The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-04-24
CONGRESS is SCARED
The "On to Washington" Move
ment Disturbs Them,
And They Don't Feel Any Too
Comfortable.
TOLL AND TROUBLE.
Congress Thinks it is In Hot
Water, Always.

WAsHINGToN, April 24--ISpecial. i
All is serene and the new rule for quorum
counting works well, especially when it is
not needed. In fact, the chief beauty of
the rule seems to be that it is seldom need
ed. But the majority can go on and easily
finish all needed legislation early in June,
Mr.. Holman says, and it is to be hoped
that this will serve as an effective hint to
the senate.
We are, however, no sooner out of one
trouble than VIC are into another, for Cox
ey's army is on the way, as are several
other detachments, and that which was at
first a joke has gradually become a matter
of serious concern Congressman paid lit
tie or no attention to the movement except
to laugh at it until the so called army had
got across the AIlcghanies and had taken
to the canal When it was added that
1, 200 'Sindustrials,' had been railroaded
from Utah to Iowa, that 300 more were on
their way from St. Louis, /, 600 from the
southwest and scattered bodies from other
places sufficient to bring the whole num-
Der up to 5000 and all converging on
Washington, discussion took q more seri-
Gus turn. The District commissioners took
pains to publish that the police and Dis
trict militia were in splendid shape; that
the regular army artillery here could be
had on call and large detachments could
be brought at short notice from Baltimore
and Fort Monroe 1t was only coinci-
dence that tho District veterans of 1861
those who volunteered to protect public
property against a supposedly intended
dash of the secessionists-heId their an
nual reunion about the same time, but it
comforted many by recalling to their
minds that there are 2, 600 or 8, 600 veter-
ans of the civil war in and near this city,
and that the resident population could
turn out some 10, 600 abIebodied men.
Still most people scarcely knew whether to
laugh at all this or to get alarmed, and
the opinions of congressman were sought
with some anxiety.
a Serious Matter.
In answer to many questions General
GrOsvenor said: - OF course there could not
be anything like those uprisings in Paris,
Vienna or in London, but still the thing
is serious enough. You will notice that
Coxey only promises to provide for his
army till it gets here; then his response
bility ceases, and the hungry, disOrderly
crowd must look out for itself. At first
view it does look strange, as you say, that
everybody along the route Of the advanc
ing columns should be feeding those fell
lows and helping them along, but it is pure
selfshness and not because they sympa-
thize with such gangs. Take those
called far west .induStrials,' for instance.
California and Nevada were glad to get rid
of them and would not allow them to come
back, and so Utah had to send them on,
and the same with Wyoming and Nebras-
ka. The railroads could not kick, for ev-
eryfOOdy is down them, and they have
the biggest strike in their history on their
hands. If they had turned those fellows
adrift in the Wyoming desert, suggest
ed, why, the gang would have robbed every
ranch along the route, eaten up all the pro-
visions and destroyed the railroads besides.
Every official wanted to get them out of
his bailiwick soon as possible, and here
we shall simply have to feed them awhile
hon oh hon fort how
many for the jails to hold - >. So far Gen
eral Grosvenor's opinion is substantially
that of most members, but many think if
the invaders are not dealt with severely it
will establish q bad precedent, encOurag-
ing the discontinued to march on Wash
ingtOn.
Active Silver Men.
The silver men have broken out in new
place, and their latest idea is to have sill
yer as our national money but to recog-
nize gold as the money of the wa.rld-that
is, reserve it entirely for foreign~exchangc
and payment at the custom houses SO far
as government is compelled to have gold
for foreign uses. One of the most conser-
vative of this class is Governor George @.
Pendleton, representing the Seventh Texas
district, who says:
1.-The adoption of the gold standard has
worked untold injury to the producers of
the world by measuring an increased vol
ume of products with a diminishing vol
cline in prices Nor is it possible to set any
limit to this Decline for the use of gold in
the arts and ornaments is gaining so rap
idly upon the production that in few years
there will be no addition whatever to the
volume for money, not even enough to sup
ply waste. Now, observe that products
raised and consumed entirely in the Unit
ed States, such as hay, small fruits and
vegetables, butter, eggs and the like, have
not declined in price because we have been
continually adding to our volume of paper
money and to our silver until the Sherman
law was repealed 1t is in everything of
which we sell the surplus abroad in a
gold market that prices have SO fear
fully declined. There is, however, a sym
pathy in prices which viii soon cause all
those things for which we have a home
market to decline unless some plan is de
vised by congress to continue the increase
of money volume This gives US the prop
er hint as to what ought to be done.
Inequality of Prices.
stOf course our legislation can only re-
motely affect prices in other countries, and
every effort should be exhausted by our
government to secure their cooperation in
the movement to apply a remedy. In the
meantime legislation should be directed to-
ward preventing conditions from getting
any worse and to bettering them as soon as
possible Everybody knows by this time
that it is the surplus of our corn, wheat,
cotton and so forth sold abroad which fixes
the price of all that is sold at home, no
matter how small that surplus may be,
and this is the cause Of the strange in
equality in prices now prevailing The de-
cline has. however, begun to take effect on
everything, and the manufacturers are in
jured because the farmers are not able to
buy. 1t is exaggeration to say that
something must be done soon On the gold
basis see no reason why the decline should
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