(SEPTEMBER 11, 1903. The Commoner. ii " -"- I. i .1 Money on Your Old Clothes 'B ' . S Suppose you were hard upwife and children hungry and nothing to tat and you could not And work. Suppose also, that your only earthly possessions were an old horse, a wa gon and a harness. Then suppose you were to go to Washington and ask the administra tion to help you secure the enactment of a law that would enable you to is sue money under the government's name to the extent of part of the yalue of your horse, your wagon and your harness, meanwhile retaining the possession and use of these things. What would that be? Why it would he populism in its most aggravated form, for the most that the populists ever asked was that the government should lend them money on their lands not let them issue money in the name of the government' xJut suppose you were the greatest banker and financier in the world Air. Rockefeller. Suppose you had accumulated so cuuch property that you couldn't con vert it into money at its real value if you tried, simply for the reason that there Isn't a billion dollars lying sjound loose for Buch investment in the entire country. And Buppose that your genius for money-getting were such that if you could only raise more money on your present holdings that you could 'eas ily get hold of another billion in a few years. as" the result of which having two billions you could swell your fortune to lour billions and so on until, if you lived long enough, you would come in to pessession of practically the whole country. Then suppose you were to send some of your senators to Washington bil lionaires and even millionaires always b.ave senators, you know and ask the administration to help you secure the enactment of a law that would enable you to issue money under the name of the government on your stocks, bonds, mortgages and all other possessions, in the meantime retaining the posses sion and use of these things. What would that be? Why, that would be a simple request for an "elastic currency," to consider which our good president is now sitting up late at night, according to the dis patches, in order that he may hear the arguments of Rockefeller states Men who want him to call an extra session of congress in October a re quest that he is disposed to grant, say reports from Oyster Bay. And what are the arguments In fav or of an "elastic"" currency? Why, bless you, don't you know? Listen to Senator Cullom: "More money is needed to move the farmers' crops. If an extra session wore to be held in October it wciid come just at the time when the farm ers would feel the necessity the most for more money to handle their crops." Come to think of it, we remember that about October every year, the farmers are In great distress because of their Inability to get money for their crops. Feel Your Pulse U it beats fast, then slow skips beats, your heart Is weak and should be treated at once. Dr. Miles' Heart Cure is the best and safest remedy. old on guarantee. Rend for book on tho heart. Da. Milks Mbdxgai Co., Elkhart, Ind. When they take a load of wheat to town they have to shake dice with themselves on tho way to tell whether tho elevator man will have enough money to pay them, bo they will not Lave to haul tho wheat back home. It's even so bad, along this time of year, we've heard tell, the farmers' wives oftentimes cannot get ready cash for their eggs and butter, simply bo cause the dealers haven't got IU Wouldn't that sort of twaddle "make you mad?" to use the expressivo lan guage of Mr. Opper, the cartoonist An- "elastic" currency needed to "help the farmers movo their crops." Not a word about enabling Mr. Rocke feller and all the other bankers in the county to pledge even their office furniture, to issue millions of money in the government's namo, as one honest member of congress says they could dc under the proposed law. Not a word about a desire to get millions for private speculation in Wall street and elsewhere. And yet so gullible have the people of this country been In the past that Mr. Rockefeller really believes and evidently not without reason that he can hoodwink them Into thinking that if their bribed representatives do his bidding, they will only be performing a patriotic duty for their country. Why does Mr. Roosevelt lend a will ing ear to Mr. Rockefeller's agents? We give it up. Flpnre it out for yourself. But it I- not because ho can't toll a bunco, game when he sees one. The dlscprnlncr will have noticed, how ever, that Mr. Roosevelt, being a shrewd politician, never prods organ ized wealth, except at psychological moments. Detroit Times. Postal Scandals of Other Years. For a parallel to tho postal scandals revealed within tho last few months it Is necessary to go back twenty years. The star route revelations of the Garfield and Arthur administra tions were even more sensational than these recent ones, for tho men in volved were of high rank and the evi dence showed a more picturesque plot ttan has so far been laid bare by the efforts of Mr. Bristow. One of the principal characters was a United States ex-senator who was secretary of the republican national committee, and another was the second assistant I.ostmaster general. The field of oper ations was perfectly definite and the conspiracy of a sort that appealed to the imagination. The amount of the bcoty was found by a congressional Investigating committee to be about four million dollars. The frauds were carried on chiefly under the Hayes administration when the growing demand for mail faculties in the sparsely settled west and south west Invited unusual expense atad ex travagance in the establishment of postal routes. When Garfield's post master general, Thomas L. James, as sumed office, his attention was it once directed toward the suspiciously large expense of the delivery on tho star routes so called because of the iden tifying asterisks printed on the blank contracts in which neither railway nor steamboat carriage was specified. The president and Attorney General McVeagh were called Into consultation and a thorough investigation was de termined upon. According to Mr. James' testimony before a congres sional committee Mr. Garfield insisted that the inquiry be pushed, no matter who might be hit A superficial investigation was sur f cient to disclose frauds of wide ex tent, and to indicate the method by which they had been carried out An insignificant route in Dakota was A Good Pointer on CREAM SEPARATORS From, the "Jfebraska Dairyman?' Lincoln, Jfcb. A Valu b!e Tken of Esteem from a Son to Father and Moth er and a DUplay of Oeod Judgment. Our friend, J. M. Btta, of Broken Bow, Nob., wends us the following: "Our esteemed citizon, Frank Norton, and hits wif ar th recipients of a very fine present from thrir uon Frank Lee Nor ton, of Ifacino, Wis., who is manager of the J. 1. CASE THRESHING MACHINE COMPANY; Tho father and mo her being oxtonsivo fanners and have-many milch cow.i, wrote the son that as all tbe neighbors wore getting cream Hoparatorn, they thought that they, to bo in lino with them, Hhould purchaNO one ' Tho son, on receipt of tho lottor, immediatoly purchased a I)R LAVAL SEPARATOR and shipped it to them, riling to them aa follows: 'My Dear Father and Mother: 1 hn e oxemined tho different makes of cream separators and end you the one that 1 consider tho very best; it costs a little more than iiotne others but tho difference in price in more than mado up in quality." ' A De Laval catalogue maybe luul for the asking. The De Laval Separator Co- lift&dolph & ( itoal tU., 1213 Hlbrrt trctt, PMlLADI LH1IA. 9 & II Druram St., .SAN FRANCISCO Genernl Offlots: 74 Cortlandt Streat New York. 121 IoutII o qture, 76 U 77 YnrkUriset, IQHONTu. 218 McDcrrnot Avenao, w inn , a. BflEJ found, for Instance, which had been K't to one of the conspirators for $31)8. riho postoiiice department had then, cdered tho service Improved and had increased the compensation to SG,133. The revenue from the route was only $240. There' was another route which a resident contractor had been serv ing for $6,00u a year. One of the ring underbid him. As soon as tho iew contract was signed tho tervlce was made dally instead of weekly and the compensation raised to 52,000. T'be ringster sublet the work to an other man for $28,000 and pocketed the $21,000 profit. An Inspector dis covered a 725-mile route through the wilderness of the southwest whirn had cost the government $300,000 in three years, while its revenue In the same period had amounted to only $f00. As a result of this preliminary In vestigation T. J. Brady, the second assistant postmaster general, re signed, one of his clerks was removed and the auditor for the department re tired. The assassination of the pres ident and tho cabinet changes inter rupted the prosecution of the case, but early In 1882 the grand jury of the Dittrict of Columbia Indicted Brady, ex-Senator Dorsey, John W. Dorsey and several others for defrauding the government. The ring was popularly known as the Dorsey combination. Distinguished counsel were retained by the accused, Including Robert G. Ingersoll, Judge Jeremiah Wilson and Mr. Chandler. After a hard prelim inary light on technical points the cases came to trial on June 1. It was charged that the combination had contracted for certain routes for $143,000. But by a process of increas ing the number of trips a week, short ening the time for making them and giving allowances for the Improved service, the amount of compensation had been Increased to $623,000. This sum represented the contracts upon which the indictments rested. The actual frauds, as the congressional committee reported, had Involved more than four million dollars. The case proved a difficult one to es tablish, as conspiracy usually Is. The defense succeeded In having much evidence excluded on which the prose cution had depended. For Instance. Rerdell, Dorscy's secretary, had con fessed to Postmaster General Jamei and Attorney General McVeagh thai be had been manager of tho combina tion. He had Kept a set of booKs re cording pajmonts to "Smith" an 6 "Jones," the first namo standiin tor Brady and tho second for his clerk, lurner. Brady, Rerdell had said, re ceived irom 33 1-2 to 40 per center tho extra compensation when "m ciease and expediton" was grunted, ".'his testimony had been received In a police court hearing, but It was ruled out In the trial. Ex-Senator Spencer of Alabama was depended on by the prosecution to testify that ho had seen T'orsey put $0,000 in an envelop" to bo given to Brady, with the remark that the assistant postmaster general was a thief. But Sroncer failed to appear a' the trial and he could not bo found. Later ho denied that he had anything of importance to testify to. Rerdell and a minor contractor were convicted, the postofllce clerk was ac quitted and tho Jury failed t agree regarding Brady, the Dorseys and the others. On a second trial held in 1883 all the defendants were acquitted". The congressional committee later attri buted the result to the conflicting tes timony, part of which was believed to be perjured. So the government failed to punish any of the criminals or to regain any of the stolen funds. Its sole gain was In the resulting depart mental house cleaning. -Kansas City Star. Merit Does Not Count. The fact that Dr. Leonard Wood was promoted over tho heads of some five hundred trained soldiers, his super iors, will have a tendency to Impress the thoughtless with the idea that the time has come when merit Is no longer at a premium. Concord (N. H.) Patriot. Tom Worries 'Em, The worrlment Tom Johnson's "red devil" has given the republicans In Ohio the past year is nothldg compared to what It will be between now and November. Columbus Preps. J, -. U' f . . ' tn