Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-12-14
p CURRENT INTEREST.
Quack-NOstrum Finance.
Mr.. Morrills sharp and witty speech
on Various PopulIst Schemes TO Make
Everybody Rich.

MIR. MOrrill's Sharp and witty Speech
on Various POpuIIst Schemes to Make
Everybody Rich.
Senator Morrill, of Vermont, whom
Westinghouse know by the gracious title
of 'the father of the Senate" delivered
on Tuesday the formal speech which it has
come to be his custom to make on some
important national topic near the opening
of each session of Congress. His subject
this year was a congenial one-the absurd
tiles of the wild schemes of finance pre-
scented in the Senate by Mr.. PETER and 9TH
er Populist 'thinkers' and his playful
rdicule of the economical alterations of
the Kansas school was at once highly
amusing and highly destructive
In opening his speech which Mr.. Nor
rill called "Some marvellous senatorial bills
and quack panaceas for real and imaginary
grievances" he had read by their titles a
list of nine wildcat bills which have been
introduced by different senators afflicted by
the Populistic craze, which sees in the I'M
limited issue of so-called money by the
government a remedy for all existing finan-
cial ills. One of these bills calls for the issue
of $4,000, 100000 of legal tender treasury
notes, on the security of 25-year non-nter-
est bearing bonds, representing not to eX-
coed one-half of the assessed value of the
property of any state, territory county,
city, township or other municipal subdivi-
sion, the legal tender notes apparently to
be handed over in exchange for the bonds
Another measure calls for the more moder-
ate amount of S2,500,000, 600 in treasury
1,a 4 IL. -.
vidual citizens, as well as municipalities,
without any security whatever Still another
bill would provide SOS 900, 900, 600 of legal
tender money ''to establish systems OF CO.
operation and for other purposes" The
others are equally absurd. "These hun
CRY bills" Mr. Morrill, said, "big, bigger
and biggest, ask for nine or ten times more
money than is now in use by the whole
world. One of them proposes to pur-
chase all the silver bullion that may be Of
tered at SLID an ounce, though it fetches
now in any market only 81 cents an ounce.
Figurativey speaking, the bills were all of
one brood, and of the same feather. birds
of imitation, none game, none worth a
charge of powder, but legislative dodoes,
unlikely ever to be seen on earth again.
l do not suppose, the senator continued,
there are more vagaries or political tom
fooleries put atl0at here than in other coun-
tries. Occasionally they come forth here,
without fatherhood, frisk about through
dog days, and then disappear, leaving
no bubbles in sight to show where they
sank We also have some pushing, ia
natical theories wearing the mask of
political reform, and as sure to give the
world the millennium, and not more so,
than was the philosophers stone to turn
everything il touched into cold
1t is to be feared that we are livestock
ed with amateur cObblers, eager in every
emergency to bring out from the profound
recesses of their vest pockets ready-made
constitutional amendments, adapted, when
slightly fabricated, to their own peculiar
circumstances.
The recent unparalleled output of our
silver mines has been so excessive as to de-
preciate the value of silver one-half
throughout the commercial markets of the
world and now everywhere threatens the
stability of money standards. A legal dol
lar of 4l2t grains of silver, worth only IS
cents, will merely reduce the old standard
dollar to As cents and nominally double
the value OF all rich mems estates. As
the boy told his father, calling calf's tail
legal tender leg will make five-legged
calf. Queerly enough, we have the mis-
demonstrating that one-half of the annual
silver product, requiring but one-half the
labor cost, would be of equal value to that
OF the present total output. Surely we
might be happy with the half were the
other dear half away.
In this connection Mr.. Morrill, referred
to the prodigiOus excess of about !, 0O0. 600
bales of cotton more than is wanted at
nome or abroad and said it was difficult to
see what benefit would accrue to the plant
er or to the laborer by giving the purchaser
OF cotton an opportunity to pay for it with
cheaper standard of money. There is
always large excess of the wheat crop.
making it cheaper feed for stock than
oats or corn. For this one of the hurried
ly invented patent remedies proposed is a
much lower cost of transportation. That
would be legitimate, if legitimately oh
tainable, though it might not be sufficient
But the past sharp competition for such
freights has already made the business IN
profitable, and many railroads are now in
the hands of receivers.
AS final and sovereign remedy, there
tore, the government is to be asked either
to purchase or to cOnfiscate the railroads.
and to run them for nothing and find it.
self. OF courseit would be wrong to wait
for sufficient growth of consumers to alb
sorb the surplus wheat, and only heroic
remedy can now double its cash price Ere
long it is to be hoped that all parts of our
country will shun dependence upon sin
gle crop, and learn that the culture of a
variety of crops, in the long run, nsures
the safest, the largest aggregate returns,
and that the combined usefulness of gold
and silver is greater than either can be
alone.
ha al 1, IL.
Morrill, referred had been reported adverse
ly and Mr.. Morrll's motion to postpone
their consideration indefinitely, which he
made at the close of his speech, was car
ried without serious opposition.
The Baltimore Plan" of Currency Re.
form