The herald., 1895-02-18
TOM REED AND FREE SILVER
Congressman Wilson Will Vote
for Two Things
WANTS A RAILROAD TO IDAHO
A Man Who Has Positive Ideas on Live
Subjects
The Great Trade That California Ought to
Have - The Senatorial
Situation

"If the Oregon Legislature fails to elect
Dolph as Senator and Idaho fails to elect
its Senators, then there is grave doubt as
to the Republicans having control of the
next Congress, said Edgar Wilson, the
Republican Congressman from Idaho, who
is sojourning in this city with his family.
The situation is simply this, contin-
ued Mr.. Wilson, 1.-THE Populists must come
to our rescue, and that speedily. In my
own state the Populsts polled a larger
vote than the Democrats but they are
with the Republicans on the free silver
question and other issues, and hence
should, and | believe WILL ultimately vote
for their Senators. So far as the Populist
party in Idaho is concerned, believe it
has reached the zenith of it's power and
numbers. The Ceur d Alene strike gave
it false strength. At the time of the
strike the Republicans were in power and
it became necessary for the party to end
the small civil war which grew out of it.
This made the miners the enemies of the
party and they went to the Populists.
The people of Idaho elected me, and
when in Congress j shall certainly follow
their wishes with my votes, favor the
Nicaragua Canal free silver and oppose
the gold bond issue. Personally, | am op..
posed to the Government ownership of
railroads, but do favor the foreclosing of
the Governments mortgages on railroads
and the collection of the principal and IN
terest on the debts even if the Govern
ment has to take the railroads and sell
them again. Free silver favor of course.
Our people Just now are devoting all their
capital to the development of gold mines,
allowing the silver mines to lie idle. The
silver in Idaho is mixed with lead, max.
ing the galena ore. Well, as long as lead
was worth "a it paid to mine the silver,
but when the tariff was taken off of lead
and Mexico began to supply it at at $3
and less, then silver mining became un-
profitable, because silver is worth only
50 IL cents today and it costs that much
to put the bullion in the mint.
There is one thing l want to talk to
you about" said Congressman Wilson
earnestly, land that is the apathy that
exists in California toward the trade of
Idaho and all the Northwest. In Forty
nine days San Francisco had all the trade
of Idaho, because there were only stage
lines running from that city to the North
west. When the East awoke to the fact
that Oregon, Washington, Idaho and other
Northwestern states were little empires in
themselves the capitalists built railroads
out to us, not one line, but half dozen.
California capitalists surveyed line
through to Butte via Boise City, but
stopped there. The result is all the North
west trade goes to Chicago. We are closer
to Chicago than to San Francisco. To
reach the latter city we have to go 800
miles east before we touch line
reaching it, while to Chicago we
have a direct route. Now if the
projected railroad had been built from
San Francisco to Butte we would be with
in eight hundred miles of market where
we could buy, and San Francisco would
have an outlet and connection with five
transcontinental lines which would for
ever emancipate them from the Southern
Pacific, There is no such feeling against
the railroad in Idaho as there is here.
"Now what am l going to do in Con-
gress?" said Mr.. Wilson. First am going
to vote for free silver; next for Tom Reed
for speaker. Those are the only PROPOSE
tions on which | am prepared to speak just
now. My state is growing and it will
undoubtedly have needs that Congress
must consider, and of course l shall do all
l can for them. l only wish that Califor-
MIA was close to us, by railroad l mean,
and | have great hopes from the proposed
Valley Railroad. When they realize what
it can do then line to and through the
Northwest is certain"
Congressman Wilson will remain here
several weeks and during his stay will
probably make one or more addresses be-
fore the Jonathan and other clubs in the
CITY,