The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-02-21
SEVEN FINhNGIAL CONSPIRAGIES.
Which Have Enslaved the American People
Published by Permission of the Author,
Mrs. S. E. V. Emery.
CHAPTER Nv.
CONTRACTION.


their clothes began to be shabby their
fondness for the Sunday school de-
clined. Mr.. Burt did not renew his
church subscription that year, and it
was very uncomfortable for him to
sit in his pew and hear the minister
preach about worldly minded men,
who thought more about the price Of
wheat than of his souls salvation,
and who grew so avaricious that he
would not subscribe for the support
of the gospel. Mr.. Burt listened to
what the preacher said, but his heart
grew hard, his clothes grew shabby,
and his attendance at church grew
infrequent and finally ceased alto
gether.
A few weeks before the third pay
ment came due, Mr.. Burt sold his
wheat at IS cents per bushel; a fine
crop, but it failed to meet the 70
Quirements of the contract, foreclos-
ure followed, and Mr.. Burt and fami-
ly were turned penniless into the
street. Setting out in search Of work
he unfortunately reached Michigan
just after her tramp law had taken
effect. Wandering from place to
place, shabbily dressed and "without
any visible means of support" he was
finally arrested for vagrancy, and sent
to the penitentiary. Disheartened
and overcome by feeling of disgrace,
he soon sickened and died. His
friends, ignorant Of his whereabouts,
knew nothing of his sad fate. Twen-
| ty-four hours after his death, on q
bleak Decem Der day, rough wooden
box was landed at the basement win
dow Of the medical department of
the Athens of Michigan, and few
days later a subject with care-worn
look and locks prematurely grey, was
laid upon the dissecting table. The
students loosely remarked that "the
old fellow must have been soldier,
judging from the number of scars
upon his person" But there was one
student who did not join in the mer-
riment of his companions. He earn
estly scanned the features of the
dead man, and half an hour after the
dismissal of the class missive was
winging its way to the state peniten-
tiary. The next day the expressman
brought little package to the seri-
Gus student. He opened it with
trembling hands; alas, his conjectures
we're realities. The package con-
tanned few articles of clothing, and
in a little soiled packet he found
mementoes from his fathers house,
among them the picture of a beauti-
full maiden, his sister, Mary, and by
her side young man in soldiers uni
form. The blood curdled in his veins.
He remembered when that picture
was taken, though only child; the
occasion was indelibly fixed upon
his mind. It was the day that his
sister was married to the soldier
Joseph Burt-the pauper of yester-
day, the victim Of the dissecting
knife. Spared from the shot and
she'll of the battlefield to die a pau
per's death, and to suffer a fate that
none but criminals should ever know.
All, my country! where is thy graft
tude!
Through the contraction of the
currency Mr.. Burt's debt was doubled,
and what is true of this unfortunate
debt is equally true of the debt of
the government. Notwithstanding
John Sherman said to the laboring
people of Ohio less than a year ago
that 1.-THE debt is nearly paid off,"
yet it is fact that this debt is
greater burden upon us to-day than
t was at the close of the war. That
is, our debt-paying power has been
reduced in far greater ratio than
the debt itself; and to-day it would
take more bushels Of wheat, more
tons of hay, or more bales of cotton,
to pay our national debt than it
would have taken at the close Of the
war. What is true of the debt is
equally true of the interest, and not
withstanding we have paid interest
enough to have twice paid the origin
al debt, it will take more pounds of
beef, pork, or wool, more days labor
to pay our interest this year than it
took in 1866. The effects of contrac-
ton on the morals of the country is
briefly depicted by Georgia editor
as follows:
In 1868 there was about $40 per CAP
tia of money in circulation; cotton
was about 80 cents pound. The
farmer then put 500 pound bale of
cotton on his wagon, took it to town
and sold it. Then he paid $40 taxes.
bought cooking stove for $50, a suit
of clothes for SIS, his wife dress for
S., 100 pounds of meat for $40, | bar
rel of flour for $12, and went home
with $40 in his pocket. In 1887 there
was about S. per capita of money in
circulation; this same farmer put a
500 pound bale Of cotton on his wag-