives
and principle which Induced Mr. OI
ney to declare that the United States
was entitled, If It so pleased, to Inter
vene In a quarrel between two govern
ments having possessions in South
America might also furnish the
warrant for Intervention In the
Csrrlbean Sea, or the Pacific.
If the Interests of the re
public seemed to be affected or men
aced In either of these regions. It
would not have been difficult to dem
onstrate that there were other quar
ters of the globe In which, on the gen
eral OIney doctrine, the Washington
government might feel Itself called
upon to act The theory has been re
asserted In a broader and more em
phatic form by Mr, OIney himself In
the course of the last few months.
Here Is a passage which moy be worth
quoting:
"In our country, as well as in
monarchies, traditions and cus
tom a-e strong. This nollcv of ln-
(Continu d on Page 4 )
EYE-OPENERS
FOR VOTERS
The Objectionable Features
of the HcCleary Bill
Pointed Out.
Country Banks Outside of New York
Would be Driven Out of Busi
neis by Its Passage.
Farmers, Merchants and Mechanics
Affected by Its Provisions.
Tlia American'! article of last week,
expqtyig the Inlqultlea of the Me.Cleary
banking bill, has created wldspread In
terest among patriotic citizens, who,
with us, see the danger that lurks In
the provisions of the bill by concen
trating Into the hands of a private cor
poration thd power to control the
money supply of the country, and
thereby regulute the value of labor us
well as commodities, Including the
power of being able to control business
and politics, and to hold within Its
grasp the very llliertles of the people.
Below we give for the benefit of our
rendeir a few of the objections to lbs
bill, and we request all patriotic citi
zens to study them, bearing in mind
that the clique of speculator! who are
favoring this legislation has not dared
to discuss It In the campaign, but in
tend that It shall be sneaked through
congress In the name of "sound
money,"
In the first place the memlrs of
the board of comptrollers are appoint
ed for twelve years; with an Interval
of four yeara between appointment,
requiring sixteen years to change the
character of the board, and which
makes It practically a perpetual body
appointed by one administration.
Section 20 of the bill Impowers these
comptrollers to withdraw from circu
lation all national reserve notes, thus
giving them the right to contract the
currency at will,
A gold reserve, as provided In sec
tion 4, shows Unit It Is to be main
tained by the Issue of Ixmds, which
means a constant Increase of the bond
ed debt for the reason that It Is Im
possible for the banks to hold the
amount of gold required without a re
duction In the price of breadstuffs le
low the cost of production, and be
cause the exportation of an excess of
farm products Is the only thing that
will draw gold to this country, In ad
dition to this the bill also empowers
the comptrollers to Insure certificates
of Indebtedness without stint or limit.
It completes the demonetization of
silver by making the silver coins re
deemable In gold the same as green
backs (see section 8).
Section 12 of the bill provides for
three classes of notes, via.: "National
reserve note," "National bank notes"
and "National currency notes." The
"National currency notes are to be ex
changed for greenbacks and that
money Is to be destroyed. See
Hon 19). The government Is to be
pledged for the redemption of the na
tional reserve note the same as it Is
for the greenbacks. Why the govern
ment should give the banks the con
trol of the currency and still be re
sponsible for Its redemption Is a mys
tery. "National bank notes" mean circu
lating notes issued by national bank
ing associations which are to be se-
cured by la deposit of United States
bonds. Thli Is practically the same as
the present national bank note, with
the exception that they are to be Is
sued to the full face Value of the Ixmds
held by the government According
to section 17 at the end of four years
the bunks are permitted to withdraw
their secrltles and In eight years leave
their not issue In the air with Uncle
Sum holding the bag.
By section 12, subdivision C, It will
be seen that the "national currency
notes" are a gratuity to the banks and
are without security, except the money
of it depositors. In case of a bank
failure the government Is to undertake
to handle these assets and pay the
creditors from any available revenue,
It Is readily sen that this whole fabric
Is to rest upon the credit of the gov
ernment and the' complicated machin
ery proKsed by this bill Is to place
the banks In complete control of the
volume of money and consequently the
average of prices of all commodities,
Including real estate.
Section 16 gives legal tender power
to the "national reserve notes," but
section 20 provides for their destruc
tion by the comptroller! ai fust aa the
Interests of the Isinks may require, It
I true that It authorizes the comp
trollers to re-Issue them In exchange
for gold, but this simply means the de
struction of all legal tender money,
except gold, thus placing the country
on an absolute gold busts .
flection 21 gives the banks power to
contract Ihe currency at will.
Section 22 provides for the "clearing
house districts," In which country
banks have an arrangement with a city
clearing bouse bank to redeem their
notes. This, with section 23, which re
quires each bank to hold an amount
equal to B per cent of their national
currency circulation in gold, Is a
scheme by which city banks can bold
the country Imnks at their mercy. Sup
pose a city hsnk should wish to ap
propriate the gold reserve of a country
bank: all they have to do Is to ac
cumulate enough notes of such bank
to cover the amount of gold and draw
it through the clearing house, thus
leaving the country bank high and
dry, No Independent country bank
can exist under this scheme.
Section 35 provides for branch banks
which Is the end to be gained by the
squeezing process provided for In sec
tion 22 and 23.
The ultimate purose of the bill Is
the erection of a gigantic money mo
nopoly composed of one bonk with Its
branches, which shall control the busi
ness of the country, with power to dic
tate conditions upon !i-h every bu. l
ness man may transact his business,
and thus absolutely nbsord all the pow
ers of the government. Inside of ten
years our government would be an ol-
tM lid kpt the mtirl if ih
Mtf f Oi tomtit
It fnntstfcsM thsl ant iwl-r
rf Ml hn I fii( a ttfliitier. tf
R 1dm i sl.l Vote fr a xhcmr which
tssea aasv ety Inn ftr himself mil
tiit.li t-n tn a rsrwr In litt. r
puldle life, by the sunVtsme of
a art-M?, rtf'H lisrhr, i The
euitsiMy dlt.nrt In the ftinrrplbtn
of Oil in ii. p something astound
lug It I not surprising that
a man of the Intclltgi'nce of
Mr. Mit'lcary should stand dumb be
fore the piaiple hen called upon to
explain the provisions of this bill.
Ill Is peer Is rrltlclied by certain
republicans for Its altiu k on the Mr
Cleary bunkng bill because It Is
claimed that our representative In
congress ran be trusted not to foist un
just legislation iiK)ii the people. The
fact that the measure Is receiving the
support of the Wall street money
sharks, and also that of many congrea
slonal representatives, and seeks to
take our monetury system out of the
hands of the government and place It
In the hands of three, men for whom
almost a life tenure of office Is to be
created, Impels this paper to sound
the alarm. Tlia monetary system of
today l fsr more satisfactory. This
paper believes Uie measure would bo
obnoxious and unwise In I1 a present
form. Not even tne bankers dare en
dorse this bill ss a good thing for the
Hople.. They know It Is not and Hint
the American Is right, Some of them
who want to go out of business tuny
profess not to bellevo as we do, but
they are looking out for their own in
terests, not for the Interests of tlnl
public. "" ! 't
Til 15 I'OI'K WHO ABDICATED.
I'opt Nicholas IV. died on April 4th,
12, and on his d'int.h the Papal See
was vacant for two yesrs ond throe
months. During all that long period
the Church of Rome was a body with
out a head, At last a new Pope was
elected In the person of Cclestlno V.
The story of, his election consltutes
one of the strstigest romances In tni
history of the Papacy. He was Pope
for only five months, and then resigned
the Papacy, ihe only genuine Pope,
we bftlisve, who ever did so of bis own
free will, and glodly. The following
Is the text of the document by which
he abdicated:
"I Celestlne V., Bishop of the Holy
Roman Church, being thereunti
moved by good and sufficient consld
erstlons, for the exercise of humility,
the desire of a more perfect life and
undefiled conscience, and because of
the Infirmity of my body, my want of
knowledge, and the evil passions ot
the people, as well as the hope of re
turning to the tranquil habit of my
former life, do, of my own free and
uneonst rained will, abdicate the Pap
acy, and expressly renounce Its pin e
and dignity, its burthens and Its hon
ours: hereby Imparting full powers
to Ihe holy College of Cardinal, to
proceed to the csnonlcal election of a
Paetor of the Cnlvcrsal Church."
(('(em wood's Culhejra Petri. Bxk
XIV., chap, vl page 271, note )
The rcelf'uitlnn of Celestlne ws
accepted, and within a few day hi
su.xessor was elected.
The "Koiuaace of the Papacy" lo
hlch we have referred, was, bow
ever, connected with the election of
Celestlne V., rather thiin with his res
ignation, 'llie story Is graphically
related by Mregorovhis, In the fifth
volume of his History of the City of
Home In the Middle Ages. (Ixmdon:
Oeorge Belt A Sons, 1H97.)
"About tiie same time," writes Ore
gorovlus, "the Cardinal assembled
(In conclave) In Perugia; the winter,
however. siaed away, and even a vis
it of Charles II., who went there to
meet his youthful son Charles Martel,
titular king and claimant of Hungary,
made no Impressions. Furious party
jealousies prevented the Cardinals
from uniting their vote on any one
of their company, and the result was
an election, than which none could
have been more unfortunate. The ac-
dental mention of the visions of a
pious hermit caused Cardinal Lati
nos, who personally knew and hon
ored the saint, to propose him as
Pope. The suggestion might have ap
peared a Jcnt, but it was agreed to in
canient, ami the perplexed Cardinal!,
who grasped ni a straw, unanimously
elected the hermit as Pope on July Tlh
tU'SM). The decree of . l.H'tida was
(Continued on Psge 5.)
