Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1891-10-21
Wealth not properly distributed.


pie would put pretty clever sum in each
pocket. But the mischief is that the grea'
bulk of it is in the hands of few thousand
| people. There is not one in thousand
| who has $1,000, and there are millions
who haven't enough cash on hand to "buy
a breakfast" This is where the suffering
of the world comes in. As Governor Camp
bell remarked the other day in debate, it is
not the scarcity of money in the country
that makes times so hard with the masses,
but tho lack of its proper distribution. In
other words, the great bulk of it is in the
grasping hands of the few millionaires and
spectators, while the millions of laboring
men never handle but fractional portion
of it. This is unquestionably where the
evil comes in, and how to correct it is a
question which has not yet been solved and
and is intricately difficult of satisfactory
solution. There is bad distribution of
both money and wealth from some cause or
other, and if there were three times more
money in the country than We now have
the same state of things would most prob
ably exist-the great bulk of it would flow
into the hands of the rich and the poor
would be as bad off as ever.
Such state of things did not exist before
the war and under Democratic administra-
tions of the government. Up to 1861, as a
contemporary we'll remarks, the wealth of
this country was more evenly distributed
among the people than in any other country
under the sun. There were fewer very rich
and fswer very poor people in proportion
to population than in any other country
under the Gun, and up to that time it had
made more progress and was then enjoying
more prosperity than any country under the
sun. The Democratic party, which had
directed the government and shaped its
policies for more than one-half of it's first
century, didn't believe in legislation to en-
rich some of the citizens at the expense of
others. 1t didn't believe in levying tribute
upon the men who earned their daily bread
In the sweat of their faces, and lived in
humble dwellings to support in luxury and
build marble palaces for the men who spun
and wove the wool the farmer grew, or melt
ed and moulded the iron which the miner
dug from the earth. 1t didn't believe in
any favoritism of this or any other kind,
and consequently the men who made for
tunes made them by their own Industrious,
honest efforts, and did not get them by leg
islativs enactment. The many were not
were then more people who had something
and fewer people who counted their for
tunes by the million. Then the almighty
dollar was not worshipped as it is now;
then it was not as corrupt and demoraliz.
ing as it is now, then it didn't buy voters
like cattle as it does now; then it didn't
own and control Congresses and legislatures
as it does now; then mans millions were
not the talsman that opened the way to
the United States Senate as they are nov.
The present state of things will continue
to exist until the Republican party is driven
from power, and the legislation of the
country is again restored to the Democratic
party. We must break up monopolies
and destroy class legislation before any
relief can come to the working Millions"
Comparison Of Crops of 1890 and 1891.
We have received from Henry Clews and
Co., comparative statement showing the
grain crops of 1890 and 1891, including
wheat, corn, oats, rye and barley. AS that
most interests our readers, we will give the
statement as 10 wheat, giving the number
of acres, the number of bushels, the mark
ct value at Chicago, the exportabls surplus,
and it's value in New York. Number of
acres in 1890, 36,0S7OOO; in 1891, 10000,
OOO-increase 3,915,OOO. Total yield in
bushels in 1890, 800, 262 600; in 1891, 600,
coo, 00O-increase, 200, 1888, 900. Market
value at Chicago in 1890 at 81. per bushel
SS99, 1862, 900; in 1891, 600, 900, 0OO-increase
$500, 1888, 600. Exportable surplus of bush.
els in 1890, $4,000 600; in 1891, $1,000, 900
increase 2O1, OOO,O 600. Value of exporta-
BILE surplus at $1.10 per bushel in New
York in 1890, $40 900, oOe; in 1891, 1894,
900, O00-increase 1921, 100000. The esti-
mated requirements for homo consumption
of wheat are $50 millions; of corn 1, 200 mil,
lions; Of oats, 600 millions; of rye, 90 mil
lions; and of barley,6 81 millions. The 1890
crops OF corn, oats aud barley Tell consider
ably short of home requirements, but the
deficiencies we're made up from the reserves
left over from 1889, the yield of all crops fer
that year being quite liberal, especially TO,
corn. TIE full figures for 1889 are as fol-
lows: wheat, 400. $4,000 bushels; corr, 2,
112, 1892 bushels; oats, 751 SIS, 900 bushels;
rye, 2s, 1000 barley, 66. 100000 bushels
total for all cereals, 8. 449, 067, 900 bushels
being about 81, 900, 900 bushels under this
years total yield, but 955, 100000 bushels
more than 1890. We have estimated til
wheat crop at 600 million bushels, but tLs
latest reports just issued by several of the
large wheat growing States would indicate
a crop nearer $50 millions, and it is quite
likely that the estimate for the corn croI
will also fall short of actual results.
Senator John E. Kenna, of W. Va.