The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-10-13
A MARES NEST.

A MARES NEST.
The Democracy has discovered mares
nest, and 1t is full of alarms in conse-
quence. 1t appears that Republican
committees propose to print and circulate
examples of the shinplaster currency
under the State banks of issue system,
which brought on the financial crisis of
1897, when no man could swear at any
given moment whether he had 81 or
$1,000, though his wallet might be stuffed
70 bursting with currency notes.
The Democratic national platform ''de-
mands'' the repeal Of the law that is now
prohlbitory of such bank issues; not be-
cause the Democracy believes the old
state system was wise, safe or in, any
way commendable, but because it is nee
essary every now and then to throw a
bone to the old hardshell, lineback
States rights Democrats, who must have
touch-up of Capitalization" or else
they will forget the shibboleth of their
party.
Because the Republicans propose to
show the new generation what the shin
plasters were, with which the receding
generation had to do battle, the Demo-
cratic press is ''astounded." It assumes
that the idea is "monstrous'; that it is
trick unworthy, ignoble and damnable.
and it is holding up its hands all over the
news pages in protest against this cleo
pioneering device of the black Repub-
Hcans.
just where there is anything wrong or
unfair or outrageous in what the Repub-
lican committee proposes to do we con-
Tess utter inability to discover or to fancy.
The truth is, the Democrats fear the eff
fectiveness of the Republican device, and
hence they pretend to be shocked that
anyone should sink to so low level as to
reprint samples Of the bank notes of the
time when every citizen in business had
to go about with Bank Note Detector IA
bulky quarto volume) hanging at one
side of his body and powerful magnify
ing glass stuffed into his pocket, in order
TO carry out so simple transaction as
buying pat of butter.
In those trustful and unfortunate days
of thousand wildcat banks of issue, with
81, 81, So, "a, So, $40 and $50 notes of each
bank, different each class from the other,
one had to be an expert as to "lathe
work" (in engraving), Shades - "down
graver Strokes" sup slant lines" flight
in the eye" dashes, ''scroll work, !"
under lay" lover print" etc., etc., and
had also to know how to compare the
handwriting on the several notes with a
copy Of the genuine in the Detector, and
to note such dissimilarities or parallels as
determined the genuineness of the bank
officers signatures. or the counterfeiting
of their handwriting.
If the Democracy makes its demand eff
fective for removal of the barrier to all
this sort of business, and the return to
the era of banks at all corners and half
way of the blocks besides, it will plunge
the country into a sea of trouble resem-
bling that of 1857, but as much worse, as
financial transactions are larger and
more closely related to the people at large
in this day.
This scare of the Democratic press is
amusing; indeed it is ludicrous. The
Spanish have saying that they fear most
who shout first. and that appears to be
the case with our political neighbors in
this matter of the proposed political liter
allure of the later days of the campaign.