Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-02-04


We are asked to follow the lead of Great
Britain and Germany in the demonstration
of silver. The policy of those countries is
simply the policy of their rich men, bond
holders, bankers, moDey-ienders, and persons
who have fixed incomes. The poorer and
middle classes in those countries have little
or no voice in stich matters. In those gov
ernments these classes are useful as soldiers
in killing each other in dynastic wars in
which they have no interest, and as labOrerS
operatives, and taxpayers to support royal
ty, aristocracy, and other privileged classes.
They are not expected or allowed TO deal in
statecraft and great financial questions, and
must be content 10 bear the burdens put
upon them for the benefit of the privileged
classes and the rich. Here we have a differ
ent theory. And IL these iifiitatorS of En-
glish and German policy can have their way
few years longer | fear it will be only a
theory with us; that our boosted system of
free, popular, constitutional self-government
will become matter of history, but will no
longer be the existing pride and glory of
every true American heart. Their whole
political theory and system are different
from ours. Theirs are governments OF force,
whose rules are sovereigns and whose peo-
pie are subjects. Ours is a government of
consent, whose people are sovereign and
whose officers are servants. And we should
think well before we follow the examples
set by them in political and financial mat
tiers.
A government of the people, by the peo-
pie and for the people is the last and high
est development of political science. 1t
means that il is the government OF people
who are all soveieigils and equal before the
law. 1t means that we are to have no royal
ty, no arstocracy either of rank or wealth,
no classes enjoying privileges not common
to all. 1t means Il government which pro-
tects all its citizens alike and allows exclu-
siye privileges to none. 1t means govern
ment in which every citizen is guaranteed
all the fruits of his labor except What is ne
cessary fof the support of government, and
in which no mans prosperity can be lawful
" taken from him and given to another
without his consent. Such a government Is
only practicable among a free people of a
high order Of intelligence and virtue, and
could not long exist among people want
ing these qualities. 1t grieyes me to say
that while in many of our State cDnstiii-
tons we declare that perpetuitieS and mono
poles are contrary to the genius OF a free
people, we are to-day the worst monopoly
ridden people. | think, in the civilized
world. And ii railroad monopolies, bank
monopolies, and protective-tariff monopolies
continue 10 rule this country q few years
longer, as they have for the last twenty
years, and to transfer the property OF the
country by the hundreds of millions of dol
lars annually from the oppressed many 10
the privileged and protected few, | fear that
our government hitherto the asylum of the
oppressed of all lands and the home of the
free and happy. will become the prey and
the spoil of the rich few and of their corrupt
and deSpotic associates. The aho ition Of
one-half of the metal money of this country
and the adoption of policy which will re-
quire twice as many days OF labor twice as
much of the products of labor as are now
required to pay all debts, pubic and private,
which will greatly increase the wealth of the
few and as certainly increase the poverty of
81.
taken toward the overthrow of our political
system and the establishment in its stead of
| q government of fraud and force.
DIFFERENT CONDITIONS GALL FOR DIFFER
ENT Policies.
Why should we follow the example of
Great Britain and Germany on the silver
question? Both of those are great creditor
nations: their people are holding large guam
| titles of the interest bearing securities of
other countries Great Britain to the extent
| of IS, $50, 900, 900. and Germany to the extent
of 50 600 000, 900. The United States is a
debtor nation to the extent of 81. S43, 713,
1850. as shown by the public debt state
ment for December, 1885 The public debt
OF the States, Territories, counties towns,
cities, boroughs, villages. and school districts
of the United States was in $50 81 III 5S5,-
| 546, as shown by the United States census.
The railroads of the United States in 1880
were indebted to the amount of S565S 9l4
| LOO. litSt tfitt flftNStsS VI liiutultGlltAS
amounted in the aggregate, ut that time, to
Sc, 620, 2l3 1880, and the two last items have
| no doubt been considerably increased since
| 1880. This does not include the private in
debtedneSs of tile country, and have not
the means of stating what that is, but it is
| probably as great in the aggregate as the
public Indebtedness. Now, by following
the example of Great Britain and Germany
on the silver question we should aid them in
about doubling the value of the s., go, 00O,-
OOO OF securities they together hold on for
| eign countries, as compared with the labor
and property out of which these securities
are to be paid. And We should about double
the amount of labor and property which
would be required to pay the $500, 213, 4l9,
/ 50 of our public indebtedness as well as
/ of all private indebtedness. A comparative
| ly few.bondh0lders, bankers, and money
| lenders in this country would be benefited
by such folly, while the vast mass of the
people would be injured and impoverished
| by it.
| We ought not to follow their example, be-
cause such a course would injure the world
at large while doing great wrong to our
own people. We ought not to follow then
| example for another important reason:
! Great Britain Is not a silver-producing coun-
| try, and Germany produces very little. The
| report OF the director of the mint, recently
1 laid before u.s. shows the worlds product OF
| silver for 1884 to have been Sis, 147, SIS. Oh
| this sum it shows that the United States
produced S4S, SOC, 600, which is more than A.
| per cent of the worlds product for that year.
| We are asked, therefore. to sacrifice the sill
yer interest of the greatest silver-producing
country in the world. Besides this, Mr..
| Williams, a gentleman connected with the
Geological Bureau, who prepared the volume
now being published on the mineral re-
sources OF the United States for 1888 and
| 1854 states, that the lowest estimate which
can be placed on the capitalized value of our
silver mines and works, it would not be be-
| low S106, C00.G00. And he adds that census
accounts for no less than 81, 900 900 invested
! in the reservoirs, fumes, bitches, &c, of the