Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-04-05
Colonel Springer's Mystery.

According to current reports, Colo
mel Bill Springer, of Illinois, is ratified.
Badly ratified. And when politician
OF Colonel Bill Springer's attainments,
| inclinations aud aspirations is ratified
it would border on injustice to hold
him to a strict accountability for his
performances.
Colonel Springer is a man who is as
full of surprises as cage of monkeys,
and as versatile in his capers. 1t Is
make perplexing discoveries and un-
expectedly meet dark mysteries in the
middle of the road. According to
Colonel Bills own confession, he is
now in the presence of one of these
mysteries, and, as result he is rat
tied as never before. Not only ratified,
but mortified. That is the only term
that will express his feelings. He is
mortified.
And it is all on account of the rec
ommendation in the Democratic plat
form that the 10 per cent tax on state
banks be repealed. Colonel Springer
has been talking on the subject. He
has. in fact, been saying good deal,
and we cannot better open the eyes of
Democrats in this section than by quot
ing what the Colonel said. His re-
marks will show why he is ratified and
why he has discovered a mystery.
He is quoted as follows:
Our committee (banking and curren-
Cyl would have reported adversely on
frienes of the bill did not want it re-
ported adversely. They now propose
to bring it up for debate in the
house as soon as the appropriation
bills and contested election cases are
OFT of the way. I have been instruct
ed to report favorably on the Brawley
bill. exempting from the state bank
tax the s:ript issued in the southern
states, which served the purpose of
currency in commercial transactions
during the financial stringcncy. When
that bill is reported the advocates of
the repeal of the state bank tax will
move to amend it by relieving all
state bank currency from the tax. In
this way they hope to secure vote on
the repeal of the tax. 1t will not car
ry, however. Nearly every northern
Democrat is opposed to it. The only
demand for the repeal of the bill comes
from the southern states-Georgia,
Louisiana, Alabama and Texas. /
have tried to clear up the mystery how
that plank got into the Chicago plat
form, but have failed. 1t will ever re-
main one of the unexplained acts of a
political convention.
This is altogether too interesting
and significant to pass over without
comment. Colonel Springer is so bad
ly ratified by the mystery he has dis
covered that he makes a complete ex-
hibition of the true inwardness of his
democracy. He turns it wrong side
outwards. He is opposed to the state
bank tax for three reasons: First, be-
cause every northern Democrat is
against it; second, because the only de-
mand for the repeal of the tax comes
from the southern states; and, third,
because he has failed to clear up the
mystery of the appearance of the plank
in the platform.
All this shows that Colonel Springer
is one of those stanch Democrats who
made it their business to ratify only
that portion of the platform that chanc-
es to plese them. The chuckle head
and wooden mind are the necessary
mental furniture of such Democrat
as Colonel Springer advertises himself
to be-.
He seems to have an idea that the |
northern Democrats who oppose the
repeal of the bank tax are amiated by |
q fear that repeal will impose the state
banking system on all the states, and
this is evidently Colonel Springer'sl
idea. But there is nothing in it. Be