The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-07-19
BILL ARP
He Doesn't Understand Much About the
Situation.
atlanta Constitution.


Silver and gold. / wish that 1 did
understand it. 1 have said so much
about bimettallism and demonetizing
and free coinage and the Sherman act
and the purchase Of bullion and what
Congress should do snd shouldn't do
that it all makes my head s#ini and !
lose confidence in Mr.. Cleveland and
Mr.. Carlisle and everybody else. The
whole thing seems to be in a tangle.
Have NE no great statesmen, no great
Ananciers to back up to? Are the
editors Of the papers to box the thing
about forever and ever and keep the
people in a 4uandary? Is partisan
politics to curse the Country while It
is suffering from financial panic that
is paralyzing every industry and Great:
ing general distrust. There is not a
Republican paper but what would
rather the Democrats would make a
blunder than to bring relief. They
are heartlsss set-these politicians.
They are everlastingly machining
around to keep in oflce or to get In
and the Dsm5Srats are nearly; as bad
as the Republicans. I have heard 80
much in the last two weeks abodt fia-
chine politics that | 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 per-
quisites had to be divided out to suit
the Congressmen and keep them in
Office. not oil the Congressman, of
cotirse, for thank heaven we have some
there who have nj tiaohine and who
would not fear to have every act of
their political life laid open to the
people, but with some Of them q public
office is q private trust. They say,
s'This is my Office. / worked for it,
stopped for it, lied for is, and I'm
going to make all can out Of it."
It has been that way always l reckon
and we can't help it, but I 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.
I wish that we had Justice jackson in
Congress, for I do believe. that man
who could untangle the Central rail-
road as quickly as he did could untan-
gle all this money business and tell the
country What to do, to restore conf
dence. That is all that Is Waited they
say. Confidence I want come my
self. Confidence is 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 100000, 900 Of reserv-
ed gold that was III the treasury and
use it, for it hid been there for years
and years 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
a year. It could be fixed UP in the
night by the treasurer and one or two
men to help. "What is the use Of the
gold being locked up SO long. when it
is needed so bad ?'' maybe that's
been done already said I. "Maybe
the gold isn't there, but it is only
bags Of Lead Maybe them Repub;
licans did change it, - said Cicero, and
he looked sUlemnj like he, too, had
lost confidence.
During the last great political ex-
citement, when the people s party was
cavorting around, little preacher
over in East Tennessee mounted q
wagon body at justice court ground
and harranged the boys on the silver
question. "Free silverI' he cried.
Gree silver Blessed be the pros
pect. 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 s. shake,
but everybody will have silver. Bless
the Lord We will run every mine to
it's 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 it all over the country by the
carload, and when our share, gets here
we.will load it in wagons and drive out
on every road, and as the wagons move
along we will shovel it out and scatter
it far and wide, and even the women
and children will get some, bless the
Lord | Free silver; come quickly and
buy without money and without price,
oh ye, of little faith and the people
| said "amen."
That wasn't much worse than q
| speech that I heard George Francis
Train make at Rochester about twenty
| years ago. He grew sublimely about
the government issuing millions and
billions and trillions and quintrillions
| of paper money and lending everybody
just as much as they wanted. "Keer
| the paper mills running day and night
and the printing machines, and let The
bright, new bills food the land anc
then I will have pocketful and fee!
| like 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 viii
build docks and canals and railroads
and meeting houses and ships and fac
tories and everybody will have plenty
to do at big prices, and the poor vii
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 mil
lennium had come.
"Hold on, Train said one Of
his hearers "hold on a minute. y
"What's the matter p said Train.
"Wouldn't the whole thing collapse
and burst up after while p said his
hearer. Train looked at him with SOW.
erign contempt, and said: ''Why, Of
course, it would ]; any fool might know
that. There would be an awful bust
up, but all these hotels and canals and
railroads aud factories wouldn't bust
up-they would be there. Don't you
see p
There is some truth in all this, even
if crank did say it. Go to Decatur
and Admission and Boyce's and Shef'
field and Florence and Bridgeport.
Go anywhere where there was a boom
few years ago and see the big houses
IL ,lasa, ~ footor;oe that oro