Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1895-06-20

The campaign now in progress in be-
half of sound money promises to be one
Of the most exciting in the history OF
the financial world. In every state in
the union the friends and foes of free
silver are marshaling their forces, and
from now on until after the presiden-
tial election next year the great topic
of discussion in political circles will be
the money question.
The headquarters Of the anti-silVer
men in New York are at No. 81 Will
liams street, on the fifth floor OF the
Union building. The organization Is
known as the Reform club, and has for
its president Charles S. Fairchild, for
merly secretary Of the treasury. The
hard work of the club is intrusted to
committee on sound currency, Of which
John Dewitt Warner, formerly repre-
sentative in congress, is chairman, and
Calvin Tompkins is secretary. They
were compelled only the other day to
secure their presnt commodious quar-
tiers in order to carry on the crusade
against free silver.
The club believes that the present
free-silver craze Is due largely to the
ignorance Of the masses on financial
questions, and that the quickest way to
check the fallacy and make sound cur
rency legislation possible is to educate
the voters by carefully prepared papers
and pamphlets from the pens of we'll
known writers on the currency expe-
riences Of this and other countries
This Is the work which the committee
on sound currency has undertaken.
Byron W. Holt and L. Carroll Root look
after the editing Of the sound money
newspaper articles that appear regu-
larly in the several supplements of the
club, and Mr.. H. S. T. Nissan, Of Yale
university, attends to good part OF
the correspondence.
The club has been busy for more than
a year in getting classified lists of vot-
ers, and has spent many thousands Of
dollars In this work alone.
For example, If it is desired to reach
bank officials, the secretary Of the COM
mittee can, within a comparatively
short time, communicate directly with
more than 10000 bank presidents and
cashiers scattered throughout the coun-
try. Again, the names Of more than a
million of the most prominent farmers
in the United States are in the list of
the clubs classified addresses.
Secretary Holt keeps watchful eye
on the newspapers Of the country, and
sees that they are constantly supplied
with all sorts Of arguments and articles
bearing on the campaign. The result
is that the clubs efforts are pretty
thoroughly heralded up and down the
land, and every mail brings in marked
copies Of newspaper articles or a big
batch Of letters making inquiries Of one
kind or another.
The hundred thousand supple
ments" filled with solid money litera-
ture are sent out every week, and be-
ginning now a plate matter" factory
to supply fresh plate matter on the
currency question to every paper in the
land that wants 1t, and the cost will be
only the freight or express charges.
The work Of the Reform club, how
ever, does not begin to meet the needs
of the case. In the west there are two
silver papers to every gold-basls organ,
and silver orators are legion.
But the club does not confne its OPP
erations to its subscribers and support
ers alone. It is reaching out after the
students in the colleges and UNIVERSE
ties. For example, in Cornell, Colun-
bia, Michigan university, and the Col
lege Of the City Of New York, the clubs
publications have many readers, and
they formed themselves into centers for
the dissemination Of sound currency
literature.
II anyone doubts that there is a great
battle on hand, he has only to see the
singing letters that are received from
the silver followers in various states.
The sound money advocates are brand
ed as "rascals," robbers" yellow
bellied traitors alongside Of whom Ben
edict Arnold was an angel" and hun
dred other epithets.
The reports received at the sound
money headquarters show that the stu
alton Is serious, as regards sound mon