Western Kansas world., 1888-09-15

their families, who could take the benefit of
this great doctrine. are one-half of the peo-
pie, 30,0C0,000. Now, allow them $500
each, and yOu have the neat little sum of
75O,O0O.cOO, while 300 each would aggre-
gate the magnificent total of $4,000, ,O0O,
| 10000.
Where shall the money come from? Gov
ernment has no means of getting money
but by forced contribution, taxation. This
| must be uniform and equal. What then !
Why, you propose to wiring this enor-
nous sum from the whole people of the
United States to loan to the land owners.
presume that the object is that, that scrip
ture may be fulfilled which teaches, unto
him that hath shall much be given, but unto
him that hath not shall be taken away. even
that which he hath'-and giuen to Streeter
that already hath much. Gentlemen I OBJ
ject.
This would be great job for the boys.
There are about $4,000 postofices in this
country. The government sugar troughS
would need to be quite as many, with a
cashier, an abstractor and committee to
value land as necessary appenda2es of each.
And then when the fellows didn't pay up
what revelry We lawyers would have. Just
to think of it, recalls the remark of the fam
ishing colored cavalryman to lis comrade,
who inadvertently fell to conversing about
good things, "Go long, you black niger:
pie, III tall right of dis horse"
GOVERNMENT COMMON CARRIER.
But wonders never cease. / now invite
your attention to q proposition, for the re-
lief OF the suffering people, beside the col
lossal idiocy of which. yon government
curbstOne brokery, mounts into the position
of conservative statesmanship. read from
their platform this: 'The means of COM
munication and transportation shall be
owned by the people," How are you to get
them? Steal them? No, that's communism
aud don't work well in this country. Well,
then buy them? That's the only chance.
ALI right figure up the cost, this platform
says the people shall own them land that
settles it." First let Us see what We have
got to buy. All the railrosds, all the tele-
graphs, all the telephones, ali the steam
boat lines, all the warehouses and all the ex-
press companies.
At page 1,25S compendium of the last GEN.
sus, you will find an estimate value per
mile of railroads n 1880. It includes of
course, right of way, road bed, grades, ties,
Iron, bridges, rolling stock stations, grounds,
general offices. and all properties and fran
chises owned and used in connection with
the roads. It also includes railroads, wheth-
er crossing our undulating prairies or the
granite hills OF Vermont, going through the
valleys, across the canons, or climbing up
among the clouds, in the wayward haste of
commerce across the rocky zone. The av-
erage value stated is $63, ,971 per mile. Call
it $50, 600 per mile. There are now in oper-
alton in this country 10000 miles of
road. What are they worth at
that rate? 100000, ,OOO. Add to
this enormous sum the value of 180,
600 miles of telegraph, lac, 900 miles of tele-
phone, steam ship lines, sxpress companies
and warehouses, and you have the butt end
of "the means of communication and trans.
portation" that these roosters propose to
buy. What do you think they are worth?
Why, about ST., 500, 600. 900, or a trife over
25 per cent. of the value of all property in
this country. Where will you get the
money? Hit a piece of paper a clip and
make it? That's easy.
But do we realize the awful magnitude of
this sum. Let US compare in round
The national debt at its highest -
Whole cost s Of the war. ditect and '|O''
Value Of ali farms in 1850. 1917 SOSSOS co
Total receipts of the government
What the union labor fellows are
going to buy. E,oOOE0c OOO.CO
It will take seven years more, at the pres
ent high tariff rates, before this government,
counting from the day the present constitu-
ton was adopted, can wiring from the peo-
pie as much money as these fellows propose
to pay out to put single plan nkl in the plat
form into operation. They claim there is
watered stock in my estimate. But sup
pose there is, cut it in two,s or cut it
in three, and the absurdity still re-
mains.
Mr. Harper says that "all the wise men
are republicans, all the mean men are dem-
oc1ats, and all the fools are union laborites."
I guess so. But he adds that the Bible says,
SsTba foo1ioh fhipno of fhio urOrId eho1l rOY
found the WISE" I will be confounded if
they don't. A democrat, who heard Har
per's speech, said that one of the seven wise
men of Greece had it for a maxim that
"most men are bad" On this he claimed q
victory. When l suggested two
passages of scripture that knocked them
both out of the box. Solomon says
them." That settles the union labor fel-
lows. And ''the wealth of the wicked is laid
up for the just" That relieves old Grover
of his surpluses, and turns everything over
to the tribe of Benjamin and Levi. And it
will stay with them too, for the inspired
writer says of wisdom: "Length of days
are in her right hand, and in her left hand
are riches and honor.
NO CONTRACTION OF THE CURRENCY.
Now. in conclusion, desire to say that I
admit that the business of this country is
some financial stringency, but l
utterly deny that this results, as these peo-
pie argue, from a contraction of the cur
rency. There is money in abundance, if
you can again set it to flowing in the chan
nels of progress and industry and trade.
By counting the whole volume of curren-
cy, gold, silver and paper, that was extant,
also certain securities that were no part of
the circulating medium, during the war. and
dividing it by the aggregate population
then, these objectors show great decrease
of the amount per capita between then and
now. / submit that it is not fair.-there
was not q dollar in coin then in circulation.
The depreciation of the paper made gold
and silver an article Of merchandise. To
find the amount of currency then
in circulation, you can only have
reference to the amount of paper
money in circulation. In the American Al
monac for this year, at page $40, you will
End treasury statement, showing the
amount of paper currency per capita, in
each year, from 1860 to 1856. The
highest amount shown is in 1865.
when it was $3.50 per capita. |
That was the whole amount of the peoples |
money then. The peoples money now is
gold. silver and paper. There has been |
coined of gold aud silver. in the last ten |
years S758, ,573, $3.50. This is an average of |
SIG, ,OO0, COO 90 year that is added to our |