Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-12-22
WHAT srNAToR PEFFER SAYS.


"What we shall be able to accomplish
nobody knows" said Senator Peher to a
reporter TINS morning: but we are good
| 10 DO our best IN any direction which
promises good results. We have an out
| line plan OF what we believe TO be a desira-
| bic legislative programme, and We shall
| follow that plan with the greatest posi-
| bic fidelity. We want 10 put stop
| TO the great power national banks
now have-the mOney-issulng power;
we desire to amend our naturalization
| laws: we expect TO assist IN mOdl-
| fying tariff schedules in the interest of
| farmers and labOrers; we shall endeayor
| TO create o growth of sentiment favorable
| to the election of senators, and aIso the
President, by the direct vote of the peo-
pie, and personally am going TO do my
utmost on pension matters that seem 10
! me TO need attention. AS TO pensions, l
| have two objects in yiew-the reduction
| of the working expenses OF the bureau
| and the doing Of full justice to the SOL
dler.
INTERESTED N IMMIGRATION MATTERS.
"In immigration matters am much in
| terested. | have long believed that we
| ought not TO permit any personst TO come 10
| this country as laborer5 III any department
unless they intend In good faith to become
| CltlZelS. we Ndlt W hbCp Oub phNpCA0 HA "a
criminals. of course. and 1t has seemed
TO me that the easiest. the cheapest.
and the most satisfactory way would
| be TO have the examination as 70
desirability take place at the home OF the
emigrant himself When he knows what
our laws are land he would find them out
| on Attempting TO arrange for his voyagel
| he would go before one OF our consuls and
make application for permission TO migrate
| to the United States. he would be eX-
amined touching his qualification under
| the law. and if the Consul was satisfied as
| TO his desirability he would give hun a
certificate which would admit the mmi-
grant at any of our ports. Ihls system
would save many an unsuccessful Yoy ager
the expense and annoyance consequent
upon his being ordered back 10 his native
land by the immigration authorities.
THE SUBJECT oF FINANCE.
Then we are going 10 be interested in
finance. The object of my resolution con-
cerning the cost of lending money Is TO
ascertain as nearly as possible how much
borrowers have to pay IN the way OF IN
terest more than what goes TO the owner
of the money. To illustrate: The rate Of
interest IN the eastern States is about 6 per
cent. and yet western borrowers have TO
paw 10 per cent. These latter pay per
cent more than the owner of the money
gets. and the average rate of increase in
the permanent wealth of the country is
only about per cent. per annum. This
inquiry which | ask for would give the
people information 70 concerning the
methods by which nearly as much
money is drawn from the borrowers
| by middlemen as goes 70 the owner of the
money. Such information would assist US
materially in determining whether the
middlemen are necessary or not and ifthey
are whether interest rates could safely be
reduced. Labor cannot long stand such q
dram; the outset to public lands is practi-
cally closed.
I'VE believe there Is not money enough in
the country available for the peoples use
and we believe that in large measure our
industrial depression during late years was
caused by that condition; hence We favor
any feasible plan by which the volume of
money may be increased. We favor
the free coinage of silver, we believe
I'm putting the two metals on an equality.
Then we are confronted with the difficulty
under existing methods of getting the
money into circulation. A large part
OF the money now in the country is idle
| because interest rates are too high for the
| people TO pay. A great many enterprises
are in allowance and some have been
wholly abandoned because the promoters
cannot afford to pay the interest rates de-
manded. Facts like these logically force
| the mind into effort-seaTching out RENE
dies-and the land-loan and sub-treasury
plans are the first fruits in the way of sug-
gestion. They will probably be greatly
improyedgby continued. thought, Just as a