Cbe Conservative
VOL. i. NEBRASKA CITY , NEB. , THURSDAY , MAY 4 , 1899. NO. 43.
rtnuasiiEn WEEKLY.
OFFICES : OVERLAND THEATRE BLOCK.
J. STERLING MORTON , EIMTOH.
A aOUHNATj DEVOTED TO TIIK DISCUSSION
Ofc' POLITICAL , ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL
QUESTIONS.
CIRCULATION THIS WEEK 5,735 COPIES.
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Address , THE CONSERVATIVE , Nebraska
City , Neb.
Advertising Rates made known upon appli
cation.
Entered at the postofflco at Nebraska City ,
Neb. , as Second Class matter , July 29th , 1898.
MONEY CIKCU LATINO IN THE
UNITED STATES.
The Hoii. William Jennings Bryan , a
profound political economist , whoso
voice is always melodious in hymning
the praises of the plain , poor people and
over resonant in denunciation of the
pestiferous , uu-plaiu rich , remarked
in a speech made at Lincoln , Nebraska ,
on September 8 , 1896 :
"My friends , all the trusts together
fall into insignificance when compared
to the money trust. "
This great lawyer did not , at that
date nor any subsequent one , define , ana
lyze or explain "the money trust. " But
it is fair to presume that he had in mind
a monopoly of money ; a corporation
which was gathering together and stor
ing away vast sums of money. This
erudite and practical publicist of vast
experiences in the courts , in congress ,
at banquets and in battles , is now , in
1899 , confronted with the following
facts and figures in verification of his
prophecies in 1896.
It seems that money hoarded , money
not in circulation , money that we do
not part with , gives us neither profits
nor satisfactions.
The treasury statistics show that the
money in circulation has more than
doubled in the last twenty years. It
has increased 50 per cent since 1886 and
more than 25 per cent since July 1 , 1896.
On July 1 , 1879 , the amount in circula
tion was $818,681,798 ; on July 1 , 1889 ,
$1,879,964,770 , and on April 1 , 1899 ,
$1,927,846,943.
No period in American history has
shown a more rapid growth in the
money in circulation than the last three
years. On July 1 , 1896 , the beginning
of the now fiscal year , the amount in
circulation was $1 ,509,725,200. By July
1 , 1897 , it had reached $1.646,028,246 , an
increase of $180,808,046. On July 1 ,
1898 , it was $1,848,485,749 , an increase
for that year of $197,407,508 , and at the
beginning of the present mouth it was
$1,927,8-16,942 , an increase in the nine
mouths of the present fiscal year of
$84,411,498. The increase since July 1 ,
1896 , has been at the rate of nearly
$500,000 for each business day and dur
ing the last year has averaged consider
ably more than $500,000 for each busi
ness day.
The per capita circulation on April 1 ,
1899 , was the largest ever shown at that
period of the year in the history of our
country. At that date it was , according
to the official statement of the treasury
department , $25.45 per capita , while
that of April 1 , 1898 , was $28.69 ; of
April 1 , 1897 , $28.01 , and of April 1 ,
1896 , $21.58.
The figures of the last three years ,
when placed side by side for compara
tive purposes , show an interesting and
remarkable growth in the circulating
medium. They are as follows :
Money in Per
April 1 circulation. capita.
1896 . . $1,528,629,403 f ! > 1.5j :
1897 1,660,000,694 23.01
1898 . . 1,750,058,645 23.09
Ib99 . 1,927,816,942 25.45
The increase in gold coin in circulation
during the last few years has been quite
as remarkable as the general increase in
circulation. On April 1 , 1896 , the gold
coin in circulation was , according to the
treasury figures , $445,912,256 ; on April
1,1897 , $517,125,757 ; on April 1 , 1898 ,
$582,129,742 , and on April , 1 , 1899 , $694-
855,942. The table which follows
shows the gold coin and total money in
circulation at the beginning of each
quarter of the fiscal years from July 1 ,
1896 , to date :
The bank statements show in many
cases from 40 to 50 per cent of the de
posits in the vaults of the banks. There
is on abundance of money in the coun
try apparently more than is needed ,
since it is not drawn out of the banks
but the , growing prosperity of the United
States and the war tax on bank checks
have made an increased demand for
small bills.
Second-hand
SECOND-HAND
- stores are really at
GOODS.
times a conveni
ence and benefit to the communities in
which they are located. But , as a rule ,
people prefer goods at first-hand , pro
vided the prices are reasonable. There
can be found no record in history where
a nation purchased a second-hand war
until the McKinley administration
bought out the Spanish war rights in
the Philippine Islands. This country
has by this transaction become possessed
of a war which has been in use , off and
on , for about three hundred years. For
this second-hand opportunity for ex
pending money and sacrificing lives in
the endeavor to Christianize a job-lot of
barbarians we have paid Spain the mu
nificent sum of twenty millions of del
lars.
lars.The
The durability of this second-hand
war has not yet been tested thoroughly ,
but if the future can be properly judged
by the past , the Philippine war will
wear wonderfully well. Thus far it
seems to be a reincarnation of the Seminole -
nole war in Florida , and it is possible
that the spirit of Billy Bowlegs may
have entered into some Filipino chief
and that the souls of all the departed In
dians of this continent are now animat
ing the warriors of the Pacific archipel
ago. Nothing can be more illustrative
of the extravagance of the McKinley ad
ministration than the fact that they
have paid twenty millions of dollars for
this second-hand war.
Since that great
A PRESIDEN
TIAL , TICKET. and good states
man , Matthew S.
Quay , has been so thoroughly vindicated
Scotch verdict of "not "
by a proven" and ,
because of this honor , appointed United
States senator by the patriotic Governor
Stone , he looms up as possible presiden
tial timber for McKinley's party.
If we may believe the republican
newspapers of Pennsylvania , there is no
other man who can match purity with
Quay , no other statesman so immacu
late as Quay , no other republican so use
fully patriotic as Quay , and no other
leader is his equal in everything that
J : -KKS