THE COURIER
Thero has been 6omo talk among tho legislators of the advisability
of reducing tho interest paid on state warrants from seven to five or
six per cent. There is no reason why tho state should pay seven
per cent on its warrants when they are sold in the east at from four
and one-half to five per cent, and a bill should be passed at this
session reducing tho rate to five per cent. Tho members of tho
House and Senate could have no more convincing proof of tho
necessity for such a law than tho fact that every one of them re
ceived two per cent premium on his salary warrant this week and
the thanks of tho buyer beside for lotting him have it at that rate.
gU3INC55P(lMCLC5
-
& c
-Wt - - 5M r . -. - -
4.&r5
-W'V--' J The country ib rapidly a
5Ss&i crisis in its moiiHtary atrair
approaching a
airs, and almost
every day now marks some new devel
opment in the financial situation.
i rill. - M ...i ... -.. .
J-e presidents message, urging upon
congress the necessity for issuing a long
time low rate gold bond to take up the legal
tender and treasury notes, is generally con
sidered by business men, without regard to politics, a strong and
wise recommendation and which will ir followed prevent panic and
disaster in the future. What is needed now is for the members of
congress to lay aside for a timo questions of politics and personal
ambitions and do a little legislating for the good of the country.
Whether they will do this and relieve the business situation of
further uncertainty is a question which will be settled within the
next few days.
The country is rapidly drifting to a silver standard and unless
something is dono at once by congress, we are liable to be doing
business on a silver basis within sixty days. This seems to be what
anarchists of the Allen-Bryan-Pfeffer type are working for and they
have very nearly succeeded in bringing It about. What will such a
change mean to tho country? It means that gold will go to a prem
ium at once and will disappear from use as money. It will then
simply be a commodity, such as wheat or corn, subject to iluctuu
tions of the market. Foreign holders of American securities will
sell at once as they do not want to run the risk of receiving back in
fifty cent silver what they paid one hundred cents gold for, and
such action would undoubtedly break the stock market. This
might mean another financial panic and it might not, but business
men at present are not in the condition to run even the chance of
another panic if it can be avoided. Tho price of all commodities,
wheat, corn, cotton, pork, is lower now than it -ever has been and
tho only reason which has been advanced for the great drop in
prices on the Chicago board of trade the past week, is that gold is
going out of the country and there is danger of a silver standard.
The great argument of the silverites has been that a change to a
silver standard would increase prices, yet the moment there is
dangerof such a thing tlu price of everything the farmer has to sell
begins to fall. Corn has been this week lower than it was before
tho hot winds of last July. Wheat went lower than it has ever
gone before and all because New York and Chicago speculators
think there is dangerof this country breaking away from the gold
standard and they are selling whatever they have and there are no
buyers. Business men realize now as never before how little divides
the two standardaof value and how easily we may drift, imperccpt
ably and thoughtlessly, from the conservative, safe honest standard
that our government is now trying to maintain to the depreciated
silver standard of Mexico and China. No wonder that bankers are
holding onto their money and business men and manufacturers are
timid and hesitato about branching out or making new investments
and that there is stagnation in all lines of business. The condition
of affairs which confronts us today is bound to continue and per
haps grow worse until definite settlement is made of the currency
problem. If congress will for a few days drop politics and pass a
bill on the line of the president's recommendations, that is to
authorize tho issue of 500,000,000 3 per cent gold bonds, to redeem
the greenbacks and treasury notes and allow the banks to issue
circulation up to the par value of their bonds, also make import
duties payable in gold, it will settle the currency question for some
years at least, will restore confidence both at homo and abroad in
the ability of our government to maintain the parity between silver
and gold, and with this returning confidence will come better times
throughout the business world.
THE NATIONAb GAME
News of the Week Among the Ball Players.
Tho Omaha papers of Sunday contained soveral columns of mat
ter about tho Western Association. It is evident that they aro
making a hard fight to have both Quincy and Jacksonville thrown
out of tho Association and take Rock Island and Jacksonville in to
take their places. Tho Sioux City JtHirnul cortained tho following:
"President Kent has displayed poor judgment in tho course pursued
since his election. Instead of trying to patch the existing differ
ences he has from a position of authority given forth an edict that
unless Omaha clones its mouth it will bo thrown out. Of course,
this is senseless talk against the strongest city in tho association,
and will not bo taken by tho followers of ex-President Uowe. Thero
is a secret movement going on, and when tho battle comes both
Quincy and Jacksonville may find themselves out in the cold. A
withdrawal of a few cities from tho circuit would break it, and an
other organization could be quickly formed comprising St. Joseph,
Omaha, Lincoln and Sioux City in tho west, and I'eoria, Roekford,
Rock Island and Des Moines in the cast. Undoubtedly this would
be a strong circuit and a sure money maker next season.'
t
"Will the attendance at Des Moines, St. Joseph, Lincoln and
Peoria be as good the coining season as it was last season? This is
a question, and you don't have to read tho answer in the stars,"
says Col. Eaton. "All that is nescessary is to ask a man from one
of the towns and he will tell you that tho attendance the coining
season will be as far ahead of that of last year as a Florida orange
grove is ahead of a Manitoba farm. Thero is every indication that
he speaks the truth. Interest in the game seems to have received
an impetus that cannot be handicapped by the croakers and chronic
complainers whose sole object in life is to discourage others in well
doing. The reports from these towns arc to the effect that tho peo
ple are more interested in the game than for many years past and
that the prospects are good for the sale of a large number of books
before the season opens.
t
Lincoln has a very fast outfield in Taylor, Van I'uren and Archie
Cole. World Herald.
T
The make up of the teams in tho Western Asssociation so far is
as follows: Lincoln Manager, Kbright; catcher, Speer; pitchers,
Barnes, Kimerer, Gragg, Myers, Simons and Fisher; first base, Sul
livan; oecond base, Ebright; shortstop, Hollingsworth; third base,
Hill; fielders, Cole, Van I'uren and Taylor. Omaha Manager,
McVittie; Hutchinson, first; Miles, second; Walsh, short; Ulrich,
third; Shaffer, Slaglo and Donelly outfielders; Whalen, catch; Car
rish, pitcher. Jacksonville Manager, Jake Andelotte. Des
Moines William K. Tratlley, manager and captain; Andrews and
Mosher, pitchers: Bums, first base; Mohler, second base; Fishe
short stop; McKibben. third base: IoInies and McVicar, outfielders.
St. Joseph Harry CJatewood, manager; catcher, Creighton; first
base, McVey: Howe, Jones and Marcum. Quincy George F..
Bracket, manager; McCormick, Farrell, Boland and McGreavy:
Routcliffe, Heyn, Coroott, Kellutn and Lutenberg. Rockford
Hugh Nichol, manager; Pabst, first base; Nichol, pitcher.
t
Secretary Ilickey is busy collecting dimes from the multitude of
skaters at the park each evening.
t
Manager Nicol, of Rockford, 111., has signed Pitcher Tom Fleming,
who was with Pottsville in the Pennsylvania league last year. He
is a south paw.
l
91
