People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 May 1895 — CUURRENT OPINIONS. [ARTICLE]

CUURRENT OPINIONS.

“THOUGHTS THAT BREATH! AND WORDS THAT BURN.*’ Clippings, Callings and Comments from the Newspapers Irerywher* The People Are Beginning to dee that the Government Most Own Railroads. It is wonderful how rapidly the people are being educated along the lines of railroad ownership. Mr. Cable, excongressman and member of the democratic committee from Illinois, recently came but and declared that it was the proper thing. The Times-Herald, the leading democratic paper in the west, commenting on this thought that he was “many years ahead of his party,” and adds “In time government ownership of these and other natural monopolies will doubtless come. The whole trend of modern social progress is in that direction.” * * * One of the principal features of the currency question which the new silver proposes to leave out, and an important one, is how the increase of currency which they propose, is to get into the hands of the people. The Omaha platform provides that it shall be loaned to them at a tax not to exceed 2 per cent, and to be paid on in the way of public inprovements. It seems that this part of the plan was to be dropped by the single plankers. Many are disposed to think this a new idea and impractical, but this opinion has its foundation in ignorance. In 1836 the government had a surplus of $37,000,000 in the treasury. This was distributed among the Btates and' loaned to the people at Interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum. Not a dollar of it was lost. Looking over a county paper the other day, we saw this item: “Court approved loan $1365 County School fund to Thos. Dodson.” This was in Missouri. This state, as do a number of others, loans all of its money to the people and rarely trver loses a dollar. The Massachusetts colony loaned money to its citizens and they repaid every dollar of it. The Dominion of Canada helped the Mennonltea in settling as a colony with a government loan. Every dollar of it was paid back. The government is constantly loaning money to national bankers. It not infrequently loans to expositions of various kinds. A loan on real estate is safe. It would require no moye officers than we now have. Each state and county could become responsible for the money thus loaned and the government not lose a dollar. It would help all the people by reducing the rate of interest and making money plentier. It would hurt no interest but that of the money loaner. There can be no serious objection to this plan, and it is one that should be retained in the peoples party platform.

* * ♦ If Mr. Cleveland had taken a contract to create discord in his party he could do It no better than he is. A recent dispatch from Washington reviews his conduct in the following language: The president is doing his part toward the division of nis party. He continues his policy of putting none but cuckoos on guard. There is no such word as conciliation in his lexicon — that is to say, conciliation toward elements in his party which differ from him. The president can be conciliatory enough toward republicans, . but he has no use for democrats who disagree with him. Mr. Cleveland’s second term is unlike his first in many respects. In no other feature is the difference so marked as in the matter of patronage. To repeal the Sherman act the president dispensed appointments where they would help on his policy and withheld them where senators were too stubborn to accept his views. recently this theory has been carried out in the provision for beaten senators and representatives to a degree unknown in previous administrations. Breckinridge, repudiated by his Arkansas constituency for his course on the silver legislation, was made minister to St. Petersburg. He got the best office the president had on his list at the time. Springer, as head of the committee on banking and currency, was most loyal to the administration policy, for which and for no other reason he was' made a judge in the Indian Territory. When one of Sprifiger’s associates in the house was asked about his qualification for the place he said: “He won’t have anything to do but set dates for hangings and determine the number of years for penitentiary sentences. I reckon he will be able to fill the bill.” From the first to the last of the late session of congress Buck Kilgore kept the committee of coinage, weights and measures without a quorum. His reward at the hands of .the president was the other judgship. Once a week Mr. Bland would call a meeting of his committee. There were eighteen members, but one was the delegate from Utah, who had no vote. Eight members were for free coinage and eight were against free coinage under existing circumstances. The seventeenth member was Kilgore. “I don’t know about Kilgore,” Mr. Bland would say. “He tells me he is for silver, but he isn’t there when we need his vote.” Sometimes Kilgore was sick. At other times he had business at the white house and didn’t get back to the capitol in time to help report the bills which Mr. Bland was nursing so carefully. And so the entire winter went by with the coinage committee deadlocked by Kilgore. Kilgore has received his reward. He has his coveted Judgship. Others who rendered similar service to the administration have been taken care of. Ransom stood out against the free coinage

MRtiment of the North Carolina demoo■ racy to his undoing, and was qualified as midfctbr to Sfexico the day adjourned. Outhwaite, who was the i&ftheni member of the committee dii rules and brought in the orders under which the administration financial measures were given prompt consideration, has had a $5,000 a year place found for him. Gen. Cutcheon of Michigan, has resigned the position he held on the fortifications board —resigned by request—and Outhwaite has been appointed. This is one of the smooth things of which the general public seldom hears. It is worth, as stated, $5,000, and the labors are light. Wilson of West Virginia is in the cabinet, in return for his loyalty to the president. There are others who sacrificed themselves, reversing their records and repudiating the instructions of their constituents who will be taken care of. Has any one heard of a democrat who dared to oppose Grover Cleveland in his financial policy being appointed to high position? * * * “Oh, that mine enemy had written a book,” might be modernized so as to apply to the making of speeches. A careful investigation* of speeches made by some of the prominent leaders in both political parties is developing some very good populist literature. There is no better way to defeat the enemy than to turn his own guns upon him. Here is a specimen of such talk as John G. Carlisle was Indulging in several years ago. It is an extract from a speech made in the forty-fifth congress, and, in view of Mr. Carlisle’s present position, makes some "mighty interestin’ readin’:”

"I know that the world’s supply of precious metals is none to large, and I see no reason to apprehend that it will ever become so. Mankind will be fortunate, indeed, if the annual production of gold and silver coin shall keep pace with the annual increase of population, commerce and industry. According to my view of the subject, the conspiracy which seems to have been formed here an 4 in Europe to destroy by legislation and otherwise, from three-sevenths to one-half of the money in the world, is the most gigantic crime of this or any other age. The consummation of such a scheme would ultimately entail more misery upon the human race than all the wars, famine, and pestilence that ever occurred in the history of the world. The absolute and instantaneous destruction of half the entire movable property of the world, including houses, ships, railroads and all other appliances for aarrylng on commerce, while it would be felt more sensibly at the moment, would not produce anything like the prolonged distress and disorganization of society that must inevitably result from the permanent annihilation of one-half of the metallic money of the world.”

•* * * The leaders of the two old parties begin to see the handwriting on the wall. Col. Van Horn, of Missouri, excongressman and a prominent leader in the republican party, says: “I am coming to the opinion that a crisis is approaching in the political affairs of this country that will be a revolution, bloodless, but thorough and radical. It may involve party lines, and the formation of the people along entirely different politics and ideas. “Three or four banking houses can not much longer own the industries of the world, nor levy tribute on mankind. That is the situation today, and its burdens are becoming more and more acute. People inveigh against banks, but banks as a rule are victims of this monstrous power as any other interest. The business of legitimate banking is as much depressed today from this cause as that of merchandise and farming. It has got so now, to use a common phrase, that banks are unable to help business only when help is not needed, and whenever help is required they have all they can do to protect themselves. Why? Because these syndicates of gold owners have all credit in their power and can ruin and do ruin any interest that is not subservient to their system. And it is these foreign brokers who are looting our treasury of gold on purpose to force upon the United States their acceptance of their rule in money. This power can only be broken by the people at the ballot box. As long as they can keep the finance in the mill of partisan policy so long will this power of the people be thwarted. The political platform of 1892 read all alike on silver —yet silver was destroyed. The same action in 1896 will produce the same result.”

* * * Senator Beck of Kentucky in his life time was one of the few incorruptible statesmen that not only saw but protested against the tendency towards a plutocratic government founded on wealth concentrated into the hands of a few by the aid of class legislation. He said : “I know that the bond holders and monopolists are seeking to destroy all the industries of this, people in their greed to enhance the valu6 of their gold. How far they have succeeded in their secret and devilish purposes let the poverty, wretchedness and ruin which have resulted answer. We are curious to know what facts and process of reasoning the sound money clubs will furnish to prove that the act of 1873 was not a fraud, & sneaking, cowardly villianous crime.” During Cleveland’s first administration Senator Beck denounced the policy of the administration In a speech in the United States senate, that is hardly equalled by that of Joseph Sibley in the fifty-third congress. * * ♦ General Weaver is But west with the managers of the bimetallic party, trying to put that party on its feet. We fear that the general’s occupation as Midwife at the birth of new parties has

somewhat clouded his judgment as a politician. We are inclined tb'thlni that relief must rather come t^rou|fh i tenacity to principle and uncompromising effort in a certain direction, than in the organisation of a new party every two or three years. The growth of the party in lowa has not been of that nature that would indicate that General Weaver’s policy was the best one to pursue. What we need is organization and downright hard work on the lines laid down in the Omaha platform. If the general is going to go off with the bimetallic party we ought to know it now. Bet* ter come back, general to your first love. * * * Senator Vest evidently thinks there are still enough righteous men in the democratic party to save it from destruction. In a recent letter to the New York World he says: “We of the west and south believe in a tariff for revenue only, and the free coinage of silver. We propose to frame a platform unequivocally declaring our opinions, and to nominate for the presidency a candidate about whose loyalty to this platform there can be no suspicion. "The letter of the president to his admirers in Chicago simply reiterates his well-known views on the silver question, and widens the breach between him and a majority of his party. The president insults that majority by his lecture on sound money. His idea seems to be that gold alone is Bound money, and that the value of everything is measured in gold. He proposes to destroy one-half of the primary money of the world and to sustain this outrage by the cry of unsound money. “I agree with Mr. Cleveland in his position on the appointment of commissioners to an international monetary congress. There was never any thing practical in the proposition, and never will be. We must act for ourselves and give the world to understand that we are true bimetallists, honestly in favor of both gold and silver as primary money. Thiß is the great issue in the coming campaign, and we intend to fight it out in the national convention and in every state In the union. The struggle will be in the northwest instead of In the northeast, as heretofore, and we must align our forces with that certainty before us. “The talk about nominating a southern democrat for president In 1896 is absurd. We must win or lose on free coinage, a revenue tariff and the Income tax, and it would be suicidal to invite war prejudices and sectional feeling unnecessarily."