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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 11, 1909)
wit "yr"wrv r JUNE 11, 190 -t , The Commoner. 7 immm"m ' ' J rViir' 'wrirwysrMFTVipr! j i ; i 6NT ACCORDING TO a Chicago (111,) newspaper dispatch td the New York Wprld, a 'famous bit of Lincoln wit has been put in eclipse by a story told by General O. 0. toward to the Sunday Evening Club and ,Grand Army veterans. He told of sleeping in the same room with General U. S.-Grant at Bridgeport, Ala., in war time. A whisky flask was hanging on the wall, and General Howard said he apologized to his superior officer, "I never use it myself," said he. "This whisky probably was left here by a soldier." "Neither do I use it," General Grant replied, "and what is more, I am sorry that any man in the army does." When Lincoln was bombarded with stories that Grant was addicted to the use' of whisky, he asked for the brand and suggested that some be sent to the other generals. This was at the time Generals Lee and Longstreet beat Generals Pope and Howard at Manassas and drove them under the defenses of Washington. ON THE EVE of. his departure for Europe, E. H. Harriman, the railroad magnate, gave an interesting talk on panics. He said: "The business of the country is now on a very sub stantial bjfsis. All that is needed now is .a reali zation by the farmer's of the preparations for prosperity which have been so liberally made. There are now more acres in cultivation than ever before in tHe, history of the country and if we have favorable weather and corresponding ly1 large crops, I look for happy times. There will be a big burst ,of speculation and a rise in the price of everything1, but these will continu- ' ally grade down' from, the top to whatever level the crops will makejogical. I shall look, to see t the improvement In conditions go on. The time is ripe.'howevpr for a warning as to the proper 'mtflSyntentJ'tyt Idle money. ( We should be care- ful1 that this money be not' devoted to the sup posed development of fake projects, but, on, .the other hand, used to upbuild real undertakings resting upon polfd foundations. . There was no necessity for the 1907 panic. That panic was directly caused by the extraordinary Landis de cision and' the general attitude prevailing at the time against the railroads and corporations generally. There is no mistake about this. I know what I am talking about because I went through it all. It was a panic of sentiment, a disaster caused by the fear of something that did not happen. It frightened people into with drawing their money from circulation. Thenext panic will be something more serious, because it will be duo to a shrinkage of business. As far as the mental attitude of the public is con cerned, we are on a saner basis today than we were in 1907. Jl we keep going up, however, and come down, itwlll hurt more after we have gone up three or four stories." A STATEMENT was recently issued by the bureau of statistics at Washington showing the vast gain in gold output. A Washington dispatch carried by the Associated Press, refer ring to this statement, says: "According to the figures presented the world's stock of gold has Increased about one-half in the last decade and doubled in the last quarter of a century The stock of gold money has meantime grown in even greater proportions, being practically 75 per cent more than a aecade ago. The tables show the gold production of the world since the dis covery of America arid the amount of gold money in the world country by country. The gold production from the discovery of America to the present time; it is stated, aggregated $13, '000., 000, 000, speaking in round terms; and the amount of gold now in existence is estimated by experts, still speaking in round terms, at $11, ' 000,000,000 value, while the value of the avail able now aggregates $7,000,000,000. According to tho tables n very rapid increase in gold produc tion in recent years is shown. As the result of this .rapid growth, It fe stated further, the"gold output of the world's mines during the ten years ending with 1908, aggregated according to the 1 figures in question 'iT$3,4Q0,000;000, 'while the product of' 'the- immediately preceding fifteen years, aggregated 2',400 millions, making a total of nearly six billions worth of gold produced in tho last twenty years. Meantime, however, it is stated although gold is more carefully con served than any other article of man's produc tion some portions of tho production have dis appeared and tho best estimates put tho total world's supply of this metal at tho present tlmo at about eleven billion dollars, of which one third Is the product of tho last ten years, ono- " half the product of tho last twmty-flvo years, and three-fourths the product of tho last sixty years. The summary adds that considering its distribution by countries, the United States has a greater supply of gold than any other country, tho figures being according to this table: United States, $1,613,000,000; Germany, $1, 044,000,000; Franco, $926,000,000; Russia, $917,000,000; United Kingdom, $565,000, 000; Austria-Hungary, $303,000,000; Italy, $258,000,000; Australia, $158,000,000; Egypt, $140,000,000; Argentine, $140,000,000; Turkey, $132,000,000; India, $113,000,000; Japan, $96, 000,000; Canada, $66,000,000, and Brazil, $11, 000,000. The stock of gold in the United States (inoluding bullion) has according to these fig ures, increased at about the same rate as tho world's supply, the total quantity of gold money reported in the United States a decade ago, (November, 1898), being $925,000,000, against $1,613,000,000 at the present time, the increase during the decade having been about 25 per cent while the increase in the world's stock of gold during that time was as already shown also about 75 "per cent. Of the thirteen billion dol lars worth of gold produced in the world since the discovery of America it Is stated that fully one-fourth came from the mines of the United States The table of gold production, above 're ferred tot Is accompanied by similar statements regarding silver prdduction. The table shows ' that the coining value of silver produced from the mines of the world since 1492 is practically equal to that of tho gold produced in that period, thirteen billion dollars. Tho annual production of silver continues slowly arid steadily to in crease as to quantity and coining value, tho pro duct in 1907 being 185,000,000 ounces against 160,000,000 ounces in 1897, and the coining value in 1907 being $239,000,000, against $207, 000,000 in 1897. It is stated in commercial value, however, tho figures are materially less tho commercial Talue of the silver produced in 1907 being $122,000,000, and. that in 1897, $96,000,000." REFERRING TO "tho Aldrich humbug" the Springfield (Mass.) Republican says: "Aid rich revisers must be mad to suppose the country is going to be satisfied with the kind of revision they offer. They are falling even to satisfy, tho rovenue situation, and otherwise they will only succeed in outraging the general sense of what the country needs. But President Taft? Ho last of all can afford to have such a tariff 'settle ment' as this pass into law without protest and without veto. It would reveal him as a man who may mean what he says in his public de clarations, but who is too weak and easily in fluenced to stand by what he means and says when put under pressure. His administration would start off with so heavy a discredit mark against it as to weigh it down in the popular estimation throughout the rest of his term. We can not suppose he will permit.it; yet the bour bons and' reactionaries of his party in congress are proceeding with a confidence which seems to be born of knowledge of his assent. We shall know soon whether 'this assent has been given." FORMER GOVERNOR Joseph W. Folk, stop ping in Denver after a tfip through the west gave, an Interview to the Denver News in which interview he said: "From what I have learned in my trip through the west, I can say that the democratic 'party will undoubtedly win out. in the next presidential election. And tariff is 'at thre hottom of it all. The discussion of that great national and International topic has made it clear ,to the people that the tariff is a tax. They ftf'e ' awakening to the injustice of 80,000,000 people being taxed to make a few very rich, and, that it is moro Important that all of tho people bo prosperous than some of tho people bo extremely wealthy. Instead of protecting monopoly against tho people, tho de mand now Is that people bo protected against monopoly A tariff for tho purpose of protec tion is graft. It is a privilege conferred by law on a few to prey upon tho rest of tho people If tho democratic party will stand for tho roal principles of democracy, which aro opposition to the privilege of lawlessness and privileges conferred by law, it will succeed. Tho troublo has been that so many who call themselves dem ocrats vote against tho party's principles when they see a chance of getting a part of tho graft for thoir own states or districts. This must stop," he interjected emphatically. The great fighter of graft and crime took occasion to criti ciso severely the stand taken by a number of democrats in tho present congress. lie insisted that recent votes in that body indicated clearly that they had deserted the teachings of their own party and had declared without the loast hesitation for the monopoly tariff as framed by tho republican party. "As a' matter of fact," he said, "tho tariff discussion In congress seems to have degenerated into a game of grab, with many of tho senators and representatives trying to get a part of tho loot for their own districts. The democratic party must stand squarely against tho monopoly tariff and for equal rights to all, otherwise it stands for nothing. And then, if the party declares boldly for the rights of all, as opposed to the privileges of a few, it will win." THE LINCOLN statuo at - Hodgenvillo, Ken tucky, was unveiled. Robert T Lincoln was present. Henry Watterson was one of the speak ers. Mr, Watterson closed with tho concluding passage of tho oration upon Abraham Lincoln delivered by him in 1895 to tho Lincoln Union of Chicago, as follows; "Born as lowly an tho Son of God, in a hovel; reared in penury, squalor, with no gleam of light or fair surround ing; without graces, actual or acquired; without name or fame or official training; It was re served for this strange being, late in life, to bo snatched from obscurity, raised to supreme com mand at a supreme moment, and intrusted with tho destiny of a nation. Tho great leaders of his party, the most experienced and accom plished public men of the day, were made to stand aside; were sent to the rear, whilst this fantastic figure was led by unseen hands to tho front and given the reins of power. It Is Im material whether we were for him, or against him; wholly Immaterial. That, during four years, carrying with them such a weight of re sponsibility as the world never witnessed before, he filled the vast space allotted him In tho eyes and actions of mankind, Is to say that ho was inspired of God, for nowhere else could ho have acquired tho wisdom and the virtue. Where did Shakespeare get his genius? Where did Mozart get his music? Whose hand smote the lyre of the Scottish plowman, and stayed tho life of the German priest? God, God, and God alone; and as surely as these wer3 raised up by God, Inspired by God, was Abraham Lincoln; and a thousand years hence, no drama, no trag edy, no epic poem will be filled with greater wonder, or be followed by mankind with deeper feeling than that which tells the story of his life and death." At the conclusion of Mr. Wat terson's address, which was listened to with rapt attention, everyone on the stage suggested cheers, and three lusty shouts went up from tho vast audience. DEMOCRATIC NEWSPAPERS DEEDED r Mark Sullivan, in Collier's Weekly, calls at tention to the faot -that the democratic party has few exponents of its principles and policies, among the metropolitan papers. It seems strange- tha;t this should bo true when there are so many real democrats among the rank and file of the party In the east. What tenacity they show in holding to democratic ideals in spite of the apostasy of the press.- ill t H -! a 'n i u MK4A