The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-05-25
GEER ON PENN0YER.
He Uses Cold Facts as a Knife
-Poppies Done Up.


in honor ofthe Hon. T. T. Geer, of Salem,
who. later on, addressed an audience that
filled the court house to overfowing.
After an introduction by Chairman W. E.
Yates, MIR: Geer quietly, but i'll his earnest
and sincere manner, that carried conviction
with each argument, and they were many,
proceeded to wade into our much warped
governor in manner that showed his
tn ,rough knowledge of his movements ard
insincerc utterances and the motives which
actuatcd them.
II have a warm personal regard for PEN
noyer as mar, said Mr.. Geer. but pity is
mo1omania, Z. | am a farmer, have been or
years: and consider farmer as good any
governor OF any subsequently in
Oregon"
Then, reading from Pennoyer's speech dc
livered in Ashland on Apr. 20, THAT bus
ness, and in fact all the merchantile pursuits,
had not felt such depression within the last
fIrIy years''-proceeded to review the hi: =
t,ry of the country for that period-as there
are plenty Of statistics, records and all the op-
portunities necessary to make an actual and
complete comparison to date Reading from
the congressional record Of 1887, after short
period Of democratic power, that adversely
overlook the land and always follows that
party in power; that in six months real
estate in the city OF New York alone had de-
preciated $40, 900, 600, fully equal TO that OF
of 1893. also that in two months 250 failures
of business houses occurred in that city. So
when the governor says everybody was pros
porous, he forgot to search the records and
there Learn that 10000 individuals weie
thrown out of employment in the same city
and that the discharge Of that number Of
men then, was fully equal to that Of the
year just past; and yet the brilliant states
man and jurists never thought of the popu-
lists plan Of grinding out money by the
bushel to make all men rich and thrust away
the depressing times then existing, for the
only known way of getting money then, was
TO work for it. There was no Coxey's Army
in those days-nor any populists-for the
former is simply the peoples party ON
wheels.
On June9, 1876, Mr.. Johns, of X entucky,
address to the house asserts that ''There are
on all sides signs of serious distrust in bust
ness circles. Trade is prostrated and suits
are piled upon suits until through such
multiplicity of disasters, confidence is entire
ly gone and property is valueless." Doesn't
this prove an intentional Misrepresentation
on the part ofGov. Pennoyer? Why. many
western states passed relief laws for the
farmers. Why, forty years ago my own
grandfather, then living in kentucky, had
but one single garment, and made his calls
on the girls and his visits to church in the
same and it consisted of long tow shirt,
while the girls, themselves, carried their
shoes in their hands and only put them on
when nearing the house Of God. Do any Of
the boys go calling in long tow shirt and
nothing else? l guess not. You cannot
tell any of our boys apart-the clerks and
the bankers sons dress alike.
Notwithstanding that two-thirds OF our
men are out of employment, yet was three
days trying to find man to do the farm work
during my absence and then only for S1S
did L secure neighbor owning his own plat
Of ground, while 1, as young man of 10,
could only command So for the same service.
And the idea Of talking to intelligent men
and wo nen about the purchasing power OF
ofmoney! My wife, as a girl, earned rs cents
per week, and colico then cost 25 cents per
yard. Srpposing she wanteda new dress,
she got just three yards of calico for her
weeks work. Now, any girl gets S3 per
week, and If she had a notion to invest it the
same way could get SO yards for the same
service. Now consider the situation after 80
years of republican administration.
President Harrison, in his message to
congress in December 1892, says: "The
financial and commercial interests are in the
very highest state of prosperity. The coun-
try is in such a E, Ccessf II, sound
and prosperous condition rs was never le-
fore known in this country's h. tory"
The Governors favorite shot dI ected from
the populists' camp is at the banking syste n:
THE government now loans money only to
National banks" is the silliest assertion yet
made and purposely and Intentionally mis-
represented, yet is the simplest understood
when explained that National bank notes or
bonds are issued in the proportion or nine
tenths of the actual amount Of actual cash
deposited for their security. This is not a
loan by the government but an exchange of
medium in which the government is 10 per
cent. gamer, and no money loaned, only
bond is issued, stating that there is sufficient
hard cash back of it with which 10 redeem it
when necessary, and this is the collapse Of
another and big populistic soap bubble.
Concerning the Australian Ballot system,
and the Governors claim that it was being
juggled with in order to defeat the ends for
which it was devised: Mr.. Geer says there
are l96 names on the Multnomah county
ballot this election and it will take some
men half an hour to vote it, by the existent
law of erasing all names but those voted for.
Whereas the law was only to be amended
so rs to designate by check mark, the per-
sons to be voted for, thus expediting the vot-
ing and lessening the chance for errors, and is
only in accordance with amendments as
already made in Ohio, Illinois and other
states. And the Governor actually said that
the passage Of this billover his veto, will as
suredly replace the political ring in suprem-
acy in Oregon politics. And by the political
ring, our Governor never fails to i'm press his
hearers with the fact that Hon. Joe Simon
is that ring.
Touching on the extravagances Of the last
legislature, Mr.. Geer said there were
measures iptroduced for and apainst which