The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1895-06-27
A PROPHET OF BAAL.
THAT'S WHAT ED. JONES CALLS
R. F. ROBERTS.
AND PROCEEDS TO PROVE TT.
Affairs Of Great Moment Pale Into In
significance Under the Pen of
the Bristol Sage.
AND PROCEEDS TO PROVE I
To the Editor:


Brer. Roberts, of Bristol, has mate
rialized as q Prophet of Baal. He
donned his prophetic goggles and
scanned the future horizon of earth
and saw things horrible and unutter-
able in the financial world Society all
broken up and anarchy running ram
pant, the gold barons Of earth hunting
their holes, and the people pursuing
them with clubs and offering silver
dollars for their scalps. The present
form of government was overthrow
and new form of government set upon
a silver basis. There was weeping and
wailing and crashing of teeth on high
places and loud laughter in low places.
The false prophets had craWled into
their holes and pulled the holes in after
hem, and the scepter had departed
from Shylock's and the CRY was heard
in the lana, Why are the mighty fall
len? y
When man attempts to prognosti-
cate the future without reference to
the past, he is talking through his hat
The future can only be guessed at by
the history of the past. If alike con-
ditions prevail, alike results may fol-
low. If Brer. Roberts predictions have
proved anything, they prove that he
has not forgotten his English anteced-
ents, his disposition to worship the
golden calf and the great moguls of
money He has also proved himself to
be foreign in bis ideas and sympathies.
1t is strange how blood will tell and
rack all human reason and many gen
eratiOnS Of fools succeed each other in
the same family. Brer. Roberts made
one great mistake which upsets all his
calculations, he placed the cart before
the horse by directing his horoscope to
the future instead of the past. Had he
directed it to past history of thirty
years ago and noticed the contradiction
then and witnessed the grand success
under those conditions, and then direct
ed it to the future under the conditions,
he would have seen some grand sights
in successful business. We would turn
to 1870 and notice the difference be-
tween then and now. Silver then was
legal money and had been for Is years.
1t did duty on par with gold at Is to
l. There was no complaint against it.
The country was prosperous beyond all
the nations of earth Immigrants
flOcked into the country by millions to
partake of our prosperity. All nations
were astOnished at our success. Great
enterprises were inaugurated, such as
rolling mills and manufactures of all
kinds. The government was paying
off the national debt before it was due,
money commanded ten per cent inter
est, farm stock and produce we're sell
ing about 100 per cent above present
prices, cities were being built like mag
ic, labor was plenty and wages so per
cent, in fact every body was making
money and purchasing property. Every
man that was man in 1870 knows the
above facts; but in an evil hour the
gold-bugs became jealous of the peo-
pies prosperity and thought they were
getting too much property. Wherefore
they conspired together to contract the
business of the country by contracting
the money, and in order to do so they
had to take the secretary of the treas
ury into their confidence and a few old
goldbug members of congress. Then
under tle plea OF revising the coinage
law they got up Il bill to that effect and
they got the secretary to introduce it in
the house, which was done, and the bill
was referred to the committee on
finance where it remained two years be-
fore it was reported and recommended
to pass. The chairman of that COM
mittee voted against the recommends
ton, but the bill passed the house with
little opposition and was sent to the
senate where it was taken up and
passed.
Some say the bill was amended after
it passed both houses before it was en-
crossed. Be that as it may, the bill
was taken to President Grant who
olS uCu IL ttuu IL UGCctL16 u ltW. w u0Cu0I
this was all done ignorantly or it was a
deep laid scheme, we shall probably
never know; but it shows slipshod and
vicious legislation. Years afterward
when attention was called to the prop
ositions of the bill it was found that the
unit of value had been changed from
silver to gold and the coinage of the
standard dollar had been left out en-
tirely. Silver was demonetized, in fact
from that date until this. The presi-
dent and members of congress dis
avowed any intention of demonetizing
and declared that a fraud had been
perpetrated. Many attempts have
been made to repeal the bill, but the
gold bugs have ever stood IN the door
and declared they would maintain sill
yer equal with gold Many platforms
have been made by the republican par
~ declaring for bimetallism, but a