People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 April 1896 — NOTES AND COMMENT. [ARTICLE]

NOTES AND COMMENT.

What the People Are Saying;, Thinking; and Doing;. The fact that McKinley’s nomination is now generally conceded makes the Ohio Republican platform of increased interest. No doubt McKinley had much to do in shaping it. . Of course it declares for protection, and points with pride and all of that. But in not a single instance does it denounce the financial policy of Grover Cleveland. It dodges the money question with the widest Straddle ever attempted by any political party. * * * A correspondent for one of the metropolitan papers says: “The time was when an earnest protest from an Arkansas Congressman against the sale of liquor in the capitol at Washington would have been considered more notable than it was yesterday. Temperance sentiment has been making headway in the South. The Vice-President of the Congressional Temperance Society is a Southerner—John Alldn of Mississippi. Mr. Little, the Arkansas member who assailed the senate and house bar rooms so vigorously, is a native of the state he represents. His protest was timely. Whisky used to be served by the capitol caterers under the name of “cold tea,” and those who bought drank out of cups. There is no subterfuge about the sale at present. Champagne corks pop loudly, and all kinds of drinks are

served la the glasses which custom as* sociates with them. Wine lunches are given in dommittee rooms, especially at the senate end. The restaurant privileges are much sought after, and it is because they carry with them the sale of liquor. • Mr. Littie was right when he deI nounced the present condition as a pub- | lie disgrace. He possibly weakened i his case, however, when he concluded with a tribute to the sobriety of public men, and said it was a rare thing to see one of them intoxicated. The fact is, there have been several disgraceful scenes upon the floor of this congress, all due to the rent-free bar rooms established by congress. In the course of a night session recently a Western Senator was in the midst of a set speech when another Senator slowly arose with his hand on the corner of his desk. The hand slipped; the Senator lunged forward, but recovered his hold on the desk before he went down. The Senator w'ho was speaking stopped. ‘Ur! Ur! Ur! Ur!’ began the other in a hesitating tone, as he swayed to and fro. ‘I ehtirely agree the Senator from Blank,’ sang out the one who had the floor, with ready wit. The Senator, leaning on his desk, twisted his head and looked solemnly at the other. ‘Thass all ri’,’ he said, and sank into his seat. People in the galleries tittered and the speech went on. The house during this session has had two or three cases not quite so pronounced, but still plain enough.” * * .n It will not be really necessary for the republican convention to pander to the wishes of the free silver men of the. West and South, if the indications for the past two years count for anything. Every state north of Mason and Dixon’s line, and north of the Ohio river is more than likely to go republican, so far as the contest between that party and the democrats is concerned.. These with the electoral votes of lowa and Minnesota would give them 227 electoral votes, or three more than a majority. They can thus lose every silver state and then stand a fair show—from their point of view—to elect their ticket. Of course we are using republican estimates on their own strength, and figuring as they will likely figure when Carter, Teller, Mantle, Dubois and others appear at the National convention with a demand for a plank, favoring free silver. They can, and likely will say, we do not need the silver states to carry us to victory. * * *

Notwithstanding all the hue and cry and hired editorials ag.iinst fiat money the government goes right on making it. Last month it created $1,500,000 silver dolars worth 100 cents each, with only 50 cents worth of material used to the dollar. But when it comes to nickles and pennies the government is not satisfied with the Dutchman’s profit of one per cent. It takes several hundred thousand pounds of nickel and bronze to supply the demand for coins of these two classes in the course of a year. The Government buys the raw material in the form of blanks, or disks. That is to say, the nickels and pennies are furnished ready made, of the proper composition, size and weight, but with nothing on them. They look like coins which have been worn perfectly smooth. The Government buys these blanks by the pound. , v At the present time the price paid for the blank nickel pieces is 32 cents a pound, and when a pound of these blanks has been run through the ponderous stamping machines the product is $4.40 in nickels. A pound of the bronze blanks costs the Government 20c, and makes $1.46 in pennies. The Government profit on nickel and penny manufacture is $650,000 a year, but there are those who think it ought to be considered more than this. The bronze blanks contain 95 per cent copper, and the nickel blanks 75 per cent copper. Copper and nickel have both gone down in price, so as to leave a considerable margin between the cost of metal and manufacture and the prices paid per pound by the Government. Nickel used to be worth 72c a pound; it is now worth less than half thqt. For five years the blanks have been furnished by one manufacturing company in Waterbury, Conn. The contract has been held by the Waterbury company without competition. Other manufacturers, who claim that the blanks can be furnished profitably at lower prices, have stirred up Congress to investigate the matter, and to insist that bids shall be called for, and that the contract shall be let to the lowest bidder. One of the curious things about nickel and penny manufacture is the erratic demand for them. Weeks go by without a oall. Then telegrams come in from different parts of the country asking for as much as $30,000 worth. Another curious feature about this money making is that the old and worn coins sent back to be redeemed form a very small proportion of the amount issued. The Government is pouring out a great stream of new nickels and coppers which never find their way back. The supply disappears, is absorbed, and the public keeps calling for more.