Evening Star Newspaper, August 7, 1896, Page 10

10 THE EVENING STAR, FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 1896-TWELVE PAGES. TEECT OF THE FREE COINAGE OF SILVER Views of Four Leading Thinkers on the Result of Such a St GOLD ARGUME ep. S GIVEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH SILVER Debate by John De Witt Warner, Gen. A. J. Warner, James H. Teller and Everett P. Wheeler. STANDARDS NEW PHASE OF THE BATTLE OF The “battle of the standards” rages with undiminished force. Every phase of the money question is being debated earn- est in all sections of the country. Tne Star has already given examples of the arguments that are being used, to show the } view taken by the opposing forces on the main subject of the relation of free coinage to interests of the wage earners. It first ented specimens of the debate on the effects of the depreciation of money on the future wages of the workingmen, and hext save examples of the discussion as to the relation of free to their past and accumulating gai Today there are & extracts from the arguments of leading writers on both sides of the question, illustrating the views taken | of the probable effect of free coinage on all classes of citizens. This debate is opened by ex-Representative John De Witt Warner of New York, who firmly and ably opposed | all free-coinage propositions advanced dur- | ing his career in Congress, and who was foremost in the effort to repeal the pur- chasing clause of the Sherman act three years ago. His argument is followed by | extracts from a paper by Gen. A. J. War- | her, ex-Representative from Onio, and now sident of the Bimetallic Union. Fol- »positions are printed those of | nage en ler, whose words have al- ready 2 quoted in The Star in_repro- duc » silver arguments. The de- | bate is closed for the anti-silver side by an abstra:t of an argument by Everett P. Whe-ier of New York, nominated in 184 by the Grace-Fairchild democracy of New York for governor. CONSEQUENCES OF FREE COINAGE is of the John De Witt Warner General Kesults. Suppese our free-silver friends had their way? What would be the result? Every man to whom a dollar is now due would be compelled to accept half of what there is today coming to him. is there eny way to keep that from colliding with the Ten Commandments? I krow they talk a great deal about the man who co" z twenty years ago and now fi it take heat or cotton to Pp: The question What nas he | do? and whether, just beca 1 to keep his agreement, ke shall be © great bulk of today are are in man and of twenty | permit by | to f imrerest. depends in Jarge meas which ts most conclusive 7 ef plenty of | money io be loaned How are we io have sap and money abu re were 4 let of a law ney 0 to loan | keep it | | | “at high in- | And then, if one be- agitation stoy be no in- of values, r your rather | the is and no likely to take | had at 4 and | parts in which | free coinage that a loan | d may be re er, there is scarcely 1 borrow money on except on gold con- €, at less rates part lieve our curr its standard of money can | while in those nt that and nN, n on short t. 6 or 8 per ze Free silver would net add a dolar to tha west or sucth. But th a3 kept from those upon millions of capi- y been juvested there, | nade such prosperity as the ince the sun shene t seen n Eden. Depreciating Wages. precise extent by which free coin- ts the depreciation of the cur- y in which wages are paid, to that ex- | tent it effectually reduces them, although | they may still remain nominally at the same | amount. If the workingmen of this coun- & prepared for such a change | try are be there consola they have the | votes, © matt in their hands. | Wf they do not € in thus sacrificing themselves in behalf of those who are to pay old debts, they | scheme from being suc- Who Would Make. to a silver basi we had free the mea who | prefit are bi ers, who own the they would hoard, and weuld as we should | to pay their depositors In de- 1 silver. It would be their Ceposi- tors who, having deposited good be for. Tecl- com- whose thousands of investments are so largely in cS, by their terms made payable | he widow und orphan would suf- | aving their paid in silver, purchasing would be only one- much as t oid that they would Phe capitalist employer, | Sin lands, In factorie class of wes would see it price upon his iands almost at ¢. His employe wou!d Le paid the same Wages he now receives in a currency which y only half as much, until, after years had passed in the slow readjustinent of wages, he might have secured some- What more of his right Appreciation of and Wages. connec there is one point I smewhat to dwell upon. Supposing wold has appreciated, what is the ef- fect of this upon our wage earners, the majority of our voters? Look at whole- sale prices of goods and food. You will find that they change daily and sometimes repeatedly within the day. Retail prices change pretty often, in scme things every month or so, and in some things every week or two. Now, take wages. You know that changes are comparatively rare, gen- erally not more than once or twice a year, and often only once in two or three years. What does that mean? It means that the price of labor is more conservative than are the prices of goods that labor buys— hence, that if our currency is appreciating s0 as to make a dollar buy more goods, there will be weeks, months, perhaps year during which, while wages have not chang- ed, a man will be able to buy more with them. In other words, the eppreciation of gold, so long as wages are paid on @ gold Standard, means that every laborer gets more and more for the same amount of Wages. And to the precise extent that you prove that the course of events of late | dollar that he receives. | tions, | maledictions. | mears higher wages to the laborer. | great danger of | from the world’s markets. | for the restoration of silver. years has been the appreciation of goid and the cheapening of prices in conse- quence, to that precise extent do you prove that the laboring man has been gaining more and more by the difference, and that it has come out of the manufacturer and capitalist. Inflation of Prices and Wages. Take the opposite case. I have no doubt that free silver legislation would in a meas- ure accomplish what its friends claim— that Is, soon raise the price of everything that Is bought to nearly 1f not quite dou- ble their present rate. Do any of you im- agine that your wages would be doubled at once? Doa’t you know that you wouid wait months and years for the slow process or readjustment by strikes and lockouts before your wages would finally be raised in proportion? With the wage earners, therefore, the free silver case stands thus: The apprecia- tion of gold, of which the free silver people complain, is the very prccess that will give him more and more for the wages he gets, and, therefore, practically increase his Wages. The inflation of prices that the sil- ver men are fighting for is the very thing that will reduce the purchasing power of the wages he gets, and will thus decrease his wages. Do not understand that I claim that we should oppose free coinage and welcome the appreciation of gold just be- cause it secures higher wages to labor. I am opposed to free coinage because I be- lieve it to be wrong. At the same time it is proper that all should understand just what would be its effect. It may be that wages are too high in this country now. Personally, I do not believe such to be the case. If they are too high, however, and it is desirable that they should be cut down, then let us have that issue frankly stated. But let not our free coinage friends clamor for legislation the first effect of which would be to reduce by one-half the wages that each laboring man receives, and at the same time invite laboring men to vote for such a program without telling them what the teal effect would be. I confess that I am one of those who are glad to see the prices of things becoming cheaper ard cheaper, so that the laboring man can buy more and more with every I have no sym- with those who, by a tariff law or a law or private trusts or combina- ure continually endeavoring to ra!se prices of the goods that labor has to buy. I have no more sympathy for the men who are working today to bring about high prices of clothes and food than had the Prophet Amos with the inflationists of his day, whom he cursed so thoroughly that the wo-ld ever since then has rung with You remember how he de- seribed them—it strikes me that his words would well befit the present situation—as he told of the men of his day, who lay awake nigh thirking how they might make corners in food and put up prices— “making the ephah small and the shekel great’—that is, making the poor pay more for their flour—and, as he put it, “falsify- ing the balances by deceit” that they might “buy the-poor for silver and the needy with pathy silver | 4 pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat.’ Appreciation of Silver and Wages. “Well.” they say hy would ft not be a good thing to have appreciation of silver?” Why? If the laboring men of this coun- try wanted to sell silver or were being paid | in silver, there might be some sense in it. But the laboring men of this country are bemg paid in gold, not silver. What I mean is this: You take a silver dollar. There ts fifty cents’ worth of silver in ft. You stamp the government's indorsement upon it. It then passes for a dollar, be- cause the government's indorsement says. “Redeemable in gold." So that our labor- ers are now getting paid in gold values. What gooa does it do a man who doesn’t own silver, who doesn’t sell silver, who wets paid in gold values, to have silver cost more? The Silver Question in a Nutshell. But there Is another way to look at it. We have seen how appreciation of yold Now let me show you what th's so-called appre- ciation of silver means. I shortly since heard a very pleasant gentleman, Mr. Can: | non, a delegate in the next Cougress from Utah, expound the silver side of the free silver question; and he wenton to explain, first, that prices of goods were low here be- cause they were measured in gold, and then that, on account of our wages here being paid in gold—which was costly—and wages in India, China and Japan being paid in stiver—which was worth only one-half what it had been—they had a fifty per cent advantage, and that therefore there was anufacturers being driven Do you see what that means? That their wages are so much lower than ours, on account of the apprectation of gold here, that, unless | our wages are made equivalent to theirs in that respect at least—unless prices are inflated here in this country so that our gold wages will buy no more than their sil- ver wages, their labor will tend to drive our labor out. In other words, the proposition to appreciate silver is practical!y a propo- sition to cut the wages of the laborers of this country squarely in half, in order to increase the profits of their employers. A Boomerang. Three months ago, though I should have argued this—for I believe it to be true—I should not have ventured to state that it | was the serious contention of the free sil- ver advocates. But I have not merely heard it put forcibly by the gentleman I have men- uuvned as speaking for that cause, but I have it in another statement. Sir Henry Meysey Thompson, one of the leading silver advocates, offered a large prize for the best essay explaining how it was that China and India and other silver-using countries were getting an advantage over England. Mr. Jamleson, British consul at Shanghai, was awarded the prize, and his essay is now the | chief stock in trade of the British agitation Let me read you something from it. Sir Henry Meysey Thompson ts proud of it: “Wages in the gold-using countries have, through the ap- preciation of gold, become 100 per cent dear- er than they were relatively to silver wages, and the manufacturer in the silver-stand- ard countries can obtain his labor at half the cost which he formally paid.” Hence, “while old-established industries in Eng- land are barely paying expenses, new in- dustries in India are arising broadcast and paying handsomely.” A similar view is taken by Senor Romero, Mexican minister at Washington, in his ar- ticle in the North American Review for June, 1895, when he asserts that the depre- ciation of silver has favored Mexican capl- talists by lowering the actual wages of their employes. ‘This is the silver question in a nutshell. It is simply the question as to whether our Wage earners are getting too high wages. If they believe they are, and that this coun. try 1s suffering in consequence, all they have to do is to take lower wages; or, if they pre- fer a round-about way, they can favor free coinage of silver, and they will get their wages cut down half without any further trouble on their part, and we will be blessed. as in China and India. ‘ PRICES ON A GOLD BASIS. Gen. A. J. Warner's Presentation of the Silver Argument. Let us review the fall of prices from 1878 to 1898, and its effects upon property and the various industries. Evidence is abundant to prove that the general aver age of prices of staple commodities has ry fallen from 45 to 50 per cent since 1873. The same 1s true of property generally, except where special causes have operated to counteract the general downward ten- dency. The effect was felt first in the prices of agricultural products and then in farm lands and farm labor. In fact, the declize fell first on unorganized indut tries and the products of unorganized bor. There was less resistance in these industries, and they gave way first. Industries operating under the control or under the influence of organized labor offered stubborn resistance to a reduc- tion in prices, and especially to a reduc- tion in wages. And in large measure the rate of wages has been kept up in organ- ized and protected industries, but dura- tion of employment and total ‘nings, even in those industries, have ma‘erially decreased, as profits have decreased. This condition of things has led to combin- &tions of capital in the form of trusts and combines of various kinds to uphold prices and increase profits. But in the great department of agriculture, embracing 45 per cent of the entire population, and giv- ing support primarily to all, this has been impossible, and hence this greatest of all industries began to suffer first, and has thus far suffered most. Not Due to Machinery. It is idle to claim that any considerable Part of this fall in the prices of agricul- tural products Is due to cheaper methods of production, or to improved machinery. The truth ts, nearly all of the improvements in farming implements date back beyond the period under consideration. Almost the enly exception is in the improved self-bind- er for harvesting. So, too, most of the great railway Tines were completed before or in the early part of the period between 1873 and 1893. As a rule, farms have gone down with the fall in the prices of farm products. Ex- ceptions to this rule no doubt exist in some of the newer states, where fertile soils have heen more recently brought under cultiva- tion. But so great has the depreciation of farms become in many of the older states that what to do with them has become a serious question. ‘The important question is, What is the cause of this fall in prices? Does it arise from a change in the relation of supply to demand or from changed conditions of pro- duction? No! Certainly not five per cent of the fall is due to such causes. Due to the Pricing Instrument. It is due to a change in the money stand- ard—in the pricing instrument. In other words, the change is in the money and not in the commodities. The change, however, has come in such disguise that it seems not to have been apparent to many, and, be- sides, every effort has been made by those interested, and by the public press, es- pecially the great dailies of the east, to cbscure the facts. But it 1s none the less true and none the less diabolical. But although the disestrous effects of a disturbance in the money standard fall first on unorganized industries, and especially on the agricultural class, it does not stop there. The secondary effect is scarcely less serious. Better profits cn capital and high- er wages for labor in those industries where organization and the regulation of produc- tion tend to keep prices up, draw labor and capital to such industries. But between 1870 and 18) the population of cities and towns has increased from 48 per cent of the whole to 55 per cent, and the country has lost in the same proportion. The Shifting Population. But the transfer of population from the country to cities must stop at some point. This point has doubtless been already reached. As has been shown by the fall in the prices of agricultural products, the pur- chasing power of the farming class has been cut down by at least one-half; and, even if prices of the things he would buy had come down Ir the same proportion in v hich his own products have fallen, he still has little left to buy with, after paying debts and taxes. His real purchasing pow- er is his surplus after living and paying what he must pay. Hence, with this enor- mous falling off in the capacity to buy of 40,000,000 people devoted to agriculture, a seeming surplus of manufactured products eccumulates, industries stop, laborers are unemployed and trade 1s restricted. That is the condition now. The plain meaning of all this 4s that 38,- 000,000 of people cannot long continue to get high wages and reap.large profits by selling their surplus products to 30,000,000 of people who have to take low wages and make no profits. In other words, there must be, and there will bé, a leveling down in these industries; the leveling will be down and not up, because under present conditions all things tend downward. There is no law in economic science better settled than that capital will flow, and labor will go, from industries where profits and wages are low to industries where profits and labor are higher, until an equi- librium is reacheds A Leveling Process. No tariff and no organizations of labor and no combinations of capital can perma- nently prevent the operation of this law as long as trade is free within our own bor- ders. Therefore the products of labor in organized industries must, in the end, come down to the level of the products of labor in other industries, and capital must in the end, also, accept as low profits. And if the products of labor fall, wages of la- bor must come down also. Nor is this the end of the leveling down process that must go on under existing conditions. As prices fall and labor comes down and profits are reduced, rents must come down also; and as rents in cities come down, the value of business blocks and other real estate in cities must likewise come down. This class of property has al- ready gone down in many cities, but it must go down generally, and will go down. Rents and Earnings. When an improved farm of 100 acres wi!l not rent for $200, we may be sure that 15x20 rooms in fourteen-story buildings will not long rent for $200 either. Rents, in the long run, like interest, depend on profits; and as prices fall and profits and wages zo down, rents must go down; and as rents go down the value of bulldings goes down. The same Is true of railroads; as every- thing else goes down, rates must go down and earnings grow le3s. But buildings in the citles, like farms in the country, are largely: mortgaged, and as farmers who are in debt lose their farms when the value of their products go below living profits, 60 owners of buildings in cities, when their rents are cut off, cannot meet interest, and their property goes. The process may be somewhat different in the case of real estate in cities from that of farms, but ‘the end is the same. Mortgages. Nor does the reaction end here; real es- tate in the cities in late years has been mortgaged largely to insurance and trust companies and savings banks. When this class of property falls below the mortgage line the security becomes impaired. How near the marg‘n of safety some of our life insurance companies and savings banks may now be may not be known. A year or two ago they were insisting upon none but the “Dest” dollar for their customers, by which, of course, they meant tne dearest dollar. The time may come, and may be near at hand, when they will conclude that an equitable dollar is, after all, the most de- sirable one, all things considered. How far we have already advanced on the road indicated is not so important as the certainty that, under the single gold standard, with the United States, all Eu- rope, and now all India, joining in the scramble for gold, its appreciation must henceforth, under these influences, go on faster than ever, and as gold rises in value prices must go the other way. In this leveling process, passing from un- organized to organized industries, from farms to city real estate and railroads, who are the gainers? Two classes only. They who draw fixed salaries and they whose wealth is in money, and in evidences of debt that call for the same number of dollars, 1e- gardless of their value, and which in the end rest on the power of taxation, with armies, if need be, behind that. These two classes, and these two alone, at last are the gainers by the policy now being pur- sued. Every other form of wealth must partake in greater or less degree in the fall which must follow the certain appre- ciation of gold. Is everything In ‘the end to be swept into the coffers of those who know no country and no interests but their own? Are ail races to be made bondsmen to one! Such @ money power never before existed as that which devised and is now carrying out ae nefarious scheme to plunder the wor! PRESERVING THE BALANCE. James H. Teller’s Belief in an Equili- brium Between Metals. “Free coinage means silver monometal- lism; gold will be driven out, causing an enormous contraction of the currency. The silver basis will give us a 50-cent dollar, cheap money and high prices.” Strange as it may apppear, the above statement has not only appeared frequently im newspaper articles, but has been indorsed by an alleged teachet of economics of the University of Chicago, and by the Secre- tary of the Treasury. The first proposition 1s pure prophecy, and as prophets the par- tisans of gold stand pre-eminent. In 1878 they predicted that the coinage of $50,000 000 of silver would bring disaster and pre- vent the accumulation of gold for the re- sumption of specie payments. In 1886 they Predicted that if the coinage of silver were not stopped it would be at a discount with- in six months. In 1890 they were confident that ruin was impending as a result of the increase in silver, and in 1893 they assured us that the repeal of the Sherman act would insure prosperity and monetary calm. The absolute failure of these pre- dictions does not seem to abate their con- fidence in their ability as prophets. No Silver Monometallinm. Bimetallism by law has never yet become silver monometalllism in any country or at any time. That gold and silver may be kept at a parity fixed by law is abundantly Proved by experience. If it was done when the demand for metallic money was in- finitely less than it now is, and when the relative supply of the two metals was widely different, what reason is there to suppose it cannot be done now? If France, with half our population and not more than a tithe of our demand for money, main- tained the ratio when for forty years silver was to gold as 71 to 28, can we not main- tain it now when the production of the two metals, is nearly equal, being about 60 of silver to 50 of gold. The Threntened Contraction. We are threatened with a contraction of over $60,000,000 by the withdrawal of gold. Does any one know where this great sum of gold is now? Is it in circulation or doing money duty in this country? It 1s doubt- ful If there is more than two-thirds of that amount in the country, and but little of it is In circulation. Its withdrawal, there- fore, would not cause a very ‘marked change in the situation. But how is it sup- posed that it is straightway to leave us? Will its owners incontinently ship it to Europe for storage, or will they hoard it here? We are told that our securities will be thrown back upon us, as if that were a dire misfortune. Such obligations as are due must be paid in any event, and if we buy securities it must be at such prices as su‘t us. To have our securities bought back on our own terms, and held kere, can ‘dly be a misfortune. Gold might gradually leave the country, but only as silver was coined to take its place, except, of course, such gold as would go in settling balances of trade, whether on the single standard or on the double, standard. Gresham's Law. The sadly overworked “Gresham's law” is supposed, apparently, to possess some pecullar power to drive out gold, regard- less of other influences. This so-called law is but a statement of the observed fact that when two kinds of money of unequal value are in circulation, the cheaper dis- places the dearer, whenever there is an excess of money in the country. So long as there is no excess the two kinds of money are of the same value; but when some money can be spared, the better kind, that is, the kind that will be more valuable elsewhere, will be taken. As it is impossible to coin at once so vast a sum of silver, it Is difficult to conceive how gold is to be instantly driven out. If, however, our gold goes to Europe, it will relieve the demand, and so lower the value of gold there, and thus help to pre- serve the parity of the two metals. THE DOLLAR OF BUSINESS. Everett FP. Wheeler Predicts Its Shrinkage Under Free Coinage. One mistake that Mr. Bryan and the silver men make is in supposing that the workingmen of this country are mostly debtors. On the contrary, they are all creditors. What they have to sell 1s prin- cipally their own work, and they ought to get for this work the best dollar that there is. The best dollar will always buy more than an inferior article. During the war with the south, when we had a paper stand- ard, a gold dollar, on the average, would buy twice as much as the paper dollar, and sometimes would buy nearly three times as much. The government during all this time did its best to compel people to take its paper dollar at the equivalent of gold, but it found this impossible. ‘The southern confederacy tried the same thing and found it impossible. All the armies of the north and all the armies of the south could not compel a man to take a paper dollar which would not be redeemed in gold as the equal of gold. At one time the paper dollar was worth only forty cents in gold. The first result of giving up the gold standard and resorting to a paper standard was that all the gold was with- drawn from circulation. The United States kept all it had and expended it solely in pay- ing its gold contracts. The banks kept all they had and sold it at a time when a dollar in gold was worth $2.80 In paper. Disappearance of Silver. Silver at that time was on a par with gold, and the saine thing happened to the silver coin of the country. It went out of circulation in a week, and was replaced at first by postage stamps and afterward by paper notes for small sums. Dirty things they were, ard depreciated, just as the other paper notes did. The effect of this was that labor was never so poorly paid. The nominal wages in paper dollars went up, but prices of food and clothing went up in a much great- er preportion. They were constantly changing, because the value of the paper dollar was ccnstantly changing. The peo- ple that did make money out of the whole business were the rich men and the spec- ulators. They could watch the market and sell to the best advantage. The poor man lost in two ways. In the first place, when his wages were paid in a depre- clated currency he had to buy with that currency what he needed for his daily wants and those of his family, and pay the inflated prices that were caused by the uncertainty as to whether the paper dol- lar would be werth more or less. In the next place, if he had saved money and put it in the savings bank, he was paid by the bank in depreciated currency, which was all it could get from its debtors. The dollar that he put in was often worth only 50 cents when he took it out. What Would Happent What would happen if by a dreadful calamity Mr. Bryan and a free silver Con- gress should be elected ts just what did happen during the war with the south. The banks would immediately stop paying gold or its equivalent. The government, having the opportunity to pay elther in sil- ver or gold, would pay in silver, and keep its gold to meet its gold contracts, of which it has a great many outstanding. The dollar of business would at once drop to the value of 50 cents. The general dis- tress and uncertainty that this would cause wculd stop business for a while. Fac- tories would b2 closed, clerks would be discharged from stcres. Only the very rich and the very strong could stand the strain, and the property of those who were in debt, and whose credit would be gone, would be sold for a song. This would be bovght in by those who are not in deb‘, and would make them richer than before, nd the unfortunate debtors would be ruined. Where Would the Dollars Come From? It is plausible to say that debters would be able to pay their debts at 50 cents on the dollar. But where would they get the silver dollars with which to pay their debts? Free silver does not mean that the government will give silver dollars to any- bedy who asks for them. It does mean that the silver mine owners can take 50 cents’ worth of silver to the mint and get {t stamped with a dollar mark. A few men would have ready money enough on hand to take advantage of such a law. But the great majority of debtors do not carry enough money to pay their debts, and could not pay them at once upon com- pulsion. There is not enough money in any country to pay all its debts if payment were demanded at once. The strongest bank in the world does not carry enough money to pay all its debts. If it did it could not make any money by lending. But in times of distress, when the demand on banks for money is great, théy are compelled to exact payment from their debtors, and would be especially compelled in such a time of distress and trouble, as a sudden change from a gold to a sil- ver standard would necessarily produce. SUBURBAN NEWS ANACOSTIA, A meeting of democratic citizens of Anacostia was held last evening at the Anacostia Inn, and after a number of speeches were made, a Bryan and Sewall club was organized, with the foilow ing oMicers: President, Mr. George H. Gray; vice president, Dr. Thomas D. Mudd: secretary, Mr. J. T. Fowler; treasurer, Mr. William H. Rose; ser- geant-at-arms, Mr. J, R. Diggs; assistant ser- Seants-at-arme, Messrs. H. Perkins and T. Lyles. President Gray was authorized to appoint a com- mittee to frame a constitution and set of by-laws for the government of the club, and also a com- mittee to confer with th mittee of the District of arrangements for participating in the reception to Mr. Bryan when he reaches Washington. It wax determined to make no charge for adinission to Membership. It was stated that the names of those who will compose the two committees will be an- ncunced at the next meeting of the club. A large number of wheelmen belonging to the Aracostia and Cross Corntry Clubs of Anacostia and Hillsdale went to the city last evening to attend & meeting at the rooms of the Colored Young Met ristian Association, 11th street above Q street horthwest, for the purpose of assisting inthe or- €an‘zation of a mutual protective wheeimen’s asso- ciation. A grand tournament and ptenic will be held at Clopper's Station, this county, Wednesday, 10th fnstant, at which handsome prizes will be dis- tributed to the successful riders. The charge to the knights will be delivered by Arthur Peter esq., of the Washington bar, and Peyton Gordon, esq... of address. Washington Messrs. will deliver the coronation Munro, C. J. Lyddane Waters heen selected as judges; W. moud will act as chief hal, havi fds Henry M. Boland, C. F. Wilson, Robert L. Hick- erson and Benj. Martin, jr.; beralds, John S. Lar- combe, Jr., and Herbert D. Waters. Fine musi Will be provided and dancing will be indulged in througheut the day The floor man- agers selected are Lloy Howe Totten, Dorsey Trandie, V and D. W. Bak ~€ : t campaign will A Joint debate on take place at Burton: evening be tween Clark of the Laurel Free Quill, on the republican side, and H. Maurice Talbott, esq., of the Rockville bar, for the democrats. The Joint meeting will virtually open the campaign in’ this section of the state. Mr. hott is prominently mentioned as a can- didate for Congress in the sixth district, and it ts said will have the vote of this county for the nomination. ‘The marriage of Miss Lillie Randolph daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Heath Dodge of Be. thes this county, to Dr. M. W. ¢ rough of Baltimore, fs announced to take place om the Dodi y and her daughters, Misses . left kere Wednesday for Lar: . ty attend the ing of the Baptist ¥é e's Axxembl: will spend about in that section of the state two mn Wednesday last Mr. John H. Nancy E. son. both of this count married by Rev. S. Rt. White, at this p A game. Dall betwe tn nine of W f base hi incor under the pregent law re within. their corporate recelve in th Jows: Rockvil Kensington, $26. ville, 5 Poolesviile, Mile, $50.41; HYATTSVILLE. An Interesting arbitration Judge Habercomb, sole referee, Toon at the luw office of Jas. C. Wt y after. the parties concerned being Andrew W. lus A. Boteler and the Columbia land electric railway. Brown claimed fave bonght fre Boteler all the trees tit for railroad ties in a cer- tain bedy Bf woodland near Brarchville, agree! to pay therefor 15 cents a te before be taken from the lard. Boteler contended that Brown should also clear the land of ties the 15th, 1896. Early lust March Tote urder the iinpression that Brown had MMs part of the contract, had. the te self and hauled and delivered them to th road, to which he aold them for 50 ccuts iroad, finding that the thes Were con! between’ Brown and Boteler, refused to pay er, Whereupon they submitted the question to ° Habercomb for arbitration, Brown havin cessfully proved that the thes were not to be pald for until the railroad. com had paid bin, and that there was no lmitat as to when th Mt cut him- electric a y should be re was adjudged that Hoteler Is nd Brown to 10 cents ts aplece for which the tes re beng 300 t mb 63 thes not awarded to Brown price, thus making 353. ti ‘The amount involved was was awarded Mr. James ©. trial was atte ‘The rare guy Republica: last y in the chair. ments Vere made to form 2 Ki {respective of party Hnex. A “onsist- ing of Maj. Tierney, D. B.A. niet B. Fowler, was appointed to confer with a mittee from the Bludeasbure ‘Tepubliean reference to holding a mass meeting | DUNE next Wednesday evening for the purpose of m1 ratifying the nominaticns of McKinley Hobart. A ‘colored man killed a large black snake, 1x feet in length, yesterday morning in the woods bordering on the stern branch near Riverd: ‘The man was fishing at the tine and discovered the vank of the stream endeavoring to swallow a good-sized catfish. Mr. W. BL Itimore, Md., fs visit- Ing hiv daughter, Mrs, J. 1. Fowler of Riverdal Miss Carrie Blundon gave a pleasant straw ride to Washiagton and return a few evenings since to rhe part = anor Fowler, Marte Blundon, and ary ard Andrew rl and Joe Fowler. the young people ler of Riverdale is visiting the ative, De. O. H. Brightwell, at ester, a Presbyterian minister of Washin ton, delivered an interesting sermon last Sund: afternoon at 4 at Riverdale Hal ANOTHER BROOKLYN BRIDGE. Plan for a Structure Only for Rail- roads. From the New York Press. James Howell, president of the board of trustees of the Brooklyn bridge, has be- come interested in a project for the. buiid- ing of another bridge to connect New York and Brooklyn—a bridge which shall be de- signed exclusively for railroad transporta- tion. He outlined the new project as fol- lows: “I have beengequested by a number of prominent citizens to prepare plans for an all-railroad bridge, and they are now under way. There will be one plan for a four-track bridge and another for a six- track bridge. I am in favor myself of a six-track bridge, for the reason that I think it will be adequate for all time to come for this part of the city, and it will thereby save the expense of changing and alterations, which have been so heavy a cost on the present structure. The cost of the all-railroad bridge will not exceed $10,- 000,000, acd the one with six tracks will be planned at a width of sixty feet and the four-track bridge forty-five feet wide. ‘ne new bridge should be situated on the north of and as close as possible to the old bridge, and would be used by the surface and ele- vated roads exclusively. An arrangement with the New York companies could easily be effected, so that passengers could be carried over the bridge and then carried either up or down town In New York, with- out changing cars. A four-track bridge could easily carry fifty thousand passen- gers per hour each way, 3nd the six-track bridge could carry seventy-five thousand. I would charge a one-cent fare for passen- gers crossing the bridge, and, in my opin- fon, as soon as the bridge is completed, it would carry at least 150,000 passengers per day. Five years after completion, this number would be increased to not less than 300,000 every twenty-four hours. Now, at a cent fare, the first year’s receipts at an age of 150,000 per day, would be $550,- 000, and in five years’ time this would be increased to over $1,000,000 yearly. For maintenance I don’t think the expense would be over $50,000 yearly, as it would consist only of repairing and painting. When the plans are completed it is intend- ed to have them put on exhibition and call- ed to the attention of the public, and per- hags the cities can be induced to build the bridge. If they will not, there is no doubt that capitalists will be glad to do so, and the matter will be laid before them. Of course I would rather have the cities build the bridge, as I think they shuld own all the oridges.” ———_+-e+______ A LONE STAR PIONEER. He Claims to Be the Oldest Male Chila Born in Texas. From the Galveston News. “I claim to be the oMest male child born in Texas, dead or alive,” says Thaddeus Hunter of Weimar, Tex. was born in 3. F. Austin’s colony in September, 1823, at Morgan’s Point, Tex. (now La Porte), and lived there seven years. While there we planted cotton and my mother spun and wove the first crop that was woven in Texas. In 1829 we moved to Oyster creek, yiin Liber No. in Bladens- | Hen. Willinm D. Park, Inte of the Park Honse, Boston, an] fameus as the originator of “broiled live lobsters,” writes, March 24, 1896: “For two years Twas much afflicted with Dyrpepata, Rb: matisin and General Collapse, which was superin duced by an auusvally active business life for forty yeors. I had suppesed my health was gone beyond Tecovers, but being induced to try Dr, Charcot’s Kola Nervine Tablets to my surpris and gratifica tion the use of two boxes has revulted im the dis- Appearance of Dyspepsia, Rheumatism and Lassi- tude. I feel a new man; my friends are surprised, and congratulate me on my recovery to health. I ani glad to give you these facts, snd heartily com- mend the Tablets as marvelous in their curative properties.”” Fort Bend county, where we engaged In farming and stock raising. The first year we burned off the cane brakes and planted corn with axes and hand sticks. We put in the corn and covered it with the foot. We made sixty to seventy-five bushels per acre by keeping bears and hanolina, or Mexican hogs, out of the corn. Everything went on all right until 1836, when the Mex- ican army, under Santa ‘Anna, made us skedaddle or run for our lives. "We loaded up the wagon with bacon and meal and some bedding, and rolled out. We took with us 60) head of fat cattle and drove them to the San Jacinto battle ground one or two days before the battle, which sup- plied the army with beef before and after the battle. When the Mexicans got too close we crossed the bayou at Lynch's ferry and had the river between us. After the battle we went home. I must right here say that the mothers of Texas get no thanks or praise for their deeds of bravery and privations. It was never too cold, too hot or too wet for my mother to get up and administer to the wants of a wounded sol- ¢ier and watch the wild Indians prowling around. There never lived a better mother than our mother. In 1845 I went to school at Seguin, Tex., to T. J. Pilgrim, who or- ganized the first Sunday school in Texas. I went seven months. In 1854 I married a Miss Joahana McCrabb of Houston. We had five children. She died in 1868. I mar- ried a Miss Connor. We had one boy. M wife died. I married a Miss Glaze. We had four children. All this time I was farming, except four years I sold goods in or near Weimar, Colorado county. I left Oyster creek in 161 and moved to Colorado county, where I am today. I omitted to state that while at Seguin I had several rounds with the Comanche Indians on their thieving expeditions. In 184 I was bitten by a rattlesnake, which, I think, has caused me to be lame off and on ever since. 1 now have*to walk on crutches. Have done so for thirty years. I am now, like all the old Texans, broke, and living on the interest of the money I owe.” AUCTION SALES OF REAL ESTATE, & Fast Aurust Washington Danenhower Irving Boswell, trustees. Tomorrow. 1407 G st. n.w.—Sale 3 «cm Saturday, August 8, at 10 o'clock a.m t 12 o'clock, horses, car- riages, bicycles, milling mach ke Auct., 940 La, ave. nw.—Re , August 8 at 10 o'clock a.w., of horses, vehicles, &e. and W Aucts., sale of household effects ons August 8, at 10 o'clock a.n he ad vehicles, Walter B. Williams & Co., Aucts., 10th and Ps. ©, mattings, ete., on Sat- August 8, clock th & K Auct Sale of horses, etc, on Sat oclck a.m, 1th st. now. sday, August S, at 10 AUCTION SALES. THIS AFTERNOON. CHAS. G. SLUAN & CO., AUCTIONEERS. ; OF VALUABLE IMPROVED NO. 721 EAST CAPITOL STREET. By virtue of a certain deed of trust to us, dated April 24, aad duly recorded April 2%, 1893, 1798, folio 268 et veq., of the land reccrds of the District of Colunit ia, and at the re- quest of the party secured thercby, we, the under- Signed trustees, “will well, at ¢ in | front of the. premises, on FRIDAY. the NTH DAY of AUGUST, A.D. 1896, at HALE-PAST FIVE, | O'CLOCK F.M., ‘the following described 1 »| premises, mituate in the city of Washingt triet of Columbia: Lot numbered thirty-seven @ 5 g's subdivision of lots In square | Bembered sight sundred and uinety-eight, (898), 98 rded_in Book No. 20 records of | District, tog of a three dwelling her with the improvements, consist in, story and back bullding 10-room cellar, furnace, bay window, brown-ste all modern improvements, Known as No. East Capitol treet. rms of sale: One-third of the purchase money to be paid in cash, and the balance in two equal j installments, payable in one and two years, with ieterest at six (6) per centum ie ann: payable ! semi-annualls, from day of sale, secured Uy deed of trust dpon the p erty sold, or all cash, at the ! option of the purchaser. “A deposit of $200’ will be of the purchaser at the time of sal Au recording at the cost of th Terms of sale to be complied with ten days from day of sale, otherwise the trustecs reserve the right to resell the groperty at the risk and cost of the defaulting purchase WASHINGTON 1D HOWER, W. IRVING BOSW 1411 Get. n.w., Jy28-d&ds Trustees. FUTURE DAYS. n seu, of the mbia,” will sell, bidder, In square . Rald part 7) feet on the h street northwest by depth of said Liver at folio 40 ct records of the District of ¢ putle auction, to the highest original lot rumbered twelve ( ed thre> hundred and six having a frontage east side of 1 lot, and edjoining the south forty-tws G2) feet front on sald street of said lot. Terms of sale: One-half of the purchase money ar, with Interest from at the option of the pur- cash, and balance in one day of sale, or all cash, MAHLON ASHFORD, CONSTANTIN H. WILLIAMSON, auT-cod&ds pa “Trustees. DUNCANSON BROS., AUCTIONEERS. ‘TRUSTEES’ SALE OF IMPROVED REAL ESTATE, TRO. oS EVENTH STREET SOUTHEAST. By virtue of a deed of trust duly recorded in Liber 2048, at folio 399 et seq., one of the land records of the District of Columbia, and at the Tequest of the party, secured thereby, We, the tinder- 7: ustees, Will sell, at public auction, In front of the p.emixes, on MONDAY, THE TENTH Y OF AUGUST, A! D. 1896, AT FIVE O'CLOCK , the following described and and premises, In <ity of Washington, District of Columbia, name- Lot 28 in Edward J. Hannan’s subdivision of rt of square 876, a8 per plat recorded in Liber follo 163, of the records of the office of the sur- r of said District, together with the improve- ments thereon, consisting of a two-story and base- ment’ brick dwelling, subject to a deed of trust on sald. property, “recorded among said land records, in Liber 1587, at folio 416, given to secure the payment of a promissory note for $1,500, and 1 yereon. Oierms of eales, All cash. A deposit of $100 will be required of the prcbaser at the time of sale, the balance of the purchase moacy to be pald with: in ten days thereafter. All conveyancing and te- cording at the cost of the purchaser. If terms of Sule are not complied with, the trustees reserve the right to resell the property, at the risk and cost yurebaser. cal sara ‘ORRIN B. HALLAM, JOHN E HERRELL, Jy20-d&eds ‘Trustees. SALE OF VALUABLE REAL ESTATE SITUATED ON THE METROPOLITAN BRANCH OF THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILROAD, ABOUT THIRTY-THRI (33) MILES: FROM WASH- INGTON, D. C., AND THREE-FOURTHS OF A MILE WEST FROM BARNESVILLE, MD. At the request in writing of the holder of a ma- Jority in value of the certificates tssued by the ‘American Security aud Trust Company in the syo- dicate known »s “M unt Zion,” under the terms and provisions of a certain declaration of trust_be- tween’ the said American Security and Trust Com- pany and William B. Matthews and others, the said American Security and Trust Company holding the iegal title to said property, bercinafter described, by virtue of the authority in it by a certain decla- ration in trust, dated NOVEMBER FIST, 1892, hersinbefore ceferred to, will offer for sal public auctfon ou the premises at the hour of TWELVE O'CLOCK M. on the FIFTEENTH DAY OF AU- GUST, 1896, ‘the said real estate,viz: Being all that certain plece or parcel of land’ situated in Mont- Romery county, state of Maryland, containing one hundred and seventy acres of land, it being the same property which was conveyed to Roger W. Duffey by Carles G. Griffith and Lena V. Griftith, Lis wife, and Wm. T. Griffith and Lizzie D. Grif- fith, bis wife, by their certain deed of record. in the’ land, records of Montgomery. county, state of Maryland, vearing date on the 2sth day of October, 1892, subject to a deed of trust from said er W. Duffey and wife to Edward C. Tucker and Charles A. Keigwin, trustees, to secure to said William T. Grifith the’ payment’ of the “sush of two thousand seven hundred and thirty-five dollars, evidenced by two promissory notes executed by sald Duffey on the Ist day of November, 1892, each for one-half of the above sum, the one note payable two yeare after date, the other three years after date, belt =x tract of land conveyed to the sald Ame a one of the land records of Montgome ¥ Terms of sale: One-half by ince in two ‘equal installmeuts,payable in six and twelve months after dny of sale, payments to be secured deed of trust upon the property sold. "ipermn of sale fo be ‘complied with within ten otherwise the property to be sold at tne ‘and coat of the defealting ser. A -de- posit of $200 will be required a time of sale. All conveyancing recording at purchaser's cost. AMERICAN SECURITY AND TRUST CO., dy81-2aw2w WM. A. McKENNEY, Trust Officer. At our auction stables, 205 11th st TOMORKOW, TEN AM., we will se Marry McHeury will well 20 Chas. McHenry will sell 10 b Other parties, 25 All to be sold to t thwesty 50 head, 1 of good cues, ond high Widder. Magrath & Kennelly, Auctioneers. MITH ST. AUCTION STABLES, . WILLIAMS & ©0., AUCTIONEERS REGULAR SATURDAY SALE Of Honsebeld Furniture, Carpets, Mattings and our sales room, Pennsylvania ave RNING, AUGUST TER B. WILLIAMS & ©9., Aucte REGULAR SALE OF and Carriages Horses AT THE BAZAAR, NO. 940 LA. AVE, Sai i) MORNIN T TEN O'CLOCK, W ALSO SONDATAND VEHICLI HAKNESS, ETc, 8. BENSINGER, Auctioneer. TTON & €O., AUCTIONEERS, essors to Ratcliffe, Darr & Cs SALE OF FURNIT PERENT KL EMPTORY.) It ~ Ra’ CARRIA HEARNE our sales room: MING, WN & OF AUCTS., 14 . Aucts, ST. Entire contents of nicely furnished house on 23d street N. W., removed to our auction reoms, 1407 G street N. W., for conven- ience of sale, on SATUR- DAY, AUGUST 8, 1896, at TEN O’CLOCK A. M. YU \ aU 3 CG. SLOAN & 00 Al SHADES,’ KIT USUALL ALSO, AT TWELVE M DWELLING OR MOUNT tain deed of trust, duly re- n Liber No. 3034, at et sed, of ds of the Distri ua, and cof the party the un will sell, ie auction, SD, listant eust correr of suid square, feet to the center of th vd on said feet; the «. thence north south 100 feet t One-third cash, est att mix urchaser will ’ trnst upon th cl y may be pul osit Of $250 will be required at If terms of sale are not complied with with days from date of sale, the trustees reserve U Mt to resell the property at the risk and cost of defaulting purchaser, after five days’ adver Usement of such resile In some newspaper pul Usbed in the of Washington, D.C. All con- ‘cost of the pur- ta Veyancing and recording at th chaser, A. A, WILSC PE, SUTTON & 00. AU uccessors to Rateliffe, Darr & ALE OF A FINE BRICK DW NO. 408 SINTH STREET ) By virtue of 2 certein deed of troxt, dated the 30th day of July, A.D. 1894, and duly ‘recorded in Liber No. 1933, folio 163 et’ seq., one of the land records of the’ District of Columbia, aud at the Tequest of the parties thereby. secured, we will offer for sale. in front of the premises, on SATUR- DAY, THE PIFTEESTH DAY OF AUGUST, A 1896, AT FIV LOCK PM, that plece of land, District of Colum “three (2) fe Wia, and being the eight (8) Inches front, and back by the same width full depth of original lot numbered twenty-six 26), in square four hundred and tifty-» sald part of said lot betug improved brick dwelling house alning th ash, within 10 days Fetasinder in two payments, the notes of th purchaser, at one ard twe years, from the day of sale, with inter Six per cent per annuin, pay: eecured by a deed of trust all the pure! y may be pe deposit of 00 will be required w is sold. All conveyancing at the puret If terms of sale are not complicd with within ten days from the day of sale, the trustees reserve the right to resell the property at the risk and cost of the defaultin; purchaser, after five dz adver- tisement in seme newspaper published in Washing- ton city, D. ©. c EUGENE MORG. SUTTON & CO. AUCHIONEERS. (Successors to Ratcliffe, Darr & Co.) SALE OF FRAME HOUSE ON BETWEEN 11TH AND 1 SOUTE-EAST. By virtue of a deel of trust, Liber No. 1877, folio 31 et seq records in the District ‘of Colum quest of the party secured thereby, public auction, tn front of the premise SDAY, THE TWELFTH DAY 0) . D. 1896, AT HALF-PAST FOUR 0° the fol certain plece or pare and being in the city of Wasbi District of Columbia, and distingnisied as and being lot num dered fourteen (14), In squar- numbered one thousand end one (1001), togethef with all Improvements, etc., thereon. Terms: One-third cash, balance in one and two years, with notes bearing interest from the day of Sale, ‘and secured by deed of trust on the property fold, or all cash. A deposit of $100 required et duly recorded in . one of the land ia, and at the re- e Will sell at wg described real estate, to wit: Al of land and’ premises situate on, ime of sale. All conv: ete., at purchaser's pul-d&ds ‘Trustee. DUNCANSON BROS., AUCTIONEERS. TRUSTEES’ SALE OF VALUABLE IMPROV REAL ESTATE, No. 622 ELEVENTH STR! NORTHEAST. By virtue of a certain deed of trust to us, dated May 6, 1892, and duly recorded May 11, 1892, in Liver No. 1683, at folio 302 et seq., of the iand recerds of the ‘District of Columbia, and at the lequest of the party secured thereby, we, the undersigned trustees, will sell, at public auction, in front, of the on TUESDAY, THE ELEVENTH DAY OF AUGUST, A.D., 186, AT HALF-PAST FIVE O'CLOCK P.M., the following descrived land and ises, situate Jn the el of Washington, inthe District of Columbia, designated as and being all of lot numbered tiirty- six (36), in Doris Grupe’s subdivision of lots in square numbered nine hundred aud sixty (960), as er plat recorded in, Liber, 0. 19, at follo 20, of the records of the said District, together wit the tmbrcromente, consisting of a" Uetetay ‘ame Dasement brick dwelling. with pressed brick trout and all modern improvements. Terms of sale: Oue-third of the purchase to be paid in cash, and the balance in installments, payable in one and two years, with interest at six (6) per centum per annum, payrble semi-annually, from day of wale, secured’ by deed of trust upon the property sold, or all cash, at the option of the purchaser. A deposit of $100 will be required of the purchaser at te time of sale. All conveyancing, recording and notarial fees at the parchaer’e cect. Terme =f male 0 Be com th within ten days from of wale, otherwise the trustees reserve the right to resell the property at the risk and cost of the defaulting MAHLON ASHFORD, ALDIS B. BROWNE, jyl4-d&ds ©. G. SLOAN & ©0., AUCTS., 1407 G ST. ‘TRUSTEES’ SALE OF FRAME DWELLING NUM- BERED 1627 MADISON STREET NOKIH- WEST, THIS CITY. By virtue of a certain deed of trust, duly record- ed Te Liber 1855, folio 291 et seq., land C., end at the request of the ‘part; the Undernamed, trustees, will sell, with improve merts thereon, at public auction, in front of t property, on TUESDAY, the EIGHTEENTH DAY of RUGUS®, 1806, at FIVE O'CLOCK P-M., lot num- dered seventy (70), in J. RB. Turton, trustee's, sub division sf square umbered one hundred and ‘cighty subdivision is duly recorded ip Liver ., follo 3, records surveyor's office, ‘Teruis of wale: Ove-third cash, balance one and two years, secured by notes of purchaser, bearing interest from day’ of sale, at six per sont per ane rom, parable half yearly; om, property sold, or en Saab "iO deposit at wales ‘Ten Gaya atl _* noi veyancing and oKpe et con = EDWIN C. CUTTER, JOUN B. LARNER, aué-dte