People's Pilot, Volume 2, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 April 1893 — Gov. St. John Says It. [ARTICLE]

Gov. St. John Says It.

In the course of a speech delivered at Los Angeles, California, ex-Governor St John said: Railway monopolies is another system of legalized robbery. To illustrate. A railway corporation buys a bushel of hard coal at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, for eight cents. In ten days it delivers it at Lawrence, Kansas, when it sells it for fifty cents, or to make it plainer, is exchanged for four bushels of Western Kansas corn. In ten days more it lays that corn down at Wilkesbarre where it is worth $1.60, or equal to twenty bushels of coal, the product of one bushel bought twenty days before for eight cents. Yet they tell the farmers, and coal diggers, that they are “protected,” while the truth is that the farmer is robbed at one end of the line, and the coal digger at the other end, while the monopoly gobbles up all the profits. To-day the poor man pays full fare, and the millionaire and politician ride on a free pass. Let the government control these means of transportation, operate them at cost in the interest of the people, just as our mail servic# is conducted, Los Angeles would get coal at $3 to £4 per ton, instead of being compelled to pay $lO to sl2, as she is now. FINANCE. The demonetization of silver in 1873, was the beginning of a system of legalized robbery, without a parallel in history. Prom that day to this, the “Gold King” has sat upon his throne in Wall street, New York, and dictated the policy of the government. • Wali street wants more gov : ernment bonds. Gold in the United States treasury is about exhausted, which will likely result in compelling the government to place upon the market more interest bearing bonds, payable in gold, and the people will have to foot the oills. God has deposited in our mountains untold quantities of silver. Let labor take it therefrom and coin it into money, and let the coinage be unlimited. But you say it will make this the dumping ground for the ■world. All right, let the dumping begin; the sooner the better, and we will pay for the bullion, in our coined silver.

All money should be issued by the general government, and eyery dollar, whether gold, silver or paper should stand upon an equality before the law for all purposes, and every enactment which attempts to discriminate in favor of, or against, any particular class of government currency, should be null and void. I am sick and tired of our government sending commissioners to consult with Europe about what shall be done with silver. What we do with silver is none of Europe’s business. Let us adopt a financial policy in the interest of the great body of the people of our own country, and cease allowing Europe—or even Wall street —to dictate what the policy shall be. Give us United States senators, elected by a direct vote of the people. Government control of all means of public transportation, and communciation. to be operated at cost in interest of all the people. Free and unlimited coinage of silver, and a national currency standing upon an equality before the law for all purposes. Suppress the manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes. Place the ballot in the hand of woman. Give us these informs so that the government may be administered in the interest of all the people, and rum, monopoly and boodle will no longer rule the land, and the people will in truth and in fact be free.