The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1894-03-30
THE CHAMPIONS OF SILVER
Lose None of Their Courage and Patience
in the Cause.

WASHINGTON, March "a. - Especial. =
The Republican representatives from tn
far northwest Gf there be a far northwes
in these days of steam and electricity con
stitute a class apart, with marked charac
teristics distinguishing them from their co
partisans of the east. They are far NOR,
outspoken, breezy and unconventional
often breaking out in that racy humol
which seems a natural product of the grea,
mountains and p~rairies. In non do thest
qualities appear more pleasing thar in Mr.
Pickler, the big and healthy brunette who
helps represent South Dakota and has re
Gently made it interesting for the commit,
tee on Indian affairs. He overflows with
good nature and understands his business,
but if an artist wanted a model for an
Apollo Belvidere he would not ''sculp' Mr..
Picker.
Indians, Negroes and Silver.
1--WE are on the right track in this Indian
business" said he, and the best proof of it
is that the Indians have ceased to decrease,
If they are not actually increasing, and the
more Indians we have now the fewer Ill
dian wars we have. The present policy is
to break up their tribal relations, separate
and give them allotments of land, teach
them to work and read, and so on. Bat it
takes SO long-so awfully long. What Il slow
job this thing of civilizing a race Is! Why,
we Anglo-SaXons have been 2,0O0 years or
more in learning enough To run a republic
IN government-that is, if we have learned
it, which looks a little doubtful just now,
in Colorado, for instance. And our negroes
the kernel Of the trouble with them in this
country is right here: They have been
brought from n barbarous shore and put
under the requirements of the very highest
civilization and a complex and wealthy So
ciety and have not had time to grow up to
it. Why, "A negro in this country is subject
to five hundred times as much Temptation
as i'll Africa and is not more thar five
times stronger to resist it. The result is u
moral minus"
And how will your set vote on silver for
the rest of this congress!"
"All for it, believe. ! shouldn't vote
against free coinage, but they will not let
it come up in that shape. l nave tried to
get in an amendment for the free coinage
of the American product and would prefer
that. AS to the rest, let me see. There is
Meiklejohn of Ne~braska-he is young and
able, ambitious, of course, and admits a
doubt on the subject; thinks the last word
not been said by a good deal. At pres
ent he prefers not to commit himself posi-
lively. Much the same may be said of
Haines and Mercer of the same state. Mr..
Haines is the dark complexioned man, with
the heavy black whiskers, to which LATE
Pence referred in some derision. But |
think these men who admit a doubt and
are studying the question will eventually
vote for more silver.
Thinks Silver Is Gaining.
"Mr. johnson of Month Dakota is anti
silver, strong. He is a sort of exceptional
of Norwegian parentage, but much
darker than S~candinavians generally. OF
course all west Of us to the Pacific are
for silver, especially Mr.. Hartman
OF Montana and Judge Sweet of Idaho, bat
they are all about alike. Wilson and Doc
little of Washington are Al amusing pair
in n respect-Doolittle, l am told, weighs
just twice as much as Wilson. Mr.. Curtis
OF Kansas is another very interesting char
acter. He has some Indian blood and
it and is a very pleasant gentleman
indeed. l think silver is gaining. The ar
guments for it have never been answered.
Maybe they can be, but they haven't been
yet. The main argument of the other side
contradicts itself.
Here it is as | get at it: By invention
and increased production commodities have
declined in price some 40 per cent since 1873
coin price at that. By the same processes
silver has declined about the same. There
fore, they conclude, silver is not goo
money. If that is not a complete non seoul
the books on logic should be burned.
l have been anxious to see the Bland seign-
forage bill become a law. ! am satisfied it
would work well and give a much needed
healthy shove to business. As to the
prophecies of evil, why, they have been max
lug them ever since the Bland-Allison act
of 1878, and the result has always been the
other way-our gold stock has increased
just as our silver has. They said silver was
the cause of the trouble last summer, and
that the repeal Of the Sherman act would
make everything lovely, but we all knew it
wouldn't, and it didn't. Let's he guided
by experience and common aense.'
II Told You So."
All the silver men take pleasure in quot
ing the figures recently put out by the bu-
reau of statistics to the effect that the bal
ance of trade in our favor for the eight
ending with February was S2lS,-
zoo, 600 against 500, 0O0, 900 last year; that in
The same months the imports of gold ex-
,eeded the exports by s53, O0O, 900 and the
of silver exceeded the imports by
s25, OOO, 600. These figures certainly do put
,he calamity howlers," as silver men now
call the gold basis men, on the defensive,
but the latter cite the familiar fact that in
very hard times the balance of trade is al
ways in our favor, because we are compelled
70 put down the price Of our stuff till for
will take it. So far as an observer
IAN judge, the free coinage men are Just now
more confident Of speedy triumph than in
any congress since 1878. The thing is
coming our way, and coming fast" is what
hey all say, except possibly Senator Stew
art, who Is the hyperpessimist of the lot.
In all other respects the far western Re-
publicans are much more radical thar their
eastern copartisans. In all New England
there are no more pronounced Republicans
han Wilson of Washington, Funston and
of Kansas, Henderson of Iowa,
Wheeler of Illinois and others, or, if there
Is an exception, it is Mr.. Morse of Massa-
and he was born out west. Hon.
Il. Flynn of Oklahoma is another
enthusiastic Republican, but is somewhat
of humcr at present over the compli-
,ations in which his territory is involved in
,he senate
Hon. Antonio Joseph of New Mexico ia in