Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, September 26, 1891, Page 9

TWENTY-FIRS OPEN ING OF THE CAMPAIG Exhaustive Review of Hour in Nebraska. PAUL VANDERVOORT AS THE the Problems of the INDEPENDENT APOSTLE. How the Railroads Have Tied a Stout String to Candidate Edgerton. FACTS ABOUT OUR LAT Some of the Measure Was Passed—Fallacy Affects it About the Wherein Corvmnus, Neb., Oct. 10.—[Special to Tue t.]—Tho first republican rally of this year's campaizn was heid this afternoon in this city, the home of Judeo Post. The ng was held in the opora house, which appropriately decorated forthe oc- casion. There was an attentive audionce, composed of representative residents of Platte county, among them being sevoral members of the farmers ailiance, Mr. Edward Ros er, Colonel C. R. Scott, ex-Cougressma sunell of Owmaba, Judg Post, ex-Senator .. *llister and others, Tho meoting was cuiied to order by M. MeAllistor, who introduced Mr. Rosewater a3 tho speakerof the occasion Mr. Chwirman, Ladies and ( For many years there has been deep-seated and widespreud discontent among the peolo of Nebraska. As far back @8 1574 tho popu- Jar dissatisfaction manifested ilself in an spen rovolt in tho ranks of tue repuvlican party against the interfercnc ofticers in coalition with railway and railway managers with our state and congressional conventions. This feeling wus Intensified from year to year by the 1ssue of railrond passes to public ofiicials and poli- ticians, the discrimination in favor of cortain shippers and tho excessive freight vates aud high passenger tolls. A largo number of the farmers - republicans and democrats-—exas- peratod by the domination of monopolies, orgunized tho Neb favmers alliance in 1881, With this moyement I myself, in_com- mon_with thousands of other republicans, was in full accora. 1 felt then and 1 have folt ever since that the peoplo of this state should have the right to govern themselves sntlemen : ammelled by interference from any cor- | that our public servants should ' regard an ofice s publio trust; that our legislaturo should not bo manipulated by corruot 1ob- bies, that jobbery shoutd be bamshed from logistative halis, and that the railroad panies of this state should be made to charge reasonable rates to their patrons. Lhis view I still hold today. ‘ormed a Third Party. At the time when the alliance was organ- 1zed, and ever since that time, I have always Insisted that the policy of the alliance should be to oxert its influence within the parties alroady established, and endeavor to right the grievances of the producers by taking ac- tive part in the primary elections and con- ventions, aud wrencn the machinery of the parties ' from the hauds of corporau Phere were, however, from the cutset in farmers ailiance quite a number of the greenbackors, men who botieved that overnment could grind out money by billion and distribute it to all the people make them rich, and of played out politic whom the old parties had discarde other words, men who had 1o party to réturn to, and political adventurers who wanted to organize an eutircly new party. ‘This class of politicians obtained tho uppor haud in 1582 and issued o call for a state couvention of anti-wonopolists. Be- licving that a wholesomo lesson might be taught, and that some reforms might bo ac- complished in au off year, I culistod with them and we succoeded in' electing Sturde- vant state 4reasurer and cawo very nearly elceting two members of congress. 1sut Mr, Kturdovant was no sooner in the stato house than he ontered the old ring aud reform re- ceived a bluck ey Alliance people ceased to manifest Interest in tho third party movement and pradually worked their way back again into the old partios and becamo & strong and important tactor in checking the inroads of the corpora- \on managers. But their ambitious leaders and cortain demagogues and impostors who aad worked their way into the coufidence of :he farmers persistently kept up tho clamor for a new party. The failuro of crops and o general depression in_pusiness naturally sreated discontent not only in all parts of our state but in Kausas, Dakota and Minnesota. The alliauce was revived aad rocrnited from the ranks of the discontented in the north- wostern states, You all remomber, how- ever, that up to within thirty days of the timo when the call was 1ssued” for tho peo- ple’s conventlon last year, tho loaders aud the organs of the ul'ance assured every body that they bad no intention of forming a third party, biit that thoy provosed simply to hold A clib over existing parties, and if they failed to place in nomination men who wers [n accord and in sympathy with the produc- ing ciasses, then, and then only, would they endeavor to right their wrongs in the politl cal arena as an independent political party. But whilo they were giviug out thoso usst ances and boodwinking thoir fullowers, thoy were secretly preparing n scheme for forcing aliiance men out of the old parties and foist- ing upon them candidates that would do the bidding of a junta more nnseupulous and sol- fish than any that bad manipu lated the machinery of the old parties, While denouncing the machine and bossism they were organizing a despotic dictatorship, such as no party in this state bad ever sub- mitted to. Thay juggled the apoortionment of dolegates to the people’s state convention 10 counties with scarcely auy population wero giveu the largest reprosentation und sther counties untriendiy to the dictator were Almost disfrancbised. Under Burrows' Dictators It is a notorlous fact that Powers, who is an honest but very weak man, u mere autom- aton in tae hands of Dictator Burrows, was foisted on tho iudepondents as candidate for governor over Geuneral Van Wyck, and such A nounentity as Joseph Edgerton, who could a0t be elected justice of the peacs in Strows ourg, Polk county, whore he formerly lived, or la South Omaba, where he now lives, was aominated for the ofice of attorney general u place of Genaral William Ioese This sawe bossism was carried on throv he outire campaign of 1M, Iu many p alilance wen were dragooned into voting the unscratehed independent tickets by threats, They had to show their tickets to preciuet dictators bofore they Vot 1 appeal to you, fellow whother that is any improvement the methods pursucd by the old parties Agalnst which the people have revolted. In depoudont voung meaus individual freedo upon to exercise your judgment i the selection of | and 10 voto as your conscience A people’s party couvention is not Infallible. It a candidale is compotent all houest wiembers of bis party are in houor bound to suppoit bum. I he'is known to be dishouest or is known to be incompeteut it vecomes the duty of the iudependent, just as wuch as it would the duty of any ot itizen, to refuse to give him his vote sud support a candidate whom he kuows to honost and capable. Now, | bave said all this prelimir causo It has been churged that 1, in o with wany anti-monopoly republicans, have gone back upon what we have formerly ad vocated and aro now in league with the cor porations to rivet ,down the chaius of slavery upon the produeers. As a malter of mct, | Fealizo that thero are many grievances tc gt sudlrecoguize the uocessity of the people candidat ulotates. 0 rily bo- mmon i ‘ORM | | party the by federal | employes | a com- | | pled | sehool book monopoly. LEGISLATURE. Promises it Failed to Keep and Why No Railroad of Free Coinage and the Farmer-=- Cendidate. regulating transportation rates: but 1 simply aiffer with other anti-monopolists as to the most effective way to securo redress. When the mdependents becama a poiitical assiimned Ui responsiuility for the couduct aud actions of theie men, 1f the ro- publican party of this stato is to be held re- sponsible for the acts of its officers during the past twenty odd years, certainly the in- dependents must be Neld responsible” for the acts of their officers and legislators, If they have accomplished auy good for the people hey ave entitled to the propor credit. 17 have failed to redeem tho pledecs they du, ticy have forfeited popular con- at have they done to earn the people’s gratitude! You all remember that every andidato ou the independent ticket was d to cortain vital reforms, Candidates for the lecislature were pledged to cut down stato expenses, to reduco taxation, to do away with supernumaries in the state of fices, 1o clean out tiie state house and give us moré cconomic government. Thoy were pledged o pass stringent usury laws, laws to prevent trusts and combinations among man- | utacturors und elevator men, laws to abolish ailrond passes and laws to do away with the tow bave they kept these pledges? One plank iu their platform adopted at tho Hastings conveution reads as follow. Resolved, That we heartily commend the fndepe members of the legisiature for bavii 2d overy pledge made by the peopls to enact thelr platforin into luw. That Leform tegislnture. The most extravagant legislature that this stuto had ever bad was that of 1884, two years previous. During last year's campaign the independont leaders and cheir papers denounced that body in the most scathing manner. Now the’ independents organized both houses of the last legislature, clected their speakor and their president of tho seuato. ‘Thoy organized all the committeos both houses and were i absolato control of the machinery of government so far as appropriations were coucerned, What do wo find? e total appropriatious in 1859 wero 3,450,405.55, The total appropriations in 1501 by the reform legislature were §2,8%(,- 5i5.63. That 15 in round numbers more than hall'a million in excess of tho most reckless and oxtravagant appropriations ever mado in this state. Deduct, if you please, the $200,- 000 voted for the reliof "of the drouth suf- ferers, und deduct the £0,000 veted for the World’s fair, and_we still have $256,248. move appropriated in 1891 by the refor thau was appropriatea two vears previous by a logislaturo that has been denounced as the most recklessly extrava- gant bouy of law makers Nebraska evor had, In 1500 the gencral fund tax in Nebraska was 45050 mills, In 1801 the general fund tax was 5 mills. This is economy and refcrm with a vengeance! Let us look further at the record of tho roform legislature und what do wo find? Mr. Llder, tho reform speaker of the house, elected vy the independents, drew vay for sixty days’ service as a membey, the full 300 to which any member is entitled. He was also paid £27 for mileage, although he rode back aad forth to his home ou & pass. On the top of wil this Mr. Elder drew pay for soventy-uwo days’ sorvice as speaker at_the rate of & por day, $216, makivg in all &8, of the house, Mr. Eric Johnson, who was imported into this state at the in- stauce of railroad politicians years ago to help them defeat the allianco candidate for congress in the Second district, made o record of reform in the house by drawing pay for 150 days during a session in which tho members could draw sixty days. At $4 per day h ved &00; but this was only a for Mr. Jobnsou ulso had him- self credited with $1,500 for compiling the journal of the house, & job that he could yery readily have done in ninety days. That after drawing 00 for two months' session, he pocketed &0 a month for copying tho house journals. - What do our tax-ridden farmers think about that¢ ‘I'he assistant clerk of the house in the re- form logislature aiso put iu a clain and drew pay for 150 days at & per day, which goes to show that new broowms do not always sweep clean. M. Pirtle, the secretary of the sen ate, aftor drawing pay for 13) days' service in the session of sixty days, drew $1,600 for compiting the journais of the sonate. Mr. Walter Secly, who is not. considered a very scrupulous man about drawing saluries, ouly received §00 for the same work iu 1850, Lam creditaoly informed that only two members of the lust senato paid their fare in goiug 1o and coming from the legislature Over half of the mewbers of the house did not disdain to accept pasteboard bribes by which the railroad dromedary first gets his nose, aftorwards bis Lump, and then his whole body in when_ho des to manipu ate a legislature. The records show that tho members of the senato drew 7.5 mi aud mewbers of the houso & Mr. Steveas of Furnas drew §37.50, which at Jeents a mile represents 1,200 miles of travel. Mr. Stevens was tho most loud mouthed dosuuciator of republican extrava. RALLCO. Tho independent reform legislature, like all the other predecessors, divided itself iuto commitiecs for junketing tours. One of these juukets was au excursion to Galveston, Tex., for which the stateof Nebraska paid #4050, wnd all the state had to show for that pleasuro trip to Galveston was two barrels of oysters, dished up at independent head- quarters at the Lindell botel, In order that the republican and dewocratic members of tho lovislature should not even get a smel! of the ovsters. [Appiuuso and cries of ‘good.” | In all candor and earnestuess I would like to | know how any man or set of men can justify tha legislature in taking 50 out of the state treasury in such bard times, when tho west- er half of the state was stricken with drouth aud the peoplo of that section were 1w uead of fuel and clothing, the | could | citizens, | er good | 0o | | Another little extravazanza, perbaps not 50 tlagrant a3 the investment in_ Texas | ovsters, was an appropriation of 0 for lunchies served to the uniformed state militia during the time the boys were guardiug the governor's office. 1 dare say the state would have been in great peril if they had left th “ stato houso long enough to have got their weals at their regular boarding houses, Awoog the incidentals which the reform legislature piled upon the tuxpayers was the coutest expouses which amounted to §10,%0. This expouse was saddled on the state | without " the remotest excuse, and I waintain bere, and I know whereof 1 spoak, that the whole scheme was concoctea as & plece of revenge by the probibition caw paign managers, who kuew they had been defeated by over 50,000 majority in the state | of Nebr t wanted to Lrump up an ex ates whero the same issue is | pendiug by chargiug that there had been | gross frauds and rioting in Omaha, South Omaba aud other towns b the state. Every ual mau wust admit that Lhere was o excuse whatever for contestl | of our state ofticers from the governor down 10 land commissioner, lu the face of the re- turus, which show that they nad been elected by pluralities rangiug from 1,%0 to over 8,000, & the eieotions | lu 1554 the republican party turned I\ over the government of the United States to democrats, after twenty-four years of rulo, on a majority of 1,200 in the city of New York, where Tammany has supreme control Ours 'is a government of the people. Majori- ties must rule <o long as the princivles that underlie our form of government provuil. Tho republican party stepped down from power, and with it an army of more than 100,000 fedoral oficials, Hero in tho stato was torn up for months by less coutest, and nearly $11,000 of the people’ money spent on lawyers, notaries and stenog- raphers. For the contest made by (lovernor “Thayer there may bave been an cxcuse, At any rate the expenso itcurred to the state was trivial, There was no foundation for the contest made by the independent candi- dates for state offices and certainly no grounds for the claim of Mr. Edgerton” who was defeated by more than 3,000 plurality and ran away behind his ticket and yet Edgerton camo to Lincoln to besiege the gislature under pretense that ne had beer electod attorney general. Now that legisl: ture had a duty to porform when it met. man in~ Nebraska cxpected that x duys at least after the session had commenced an _appropriation would haye been made for the relief of the sufferers in the wes part of the state, Rehable reports published of the intense suffering, want and destitution provailing ou our frontier countics, corth and south, and if at uny timo during’ January or in the early part of February a blizzard had oc 4, hnndreds of people would have boen frozen' to death and any number of them would iave starved Lad the railroads been biockaded by snow. Yet what did the legls- lature do! ~ They wers wrangling and jaugling over the bones their leadors wanted to pick. They were in session more than five weeks beforo they would touch tho relief bill, which did not pass until the 5th of February. They did not care anything about the sufforers o0 long as a lot of greedy offico hunters and shyster law vers who wanted to got their hands info tho state troasury wero pressing their bogus ciaims. They brought 1n bills for somothing like #10,000 or £50,000, and if it had not been for Governol Boyd they would havo been successful in robbing the taxpayers of £0,000 or 0,000 moro than they did whou they made the appropriation of $10,900. [Applause. | Lost a Golden Opportunity, Twenty yoars ago when tho republican party had " barely taken possession of the state house at Lincoln, slature, three- fourths republican, discovered that there had been corruntion in’ the management of stato lands und funds. They cleaned the stato house by thoroughly iuvestigating every ofiicer. They impeached the governor and removed the auditor. Last winter a_golden opportunity presented ifself to the independ- ents. Their, leaders charged taat thousands of dollars had been fraudulently taken out of the state treasury, that there were deficien- cies and defulcations in various state fusti- tutions, The reform legislature had the best opportunity on carth, and it was its duty to havo investigated all'the state ofticcs and put all 1ts timo in to tnoroughly fumixate tho state house if there was anything unclean in it. Whatdid it do? It did not touch any of these things. They contented themselves by standing guard over each other—the first time that any party bad to station men at the capital to watch its own membel and to put upon the pay roll of this stato a dozen deputy sergeants employed chiefly in - spyicg upon members of the legislature to sce that they should not sell out their constituent But instead of cleaning the state house the reform legislature voted away the people’s upernumeraries and for supplies iences that are not needed, Thoy voted thousands and thousands of dollars for supplies aud improvements in state institu- tious that aro au absolute waste of mone: They voted for an iron fence around tho Stato university §14,400; for a sidewall around the university, £,300. They voted £57,000 for the foundation and beginung of university library buildiug, which before it is finished may cost four times as mueh, at o time when the peoplo of this state are groan- ing uader the burden of taxation and when the improvements are not needed. They voted $20,000 for fuel and lights at_ the Asy lum for the Insane at Lincoln, #.000 more than for the same institution at Norfolk or Hastings, and cortainly $10,000 moro than it an bonest expenditure of the monoy if prop- erly enforced would warrant. The Deafl aud Dumb institute st Omaha gets along with £5,000, and cortainly if $,000 ure enough for them $20,000 15 too much for the institu- tion at Liucoln. They voted the State Board of Trausportation $1,000 for traveling expenses, when everybody knows that the board can travel wherover it pleasos without a dollar of expense outsido of slecping bertha and hotel bills, which ought not to cost over $100 per year, How They Kept Thew Pledges. And what had the legislature done to redeem the pledges of the peoplo? The state senato did pussa usury bill introduced by Mr. Shumway, now candidato for rezent on tho ropublican state ticket. [t was very woderato, to bo sure, but a great improve ment on the present law, but the independ- ents voted it down just bocause it had como from republicans, and they failed to pass any other. They had promisea to pass a law making the acceptance of railroad passes by public officers a brive. I'hey failed to_rodcem ti plodge because they were carrying pusses 1 their pockets, and asking for more raivond favors, They promised to regulate insuranco compauics, and give the peoplo cheaper school books. Have thoy reacemed their pledges! Who 1s responsibio for the aefeat of tho good bills thut were introduced in tho last legislature! Thoy wero chocked off by the lobby. Thero was the lobby of the rail- roads, the lobby of tno telephono and tele- grap monopoliés, the insurance lobby, tha book trust, and every trust and evory corporation’ interestod in defeating legisiation. These lobuies had formed a Y, ‘and that pool had several tied to the speaker of the house. Towards tbe last of the session, when the speaker was called upon to appoint u sifting committee which was to decido which of the bills were to be shelved and which wore to be submitted to the house and considered, the speaker appointed a committee mado up privcipally ol members that had been worked by the lobby. This siftingcommittee pizeon boled the "bills which the people de- desired passed. So the corporators and job. bers hanalea tho r isiature just as they had mauipulated that of 1559, Auother plank of this year's platform of the independents reads as follows Resolved, That we denounce thé present system of ‘contract labor intatned and fostered by the republicun DUrLy i this state. That wo bolleve thut the coutraer was fraud- ulently obtained and that contract conditions have not beon complied with that 1t perpetuation at eneh session of 1o legis ntur I3 asource of coustant corruption, and that it supports a gang of boodlers who In auy way ut tho lust session of the legislatre sought to roverse the will of the peonle Now, who had the majority in the last logisluture! Why did not the members who aro commended for their fidelity to tho people abrogate the penitentiary contract oun the ground that it was procured by bribery and fraud! Itis a matter of record that the con. tract with William H, B. Stout for the lease of tho penitentlary provided that the con- tractor should build 240 cells by the end of 1883 at his own oxpense. That contract was extended in IS7, with all the obligations, and transforred to the present contractor’ What did this legislature do! In the fnce of this contract thoy passed an appropriation of #0,000 for a new cell houss, and_ yet the in dependent couvention commends " this legis lature to the taxpayers of the state. On the morniug when the approvriation for that $10,000 cell house was pending I weut to the Lindell hotel and callea the attention of the independent members of the peniteatiary committes to the fact that this countract ob. ligated the contractor to bulld that cell house and that the state sh d not make this appropriation, but they paid no attention to wy remonstrance and” voted away #40,000 to help out the contractor, Can.any houest farmer or workingman endorse this conduct? About Railroad Legislatio But, say the independents, the legislature at the last session did pass one railroad bill T'hey have endeavored to give us relief, bu tho governor vetosd the bill nad the repab loaus id democrats refused to unite with the iudependents to pass this bili over the veto. Now I bhave for years advocated and do now advocate regulation of railways by legslation. I have opposed the ssion ers aud trausportation bog 10 faith lu & transportation boara or & co wission doing its duty, sud I believe W { there shovld be upon | veople of this state 10 statuto books some laws establishing maximum freight rates just as we now have a kuw fixing the rate for passengers; but I belicvo that thess laws should bo so framed as to be practicablo and reasonable. I do not oelieve the rational waat a law upon the statute books that would be a dead lotter, or alaw that would have o be sot aside by the supreme court What was this bill that the legisiature passed at the last sessiend It was framed, as thoy say, in exact sccordance with the rates that'now prevail, or rather that then provailed In tho : state of Towa. This gives out the impression that the stato of JTow bas veslly got a maxi mum rate la Thereis'no such thin on the lowa statute books. - Towa simply has a railrond commission, and that " com mission has from time ¥ time roguiated the ates of freight in Iowa nd adjusted them to suit the circumstances and conditions of the different roads. They have classificd the railroads of Towa according to the amount of tonnago and business dane on them and ac- cording to the cost of @ road. If such a law had been enactéd in - Nebraska, with due regard as to the trgflie of the differant roads, and the actusl investment in tho voads, it would have besn just and reason- able ana would have stcod “the test of the But this legislature simply went to as a matter of buncombe humbug the people of our stato and make tiem believe that they sincerely had carried out their pledges and passod aJaw that they knew would be pronounced unreasonable by the courts be- inflexible rates on all the rail- roads, branches and ain lines, short roads long roads, for !l commodities accord- to the lowest rates that are charged upon the Jougest and best paying roads in Iowa. On the very face of the bill there wero provisions which made it void and would ve compelled the supreme court to set it aside, Tney vrovidesd that if the court found that the rates fixed by the bill wero 100 low, that is unreasonuble, then the courts should 'fix the rate, T'nat'would make the court a State Board of Transportation, No court has ever done that. If you bring a complawtand charge & railroad company with charging exorbitant rates, the court might leave it 10 a jury y how much the overcharge was, but the court would not un- dortake to say liow muca per car load, ton or hundred pounds the railroad company is en- titled to and how much t should charge. So then what was the object of this bill! It was simply a scheme o delue the' people of this state and muke them beliove that the inde pendents in the legisla,ure had dono all in their power to give then renef, and that tho respousibility for failure rested upon a re- publican supreme court, or upon a democratic governor. This bill in i:self was unconsticu tional and void by reasoi of having failed to take into account the fact that the state of Towa has nearly dcable the population, and more than double ine tonnago of Ne- braka, that the trunk line roads in lowa haul not only the products of Towa but also the products of Nevraska that aro exported and the bulk of all merchandise for Nebraska, and consequently they huve a botter carning capacity aud are thero'ore in bettes condi- tion to give lower rates than ours. What is the history of railroad legislation introduced by Senator Stevens lust winter That bill was carefully drawn by un expert who has given this mat‘er caveful attention, and that bill was so drawn as to simply g1ve the people of Nebraska Jowarates with about from 10 to 12 per cent added, that s to say it recognized tho differenco between railroad trafiic in Towa and Nevrasia and made the rates so reasouable that the courts could not decently have set it ide. Now, I realize that tho railroad managers and their lobby would have been just as much opposed to tho Stevens bill as they were to the Newberry oill. They are opposed .0 all maximum rato legislation; but nearly 1l republicans, and 1 believe quite a number ¥f democrats 'in the legislature, would hay il fav that bRL had it only' been giverd #uauce for passage. Such o bill would La¢ Leen signed by overnor Boyd if it b passed und if ho had votoed it more than three-fourths of the members would have voled to pass it, over Lis veto. T called on Serator Stovens séveral times and urged him to push bis bill but for some veason he dilly dalied and never torced it to the front. After tio Newberry bill had been dofeated the indesendents still had an opportunity to pnss this bill, and test the = sincerity of the republicans and democrats in the legislaturo who wero pledged to 1ts support b passing 1t and thus gaving the producers the bonefit of from 10 to 25 per cent reducion on the present charges. But uo, they si.d outright that they did not prapose to puss ¢nother bill, they did not propose to do any aing but put tho re sponsioility upon a dem eratic governor and thoe republican members that did not vote to pass 1t over his veto anc to go into the next campaign and make potrieal capital out of it. What do the indepon leuta want thent Is it relief for the peogio, is it a reduction of rates, is it usury laws, or is it simply that thoy want griovances 10 zo with bafore the people! 1 know some o: their leaders, and realize thatit really is t e that quito a nom ber of tuem ' hate uo desire for any anti-monopoly legislation, that they simply wanted the lunslature to enablo them to g0 before the yaople and claim tha they had no chance §i st as they are doing now with the usury bill ‘I'ney bad a splon- did chance to pass the Shumway usury bill, and I personally appoaed to thom several times to pass it. Ihey said they would pass their own bills ot pass rabody else’s bill Why 1sit, ther, tha: the people of Ne- braska today have no wiximum rate law? Is it because the democry ic governor refused to sign a bill which he was advised by the attorney general ana b other legal authori- ties was unconstitutionil, and whioh be him- self could sen would be set aside because 1t wiis not on its face rasonable, and could nevor bo applied o the railroads under the present condition, or is it becauso republicans vefused to yote that bill over tho veto and_domocrats refised to vote that bill over the veto when thy see the bill was in jurious and unfair, or {iu't it & fact thav it is because the independey « loaders in that leg- islature rofused poiut Mauk to enact a maxi- mum freight reasonaba. billt Such a bl could have commanded-votes enough to go over auy veto, ana w(.d huve passed the legislature, llulvp('lllll-nlfl nance. Let us now candidly disc tions upon which the perty its stato tioket. this tall 'The first plank of their platform reads us “ollows We demand the wooll,jon of patlonal banks and banks of issue, and 4 8 substitute for nu- tional bunk u e that legal wnder treAsurY nap Sact tho Dusiness SIS WIEhOUE damawe s spo any class or calling, suc) to | 1 tender in payment of all debts peTiie and private. Such notes when demanded iy the people shali bo loaned to them at cost ¢ ssuo upon adequite security in amounts o e h individual not ex- Suoeding 2,500 Hore is & provositics that every rational man should consider ea gfully. They demand that thogovernment shal abolish the national tanks and substitute the national bauk otes & currency that “will be legal tondoer for =~ all uebts, aud they domand that we sball add to it ya_uuhmited amount of greenbacks suliclent ko carry on the busi uess of the country and then that we should add to it any amouat tiwt might be required or the rolief of peaple y+ho want to borrow wmoney without interost ‘or the were cost of printing the notes, nok exceeding §2,50 for each loan. Let any of-dhese financiors tell meo Low much currenay s required to transact a given amount of bysiness. How m actual mouey does & aagler in farm machix need 1o CArTY on the sal of reapers, thresh ing machines and plowd® How much actual oash must & dealor in graceries and provisions and hardware have wh rogate say $100,000 a v yor to carry on his business | Do these menpants need the actual cash i their money devers or banks 10 be able to carry on busiogysl Does not credit, which is ouly another wame for coufideace take the place of capitaiin tine-teaths of wll our commervial transactons! These people propose, as say, # @ivo us as much money as is needed 1o ymry ob tho business of the country. \WhewAs there any proof at this day that thers is » cuough money o Luy o sell wil the precicts of our farms, mills and factories! " 1% u bavegot any hay out here in the Platte yollay, or any corn or ETain or cattle, or other products of the farm Ar% ¥Ou 1Ot able to get soney for them! Is ceurts, work o ds because I buve | there any evidence anywhore that thero s not mouey enough to Move me crops of any s | you's, Ts not it a fact that it i that is calk- ing? The bauks of the United States have as much money now in them as they ever had before. There has been some goid exported from this country, but the aggregate circula- tion tod: in the United States is larger than it has beon for any year since the war. Now, oredit is then, 13 not 1t trué that it is the lack of con- | fidenice and the shortage of crops aud the overproduction of manufactured articles and the lack of employment for labor that causes the depression from which we have been suffering] I8 it not a fact that mone plentiful, provided you have something marketabls to sell of providing you have securities that will assure the leader that he will get his pay when your noto matures This is really the cause. [ have myself realized that the government might with propriety issue notes dircetly to the people in place of ‘the uotes which huve been issucd by the national banks, but how is this money to get into circulation vho zan say how much the governm ssuot As a mat terof fact,the national banks bave withdrawn a very large amount of their circulating notes within the past fow years. It has always been charged that the al bankers wore able to make double fnterest upon the money wiiich they have invested, first upon tho bonds which are the security for the notes that they 1ssue, and then Upon the notos themselves when loaned out. This 1s in par Ty of course, fallacious, because it thoy hnd ugh money to buy ' the bonds they had inally as much money as they get and 10 per cent more, even if the bonds were only purchased at par, but the bonds very often tave been purchased at a very much higher rate than par. The mere fact” that tho na- tional bauks ave giving up_their circulation and I prosume that nino-tenths of them would be willing to give up all their cireu- lation if they could retain the other privileges that the government has vested in a national bank. That would seem to indi- cate that they were not satisfied with the profits they make out of the notes. . The very fact that they are giving up their cur rency would seem to 1ndicate one of two things, either that it was not profitable to keep houds on filein the national treasury, and that they could do better by selling those bonds and taking their money directly and loaning it or else that there was such a large amount of money hoarded now in the banks which they do not dare to loan_out, hecause of the lack of confidence and tne lack of securities that they find it unprofit- able to keep those notes out and pay 1 per cent of tax upon them to tho national govern- ment. So then we have the two contradictions, Upon the one side it is charged that the national bauks make enormous amounts out of the notes they issue. On the otner sido 1t1s shown they are trying to contract the currency by surrendering the notes. And wo are brouwht to the question of whether or not this is really a conspiracy against the nmoney borrowers and the debtor class or whether it is simply because 1n the ordinary course of business they find it more profi- table not to have to pay the 1 per cent tax and because they can sell their bonds which now form tho lasis of their notes to a good advantage, aud loan the proceeds of the bonds. Tivery— body who has piven any attention to the question of monov will realize that the banks mage most money when mouey is plentiful, thats, when tumes aro prosperous and peo- pio hove an abundance of products to sell, and when property of every description brings a good price, speculation is most activo and investors and stock gamblers ave willing to pay high interest, becauso they can turn the monoy rapidly. ' In prospousy times deposits are coming in from everdicr rection from peoplo who have got products to sell, and banks can loau out other people's money to great aavantage and turn it around 8iX or eight or ten times in a year, but when y is scarce, when the people have noth- ing 10 sell, when the people have no products to turn into cash, and when the tanks find lioho- devosits from Jie merchants, because they have not been able to dispose of their when the doposits run low monoy s - scarc, then the banks mako the loast money, becauso they dare not trust their money that is hetd in reserve for fear that there would bo a run upon their banks. They must have a reserve to strongthen themsolves and dare not loan out money indiscriminately to everybody, even upon good socurity, for foar thero might be a demand made by tho depositors which must be met promptly at their count- ers,That is the roal truth.” The talk about bankers conspiring to make money scurce is thereforo the sheerest nonsense. Considering the Loan roposition, Letus examine the consequonces of the proposition to loan people money upon land, under §2,500. In 1871 the state of Nebrasica had a lot'of monay in her school fund and tho @ovornor and state officers who constituted the Board of Public Lands were authorized toloan the money out upon landed security. Ana what was the result! We had to impeach the governorand remove the auditor because they had loaned out the monay upon property that was not worth half the amount. of the loan. They had taken wild lands and town lots at appraisements away above their valuo and the state had to carry on law suits for years to recover its money. W hat would be tho consequence if you attemptod to carry out this land loan Schemo on & largo scale! Supposo this government with the power to print billions of bank notes and with probably two or three millions of farmers and two v three millions of lot_owners in tho towns, oach wanting to borrow 2,500, should authorize indiscriminate loaning of this paper money, which simply means a zovernment *I owe you." What would be the rosult! Why, thousunds upon thousauds of worthleas pioces of land would be trausferred to the government urder mortgage amounting to twvice as much as the land was worth, and a short time the government would own all this land and tne people would haye a worth- loss currency, just as thoy had down in the Argentive Republic. ~ There tho same oxperiment was tried only a few years ago, and the outcome has been the bankruptey of the entire people of Argontine. Buthow could a man who has now got his farm under a morteagn got this money from the government! Suppose thit the government_actually could lond him 2,000 or $2,500, how is be golag o pay his mortgage and clenr up his property so as to enable the government 1o lowu him the money! Tho goverament would simply say, ‘iyou Rive me a clean title 10 tho property and I will advance you a certain amount upon iL;" but the goverument could not pav off s mortgage, and so he would be in a hole the samo as now. The whole schews is wild and visionary and is simp! caleulated to impose upon credulous people who believe Uncle Sam can make us all rich by issuing an unlimited amount of paper money. What Money Really Is. Lot us discuss this question of money Under the coustitution congress has the power to coin money and declare the value thereof, Mark you, to com monoy; that is to say to take pieces of metal that have an intrinsio value and by a stamp declare upon their face the quantity, quality and exchange value of that motal. 'Tho government of the Uuited States has exarcised that power and colned these pieces of silver and gold to represent as nearly as possible their actu value independent of the stamp. The objeot of all is 10 wake each coin roprosent the exchange valuo of the metal whateve it woula bring in the worlds’ , even if thero was 1o stamp upon it ason_of tho overproduction of one d the underproduction of the other or causes di wonecles have existe from time to time, 50 that tho oue metal may 1ot be worth as much as its face value, but in any event the mouey colned by the' gov prument represouts absclute wealth, dug out of the oarth, that could be convert ed into o¢ exchanged for other articles of value 1to other wealt In other words the woney, whether it be coon skis, tou K silver or copper, Is the product of {s actual wealth. Paper money 1s debt the one side gold and silver represent v absoluto and iutrinsic. on the other paper woney of every description, 1o watler by whom issued and when Issied, ropro suts SiIPLY & promise to pay, an I owe you" from the U redeomablo at sowe time or Te but always a dobt vernment cann colnage abor On govern iable at no time, aw, but it can The & f debt, vernment of the U od al uever the ¥ were Lo issue an uulimi which were rode 1iou Of the country, uor 4, south, east or west! | which were redecaable al a rewole period, ) | for it at the face valuoi | done ana never will be done. and for whoso re been wade, does it stand to reason that those who kave coin money that has an intrins value would be willing to accept paper money It never has boen Tho vory fact that during the war the peovle of tho United States weore compeiled to issue a very iarge amount of these “Towo you's,” which the government was in no _ coudition to redeom. ~and which the people | ¢ in this and all other countries | [ realized could uot be rodeemed for an definite period, because the depreciation of our greenbucks down to something like 55 | cents on the dollar, and the same thing would | ¢ happen if the goverument should venture to | | 1ssuo an frredeemable and unlimited amount | of paper currency. Intelligent people every- | | where understand fully that the scheme of | v sub-treasuries aud money loans upon land and | the schemo of lssuing unlimited quantities | ¢ of paper is not such a one us would conduce | to the welfaro of the producers or any othor | ; class of our people, As w striking illustra- | ¢ tion let mwo = compare the finarcial | y condition of this _ country that of tho leadiug Furopean nations, I'rauce, Germany, Russia and Great | Britain, France, with a population of 5~ | o 215,003, has a national debt of &, 107,643,450, | fng tho and sho levies annually a tax of & the German empire has & populatio 57 a national debt of only &34 t 3 o tax annually of §i04, i Britain has a population of { t levies a tax annually of $434,912,019, » o national debt of &3,300,0° Russia has a population ' of 034,600, & national debt of and a revenue ora tax of $528,011,040 t United States have a populatiou of 62,000,000, | ¢ and our annual tax is $163,053,031, or rather | { tho revenue in this country, and we have a n national debt or did have on tho 1st of Janu- | g ary of the present voar of 1,02 It This has sincs been reduced by’ sometkiug | t like £100,000,000 & Vat does this oxhibit show? Tt shows | ¢ that France, the country about which | ¢ we hear so much from men who talk fiat fin- b ance and unlimited comnage has tho largest | { debt of any county! dobt twico as largo as thatof Great Britain and more than eight timos as larga as that of the United Statos; shoe has a national debt of 8150.75 for every man, woman aud child, and lovies taxes of $I7.80 for every man, | woman and child to meot thoir [y interest and running expeuses. Tho | y German empire has only got a debt amountineg to $6.50 to each man, woman and child, and her running expensos are .77 agaist the French of §160.75. iroat Britain | s has a national debt amounting to $57.03 per capita, and lovies a tax of $11,26, Russia bas a national debt anounting to 52,18 per capita and lovies a tax of $4.08. The United States has a natioual devt which amounts to about 14 per capita and levies a tax of $7.4L. So that against F'rance, which has been boasted about so much, the Unite lovies a tax upon her population of $7.41 against $17.80, nearly three times that of our country, How France is Taxed. then, wo want to show The' total “active circulation of metalic and paper, iu_the world is computed by McCarty in the Annual Statis- tician_for 181 is_represcnted by §9,500,000, 000. The United States has §1,211,503,651, or one-seventh of the eutire stock of money in circulation of the wholo world. ~ The only country ahead of tho United States is I'ranco, which has $12 per capita; but with her enormous debt and_ her enormous tax he people are nowhero as well off as ours @1 was over there only two months ago and [ find that thero aro taxes upon almost cver food product, and even upor: the rent whic you pay. If aman rents a houso for §1,000 hois obliged to pay something like 20 per cent of the amouut of the reut, in addition to the rent to the government. They pay taxes upon tho windows of tho houses. (ou cannot go out of Paris and travel twerty miles “out in tho country witiont | goiug through four or five custom house gates, aud at each gato if you have a packnge of any kind thoy will tax” you forit. If the farmér goes to Paris to” market bis eggs, butter, vegetables or grain he is compelled to y o' customs tax. At overy village thero customs gates, and everywhere taxes are levied right and 'left. But the favmers of France are a very thrifty people. They culti vate overy inch of the soil to the highest per- ‘ection aud manage to make ends meet and | he save up something besides. They are accus- | r tomed to stamp duties and custoin tolls upon | & everything. That is the boasted condition of the people of F'rance at the present time, Wo have forgotten the fact that twent five years ago every man in the Unitod States had to pay taxes upon every puper that he slgned. If you signed n receipt there was o stamp. 1i you went to tho bank with a check you liad to'put a stamp upon it. If you sold a pieco of property you had to put’a stamp upon the deed. It you had your picture taken you had to put a Stamp upou every ploto graph. 1f yoii wanted to get married you had to put a stamp upon your marriage cortificate, and from the crudle’to the grave there was nothing that was not stamped. That would, in my bonest judgment, be the condition which we would again réach if we adopted the wild cat schome of issuing money or 1 ning oursoives headlong in debt by reckloss oans on wild lands and reckloss speculation and extravagance that is sure to follow an cra of infiation. You can sco Low inflation works in Cuva, where they have £37 iu money per capita and an_ American dollar can be exchanged for §2.65 in Cuban currency. Eree and Unlimited Coina e, Thesecond plauk of the indepoudent plat- form roads as follows: “We domaad the free and unlimited coinago of silver.” Tho republican party stands on the plat- form of the honest uollar, the dollar that will exchange o silyer doliar or a paper dol lar, or the gold dollar one for the other at 100 couts, (Tnlimited silver coinage would centually place the United States on @ sil basis with Chiua, Mexico and India, whose money is quoted at the mere market value of silver coin, It would drive gold out of circulation sod make gold a mere con mouity, fust as it was during the war, and just us it is today in AuStdis, in Argontin in Cuba and otber countries whero spe paymonts have been susponded. There has be S0 much said about the erisis of 1 and the domonetization of tho dollar by u conspiracy which s alioged to haye been hatvhied oy the other side of the ocoan and which was carried out at Wush iugton by members of our cougress. [t bus been shown very fully in the discussions bofore congress und in the records that thore never was any such_couspiracy. Democrats and republicans, the esentatives from Nevada and th atives from Cali fornia und all the mining states voted forthe bill. But even if the discontinunuce of the coinage of standard silver dollars u 1873 had beeun the act of a combination in the interost | ni of foreign money syndicates, the act of INTS | pe Festorad tho silver doliar 1o the position it | g uow oceupies. Although the standard silver dollar has beon upon the coinage of the United Stutes fro the foundation of our government, there had only been 5,125 000 of these silver dollars coined from the time of George Washington down to the adminis tration of Rutherford B. Hayes. The re- | ¢ movetization act of 1578 provided that the United States treasurer shall cause the coinage of 2,000,000 silver dollars por wonth. From' that time on we began the enormous coinage of silver anu in tho thirteen years sinco that poriod we have colued oy 400,000,000 as ugainst 8,000,025 1n the tirst eighty -six yoars of our government, and of the 400,000,000 of silver dollars that have been colued two thirds are lying dead In the t simply becaus: the peopie prefor paper money that iy ex changeable into gold or silverto the silver dollur itself. Now, what use has the Unitod States for further coinage of silver dollar Waso't it mucn more rational 1o store the | n sliver bullion in the v s of the oasury and issue silver cortificates for Its mrket value and let the peoplo of the United titates | have the venetit of the differ n botwoeen the market valus of the silver aud its face valuet This s now United States stantly l lutoly” safe purchase of siiv uure to t Unitod States ), has beon & 2 the value of with gold, reached both gold aud ¢ thie miat on equal Lorn Under this polloy we volume of money h n re to th in ta e A Now, another thing. money, w in 11 w w in A A §1 bu an fol m in ot ha lat in th 20 fa hi et 1 du or de ¥ h ox Pl ne pl \l b oc la ov in w w w tr pe P R r of w the declared Under it wo wil rOAsing Ve f ourr and any profit derived from the | A v builion and coiniug it will L uf the peoplo of the | lu Tho tendonoy of this poiloy 1 will bo ¢ aud when this vor would be 1 and cond bave lucreased by over #5400 polioy of the | have a con DOy WbsO- | e W ally adva logal ratie demption no provision has | since teit ers of Nobraska are to bo beasfitod and unlimited comago! shatos of silver plato to convert froo of charge into sil- ver dollarst in- | tion fusal to giv mined £3,634,094,900 | Py on earth, that she has a | tion, assured th foundation who voted gencral clamor out hoere, but. | some congressmen and Somo states where thore was u and unhmited coinago voted States | oy as of On cannot hopo to nduce foreign were to loan a man that he was prepariag to | bushels of ing 34,000,000 of gold, years ago, the relative quantities metals bave mining $30,000,000 of gold aunially and sixty odd miliions of silver. they will not contin sell his grain for a highy surplus ket conts clated silv silver or woull cause age, has the largest purchasing pow and the first thing to o down offileo of supremc portant within th our well and confidence, causo he is qualiied ] \UMBER 100 January we how the Will farmers and anybody abor= by free Do thoy own any mining stock, or have they an Do thoy wani to enrich the vullionaires of Colorado, Montana und Calia fornin at tne expense of tho whole country i Senator Stowart of Nevada, {n a letter to he woestern congress that held its session i Jenver in May, charged that the demonoetizas of silver in 1873 and the res the country tree and unlhimited coinage had resuited in s general dopression of the mining industry and had caused great 055 10 tho people of tho United States, and particularly to the peo west of' the Rockies. \What aro the fucts! Aud by the ay, T want to romark that Senator Stowart himself voted for the bill that the republican onzress passed At 1ts last session for the purchiso of 4,500,000 ounces of silyer at its narket valuo as the best measure and ho only measuro that was practica- ple. — Tn 1570 the total production with | of silver in tho states and territorities west of the Missouri river 15 $17,1120,000, In 1880 he production of silver had gono up to $33,+ 4,055, or double tho amount, notwithstand- et that we had no froe coinage, aud GHL1TE5 | in 1800 we mined 862,030,551 worth of silyor i these western mives, notwithstanding all nis talk that we have piralyzed the mining ndustr The fact is we bave mined four imes a3 much silver in the last ycar as was twenty years a ore"the silver ollar was demonetized act affords onclusive proof that under the it conditions profitable; bat the product ove © has been fn- roased ana that the mines aro i o very ourishing condition, but speculating 1n iines, solling optiofis to members of con- ress and membors of tho United States son- te to pull a bill through to put mllions into he pockets of billonaires has not recelved juch encouragement. It 15 an open Socret hat these speculators and gamblors around ongress largely influenced the action of that ody, and although the congress of the Juttod States by a whitewashing investiga- people that there was no in the roports. [ assert that undreds of thousands of dollars of mining ptions were placed where they would do the. 10st good. 1 have no personal knowlodge, but coplo who were in Washington and vatched tho wmethod by which as booined to wivo us freo ond mining ver, whe is tho bill unlimitea coinage assert that there was an option lobby o push the vill for . ators yoted for 1t Do not reflect on- any man Our congressmen und anse there was & suspect that senators from ciamor for frea for it because iey expected there would be a big advance 1 mining stocks, and th had an option to ke thoso stocks at a given price, 1 repeay mining industries are just as flourishing thoy "could bo barring the lack confidenco among investors and apitalists in this country and abroad. bout the instability of our monoy systom. business depression is largely due to the thdrawal of ¢ dits from Awerica and we capitalists to vest or loan monoy in America so long as his wildcat agitation continues. 1f you 100 bushels of wheat, hat would you think of it if you would hear vou back 100 trinsic value simply for instead of produc: silver a year, and we did twenty odd f the two We are now The down of oatst lver has gone reason that 517,000,000 of e been reversed Last year's output of s estimated in the United States to be 5,000,000, and when a commodity is ned by tho reduced cost of production ~for aftor all both gold and silver are coms iocities of their kind—it stauus to reason o t exchianga at the n mino three pounds of Lver amo ratio. You e silver now for the price that it cost to mine two pounds twenty years ago, How it Affects the Farme It hias veen said that the American farmer ould gain by free silver becuuse it would ase the value of his product, be won price and thorefore > coulid also pay his debts wuch more adily. That, T beliove, is the truo inward- ess Of the whole thing. 'But this is also a lusion. ‘Ihe prico of groin consumed in meric ated by the price which the in exported to Europe tho Liverpool mar- Suppose whent is worth 100 a bushel m Laverpool, wheat in movica for home consumption Wil sell for a bushel less tho cost of transporting a 1shiel of wheat across tho Atiantic ocean 1 tho commnssion which tho middlemen get rhandling it. Now, with fre silver the ican farmer would ouly bo ablo to sell tin America for the Liverpool price a depreciated S0-cont dollar, The depre~ dollar would be loy: tender Amcrica, and that is the kind of money in paper exchangeable for silver he get for his products, On the her hand every commodity the favmer 15t buy would bo advanced, be- prices of merchandise are regu. by the cost of labor and produ If the price of all commodities in advauces thon lumber, coal, eloth- # furnituve, farm machinery and’ every~ 1 the farmer has to purchase would cost per_cent moro tuan it does now. But the ruer would only got Liverpool prices for s grain in American monoy. 1f vou dopre- te the dollar do you gain ything by itd you open to all tho world the chance of iing to the American wiut and let them 1mp their silver that is worth ouly 75 centa X0 conts in exchange for ovideuces of in- sotedness against tho government for $1; ou ure bound to depreciats the curronoy of o country, drive out the metul that can be changed abroad dollar for doliur, and d. Ciato yoar own products, r the price cvoryiliing you haye to buy und you gain thing i retiry, Not even” tho ien em- oyed in e mines would gain anything. 1o mine owuers alons would pocket the 1S, Puo ordinary laboring man certainly has )thing to gain by free and unlimited coin. Phe laboring man wanuts a dollar that Hisinter- 5 1ot to have a dollar that will buy less it that will buy more, bosause wages do not portion 10 othor thiugs, Wages ostite are the last things to advance, hat is the established fact, and the dup a dollar ought to of mmands ted nomic, well borer who bas sa havo tho beueflt of buyiug as largo a quan- tity of commodities, or woaring apparel, fur fure and carpets, or muything that he cds, with that dollar, as ho possibly could ot. When that dollar goos down 1n its pur- chusiug powor ne loses part of his savings and compelicd to pay more for iug ho needs for bimself and family, Oflice and the Candidate, Lot us uow turn from the plutform to odidates 1o tho present cammaign., The judeo is 0no of the most \me gL of thu people, Kvery rocosnizes thal the man Judical tribunal in be o lawyor law, and & man carcor inapiros popular respeot The repuolican party bas uced in nomination for the position of su- judge u man who is not ouly a very otent and successful inwyer, but & man ho bas served upon the bench of your dis- \ot for over ten years acceptably to the ple, and whose reputation as a ditlzen is Jove roproach, The Independent party has minated Mr. Joseph Kagerton, not be- for a placo on the su. but because Mr, ki ton Is & er and wansged no in- finto the confidence of & lot « lous farmers who trust and ant 10 houor bim with an ¢ posle for which he is totally unfit, ben I iest heard of bim Edgerton was a publican ofce iu Poik county, flor tho alliance carried that county he b a rumpant anti-wonopolist. When he fod In South Om slX OF BOVOD yeurs > roposed 1o Lo & repubiican, bub ben the town overwhelmiugly A & dewocrat, and was I democratio town council ont of oity solicitor. His bighest oftioe he v #uago, doctdedly As (Lo legal adviser of W is uryt tolligent citizon bo occupies the highest state should versed in nose oo bonch, od stump atiato himso svoker