The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-05-03

lent; its capital is intact and small sur
plus above dividends paid est has been
accumulated, but President E.righs says
that sound business enterprises cannot be
expected to remain in en- at s.,asphere of
political folly. at is with thu. deepest re-
greet that We are forced cat of $ state with
such large resources. ans that Asti already
begun to advance in material prosperity
but it cannot be helped. Life is too short
for active men to sit down er3 wait for
three-fourths Of the voters of = state to re-
gain their sanity"
OF course every other sound investment
company will do 40 the Knigias company
has resolved to do: they wiz go where
they can safely loan their caeisal. which
they cannot do today under present con-
ditions in Kansas. The fool I-opulists can
capture Legislatures: they can iegisiate for
borrowers without respecting she rights Of
lenders. but they cannot prs~erat the bird
capital from taking to # ght ard seeking .
state where she will not be mebbed with
hue and cry and shot at siEhs by every
bankrupt lunatic that ran csst vote Ut
the polls or indite Laws for a Legislature
that stands for "a town ssleeting run mad"
Three years ago Eastern capital flowed
copiously into Kansas and :hs farmers
were able to borrow nioney o. cheaper
rates of interest than had the pioneers Of
any other state in the Union, 5ut igno-
rance, dishonesty, greed. Incidence, and
incendiary demagogsm JOINED hands to
elect legislature that enacted class iegis-
lation Of the most stupid sort. Kansas
has stupidity persisted is, repeating all the
folly of grangerism thas IllinoSs. Wiscon-
sin. Minnesota and Iowa have repented
in sackcloth and ashes
Kansas has Experienced" industrial
and financial irreligion. and III hone she
enjoys it. The Popuiist or Farmers ALI
ance rank and file in Kansas ase being re-
stored to reason gradually By tie collapse
of the Alliance retail shops shat within
the past two or three years Tere estab-
lished by the Populists to put stop to
the greed of the midd!eSnen," a. the parish
Jerry Simpson phrases it. These shops
were to be supplied With stock purchased
at Wholesale.
Whatever the Pcpulias needed he was to
be allowed to purchase at prices just suf-
fcient to defray the cost Of handling.
Checks were issued against deposits of
farm produce, and these checks were re-
ceived in lieu of money at the farmers
shops. We will let the lola, kan.. Register
sum up the facts that l. AVE bessIs proved by
this experiment 40 follows:
1t has been demonstE ated that individual
merchants have not been making exorbtant
profits, because the Alliance sores were not
able TO reduce prices Oh shy sta,le articles. 1t
has been demonstrated that consecutive enter.
prises cannot be managed rs cheaply and
prudently a. private enterprise. It has been
demonstrated that men who haya had no ex.
perience in the mercantile Business cannot
compete with men who have tad such ex.
perisnce. even although they are honest and
belong to reform political partr. Ii has been
demonstrated again that the cid political
economy which lets nnen run their own business,
while Is may be harsh n theory. 10 safer In
practice than the new political ssonomy which
insists on the government or sosne other aggre-
CATION OF people running every mans business
for him. For during all these hari times indi-
vidual stores have maintained themselves, have
satisfied their customers and hs.ve presumably
made reasonable profits, ~hile the socialistic in.
etitutions have lost money and satisfied nobody.
Here In our own town the Stockholders in the
cooperative store not OF lost their original in.
vestment but had TO pay assessment equal to
twice the amount, while they reaped no offset
ting benefit whatever IL. the way OF reduced
prices while the store lived.
The melancholy thing Is that these de.
luded farmers of Kansas have persisted in
threshing over again the mu stiast straw in
Christendom: it vas old straw In the
time of the middle sges, sa6 yet 1t was
Refreshed sixty years ago ia England and
France: it was Refreshed nearly fftv
years ago in New England when "union
stores" collapsed In svery country town;
it was re-threshed By the grangers in the
West more than once since 1874. and now
Kansas has had its whack at this musty.
wheatiess straw.
1t does seem as II there ve.e thousands
OF grown-up children in TIC world who
are never fully satisfied tast red hot
stove will burn them until ii,ey have sat
upon it for some time. The striking
object lesson Of Kansas we respectfully
recommend to the consideration of the
Populists Of Washington. ard to those
people who think il would ss nice thing
TO be governed by a populist legislature.
We would like 10 see tho Populists
converted to the gospel Of financial and
industrial sanity, tut if that - not
possible We would Ike TO see the Populist
party Inverted by the ballots az sane men
of both parties vhp do nat wish to see
Washington an OBJECT less0n Of political
folly and financial l'snacy Lac Kansas.
The sooner that the peos.ls learn that
class legislation in he supposed interests
OF either labor or a3i.al is rernicious IN
Its effect the better will il IL !or their I'm.
terests. The estaol shed Lave Of trade and
finance canno: b. abolished by artificial
means without sing Widespread sui.
iering and disaster