The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-11-30
IT COULD BIZ DONE.
Frank 6. Carpenter on How to
Get Rich.
AT THE GOVERNMENTS EXPENSE.
The Temptations Thrown in the Way Of Public
0fiicials-But Few Take Advantage
of Them.

of Them.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26.-TSpecial CORES
popdence of tbs HERALD. The failure
of the bargains, the threatened panic and
the consequent tightness of the money
market, has knocked the life out Of the
famed silver pool of the last Congress
sional session. Silver is down to par in
stead of being up to lbs, and about twenty
of our Representatives and Senators are
figuratively speaking, trotting back and
forth from the Capital to the White Aouse,
on their uppers, insteae of riding behind
their coachman and pairs, 1.-The silver pool
contained Congressman from ali sections of
the country, 1t was organized at the time
that it seemed sure that the free coinage
silver bill would pass and it began to buy
silver when it was at %. II bought a big
block on a margin before it got to par, and
its members fixed the figure to which
silver would rise at the passage of the
bill to SIPS or Sl.30. They watched
the stock reports, as it crept up point by
point to 105, and Rugged themselves when
it jumped to los after the free coinage bill
passed the Senate. Their faces fell when
the House struck out the free coin age pro-
vision, and silver dropped to los, but they
thought that the four and one half millions
q month which the treasury was to take
would be practically free coinage and they
still held on and waited for another rise.
Some of the leading silver men in Congress
then consulted Secretary Window, and he
told them that the purchase of silver ought
to be restricted to the product of American
mines, or that all Europe would ship her
silver here for sale. There is, however,
no greater crank, nor no more obstinate
crank, than the silver crank, and the sill
yer men sneered at Window and said that
they would take the silver of all the world.
For time it seemed as though they were
right, and that we could swallow all the
silver the world had to give. Silver went
upward right along, till it got to be 121,
when the congressional pool sold out
big block of its stock, and held the
rest for further rise. The bill by this
time was certainty. The treasury was
taking in the metal in Gargantuan mouth
fuls, but silver, strange to say, began to
fall. 1t went dawn to lis, then to III, then
to 16, then to u. In the meantime, our
money making statesmen, vino had cleared
themselves at the sale of 12l, reinvested
their earnings, expecting to see silver rise
again and reach i2S. But it did not rise
1t continued TO fall, and the spectators are
now dead broke. England did 1t, France
helped, and Germany was another of the
bears. England could not afford to carry
on her trade with India, China and the
east on a gold basis, or rather a silver pre-
MUM basis, and she sent eleven million
dollars in one chunk over here'on the quiet
to bear the market. The recent troubles
have maze the matter worse and number
of our statesmen, by the sad lesson of ex-
nprianpp will GnpPu Ia "a no lon
SPECULATION IN CONGRESS.
The number of spectators in Congress
is, however, very small in comparison with
the number of members, and still smaller
in comparison with the immense oppor-
tunities for making money. 1t is a mora
question as to how far the Congressman
has the right TO speculate on matters OF
legislation. Some men see no harm in it
and some do not hesitate to give ifforma
tion to their friends, as to what Congress
will do as to pending financial or other
legislation, the passage or failure of which
will materially affect the markets. Sup
pose the general subsidy bill which passed
the Senate last year is going tc
pass the House and become law
The advance knowledge of this fact
would be worth millions II will
put up the stock of a number of the steam.
ship lines several points, and know Z hall
dozen AJOOBESSSmSU WuO are NdIculDE
and of others who expect to invest in Paci
tic Mail as soon as they are certain of its
passage. Nearly all the committees OF
Congress afford opportunities for money
making in the changes in the prices which
are affected by their recommendations Il
Congress, and il is to the credit of Ameri
can craftsmanship that so many of our Con
gressmen are poor. Take the ways snC
means committee of the House, and mil
lions could be made off of almost any article
on the tariff bill, in which the duty is low
cred or raised. There are hundreds of mer
who hang around the Hobbies of Congress
during the session, seeking for such infor
nation, and if a chairman were dishonest
he could make hundred times his salary
Mills is worth little more thar
his salary, and all the money Mckinley
has, he got through his wife and inherit.
ance. Tom Reed is not rich, and you will
find hardly a chairman of the ways anC
means who has protted by his Office. 1t i:
the same with the finance committee, but
Sam Randall was on this for years and he
died leaving only about $1,000. Randall
was the most scrupulous man in regard tt
such matters we have ever had in Con
gress. The fact that one of his friends o.
his relatives was to indirectly profit by ;
piece of legislation, was a reason why BIZ
should vote against it, and he killed man,
an honest Dill 1Of IulS reason. IL Is TIL
same with other committees in Congress
and the wonder is not that Congressme,
speculate so much, but that they speculat
so little.
FORTUNES IN WHISKY AND BONDS.
An immense deal of money was made b
Congressman during the war, and the ris
in whisky, when dollar gallon was pu
upon it, made nice sum for a number O
statesmen and their friends. 1t was
question insthe minds of the finance com
mittee of the Senate, as to whether the rev
enue tax on whisky ought not to be in
creased fifty cents gallon. All at once i
asecret meeting, they decided to put it
to dollar gallon. One of the correspor
dents, man who is still in Washington
met Senator Sherman just after this NEE
ing. and asked him what the COMMITTEE
had done. He said it was secret, and tina
it would be known the next day. tn
knowledge was at time, however, wort
millions to this correspondents friends i
the stock markets of New York and b
went from Sherman to another Sens
tor on the committee, and wa
told the news. The result was, that hi
friends made fortunes. and he nette
several times Congressmans salary OF
of the stock they bought for him. Horac
White, Willard AND Whitelaw Reid also sc
this information in advance, and they eac
made $4,000 out Of it. 1t was this tina
gave Willard his start. He took the none
- London and there bought our govern