New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-27

SENATOR PETER STILL d DEuAGOGUE
Senator PETER is not one of those who gain
wisdom from a sense of increased responsibility.
Many men, after being elected to high places in
the gift of the people and finding themselves
no longer called upon to resort to the arts OF
the demagogle for popular favor, would be led
by a sense of responsibility to broader and more
conservative ideas The Senator from Kansas
shows that he is not a man Of such character.
His statements are as reckless and his infer
ences as foolish or unfair as they were at any
time when he was fishing for the favor OF the
most ignorant and prejudiced voters In his
address at the Cooper Union on Monday even
ing Mr. PETER repeated the old and often
refuted assertion that "one-half the homes OF
this country are mortgaged for more than they
are WORTH 1t ought to be perfectly well known
to him that this assertion has no truth in It,
He has seen the official reports by several State
Labor bureaus, showing the number and amount
of mortgages outstanding in different states,
and is probably aware that not single State
has yet been found in which one half OF the
farms, and still less one-half Of the homes, bear
any mortgages at all. lie has further seem in
these same official statements, the evidence that
the amount of mortgages outstanding is much
less than half the reported value OF the prop
erty. Ii may be granted that when great num-
bers of estates in any particular county or State
happen to be forced upon the market within a
very short time at Sherf's sale they will not
bring their full value, but under any ordinary
circumstances the mortgaged property in this
country, it is safe to say, would sell for great
deal more than the amount of mortgages out
standing.
The complaint which Senator PETER makes
of undue influence over the Treasury Depart
ment by the bankers and fnanciers of Wall
Street may perhaps be fairly attributed to his
ignorance. Thus he complains that last year
the Treasury advanced many millions in antici-
patton of interest on bonds for the benefit of
Wall Street fnanciers. But he surely ought to
know that the money thus paid out by the
Treasury was asked by bankers, and was in
fact used, to help the movement OF the crops
from the West The millions paid out, whether
wisely or unwisely, went straight to the pockets
of the Western farmers, ard did in fact help
materially TO sustain the prices at which they
were able to sell the products Of last year. Had
there been in the fall the scarcity of money
bursements of the Treasury in part ayerted, it
is plain enough that the holders of millions OF
bushels of wheat and vast quantities of corn,
cotton and other products would have been
forced to sell at a sacrifice, general depression
Of prices would have resulted, and the farmers
would have realized many millions less for what
they had to sell. Whether the course of the
Treasury was in other respects wise or unwise, it
is clear enough that neither the farmers nor
their official representative can with decent OK
cuse complain OF it.
We mean to make our own money and pen-
ty OF it. That is just what we did during the
war. and we can do it again We want it 1T
lower rates OF interest than we are now pay
ing" In these sentences Mr.. PETER discloses
more fully than he perhaps intends the inten-
ton of those behind him to get cheaper money
beclu,e poorer money. What they really want
is exactly the SOFT OF money that was in c'rcula-
ton during the War, worth at times less than
40 cents on the dollar and shifting in value day