The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-04-19

and peels all the hide OH MS Dack.
Feeling supreme satisfaction
in doing that, he closes his remarks
by advising a byperdemic injection OF
the silver question into the next CAM
paigu and admonishes the way
ward Populists who ere playing the
sucker act in such grand shape to
mend their way.
HIS REMARKS
AUSTIN, April 10.
The anomalous and unprecedented
condition of the political affairs OF the
country so induces me to invite the
attention of our people to some grave
questions,
| am impelled to this course by the
momentous character of the questions,
and by my gratitude for thu hOnors
thew have SO often conferred on me,
and feel the more free 70 do so as l am
not q candidate toT any ONCE, ana
will not be, and therefore have no per-
sonal or selfish purpose to suoserVe'
And | shall relieve myself OF the du-
ties of the position | now hold as soon
as the public interests will elbow me
to adopt that course. | can therefore
speak as one private citizen might
sneak to another with reference to the
public welfare.
There is at this time greater sup
ply of all food and manufactured pro-
duets, and cheaper and more a0und'
ant TRANSPORTATION in the United
States than at any former time. And
there is at this time greater destltu =
ton, hunger and star walton, and more
men out of employment, more trampss
and beggars, and more sorrow ana
wretchedness than was ever before
known in this country in time OF
peace. With most abundant harvests
and bountitul supplies OF all articles
of food, cheaper than such articles
ever were before, large masses OF men
can not get work to enable them to
supply their families. And bands OF
unemployed idle men are marching
through the country in search OF re-
lief. All products of the field, the
factories and forests, are 50 low IN
price as to make their production un-
remunerative.
AS further illustrative of the in
dustrisl and business condition,
in the year 1898 the number
of cases of bankruptcy had
increased more than so per cent, and
the amount involved had increased
more than 270 per cent over that OF
the year 1892. In the year 1898 nearly
40, 900 miles of railroad in the United
states, with capitalization of stocks
aud bonds amounting to nearly 81, OOO,,
900, went into the hands of receivers
If YOU will examine the weekly re-
ports of bank clearances. as they APP
year in all the large daily newspapers
commencing with the first week in
January and coming down to the pre-
sent, you will see that each OF these
weeks shows a falling off of many
millions of dollars as compared with
the corresponding weeks of 1892 thus
evidencing the decline of business.
In the year before silver was demon
etized by Republican congress, 1872
the national debt OF the United States
was, after deducting the cash in the
treasury, s., l49, 7S0,530 This debt II
1892, after deducting the cash in the
treasury was SAL ,526, 1853 The aver
age price of middling cotton in 1872
in currency. was % 10 cents, in 1898 i
was about Genus. The average price
of wheat per busnel in 1872, in cur
rency, was 81 AZ. In 1893 it was les
than go cents. A like reduction ha
tax en- place in the other staple prod
ucts. So it appers that at this time i
would require as much of the stapl'
products of the country to pay tn,
debt of $541 ,526, 463, az it would hav'
required to pay the debt of 81, l49, $50,
$50 in the year 1872.
Take the statistical abstract pub
lished annually by the Uniten State
treasury department, which gives tn
average price of the leading stapl
commodities of the country year b!
year, and also gives the relative price
of gold and silver. and you will So
that Just as silver has gon
down. as compared with gold, tn
prices of all staple commodities hav
gone down with it, or rather the pric
of gold has gone up and lett silver an
the products of the country togethe
far below gold prices.
The aggregate value of all of tn
property in the United States, afte
making proper allowance for the &C
cretions of time, is many thousau
millions of dollars less than it wa
20 years ago, when the war was con
menced against silver and to force th
business OF the country to a singl
gold standard of currency.
Who will deny the substantial accJ
,, racy Of the facts of the case as ab0y
stated And whether denied or not
and ii denied, for whatever reason
! still these facts are so fully before tn
people, and 50 ground into the mine
OF the minds OF the people, that deus
cannOt change them.
The cause which led to this lamen
able condition of things is as palpab
aud undenisbe as is their eNistenc
Less than 80 years ago when tn
9 output of gold in California and Al
: tralia was greater than the output
: the silver OF the world, and was eau