Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1897 — Eli Perkins and Uncle Reuben. [ARTICLE]

Eli Perkins and Uncle Reuben.

Those editors don't expect to convert anybody to their way of thinking when they say that the operation of the Dingley law has nothing to do with the return of prosperity. With 100,000 tons of Alabama coal going to, Mexico for her railroad locomotives in conpetition with the English coal, it looks as though the South was putting in a bid for he J share of the world’s market. Personally, young Mr. Bryan did pretty well in Ohio. It is said that he charged S2OO a speech and expenses, and he made a dozen speeches inside of four days, so that he is probably feeling the return of prosperity. When completed, the sale of the Union Pacific Railroad will have paid back to the Government principal and interest at 6 per cent. This “investment’' was made about thirty years ago, and how many investments of that length of time could have panned out better? When the national advantages resulting from the construction of this road are considered, the investment on the part of the United States would not have been a bad one if no part of the principal or interest had been repaid. It is probable, however, that the Democratic waiters will continue to talk of the ’•steal" that has been perpetrated. William Jennings Bryan made one of his meteoric swings through Ohio last week. He ridiculed prosper!y and told farmers, business men and laboring men there was no improvement in business conditions, From Lancaster Mr. Bryan headed for the Hocking Valley mining region his first stop being Logan, Hocking county, the center of the greatest mining region in the world. In the twenty miles lying between Lancaster and Logan, Mr. Bryan’s train was delayed ten minutes by reason of the fact that it met fourteen heavily laden coal trains fresh from the heart of Hocking Valley. One year ago the miners were idle. Now there is not a miner in that whole valley who is not at work. They cam ot secure enough cars to transp <rt the coal for which there is a growing demand, And yet Bryan went among those people telling them that there were no signs o ’ good tim6s and preaching the g< ipel of a bogus dollar. It require the cheek of a brass monkey t > play a role of that character. -Delphi Journal.

Three hundred and seventy-four out of 382 private and state banks of Kansas have made their report to Bank Commissioner John W. Breidenthal.and they have verified his prophecy that the increase in deposits would amount to $7,000,000. This is an increase over last year of 45 per cent. Mr. Breidenthal attributes it to the wonderful cleaning up of private indebtedness under the squeeze of the money loaners during the past five years thus leaving the people with a surplus when their wheat crop was marketed. The national bank reports have not yet been made, but it is estimated they will show an increase of $3,000,000 making the entire increase in deposits nearly $10,0003)00. The entire deposits of the state are estimated at $42,000,000, which means S3O per capita in available cash, a condition unprecedented. —Inter Ocean.

My Uncle Reuben got home from Europe yesterday. Reuben was a Free Trade Democrat, and when Cleveland was turned down and McKinley was elected, he thought the country was going to ruin ; so he fled to Europe to avoid the wreck. Reuben was a sad man when he walked mournfully down the gangplank of an English liner. “Well, they did it, Eli,” he said, sadly as I clasped his honest hand. ‘•Did what, Reuben?” I asked. “Why, they ’lected McKinley, and went and built that Chinese wall and shut us off from the markets of the world didn’t they?” “Yes, they did, Reuben," I said- “ Poor England has been shut off, and unhappy Bradford isn't sending any more cloth to us now, Sheffield has about stopped sendcultery, Nottingham’s lace factories have quit sending us laces and grass is growing in the Welsh tin factories. The wall did it Reuben.” “And our poor country is naked and suffering,” mourned Reuben, “and Cleveland’s $260,000,000 deficit is increasing and no gold is coming in, and we're still borrowing what gold we get from England at 4 per cent, just as poor Cleveland did.” Then Reuben had a chill. “No, Reuben,” I said, “the Tariff wall didn't stop gold. That came in free and they sent us $150,000,000 in gold and the Treasury is clogged with it.” “What did they send the gold for, Eli?” “Why, to buy iron, and pork, and wheat and corn.” ‘•But with the wall up and the markets of the world closed where do we get our cloth, pottery and tin from now?”

“We have gone to making them again ourselves, Reuben. The old dead factories are starting up. We are sending iron to Scotland and tin to all Europe, and wages are going up and times are booming and we are selling more corn and cotton now than ever, and this Chinese wall keeps us from buying things when we can make them at home, and that wall keeps all wages here.” “But you don't say that with the wall up we are getting enough revenue to run the government?” “Well, not quite enough. Reuben; but when Cleveland broke down that wall they piled in a lot of stuff free. We are using that up now, you known. But when it Is gone, our last dead mill will start; the boys will have money to burn and the rich people will hand enough luxuries over the wall to make Cleveland’s deficit revenue into a surplus. With the tariff doubled we won’t have to ship in

only one-half as much stuff as we did before.* 1 “And McKinley’s wall didn’t kill our markets, Eli?” “No.” ■ “And we won’t have to call in the greenbacks to stop the ‘endless chain’ business?” “Why no!” “And McKinley didn’t wipe out a Republic and put Grover’s .black Queen on the throne in Hawaii?” “Why no!” “And prosperity has surely come back?” ‘•Certainly it has.” Then Reuben sat down on a bale of Georgia cotton marked Manchester, put his elbows on his knees, pressed both hands on his forehead, and said to himself: “By

gum!”

ELI PERKINS.