The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-07-18
BULL ARP ON FINANCE.

SukL AtSH On FINANCE.
He Dosen't Understand the Situation
but Thinks we Need n Statesman e
Untangle the Financial Skein.
Atlanta Constitution.
Silver and gold. 1 wish that die
understand it. have said SO much
about bimettalism and demonetizins
and free coinage and the Sherman act
and the purchase of bullion and wha,
Congress should do and shouldn't de
that 1T all makes my head swim and ]
lose confidence in Mr.. Cleveland and
Mr.. Carlisle and everybody else. The
whole thing seems to be in a tangle
Have we no great statesmen, no great
financiers to back up to? Are the
editors OF the papers to box the thing
about forever and ever and keep the
people In a quandary? Is partisan
politics to curse the country while it is
suffering from financial panic that
is paralyzing every industry and Great
ing a general distrust. There is not
q Republican paper but what would
rather the Democrats would make a
blunder than to bring relief. They
are heartless set-these politicians.
Ihey are everlastingly machining
|
and the Democrats are nearly as bad
as the Republicans. 1 have heard SO
much In the last two weeks about
machine politics that L am sick. |
never conceived how many bargains
and trades had to be made to get an
Office; how many traps and triggers
and how the patronage and spoiis and
perquisites had to be divided out to
suit the congressman and keep them
in office. Not all the Congressman,
OF course, for thank heaven we have
some there who have no machine and
who would not fear to have every act
of their political life laid open to the
people, but with some of them public
office is q private trust. They say,
This is my office. / worked for it,
stopped for it, lied for it, and I'm going
to make all 1 can out of it," It has
been that way always I reckon and we
can't help it, but l do wish we had
some great statesmen like there used
to be-some great thinkers and leaders
like Calhoun and Webster and Dewitt
Clinton of the olden times. 1 wish
that we had Justice jackson in Con-
gress, for do believe that man who
could untangle the Central railroad as
quickly as he did could untangle all
this money business and tell the coun-
try what to do to restore confidence.
That is all that is wanted, they saw.
Confidence 1 want some myself.
Confidence is a plant of slow growth
in an aged bosom. My old friend
Cicero Strong told me the other day
that the way to settle the trouble was
to take the 1OO, ,OOO, 900 of reserved gold
that was in the treasury and use it, for
it had been there for years and wears
doing no good and they might just as
we'll fill up the bags with iron or lead
or copper and nobody would ever know
the difference, for it is never counted,
but is weighed twice year. 1t could
be fixed up in the night by the
treasurer and one Or two men to help.
What is the use of the gold locked
up 80 long when it Is needed so bad ?"
MAYBE that's been done already"
said l.. MAYBE the gold isn't there,
but 1T Is only bags of lead" Maybe
| Cicero, and he looked solemn, like he,
too, had lost confidence.
During the last great political excite
ment when the peoples party was
cavorting around, q little preacher
over in East Tennessee mounted a
wagon body at a justice court ground
and harangued the boys on the silver
question. Free silver !" he cried.
81 Free silver Blessed be the pro-
spect. When our party gets in power,
my brethren, there will be no more
want, no more poverty, no more hands
TO hang down or feeble knees to shake,
but everybody will have silver. Bless
the Lord We will run every mine. to
its full capacity day and night, and we
will open thousand new ones and
ship the shining ore to the mints and
melt and mold and stamp and then
ship 1t all over the country by the car
load, and when our share gets here we
will load 1t in wagons and drive out on
every road, and as the wagons move
along we will shovel it out and scatter
1t far and wide, and even the women
and children will get some, bless the
buy without money and without price,
oh .ye OF little faith" and the people
said amen"
That wasn't much worse than O
speech that 1 heard George Francis
Train mako at Rochester about twenty
years ago. He grew sublimely
eloquent about the government issuing
millions and billions and trillions and
quintrillions of paper money and lend
ing everybody just as much as they
wanted. Keep the paper mills
running day and night and the print
ing machines, and let the bright, new
bills flood the land and then | will
have pocketful and feel like a
gentleman, and my country friend
over there will have his saddle bags
full, and that good old woman will
have her apron full and we will build
docks and canals and railroads and
meeting houses and ships and factories
and everybody will have plenty to dc
at big prices, and the poor will become
rich and those who are now rich will
become poor, for their old-fashioned
money will be good no more, and we
will all be happy as If the millennium
had come"
Hold on, Train" said one of his
hearers hold on minute" "What's
the matter ?" said Train. "Wouldn't
the whole thing collapse and bust uI
after while?" said his hearer. Train
looked at him with sovereign contempt
and said: why, OF course, it would
any fool might know that. There
would be an awful bust up, but al
these hotels and canals and railroads
and factories wouldn't bust up--they
would be there. Don't you see ?"
J There Is some truth in all this, even
If crank did say it. Go to Decatur
and Admission and Boyce's and Sheffield
and Florence and Bridgeport. Go any
where where there was boom few
years ago and see the big houses anG
} stores and factories that are empty
: They are all there, but the collapse
came epd the builders have scattered
to parts unknown