Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-07-05
REEp.s RonEN RAM.
The Ex-Czars's GIratorx Ideas on the Ssl-
yer Question.

rhe Ex-Czars'e Giratory Ideas on the Ssl-
yer Question.
When q man gets the presidential
bee in his bonnet its buzzing interferes
with and prevents that clear concep-
ton of cause and effect and of condi-
tions which should distinguish an as
pirant for SO exalted a station; and it
also affects in singular manner the
optic nerves, causing them to present
to the active brain distorted picture
of things and their relations. It is
only on this theory that one may ac
count for this aberrancy SO coDspicu-
GUS in SO many of these ambitious pa
triots. We might cite distinguished
instances of this from our history, but
the present is rich enough, and we need
not point to any other than Mr.. Nc
Kinley, who insists that the foreigner
pays the tax; to Mr.. Bland, who insists
that as Adam dragged humanity down
with him into sin, so silver has pulled
the values of everything down with it
in its demonstration.
But equally prominent with any in
the present or the past who have had
the wheels in their heads set in mo-
ton by the busy presidential bee, none
is more, few SO conspicuous as Hon.
4AOA44bo LII oChCbt IhCCo VI 1Ac1IhOs InIs
Reed is a stanch protectionist, one of
those who laughed scornfully at the
reciprocity dodge of Mr.. Blaine as a
delivery to the enemy of the keys to
the gates of the fortress of protection.
But Mr.. Reed sees that Mr.. Mckinley
has dead cinch on the single question
of projections; that there is decidedly
silver lining to the clouds lowering
over his party; and he fancies if he can
couple silver and protection and reci-
procity he will have three tFumps in
his hand to McKinley's one. So we
have him in his noted interview boldly
announcing a new policy. in which he
proposes to drive protection, silver and
free trade tandem. They are kittle
cattle, and we shall watch with inter
est Mr.. Reeds handling of the ribbons
over his wild team.
But there are some fallacies in Mr..
Reeds statements that are too plain to
be hidden under any gauze of rhetoric
he may have at command. One of
these is the effect of the demonetiza-
ton of silver on the exports of the sill
yer using nations. They have been
vastly stimulated by crafty merchant
men, who bought silver bullion at its
market valve, took it to those coun-
tries, converted it into coin and bought
produce with the coin at its face value,
making a profit which they either
pocketed or shared with the consumer
in reduced price. This was not an
original discovery of Mr.. Reeds; we
remember that Senator Davis m ade
something of the same statement in
his opening speech at Crookston in the
campaign of 1890, but which he did not
again repeat, because his fellow cam
paigner, Gov. Merriam, told him, after
the speech, that it was dashed nom
sense.
If this is true fact. as the boys say,
with nice discrimination, we might
confidently look to the trade returns
of these countries to find confirmation
of it in the increased imports of silver,
the decreased imports of gold and
great increase of imports of merchan-
disc and exports of produce. AS India
is the great silver consumer of the sill
yer nations, we might expect to see its
effects there most marked. For the
eleven months ending with February,
1898, the latest return at hand. her i'm
ports of merchandise, stated in tens of
rupees, of the nominal value of $780,
amounted to 1858, 992, and for the
same period in '94 they were 81, 4O3, O97,
a gain of less than 10000 The
total value of her exports of merchan-
disc during the same periods were 90
468, O44 and 91,522, OO6 respectively,
showing gain of little over 1000, 900
in '94.
The imports of gold into India were
1,4s4, ITO tens of rupees in the eleven
months ending with February, 1898,
a nEn e., =, -,
1894, showing a gain of 100 per cent. in
the latter term. The inflow of silver,
which should show large increase if
Mr.. Reeds conjecture is accurate,
shows a hardly perceptible increase in
the periods compared, the imports be-
ing IA, 09O,3 1884 tens of rupees in the first
and ID, 219, 024 in the second term, gain
of less than 10 per cent, while, as
noted, gold imports increased 100 per
cent.
Thus, accepting Mr.. Reeds own test,
we find his statement contradicted by
the facts. We have not the figures at
hand for the silver countries south of
US, but have no doubt they show the
same proportions. Whatever of in
crease there is in exports, especially of
grain, is due, not to Mr.. Reeds absurd
cause, but to the development of the
agricultural resources of those coun-
tries, stimulated by our own policy of
obstructing the exchanges of the con-
Stunning nations with ourselves. Mr..
Reeds new hobby may have wind and
music enough to carry him through
the next national convention, but it
will break down before it reaches the
federal capitoI.-St. Paul Globe.
M'kiNLEYISM AND TRUSTS.
Significant Facts Brought to Light In the
Sugar SQuabble.
The head of the sugar trust frankly