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About The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911 | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1897)
-,,v vvc -' "''s-'ifs rSr.F-!" - . hi. L . SUPPLEMENT TO THE COLUMBUS JOUENAL. Wed nesday, July 7. (Continued from preceding pge. BUSINESS DlPEOVINtt. FRESH EVIDENCE FROM EVERY PART OF THE COUNTRY. Democratic and Republican Journals Vie with Kach Other in Assurance of Returning Buaincaa Prosperity JteportH from All Directions. L. History May Repeat. Twenty years ago, in 1S77, the country was enshrouded in the gloom of a busi ness depression, consequent ujion the pan ic of 1S73. There were plenty of prophets who predicted that the times would nerer get any Letter, and the mass of the peo ple were discouraged and about ready to concede that the prophets of evil were right. But in the fall of 1S77 signs of improve ment began to appear. The general the ory was that a more hopeful feeling was induced ly the approach of the date for the resumption act to go into effect. There was no doubt something in this theory: nevertheless plenty of "states men" were found who asserted thnt re sumption would be a failure, and that business would be injured rather than helped by the attempt to resume. Rut ;n p:te of all the talk, the times continued to improve steadily. They were much better in 1S7S. and in 1S79 the rising ide assumed the proportions of toniething like a boom. Some of our Min neapolis people who carried real estate through the period of depression, and tiearly bioke their hacks doing so. will remoiuhrr that by 1SS0 it was salable at advanced and advancing figures. In the nest f vi jmrs the prices of realty here and oNewI.irc .n the country reached the highest j.i.ccb eier known before or tdnce. The hMnry of this country appears to Vow that panics and recoveries run in 'jlxnn n !iv-ar periods. Tliere was Jn panic of 1ST:'., followed by five years f depress.nn: the beginning of recovery in 1S77: the full tide of recovery in 1S79. follow iil 1 a period of prosperity lasting until 1S92. Tl:en came the panic of IS! 13. followed by the period of depression which 'v' are now experiencing. To fonn" :!' re are as yet no signs of improve ment dr.seeinlb!e. while to others there is aln-adj : flint glimmer of dawn. Many nre look Irs forward to the pass.ige of the tariff b '. as the skirting point of a new period f prosperity. l'ut whether from that or sum,, other cause or causes, it is iui:e probable that Iiistory will rejicat it self, and that in the fall of the present year. or the l g'.nniiig of 18118, we shall witness a notable improvement, followed by perh.ips ten or a dozen years of great IinjNpcr.ty. Tlie cjele : nearly completed. We have epcr.cuced nearly five years of de pnssioi) since the election of Cleveland in 1SSKI. It is about time for a change in ihe natural order of things. Exchange. From Itich Authority. The -statement of failures in May by liRinches of business gfres much encour agement. In amount of defaulted liabili ties the month was the smallest since Septemler. IblCi. in manufacturing lia bilities the smallest since November. 1S95. and in itmr.ug liabilities the smallest ftiui-e September (excepting the last mouth) 1XM. Failures of general stores liave not been as small in any month as an Ma j. 1M7: in only two mouths out of thirl y-six have there been smaller failures 3n looks and hats; only five in groceries; and not cue trading class in that month has rejKtrtcd failures larger than the half durli.g preceding months, though in furniture failures are rather nunicrour. In elo'hing manufacture the mouth was the smallest except four out of thirty-six, except fiie in chemicals, six in woolen jiooils. seven in machinery, lumber and miscellaneous manufactures, and exceed ed the average only in iron and cotton Sods in, i arthenware. owing to a few failures of exceptional size. Nobody can mistake the meaning of such returns. Tlie statement that, except for the tem porary depression in prices, the volume of business transacted is now larger than 5t was in 1S9" the year of greatest pros perity hr.s been questioned by some, llut a comparison of prices this week in the Sending branches of manufacture not only confirms that view, but shows a remark.ible s milarity to tlie course of prices in ;!. earlier months of IS"!, when the most wonderful advance in production and prices ever known in this or any other country was close at hand. Dun's ilovieiv. Iitltitii1icl BiiHinesa Men Ppeak. The New York Mail and Express last week published interviews with three men prominent in business and finance just as they were about to sail for Europe, with the following result: George .1. Gould said: Eerytlrng is on the up grade and. so far as I can see. the signals are set for a clear track ahead. The improve ment, whether it be in Wall street or else avhere. ;s coming slowly, it is true, but it is better that it should move along slowly, because it will be more hinting and satis factory to all concerned." Andrew Car negie said: "I believe business in this country is actually beginning to perma nently improve. The outlook is excellent and 1 expect to sec very busy times when 1 return." Chauncey M. Depew said: ""What shall 1 tell them (foreigners) of the outlook? Well. 1 shall tell them that it seems to me we have crossed the Rubicon that ahead of us now nre good times business activity, general prosperity." , Rifta in the Clouds. Secretary Gage, who recently talked arirli the members of the Commercial Clubs n session at Cincinnati, all of axiioui were representatives of the great business interests of Boston. Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis, made the reas suring statement in Washington that they reported a better business feeling than bad been noted for some time, which they regarded as a forerunner of a permanent improvement. It is worthy of note that they reflect rhe common judgment of busi ness firms whose transactions are so wide spread rhat they are fairly symptomatic of the pulse of general trade. Nor on a lew of the whole field is it unreasonable to think tLa: there may be a lifting up of the clouds even in advance of the "proper legislation" which the Secretary looks for. The passage of the pending tariff bill, whatever may be its conditions. will give the country a truce on that head: the promise of the grain fields is most cheering; and though the currency ques tion awaits solution, it is far less com plicated with the menace of free silver than it was six months ago. Philadelphia Record (Dem.). Viewa of a Veteran. Asionc those who have spoken in tnts vein is Russell Sage, a veteran financier, who is cautious in statement and not prone to rush into print for the exploita tion of his views on current matters. "I think." he said, "that we are going to have steady progress toward far better times. I do not look for any boom, but a gradual improvement from now on. The railroads are getting more traffic, and they are working more harmoniously. The settlement of the tariff question will he a great relief to the business community. After the rates of duty have been agreed upon and a hill passed we can settle down with the assurance that we shall not be again disturbed by tariff measures format least twenty-four years. The properties in which I am interested are doing well. Yes, I think there is every reason to be lieve that we have long ago passed the turning point." This sentiment Is widespread, and though there may be some unscrupulous politicians who would block tariff legisla tion until after the fall election in the hope that thereby the opponents of the Republican party would be able to gain some political capital and advantage, it is possible that better counsels will prevail and the bill will be. passed sooner than was exacted. Albany Journal. Moat Kncouraslng far Tears. In a broad way last week was one of the most encouraging in business circles that this country has experienced for sev eral years. The general outburst of con fidence in financial circles was reflected in rhe course of the stock markets, which were bullish from start to finish. The reassuring utterances of the President and the leading members of his cabinet produced a very favorable impression; but beyond that it was seen that a number of encouraging factors were in evidence. It was perceived that the price of iron had gone up: that railroad earnings were increasing: that money was in ample sup ply for all legitimate purposes: that the gold exports had dwindled to a mere noth ing and that the prospects of a speedy en actment cf the tariff bill were daily grow ing brighter. This induced a buoyant tone in the prices of all. Minneapolis Tribune (Rep.). Gaol Prnphets in the Northwest. In Minnesota and other States of the Northwest the spring opens with the promise of abundant crops, especially of our leading staple, wheat. And in spite of the low prices now prevailing there is every ground, as shown elsewhere, for believing that our farmers will realize fairly good prices for their crops. This will almost certainly stimulate the ac tivity of trade and industry in the cities. so thnt by next fall, with the aid of the new tariff, it is pretty safe to anticipate a restoration of wholesome business con ditions. Minnesota, therefore, is in full sympathy with the cheerful prognosti cations of Mr. Gage. St. Paul Pioneer Press. Freed from the Slouch of Despond. Occurring separately, the increase in loans and the decrease in failures would be encouraging, but coming coincidental ly. as they do now. they tell a story at which the country should felicitate itself. The expansion in the one shows that busi ness is on the increase, while the con traction in the other proves that business is carried on under better conditions than prevailed recently. This is a state of things which justifies financial confidence and cheerfulness. The country is not yet entirely out of its slough of business de soud. but it has advanced so far in that direction that its complete extrication can not be long delayed. St. Louis Globe Democrat. The Campnlcn of Calamity. To read the daily waitings of the organs of free sliver and free trade will con vince any fair-minded person that those noisy journals have started in to fight the calamity campaign of 1S96 all over again. They ar preaching the old pernicious dog mas of discontent, disorder and disaster with all the reckless rhetoric of the dem agogue and the anarchist. Professing friendship for the cause of labor, they are wickedly striving to arouse the working man against his employer; pretending to favor the restoration of prosperity, they are deliberately trying to stifle the grow ing spirit of confidence in business en terprise: and, while ostentatiously mourn ing over the depression of industry, their whole influence is being exerted to make it permanent and hopeless. Such are the real purposes of the new campaign of calamity. In furtherance of them its organs publish daily columns of disiwtches to show that trade and in dustry are steadily going from bad to worse, and that tlie condition of labor is becoming more and more desperate. To these prophets of evil the report that a factory has closed its doors, that a fur nace has banked its fires, or that a mill has curtailed its working force is a mes sage of joy. A story of business failure or abandoned enterprise is a delight; tales of idleness and want are hailed with glad acclaim, and every line that tells of paralysis in trade. loss in capi tal and earnings or despair among those who toil is eagerly welcomed and osten tatiously displayed as a fulfillment of gloomy prophecies. Back of this eager quest for evil tid ings is a stealthful purpose to provoke antagonisms between labor and capital, and thus undermine the foundation of the rising structure of business pros perity. Good times mean death to the agitation for free trade and free silver. The calamity organs know it, and this knowledge is the inspiration of their desierate attempt to postpone the day of returning confidence and prosperous business. The intelligent masses of American wage-earners fully understand the situ ation. Their condition is far from what it ought to be in employment and pay, but on the other hand it is much less distressing than the mouthy oracles of chaos would have it appear. The conduct of the great body of workingmen under the harsh conditions which now prevail has been admirable in its patience, hope fulness and self-restraint. The attempt of demagogues and charlatans to incite disorder and strife in the ranks of labor will receive its sharpest rebuke from the j workingmen themselves. OUR TARIFF HISTORY. NO PRESIDENT SO PROMPT AS M'KINLEY. . i ' His Tariff Law Will Be on the Statute Books Karlier than That of Any President Since Washington-Facts Which Should Stlcace Croakers. Good Progress Made. Special Washington correspondence: People who are complaining of what they assume to be the slow progress of the tariff bill will probably be surprised to know that no administration since that of Washington ever placed upon the stat ute books a tariff measure within as brief a period of its inauguration as will that of President McKinley. There is every reason to suppose that the tariff bill will go upon the statute hooks before the end of July, probably much sooner than that. If this shall happen. President McKinley will have an opportunity to attach his signature to a general tariff measure ear lier in the history of his administration than has any President since George Washington signed the first tariff act on July 4, 1789. This remarkable record which is likely to be made with reference to the present tariff bill is made more remarkable by two facts: First, that every year's devel opment of our commerce and manufac tures adds to the complications and diffi culties in framing a tariff measure, and second, the fact that the party in control of the administration controls only one branch of Congress. It has seldom hap pened in the history of the country that a general tariff measure has been placed upon the statute books when Congress and the administration were not controll ed in all their branches by a single party, and that it should be possible to pass a tariff measure so immediately following such a hotly contested campaign as that of six months ago with one branch of Congress controlled by those who were pitted against the Republican party in that contest, is the more remarkable. In deed, a study of the history of the tariff legislation in the United States would not have warranted a year ago the pre diction that a protective tariff bill could have passed a Congress which was not controlled in both its branches by the Re publican party. It may be of interest, both by way of presentation of some tariff history and also of satisfying those who are inclined to criticise what they assume to be the slow progress of the work upon the tariff bill, to run briefly over the history of the tariff legislation of the country from the beginning down as connected with the various administrations. The first tariff act placed upon the stat ute books was signed by George Wash ington, July 4, 17S9. Not only was it the first tariff act under the constitution, but the first protective tariff measure, in dicating in its preamble that "it is neces sary for the support of government, for the discharge of the debts of the United States and the encouragement and pro tection of manufactures that duties be laid on goods, wares, merchandise import ed," etc. The consideration of this act occupied but about two mouths time, as Washington was not inaugurated until April 30. and the .work upon the tariff bill did not liegiu, of course, until after that time. This tariff act was of course very brief, the space occupied being prob ably less than one-twentieth of the bill now under consideration. Several other tariff measures were adopted during Washington's administration, most of them being an increase upon the rates named by the first measure. John Adams, who became President March 4, 1797, did not sign the tariff bill enacted under his administration, which increased the rates of duty on sugar, mo lasses, wines, etc.. until May 13, 1800, over three years after bis inauguration. Jefferson, who was inaugurated March 4, 1801. did not attach his signature to a general tariff bill until March 26, 1804. the bill passed at that time having for its object an increase in the revenues to sup ply funds for the war with the Barbary powers. This act increased the ad va lorem rates, and on the following day, a similar act increasing the specific rates was signed, both of them being more than three years after Jefferson's inaugura tion. Madison was inaugurated March 4, 1S09, and the first important tariff, to increase duties 100 per cent on account of the war with Great Britain, was signed July 1. 1S12. more than three years after his inauguration. He also signed a gen eral tariff act April 27. 1S1(. three years after his second inauguration. Monroe was inaugurated March 4. 1S17. and signed his first and only general tariff act May 22. 1S24, more than seven years after his first inauguration. John Quincy Adams was inaugurated March 4. 1S25. and signed a general tariff act May 19. 1S2S. more than three years after his inauguration. Jackson was inaugurated March 4. 1S28, and signed his first general tariff act July 14. 1832. more than three years after his inauguration, while the Clay compromise reduction act was signed March 2. 1S33. Van Huron's presidential term, which ltegan March 4. 1S.".7. was not marked by the enactment of any important tariff legislation. William Henry Harrison, who was in augurated March 4, 1S41. issued on March 17 a call for a special session of Congress to begin May 31, indicating by the proclamation that the subjects to be considered were the financial difficulties of the Government. The tariff act finally passed by the Gongress which that proc lamation called into special session did not become a law until August 30, 1S42, or fifteen months after the date named for the beginning of the speeiril session. Polk's term of sen-ice began March 4, 1S43. and the "Walker tariff." which was the special tariff feature of his term, did not become a law until July 30, 1S46, six teen months after his inauguration as President. The Taylor administration, which began March 5, 1849, did not witness the enact ment of any general tariff legislation, ow ing to the fact that the Democrats con trolled the House of Representatives dur ing the first two years of the term and both branches of Congress in the second half of the term. Pierce, who was inaugurated March 4, 1853, signed on March 3, 1S37, the last day of his term as President, the only general tariff measure enacted during his four years in the White House. Buchanan, during his four years, which began March 4, 1857. signed no general tariff legislation until March 2, 1801. two davs before the close of his term. This act, signed two days before his retirement, was the "Morrill"" tariff act, a thoroughly protective measure, whose passage was made possible at that time because of the fact that a large number of the Southern Democratic members of the Thirty-sixth Congress had withdrawn, leaving Con gress in the control of the Republican party, which thus placed a tariff act upon the statute books two days before the in auguration of Lincoln. President Lincoln, who was inaugurat ed March 4. 1861, signed his first general tariff act on Ang. 5 of that year, and this was followed by the passage in July, 1862, and June 3, 1864. of other tariff measures, to which his signature was attached. Grant, who became President March 4. 1S69. signed on July 14, 1870. his first general act relating to revenues, by which the internal revenue taxes were reduced, this being followed by another reduction on June C, 1872: President Hayes, who was inaugurated March 4, 1877, signed no general tariff legislation, the House being Democratic in the first Congress under his administra tion and both branches Democratic in the latter half of his term. The Garfield-Arthur administration, which began March 4. 18S1, did not wit ness the enactment of any general tariff legislation until March 3. 1883, two full years after the inauguration. Cleveland's first term was not marked by the completion of any general tariff legislation, the Milts bill, which passed the Democratic House in 1888, failing in the Senate, which was so closely divided politically that It was found impossible to pass through it a measure satisfactory to the administration, the substitute which was adopted by the Senate being rejected by the House, where the Demo cratic divisions on the tariff question, now so strongly marked, was then beginning to make itself apparent. Benjamin Harrison's term began March 4. 1889, and the first general tariff act passed nnder his administration was sign ed Oct. 1, 1890, eighteen months after his inauguration. Cleveland's second term, which began March 4, 1893, with his own party in con trol in both branches of Congress, did not witness the completion of its tariff meas ure until Aug. 28, 1S94, nearly eighteen months after he took the oath of office. A study of the above history of the tar iff from the beginning of the Government down to the present time will indicate to those who have been inclined to criticise what they assume to be the slow action of Congress that instead of its action being unusually tardy, it has been unusually prompt, and especially so in view of the fact that the party in control of the ad ministration controls only one branch of Congress, a condition under which it has seldom been possible to pass a tariff meas ure, even ia a much greater length of time than has been or is likely to be occupied in the present instance. v GEORGE MELVILLE. Political Pith. President Cleveland pulled down the American flag in Hawaii; President Mc Kinley pulled it up again. One-third of the Southern vote in the present Congress has been cast for pro tection. Every day's consideration of the Senate schedules of the tariff bill brings them more in harmony with those of the House bill, and it is probable that tlie bill, when it goes into conference, will differ but lit tle from that which passed the House. The shades of the late Samuel J. Ran dall are row being invoked by the Democ racy of that section which fought him most bitterly during the closing period of his useful career. With one member of the Democratic team pulling in the direction of free trade, another towards protection, still a third in favor of free silver, and a fourth head ed resolutely toward the gold standard, the Jeffersonian-Jacksonian band wagon is not making much progress. The recent "silver Republican" confer ence is said to have had as its real object a plan to unload Mr. Bryan as the leader of the silver cause. Mr. Bryan has too many "isms" snd is to erratic to suit the men who are putting up the money in be half of the silver cause. No subject is being more carefully con sidered by President McKinley now than the Cuban question. It has been the cause of much anxious thought by him from the beginning and there is good rea son to believe that his plans are well de veloped and will be recognized as wide and satisfactory when they become known. The trade reviews and the daily papers of the country unite in the assertion that business is brightening in all parts of the United States. More men are employed, the volume of new orders is increasing, and the amount of work done is steadily gaining. With the final action on the tar iff bill, which may be expected during the present month, an increased improvement is confidently expected. People who are surprised that the Re publicans in the Senate are not answering in detail the attacks made by the Demo crats upon the pending tariff bill need not suppose that it is because of lack of argu ment or facts upon which to base them. Their silence is simply because of their unwillingness to consume a moment of time more than is absolutely necessary in getting tlie bill before the Senate. Can't Be Fooled Every Time. Some people can be fooled once or twice, but very few more than that. Mr. Bryan in his speeches last fall asserted that the forty-two million dollars neces sary to keep pace with the growth of pop ulation in tlie United States could not be produced since the suspension of free coinage of silver, and quoted Senator Sherman in support of his theory that this amount" was necessary to be added to tlie currency of the country each year. He was undoubtedly right in his quotation of Senator Sherman, but both inaccurate and misleading in assuming that this amount of currency cannot be and is not added to the circulating medium of the country by means ofits present facilities. The coinage of the mints of the country in the year which ends with the present month I will be, jn round numbers, one hundred million dollars, three-fourths of it gold, while that of the calendar year 1S96 was ninety-nine million dollars. Add to this the fact that the money in circulation to-day is $138,000,000 more than it was a year ago and it will be seen that Mr. Bryan's statements in this, as well as in many other things, were, to say the least, misleading. Popmllsts Want No Fusion. Populist leaders are advising against a continuance of the fusion of last fall be tween their party and the Democrats. The uncertain attitude of the Democratic party on the two great questions, protec tion and silver, is the cause of this un willingness to continue the unholy slh'ance of lastyear The facfthat large numbers of Democrats in every State where cam paigns are to take place this fall are re fusing to support the free coinage of sil ver, and that many members of that par ty in Congress and elsewhere are aban doning free trade and supporting high protection, has rendered a further alli ance of the two parties improbable. Mr. T. B. Rankin, a prominent member of the Populist party in Ohio, in a recent in terview, said: "The object of the or ganization of the Populist party was to secure needed reforms, not to stab the Democratic or Republican parties. T was opposed to fusion last year, and am still more opposed to it now." Some Free Silver Outcasts. Some individuals, who bolted the Re publican party last year aud voted for Bryan, held a meeting in this city and organized what they call "The Silver Re publican Party of the United States." For some reason they do not care to join the Populists or the free silver Demo crats. They seem to think they will have a better chance of picking up offices- if they hnve a distinct organization. These bolters cannot be prevented from forming a new party, but in doing so they ought to state clearly to the public what its principles are and what reason there is for its existence. That has not been done. Ex-Congressman Towne declares that "This is a movement that has taken deep root, and will grow until the restora tion of silver to an equality with gold has been accomplished. What is this equality that Towne and his associates are going to devote the rest of their lives to securing? Does he intend to say that the time will come again when sixteen ounces of silver will exchange everywhere for one of gold? Towne should look the facts in the face. The price of silver, which was 130 cents an ounce in IS70; is GO cents now. In spite of the low price the silver miners of the United States put 56.000.000 ounces on the market last year and made money at the business. The demand for silver by silver stand ard countries is decreasing toeanse the number of those countries is diminishing. Japan, the most progressive of Asiatic nations, with a population of 41.000.000, has adopted the world's gold standard. Pern and Bolivia, though silver-producing countries, are preparing to do so. Does Towne really believe that his lit tle "movement" will be able to raise the purchasing power of 371 grains of silver until it becomes equal once more to the purchasing power of twenty-three grains of gold? It is difficult to believe thnt any i"telligent man who knows what the piescnt silver production of the world is. and how much more cheaply it is pro duced than of old, really imagines any thing of the kind. Chicago Tribune. Export Bounty on Farm Product'. The proposition for a bounty on staple agricultural ex-orts is not a new subject It is a departure from the protective pol icy. It has been considered for home years by the farmers, especially by the members of the National Grange, where it has been fully discussed but not yet indorsed by a majority of that body. Some of the propositions seem to be favorable, but it is doubtful whether the giving of a bounty on agricultural products would be beneficial to the farmer. There might be some temporary benefits, but if it stimu lated production the effect would be dis astrous to the farmer. "What troubles the farmer row and makes low prices for his productions is the fact that he is now producing more than the market will read ily absorb of certain commodities. So long as he continues to do this he must be content with low prices. If this boun ty should stimulate the production and increase the surplus offered in the mar kets of the world, it would have the ef fect of decreasing the price received by the farmer rather than increasing it. As I said, it is a departure from the policy of those who believe in protection. The protective poIk"v advocates the encour agement of production in those lines where we are now not producing enough to supply our own people, but are depend ent to an extent on foreign countries for our supply. This proposition does not have such a purpose. It proposes simply to donate to the farmer certain bounties on products exported, and it is doubtful whether it would at the most have more than a temporary beneficial effect, with a tendency to bad reactionary results. From interview with Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Brigham. Tariff Prospects Are Helping:. Tlie progress made by the Senate with the tariff bill has given some impetus to general business and has created a more hopeful feeling in all departments of trade. The matter is not entirely sen timental or at all partisan. Tlie doubt and instability which have plainly sur rounded every commercial avenue and which always exist while tariff uncer tainty lasts will in all probability soon be removed. For the first time since 1SS7 the business of the country will be in a free and un trammeled iKtsition and the favorable effect on credit and individ ual action canot be too highly estimated. The manufacturer and the distributor will be able to see clearly into the future and the money lender and the money bor rower will be able to act understandingly. The prosiect has already caused some activity in the iron and steel trades, and has given definite assurance in other di rections. Tlie great majority of the American people hope for and have con fidence in substantial results. The gen eral situation is ripe for the change. Money is abundant at low rates. Price is on a level which practically guaran tees judicious operations. Disappointment for Popocrata. Disappointment follows disappoint ment among the Popocratic leaders. Not only are they disappointed in the fact that the Republicans have presented a solid front on the tariff question and fail ed to quarrel among themselves uiwti cur rency, or any other question, bnt they are even more distressed to find their own par ty falling to pieces on tlie question of pro tection as well as silver, since their vote against the protective features of the tar iff bill is growing weaker daily, while their arguments in behalf of free silver are being disproven by every week's de velopments since the election. Antics of Jones, Vest, and Mills. Senators Jones, Vest and Mills didn't know it was loaded. They began shout ing about a small advance of about 6 per cent, in the value of sugar trust stocks simultaneously with a settlement of the sugar schedule by the final action upon it in the Senate caucus, but had evidently forgotten that when the tariff bill was in their own charge, in 1894, stocks of this same sugar trust advanced 55 per cent, in value during their manipulation of the bill. DIDN'T KNOW IT YYAS LOADED. TheSnearTrnat Screamers Flnd'Thelr Attscka Reacting on ThenselTes. There has been some especially sharp talk in the Senate and some of the people who are seeking to make-political capital by throwing dust with reference to the pending tariff bill have suddenly dis covered that there are two sides to almost any story. Two or three Democratic leaders seem to have reached the conclu sion that they could once more fool the people, and that their most convenient way to do it would be to charge that the sugar schedules of the tariff bill as agreed upon by the Republican caucus were fa vorable to the sugar trust: So they pro ceeded upon the "stop thief'plan tomake all sorts of malicious charges of this kind, taking advantage of the fact that Repub licans in the Senate have been refusing to discuss any features of the bill not abso lutely necessary to be explained, simply for the purpose of gaining time and get ting the bill through as promptly as pos sible. The gentlemen have found, how ever, that there is a limit to the endur ance of the public who are being imposed upon with this sort of falsehood,' and the newspapers of the country have snddenly revived the fact that the very men who are now shouting sugar trust with refer ence to the pending tariff bill are the ones- under whose guidance the "per fidy and dishonor" billof 1S94 was fram ed and its sugar schedule so shaped as to create the greatest scandal that has been known in political history in many years. Attention is called to the fact that the three men. Senators Vest; Jones- and Mills, whose motithings about an increase in prices of sugar trust stock as a result of the pending tariff bill have been the features of the week, are the very men who framed the sugar schedules- of the Wilson bill under which sugar trnst stocks advanced 66 per cent., while the advance during the entire consideration of the present bill is only iVpercent. and this a mere incident of the general ad vance which has been strongly marked meantime in all stocks. That the three men whose manipulations in the schedules of tho Wilson bill caused an advance of HI percent, in the price of sugar stocks should now be screaming like madmen because sugar stocks have increased 6 per cent, during the consideration of the pres ent bill would be unaccountable but for the fact that they are apparently doing it to not only make political capital against the Republicans but at the same time conceal as far as possible their own. rec ord in this very line. Politicians WorkingCountry People The dangerous characters who were last fall hired to stir up dissatisfaction and sow seeds of anarchism and riot in the cities j; re now being sent through thu country districts for the same purpose. They travel in gaudily painted wagons, bearing false or misleading quotations from distinguished men. which are dis torted into apparent support of the free coinage of silver, which is now worth less than one-half what it was when these utterances are alleged to have been made. To conceal their real purposes these men profess to be obtaining subscribers to a free silver publication, with which is fur nished a copy of a book by "Coin" Har vey, whose writings are now recognized as not only untruthful and misleading, but purposely and maliciously so and an. imposition upon those before whom they are placed. This attempt to distribute the seeds of distrust, anarchism and riot in the agricultural communities for the pure ly selfish puipose of making a market for the property of silver mine-owners-nnd placing a few politicians in office de serves the contempt of those upon whom it is being imposed. It is of the same class as that by which the tin peddler wagons spread falsehood through the country in the Congressional campaign or 1890, bnt is vastly more dangerous to the country from the class of employed, the doctrines they disseminate and the desperate schemes of those who support them in this performance. The silver mine-owners and their political allies have resorted to this new device to deceive the people. vho are. however, rapidly discov ering the impositions they practice-. A Currency Com mission Urged. A currency commission which shall frame a plan for the general revision of the currency system of the United States seems likely to be the next step of the new administration, after the passage of the tariff bill, which will probably take plsco before the end of the month. It is un derstood in Washington that the Presi dent will, as soon as the tariff bill passes the Senate, send a special message to Con gress urging the creation of a commission which shall devise a plan for the general revision of the currency system of the country in time for consideration by Con gress when it meets in its regular session, five mouths hence. Their Theories Exploiting. If farm prices do not stop advancing and silver prices do not stop their down ward course, there will be nothing left to sustain the chief theory of the free coin age orators of last fall that prices of farm products kept pace with those of sil ver. Leading farm products have in creased in price from 50 to 100 per cent, since this beautiful theory was exiloited on the stump last fall, while the price of silver has meantime steadily decreased. Moving with Caution. Every side of the Cuban question is be ing considered by President McKinley now. and a course of action is likely to bo indicated in the near future. The import ance and gravity of the issues involved and possible consequences of a mistake are so great that the President and his. advisers are moving with the utmost caution, as any judicious citizen would do if such grave responsibilities were placed upon his individual shoulders. Plan to Dump Bryan. "Rotation in office" is popular with ths friends of free silver as well as others. It is whispered that the real cause of the Chicago gathering of a few days since which organized what was called the sil ver Republican party was to set on foot a movement which should push to the front an entirely new leader for the silver cause and dump to the bottom of the deep blue sea William Jennings Ilryns, who led the iarty to defeat lat year. Diatressing to Political Enemies. The absolute unanimity of purpose in the Republican party and the solidity of its ranks in the Senate is distressing its political enemies greatly. The party dissensions which they had exnee:, to see crop out among the Republicans havo made their appearance on their own side of the chamber, however, and this adds to the distress of the handful of gentlemen who assume to be the leaders of that gart? i and out of Congress. t .im
