Morning journal and courier., 1891-04-07
| NEWS BY TELEGRAPH. From All Quarters. THE NEXT CAMPAIGN. Senator Edmunds on the
 Political Situation. ELEVEN PERSONS BURNED TO DEATH. More Attacks on the British.
 Troops in India. THE MUNICIPAL CONTEST IN CHICAGO Damage Caused by Floods
 North and South.
1RE MUNICIPAL CONTEST IN CHICAGO
THE POLITICAL SITUATION,

North ana SOuCn. THE POLITICAL SITUATION. Senator Edmunds Interviewed on tho Present State of Afairs-The Aspect Somewhat Changed by the Farmers, Alfance-POssibility of the Election ofthe Next President Being Thrown Into heHouse-Sjlver-Com nfsm -Finances.
 WASHINGTON, April 6.-The Star this afternoon prints an interesting interview with Senator Edmunds on the present state of political affairs. Areporter found him in the judiciary committee room of the senate, where he was occupied in dis posing of various odds and ends of work before retiring to his home in Vermont for the summer.
 s'Is not the present political situation one of extraordinary interest and impor- tancea" the reporter asked, by way of an introduction to a broad and general dis cussion.
 "Yes," replied the senator after a mo- ment's thought, 'I think it sin one sense, as applied to one aspect of affairs, namely, the Farmers alliance subject. In other respects do not see that it is essentially different to what it has been for several years. The attitude of the two great parties in respect to each other and public affairs is apparently the same. In respect to the farmers alliance matter, it is in it's present form 8 new experiment in this country, but not an unnatural one. There have been analogous foments in for makes the political situation in this re- spect interesting and important, for what ifs effect will be upon the next national election, take it, no one can foresee with precision"
 "What gives rise to the feeling of un- rest which appears to be abroad in the land?" the reporter asked.
 '1 think" MT. Edmunds replied, Ca large part of it arises from intrinsic quail ties of the human mind, which has it's periods of rests and then of excitement, just as nature has in respect to storms and diseases, and the time happens to come when one of these periods of levers is at hand. Some people are trying to per suade farmers of the country, who always have been and always will be the most use full and important faction of the commu- nity, that the laws have been made which operate unjustly upon them and that the laws have not been made which would or should furnish them more rapid and steady prosperity. In both these cases I think they are in a large degree mistaken and in due time they will discover it. Indeed, I presume that the largest part of the re- fecting ones perfectly understand that l crops cannot be increased by legislation or debts honestly paid by cheapening the value of what is called money The most of them, think, understand that money, 1 to be of value and serve it's only true pur- pose, must be stable, just as every other measure must be, of weight and quan- | tity-in dealing with commodities or lands | and that if 8 farmer agrees to sell his next years crop for so many dollars, he must be able to know what the number of dol lars will be good for when he gets it.'' "What dangers to both parties and to | the country are there in the situationa'' | "Ido not think there is any danger to | the democratic party, for in the next pres idential election if the Farmers alliance | should carry many states without having | majority of the whole electoral college, | the simple result would be that there would be no election by the people, and the present house of representatives, hav- l ing very large democratic majority of | states as well as members, would elect the democratic candidate in constitutional and regular way, although he may have | carried the smallest number of states. As to the danger of the republican party, it is that the Farmers alliance may carry in the next presidential election some states l that would otherwise vote for the republi- | can candidate, and thus in effect if there should be no election by tue people, give the election to the democratic candidate by the house of representatives" l "Do you think that silver will be an is- sue in the next election?"
 l ip11 uyil1 ha ha 1 tween the republican and democratic par ties for think that the democratic party will hardly wish to make the silver ques- tion an issue to the extent of running any considerable risk of separating gold and silver as the coin money of the country and certainly the great body of the repub- ican party, am sure, will not. Up to the
 point of safety have no doubt the repub. lican party will be in favor of using sill
 yer as money as it always has been.
 What the Farmers alliance platform, if
 it should nominate 8 candidate for presi-
 dent, will be on that topic I am quite un-
 able to say."
 "How is the feeling of unrest among cer-
 tain classes to be met!"
 "I think it is best to be met at every
 other disturbance in society ought to be
 by candid consideration, by correct infor
 nation, just reasoning and the enactment
 of such laws as may fairly appear to bt
 promotive to the general public good. Il is upon such considerations fairly tha
 every government of the people must b'
 carried on."
 'Is third party movement likely ant if so what might it lead to- Is com
 munism at the bottom of it?'
 "A third party movement" replied thu senator, "does not exist-the Farmers al , liance enterprise. If successful to the ex ! l tent of having the president and botl
 houses of congress it would doubtless leaf to the enactment of measures they have al
 ready indicated, and then in very shor
 time whether those measures were goot
 for the farmers or extremely bad for then
 would manifestly appear. do not thinl
 that communism is at the bottom of tn
 Farmers alliance movement. The per
 centage of communists in this country is, believe, at present infnitesimally small The great body of the laberinl
 people of the country, which, taking al
 the departments of human activity, em
 braces probably ninety y-fve one-hundredth
 of the whole number of grown-up people
 are altogether too intelligent and too hon
 est to think that communism will be o
 any benefit to them or their families, bu
 they believe that it is destructive of pri
 vate rights of personal prosperity and pel
 sonal happiness, and if carried into prae
 tice would effect the maintenance of th
 vicious, the lazy and the ignorant out (
 the toll of the intelligent and industriou
 people"
 "How might the finances of the countr
 be affected by this movementT
 |. "'The finances of the country always d.
 pend very largely upon the confidence tn, ,t people engaged in business and peop 2 2 having capital have in the administratio " of it's government. If any of the nov
 ments of which we have been speaking al
 pear so formidable as to make unsoun
 legislation at all probable, the finances
 the country would be very much disturbe'
 and that, of course, would disturb evel
 branch of labor and business. This ever
 body perfectly understands"
 .l Chtcagoss Death Rate. = CHICAGO, April 6.-The death rate la u week was the highest ever known