The herald., 1895-04-05
FRIDAY, APRIL S, 1898
A FEW PANACEAS

That there is suffering in this country
is everywhere asserted and nowhere de-
MED. There is business distress, political
corruption, prohigacy in public expendi-
lures, rampancy OF crime and many other
ills, which need not be mentioned in de-
tail. The evils prevailing have set men
to thinking and invention of remedies is
rife.
class calling themselves Single Takers
have panacea which is the providing OF
revenue for all governments, national,
state, county and municipal, by tax
upon land and nothing else, the naked
land as it was before improved by the
hand of man. They claim it will destroy
land monopoly, open way for the idle to
work, prevent extravaganza in public eX-
penditures make men honest in public
and private life. and remove all the ills
which spring from misgovernment.
Another class processes to believe that the
liquor traffic is the Pandora's box from
which all vices spring, whether they are
social or political, and their remedy is
prohibition of the traffic totally.
Another class affect to believe and prob
ably do believe, that there is no way of
getting out of all our discomforts except
through conferring the right of ballot up
on women, and giving them equal power
with men in affairs of state. They claim
that this will introduce good morals into
politics and genuine honesty and partio
ism into public offices.
The Populists have discovered pana-
cea in the initiative and referendum,
affecting a belief that if matters OF legis-
lation are submitted to the judgment of
the people at the ballot box it will be i'm
possible for anything vicious or unwise
to be enacted. They have other remedies,
some of which have the approval of
other classes, and some also which are
exclusively their own.
Others again would have income and
inheritance taxes in order to reduce the
disparity in the possession of wealth, and
also prohibition of all trusts and COM
bines in order to prevent the excessively
rich from becoming richer, and to protect
the masses against oppressive practices in
the production and distribution of the
articles of commerce.
The Socialists or Communists would
have property held in common by all the
people, and everybody supplied from the
public warehouse.
The goldites would have a small volume
of circulating medium based upon gold
alone or gold redemption, and the Gov
ernment so out OF what they call the
banking business, and turn the business
of supplying the people with currency
over to corporations or banks.
On the other hand is the silver pana-
cea, which is advocated by large class,
who claim that that is sure cure for
capitalist oppression, as it will furnish a
larger volume of money and weaken the
power of gold; and another class would
add to this the issuance of paper money
by the Government, redeemable in gold
or silver, at the option of the treasury
department.
The revenue reformers so called, would
have free trade as far as possible with
foreign natous, in order that people may
buy in the cheapest market and supply
themselves with the cheapest breakfasts
Still another class would EN- barrass, if
not prohibit, the importation of foreign
productions practicable for us to produce,
in order to keep our money at home and
secure to labor better wages than are paid
in foreign countries.
This is a list of the panaceas, so far
as we are able to call them to mind, and
certainly there are enough of them to keep
the most active and restless minds en-
ployed. The difficulty is that there are
more suggestions than can we'll be di-
gested all at once. From all this great
confusion must arise, with the result that
nothing will be done. 1t is pity that
one or few things cannot be taken up at
first and disposed of, and letting the re-
mainder lie upon the table to be taken up
in the order OF importance. 1t may be
well to have variety of opinions in order
to create mental activity, but no medi-
cine will prove to be curative whose effect
is thwarted by SO many counteractions or
diffusions.
In our view the removal of the business
disorder is the first to be attempted, and
that it viii not be accomplished except
through a wise solution of the money
problem, and that such solution cannot
be reached without cooperative action
with the Democratic party on the part OF
all who hold similar opinions on this
question. Efforts to settle the money
question may be extended to the enforce
ment of public economy, as Governor
Budd has done by his vetoes, and TO
the correction of social and political
morality.