The river press., 1888-10-03
MR.. CLARK's SPEECH.

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last Saturday evening. The Helena In
dependent. with it's characteristic enter
prise, published its full text from which
we are enabled to make thefollowlng syn
opsis: Mr.. Clark, after briefly reviewing
the history of the democratic party, as
serted, as every Well-informed man would
assert, that the democratic party has
never favored free trade; that it has al
ways insisted upon raising the necessary
funds for the expenses Of the government
by duty on imports, giving protection IN
cidentally to industries that needed fos-
tering care. This doctrine was promul-
GATED by Thomas Jefferson, the father OF
democracy, and has been reiterated IN al
most every democratic platform since
that time.
Mr.. Clark said that while taxes on
hanks. railroads. ETC., have been removed,
the noorer classes are still taxed 80, 90, ~
and 100 per cent. on many articles re-
ouired for food and clothing, and that
this tax benefited less than five million
people to the detriment Of fifty-flVe mil
lion. This tax, which was uncalled for ID
the time Of peace threw ten million dol
lars every month into the national treas
ury. thereby sabping the life blood OF the
nation, and If permitted to continue It
will lead to distressing financial embar-
rassment. Mr.. Clark emphasized this
proposition by comparison which IS SO
ant and so conclusive that we give 1t IN It's
entirety. 'You have" said the gentle
man. "a rich agricultural county.
Wealth is accommodating rapidly from
year to year. but the accumulatlons are
absorbed from time to time IN the expan-
sion Of business. Suppose by any means
your county government should draw
from the money in circulation any given
sum. say $4,000 weekly, which, IN the
course of a year, would amount to very
large aggregate. Suppose you had no ex
terror resources; how long would 1t be be-
fore the contraction would be sharply felt
in this county? kRates of interest would
advance. rents would decline, business
would stagnate, laboring classes would
leave the district, and eventually it would
end in the complete descruction OF your
industries"
This home application was followed by
statement of facts which the republican
press have studiously ignored They have
contended that the surplus in the United
States treasury could be employed in tax
| inc up outstanding bonds, while they
knew, if they knew anything about the
matter. that no outstanding bonds against
the government are yet due and that they
cannot be purchased from the holders on
" at large premium. Mr.. Clark, who Is
banker and thoroughly versed IN mat
ters Of this kind, says that they may be
bought at 80 per cent. premium Right
? here it may be stated that If President
Cleveland had advised the purchase OF
bonds at such ruinous premium he
= would have afforded one Of the very best
reasons why he should not be elected
! But Mr.. Cleveland has advised nothing O
the kind. but instead he recommended {
q revision Oh bn6 GdElH W oIlhlLAoh oAiS
treasury surplus, and to this question Mr.
Clark devoted much of his speech. The
reader will bear in mind that Mr. Clark il
a four or five times millionaire, that he il
a miner and has made his money out O.
the mines where it would still lie Withou
enriching anyone if he had not dug it out
s and that as a miner he would NATURAL.
< oppose any measure which operated
h against that industry. But here we fint
@ a man more largely interested in mining
,e than any other man in the territory or il
a the entire west strongly advocating ever,
D provision Of the Mills bill.
1t Concerning copper, in the production
t. of which Mr. Clark is largely interested
he says:
u "The absurdity of the criticisms of tn
N republican orators on the subject of dut
- on copper is apparent when it is know
- that the old world has to depend upo
d, this country for its principal supplies {
that metal and that all of our surplu
in goes to foreign market It is in hal
- nlony with the ridiculous theory prt
10 posed by a certain democrat (Gass
ne Brown in this territory as one OF tn
ee reasons for his desertion of the democrat
party. that the Mills bill put silver on til