Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-06-27
what Causes Hard Times.

ED. HERALD you not be SO
gracious as to permit me, your very
humble servant, to converse with |
you and your readers on the all alb
sorbing question of capital and labor.
OF course I would ask you to look in
a folgiving spirit on me for presum-
ing to talk on such a topic, for you
have some knowledge of my poverty.
But Notwithstanding I am poor in
dollars and cents, yet I feel a deep
solicitude for the welfare of nay fell
low men, and it grieves me ever so
much to see poverty and distress on
the one hand and arrogance and self
importance on the other, together
with a growing spirit of hatred and
lll-will upon the part Of both rich and
poor against one another The true
lover of his country will try to solve
the great problem of capital and
labor, and help to bring about a bet
ter state Of good will between the
various Glasses of society. As mat
ters now stand every one with true
patriotic impulses must feel a spirit
of Iamentation. Where Will the tide
stop, pray ye?
Vile politicians and designing dem
agogues may fan the flame of angry
passion, IN hopes of obtaining gain,
but not 80 with the true patriot, for
his great desire is to see justice
melted ont equally to all classes, both
rich and poor. The Farmers ALI
ances are busily engaged in trying to
solve the problem, and such a desire
is at least laudable, and it looks as
though it is time for all good citizens
to study the problem and solve it, if
possible, before the country is shorn
Of its real glory. There can be no
solution of it unless there is a deep
conviction that each and every class
! of society is fully regarded and pro-
vIded for, in beng protected by just
and wholesome laws. Glass Iegisla-
ton is wrong. No laws should be
enacted which would so control the
people in their trading that they
could not act freely. OF course cor
porations should be subject to laws
I Nov sir. please explain what you be-
lieve to be the real causes of ''hard
times" Corn GRAokEa,
(NOTE.-We have not the space this
week in which to make full answer
as to the cause of hard times. We
VIII say briefly that one of the chief
causes Is the scarcity of money II
circulation. Senator Plumb says
there is not to exceed $1,000 PEI
d capita ia circulation. There ought tx
} be $4,000 to $1,000 Another reason
, for hard times is that whereas thu
; labOrers of the country produce
about one billion of dollars every
year, the men who earn that 81,
000,O00,O0O get One-tenth of 1t while
l other fellows, such as railroad com
- pRaies, money lOaning concerns, in
suranGa companies, express and tele
graph lines, and others who may b.
' called distributing classes,' get nine
/, tenths of the one billion dollars. Gu
r. industrial or wealth distributing sys
tenn is defective. That is self-eviden
as it is shown that out of a pOpuIa
ton of about IS millions of people Il
$ the United States 100000 men owl
! more property than 81 millions so
q thousand, and those 100000 are no
D wealth producers but absQFbers
schemers, sharpers who by hoo
and orCOtz have 4ilcbo6 from tho hon
r est producer the fruits of his labor
4 There must be found a way to pre-
vent such a rapid accumulation c
- wealth on the part of non-prOducer
. from the real workers. or the days c
+ this Republic will soon be number
ed.-EDITOR HERALD.)