(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 .
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