The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-04
CHECKING ProsnerItr.

T. Mayor Myers. who returned home from
New York yesterday. says that the agita
tion in behalf Of the free. unlimited and in
/ dependent coinage of silver at the ratio Of
Is 10 Lis the chief thing. in the estima
stion OF business men OF that city. in IN,
] way Of fun return of prosperity If Il
were notfor this agitation there would b,
! great activity in all kinds Of Industrial un
dertakings and business enterprises
I There are vast amounts Of money in the
banks and the owners OF II would be glad
10 invest ii ; and they would put it into cir
culation, if it were not for the uncertainty
relative TO monetary conditions growing
out OF the silver agitation.
on the way to the funeral Of Secretary
Gresham the ether day President Cleve-
land expressed apprehension that the silver
agitation would bring a return of bad
times by alarming foreign buyers and
holders OF our securities. II they should
become alarmed and cease buying our Sc
curities, and send home those they now
hold, the security market would become
greatly depressed. gold would be taken out
of the country TO pay for them and we
should have much the condition of affairs
We had in 1898.
II is well understood OF course that those
who would be chiefly benefited by free sill
yer coinage are the silver mine owners.
and they together with politicians and
the debtor class. are making a supreme
effort to commit the country to a none
tary policy that would do this country
more damage than the civil war did.
We are satisfied, however that the pur-
pose Of the silverites to put the country on
"a silver basis will not succeed. Those who
are interested in having honest money are
too numerous to permit them to succeed.
The wage earners will find out before the
agitation is carried much further what
debased currency would mean for them,
and 50 will AL professional men. business
men; the holders of life policies, pension
ers and creditors The country is not
awake TO the danger that threatens it. It
viii awaken however. and when it does
there viii be an end Of the silver craze.
In the meantime the agitation in behalf
OF free silver coinage is doing the coun-
try. a vast amount of injury.
bad citizenship of Good citizens.
In paper read before the National Mu-
nicipal League during its meeting at
Cleveland, o.. last week. Mayor George
W. Ochs Of Chattanooga made the asser-
ton. which must be conceded is pretty
nearly correct, that one Of the chief mis-
fortunes of our cities is the bad citizenship
of good citizens. They complain of evils
tina; exist, and inveigh against them; but
in the wrong places and in an ineffective
manner. Their tales of woe of the short
comings of officials and the inadequacy Of
laws, are told in the clubs, in the homes
and among personal friends. Theoretical
remedies are proposed and canvassed, but
when election day comes around the good
citizen goes fishing, or at any rate, fails
10 go to the polls, and leaves the election
principally to the ward heelers and prac-
teal politicians. As a theoretical poiti-
clan, the good citizen is a magnificent sue
cess. but while he spends years in the pro-
pagation of his theories, the practical poll
AAAihh RHiAH vi HIS thdA anu III a Jay Wits
the fight And then the good citizen raises
again his soulful dirge, in the bosom of his
family, upon the death of good government
and honest politics.
A study of the election figures of all the
larger cities Of the United States shows
that the vote for president, congressman
and state tickets, in nine cases out of ten,
is larger than the vote for mayor and al
dermen. The good citizens usually vote
the national and the state tickets. Have
they not relatively as much interest in the
municipal government as in the state or
the national government? The decreased
vote in the city election, as compared with
that of the national election, certainly
does not result from the failure of the
heelers and their followers to vote. They
score every time. The delinquents. there
fore must be the good citizens. Circum-
stantial evidence is against them, and still
more conclusive evidence could probably
be had if it were needed.
And what is true of city elections is
equally true of county elections. a very inn
portant county election is to be held in this
county shortly upon the fence question.
The good citizens all recognize how inn
portant to the health and prosperity of
this county and city it is that the no
fence" law should be adopted. They talk
it over among themselves day after day.
yet it is necessary to continually urge them
to qualify themselves for voting by regis
tering. and to go out and vote on election
day. If by any possibility, which is not ex-
pected. the reform should be beaten at
the polls, the good citizens-and those in
favor of the measure-would be RESPONSE
BILE for it's failure.
Congressman John Curtis Kyle of the
Second Mississippi district. who has here
tofore been classed as free silver coin
age advocate, is now on record on the other
side Of the question. Mr. Kyle has given
intelligent study to the question, and in