Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1897 — OUR NATIONAL WEALTH. [ARTICLE]

OUR NATIONAL WEALTH.

Our savings banks, being supporter mostly by the middle and poorer class es of people, furnish perhaps the best indication of the prosperity or adversity of the masses Gold and silver are much more ex' tensively used in the West than In the East On the Pacific coast the gold and silver almost supplant the paper money as a circulating medium. According to the. eleventh census the wealth of the country was distributed very unevenly, the Northern and Western States being far heavier in proper lion to population than the Southern. The greatest difficulty In estimating the wealth of the United Staters lies' in ascertaining the value of the personal property, which constitutes a very considerable item of our national wealth. In wealth, Pennsylvania ranks next to New York, having an assessed valuation of $1,683,459,016, owing largely to the enormous manufactures carried on within the limits of this commonwealth. \n authority on clothing estimate, that every man, woman and child m this country has at least $lO worth - clothes. This would make the value oi our national garments exceed $600,000,000. • The total amount of gold coined m our mints from 1793 to 1892 was $1,582 000,000; of silver, during the same p riod, there have been $657,000,000; am' of subsidiary coinage of all denomiu.-s tions, $24,000,000. In the year 1891 there were circu'ln Ing in the United States $1,175,000,090 The gold, silver and currency held n! the United States treasury at tin -riimrime would increase the nominal mi. to ovar $2,000,00(^0001.

Many newspapers nre adopting various plans to meet tbs exigencies forced upon them by the hard times. Some conclude to iry a reduction of the subscription price and hope to increase tpe number o e subscribers; others auuounce that they.will throw-trflMtf)~7ienTF ter annum to delinquents who will square up arrearages. We do not think either of these plans will pay. With wheat 6tati gatso @ 60, oats 10 @ 12, corn 15 16 producers find it next to impossible to make their income meet their necessities. We have concluded, tor a time at least, to meet the emergency, in reducing our necessary cash outlay each week by reducing the size of the Sentinel, and t : e price to $1: nnd so soon as we umy feel justified in doing so will restore the paper to its former dimensions

The steel rail pool has collapsed aud brought down prices. High tariff taxes and increased appropriations is the Hepnhli n nn !>’ n fur forcing p osy city. The Republican who can iudor.-e lie* record of 'lie pi* sent legislature would oiut with pride to a penitentiary career. Gov. VouuL has .‘out out ciiculars to republican cd tors over the state asking them todi-cc-s vigorously the proceeding of flic I'egisl iture, ana thus a d him in ii *!<l mg that boil) to 1 giiieuite lines. Dr. Abbott does m i be ieve i. the-infalliLility of tin table. Dr. Buckley am! Fob ingersoll agret with him. And if living, nodoubt Tom Fame and Voltaire would give him their indoisemeut. Our neighbor of the RepubTcau hopes and mays that the Indiana legislature w ill not leave tin bad record tie fears it will It says, concerning the legislative appor. tiomneut b-11, which has passed the House: * * Wh.lt we could h ive wish ed ihat Jasper county could have been left with Is old connections ispecioily with Ne vton for a representative, we neve* theless re on iiize that tis simply impossible t draw an apportionment (nil v. hud. will meet the r quin n.< i ts of in coustifu!i n and ike .!! r. o. tlintiprum on;;: l. v!■ Oi : I. ot me. n'c c iionh-iFii.-.iv- dn.-ntTV-action. i-i In. ilirl'S ljlalstil liit- c.y that ine uni is n pnntica. 0 > l'r j unii tier iu iavur oi , hi- republican:. * * ihe r.UUio.i sot Indiana recognize tii t tin d.y<;f the political * o, ry imtmiei t> s passed. * * t ! ust wherein tin continuation o’. Newton and Jasper as a repren u alive district would fail 'o ■‘iiuet tlm requirements of ihe coi stitutiou, and the dicta ot the supremo court, ’ our neighbor does no! explain. That “ihe republi mms of Indiana recognize that the day or the political gerrymander nas passed, ' is not iu evidence in the appoitiomneut bili under discussion, as it is ftamed lot tresolf purpose of insuring tUe elecii n >. f a rcpubiican U. S. fesnalur e ill nk, hovveve., / the d eta of die supreme coal t” v. i 1 again muvp e and knock out line, it luo knocked out other .vpub Una uii > sc: erne of di.- sru.e ch ia- U-r in tlie past.