The advocate., 1890-02-06


n. H. Funston, Washington ID. @.
Gentlemen-As you seem TO be sincere
inyour professions Of sympathy for the
farmers Of Kansas In their deplorable
condition, which do not doubt, you will
permit me, (and no doubt be pleased Ia
receive In a true spirit of courtesy from d
Kansas farmers standpoint,) the
suggestion M 10 the best
possible means TO adopt 10 extend inn
mediate relief TO the Kansas farmers,
that we all agree they are in much need
Of. The suggestions made by your ex-
cellency 10 Mr.. Funston that the "trust
question mightreceive the earnest atten
tion Of congress with good results" as al
80 "providing for liberal coinage of sill
YER and pensions" are excellent sug-
gestlons and truly hope you will take
hold Of these questions with a determin-
alton to solve them In the spirit Of fjustlce
to the producing classes.
While am free TO admit that the causes
OF complaint above enumerated are
great, are they not but the outgrowth or
branch OF the great "trust" that under
lies all and Of which all other trusts, com
bines, syndicates, corporations and mo-
n0polies Of all kinds are but the water
spouts on this greatest trust of all-the
national bank money trust.
The letter arraigns the national bank
Ing system as follows
II is the trustthe farmers are after; IL is
tn Q trust that is taking the homes from
them and making tenant farmers Of them;
II is the trust that takes the senators and
congressman by the neCks and says, You
shall not make good the promises made
the old soldiers by the government dur
ing the war and during the last presi-
Dental campaign; 1t Is the trust that rob-
bed the government Of over $300,000,000
when It's hands were tied and paid to the
old soldiers Of the nation less than $2,245,
600; 1t is the trust that snuffed the battle
from afar and then speculated In govern
ment supplies and off soldiers, widows
and orphans while the soldiers were
where 1t tried mems souls In defense Of
the institutions they loved; it is the trust
that deprecated the peoples money,
gathered II up at less than half its face
value and converted 1t into an interest
bearing debt, exempted the bonds from
taxation after the war was over, christen-
ed II a national blessing" and fastened
1t on the discouraged producers to pay
1t in the form Of national Curse II is
the trust that In violation of the consti-
tuition usurped the authority Of the gov
ernment to issue money of the country
and compelled the people to pay them
q blackmail for its use; it is the trust
that has turned out into the cold world
100000 men, women and children to
work, beg or starve as the sequence of
II 7l0 business failures in the United
States involving loss to the people of
$l4O,OO0,000 in 1889 (see Bradstreets re-
ports), more failures than has ever been
known in any one year in the history Of
our country. 1t has made more and
greater millionaires on the one hand, and
more tenant farmers, broken spirited
men and women, more tramps, criminals
and paupers on the other hand than all
the world in the last fifty years; 1t has
driven to poor houses Of the country %,
600 ex-union soldiers. Fifty million men,
women and children in the United States
say the soldiers ought to have service
pension, but the shank" trust, through
the politicians, says mo" 1t has bill
in both houses asking that It be given
$3OO,OOOyO 900 more Of fifty year 2 per cent.
national blessings" to feed upon. That
our children may enjoy the privilege of
paying tribute to the great "Cesar," and
realize the blessings entailed by national
debt. tits the trust that has reduced the
number of Rreeholders from 80 per cent.
of the heads of families in 1860 to 30 per
cent in 1890, aquarter ola century only.
Press DjSdptcheS.