Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 January 1898 — County Call. [ARTICLE]

County Call.

Thio republican voters of each voting precinct and ward in Jasper

| County shall on the 22 day of I January, 181)8, meet in their respective Township precincts at | theip Usual places of voting at 2 o’clock, p. in., and select 5 republican residents of said precinct which shall constitute the precinct or ward committee. The committee so selected shall elect from their number a chairman and secretary. The chairmen so selected shall constitute the County Central Committee. The County Central Committee so ohosen shall meet in the court house at Rensselaer, Indiana, on Saturday, January 29, 1898 at 2 o’clbck p. ra., and elect a County Central Committee chairman, secretary, vice chairman and treasurer. Elect delegates mid alternate delegates to a congressional district convention at which one member of the State Central Committee shall be selected. The several counties of thb State shall be} entitled to representation in said Congressional District Convention as follows: One delegate and one alternate for each 200 votes and each fraction of 100 votes cast for Hon. Henry G. Thayer, Elector at Large for the State of Indiana at the election held Nov. 3 1896. Apportionment to Jasper County is 10 delegates. This call is issued by order of the State Central Committee made at the meeting held at Indianapolis, Dec. 28 1897. B. F. Ferguson, J. F. Warren, Chairman. ‘ Secretary.

The coming year promises to be one of the busiest years for the manufacturing industries in the history of this country. An indication of the freight traffic anticipated is shown by a statement of an official of the Pullman Car Company, who says that the company has already more orders in hand than ever before at this time. The Baltimore and Ohio and Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern and branch lines have alone placed an- order for 4,000 cars, to be used for freight traffic.

Director Preston of the United States Mint estimates that the gold mined throughout the world during the year just passed has been $240,000,000, or an increase of about twenty per cent over last year. The indications are that in 1898 this amount will be still further increased. In view, therefore, of the fact that the population of the world increases only about one per cent, per annum, no alarm need be felt that the increase in money will not keep pace with the increase in population. The United States produced last year silver to the extent of $76,069,236, and this in spite of the supposed low price of the metal. The fact is that the cost of mining is not out of propotion to the market value. Mr. Edward Atkinson presents figures showing that in many cases the cost of mining is less than 12i cents per ounce. These low costs of silver-mining are in cases where the white metal is mined in conjunction with other metals, such as lead or copper.' In' many cases the mines are worked on a profitable basis, considering only the baser metals, all profits derived from flip silver output living thus clear gain. This is the ease with the great Anaconda copper mine of Montana.

A single transaction involving the transfer of 120,000,000 in exchange for 4,000,000 long tons of iron ore to bo sent to England calls attention to the evident conclusion reached by manufacturers In that country that they cannot longer compete with the United States in the mAtler of iron manufacture so long as they are dependent upon their own mines. Just what the effect of this new move will Jbe is not known. The scale of English wages is lower than our own, but on the other hand the cost of transportation of the raw material is to be considered. In any event, this action on the part of the British

manufacturers will stimulate our mines and also the manufacture of iron in the Southern States forexport.

It has always been claimed by the free-trade theorists that it is absurd for people in the United States to think to establish a flax industry. We never have had a flax industry and we never would have one so long as we went on the theory that industries should be established before any thought should be taken towards protecting them. The Dingley duty on flax, however, has brought forth fact, as the McKinley duty on tin did likewise, that we can produce our own flax as well as our own tinplate. A ton of flax straw which was grown on the rich land of Washington has been sent as a sample to Ireland and it has been found that it is worth $l5O more per ton than the average Irish product.

The Beipington I’ress wants to know if the “official organ” meaning presumably The Republican, will publish an itemized list of the cost of the new court house when it is completed. The Press assumes to be very solicitous for the readers-of The Republican to have all the facts regarding the court house. But really, its solicitude is entirely uncalled for. All the important facts have been given in this paper, as they occurred, and just as they occurred, including the original contract for the building and the nature and cost of all the so-called extras. It is the readers of the Press who need true information about the court house, and so anxious are we that it should bo given them that if the Press will agree to publish a full, true and correct itemized statement of the cost of the court < house, that we will as soon as the building is accepted, prepare and publish such ‘a list. This is a perfectly fair offer. What does the Press say to this?