The herald., 1896-10-04

quence and high personal character by
helping to place the government in the
hands of party whose two cardinal
planks are, first, gold standard that
will tend to fatten the usurer through
still greater contraction, and, second, a
high protective tariff whose inevitable
result would be undue stimulation to
manufacturing syndicates, followed
logically by an additional contribution
to that "over-production" which both
labor party socialists and Republicans
profess to deplore.
Mr.. Hartman is more than ordinarily
gifted. I have heard him before nation
alist and labor meetings in Sen Fran
cisco, where he was absolutely lrresisti-
BILE. But on Sunday evening at the
Temple he impressed me as ,D,ing the
right man on the wrong side. He
seemed like one valnly fighting against
the trend of a rising river that is cary
ing out new channels and carrying ev-
erything before it. Mr.. Hartman Is
mathematician enough to know that if
any money at all Is necessary urder our
present metallic money system, the free
coinage of silver-after long period
of contraction and of falling prices
will, as far as 1t goes, put tools into the
hands of honest and needy millions who
with their families are starving for the
want of work and tools to work with,
and that further contraction must nee
essarily result in further lack of con-
fidence," of which we hear so much just
now, and of still greater "over-produc-
ton" of people in vain quest of employ
ment.
Yet he stands up in his fine six feet of
healthy manhood and councils the wage
laborers who are lucky enough to be
clinging to drifting corporation spar
that keeps them temporarily afioat, to
vote against life-boats coming to the
rescue Of their sinking comrades, who
with their wives and little ones are try
ing to keep above water by catching
at straws," and chiefly because the life
boats are not calculated first to "help
the wage worker" cannot bring N.Y.
self to believe that my friend Job fully
realizes the logic of his attitude or he
would change it and not endeavor to be-
fog the minds Of his followers by play
ing upon their. selfish interests with
ingenious sophistry at a time
when humanity is in the travail throes
of new and higher birth and expects
every "reformer" to do his whole duty
or hold his peace. When, by inference,
Mr.. Hartman justified his martyrdom
in behalf of contraction and the accom-
panying extensions Of the gold interest
bearing bond and mortgage leprosy that
already covers and withers more than
S'o sAAAA 0S u tA4C 0Ody PO1ltlCp ny COul-
pairing it with that of Garrison and
Wendell Phillips, who suffered political
and sociae martyrdom in behalf Of the
black slave, 1 could not help thinking
how much more appropriate 1t would
have been had he likened himself to that
misguided Christian gentleman and
statesman, the late Jefferson Davis, who
lived and fought to perpetuate far less
deplorable form Of slavery than that
which the gold monometallists are now
trying to permanently foster upon the
whole world without regard to section,
race or color 10 expect Mr.. Bowman
to confine his warm, humanitarian
heart and brain to the strict letter Of the
question under such circumstances was
like expecting an old race horse to work
contentedly for a treadmill.
The trouble was not with Mr.. Harri.
mans head, but with his premises that
free coinage would not In reality ada
to the volume Of currency because prices
would rise according to the additional
amount put in circulation" etc. u
This was sophistry seeing snakes"
Every intelligent man knows that an
expanding currency, after long period
of contraction, Is as sure to be accom-
panied by new economic hope, life and
activity as expanding moisture in the
air rivers and lakes Is by new and in
creasing vegetable life after a long
drought.
To claim otherwise = virtually to as
sumo that IN time sf protracted famine