Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-01-03
Is A MODERN SAUL.
NE HAS PUT THE NATIONAL
BANKERS IN OBSTACLES.
His Kane Is Aidredge and His Fan .
Rests on speech He Made at At
lanta- Ex-CongressmAn Bnrtine Rid
tcules Him.

cies over new-found champion in the
person of one Aldredge. who made a
funny speech at Atlanta.
Whether this Aldredge is very
young man and gave the bankers the
benefit OF his maiden effort, or is one
Of ripe years who has been hiding his
incandescent light under canopy OF
extreme modesty, we know not. But
we do know that he has emerged from
obscurity and electrified few simple
minded bankers with his wit
1t is unfortunate, though, that he has
SO much OF natural humor in his mind,
that unconsciously he allo it TO per-
wade his entire speech. Some OF his
most serious propositions were. in fact,
the funniest parts of his discourse.
Among other things, he brought out
che very remarkable fact, that the farm
er is better off with wheat at 80 cents
per bushel than he would be with wheat
at 81. Then he made it clear to those
grave and wise bankers that diminished
production is the true road to national
prosperity. illustrating it by very CO.
.
price of cotton as result OF reduced
crop
These discoveries are of such import
ance TO mankind that Judge Aldredge
should have INDUCED in more ampli-
dcation, and carried them to their logi-
cal conclusion. If the farmer is better
of With 50-cent wheat than with dollar
wheat, then 25-cent wheat will make
him still more prosperous, and when 1t
gets down TO nothing per bushel, the
cup Of his happiness will be full. The
allure OF the great humorist to eluci-
date this point leaves his magical eff
fort little incomplete.
Then with regard to the blessings
which have come from the partial
failure Of the cotton crop. From $780,,
600 bales last year it has fallen to $780,,
geo or 1000 GEO this year. Now if loss
OF 100000 bales of cotton has so great
~ improved business conditions in the
south what a food tide of prosperity
.9ujd nave rolled over that region if
ne loss had been 6 900 900 bales And
II il had pleased Divine Providence to
destroy it all, the cotton planter would
De happier even than the farmer who
sells his wheat for nothing. The in
completeness of The judges remarks
upon these points was unfortunate. 1t
caves the impression that his humor
is rather mechanical, and that his logic,
while very good as far as it goes, breaks
off rather too soon. as il were.
He might have very materially add
ed to the force of his argument CD If
he had made a little reference to his
own salary. II he is still a judge we
presume he draws a salary. He might
have told those assembled philanthro-
pists how exceedingly prosperous he
was on the small stipend he was re-
ceiving. how much more prosperous he
would be if he were reduced one-half,
and that if he could only be permitted
to serve the dear people for nothing,
he would then occupy position of un-
speakable bliss. Doubtless he would
have used this illustration If he had
thought of II. But we must not be too
exacting. Even a newborn champion
of sound (?) money cannot be expected
to think of everything-and be funny"
at the same time.
He also discovered that the GOLD
standard nations are "bimetallic," be
cause they use silver as token money"
along with their gold. while the silver
standard countries are "monometallic"
because the use silve alone. Hence he
concludes that the gold standard advo-
Gates are the "bmetallists," while the
friends of free coinage are really silver
monometallists.
He had probably been reading Mr..
Carlis'es five unanswerable PROPOSE
tons" and being struck with great
"idee." he couldn't rest until he laid it
before an amazed and admiring world
But when funny" man attempts
to become argumentative, he nearly al
ways fails. sometimes because he does
not want to spoil his wit by keeping
TOO close to the line of true logic. and
sometimes because of ignorance OF ma
'erial facts. Judge Aldredge seems TO
ne ignorant of the difference between
token money" and standard money.
lie seems 20 be equally ignorant of the
fact that silver standard" countries
make no attempt to use gold and have
no need of it. He seems to be totally
unconscious that "bmetallism" differs
radically from either the gold standard
or the silver standard. He is not so
cporant. though. as not TO be aware
that the only way he could defend the
gold standard was by assuming the en-
re case; and so he cody took it for
granted that the moment we opened
our minis to both metals alike, we
would land upon the silver basis.
Perhaps the greatest joke perpetrated
vas the statement that he and the gold
standard men generally, are the friends
If silver and that the free coinage peo-
pie are its enemies We have a sort
- misty recollection of having heard
s0mewbere such expressions as these:
clipped dollar" "9O-cent dollar" 20
cent dollar" "5o-cent dollar" short
legged dollar" dishonest dollar"
uer,fn.lli. . lcIlor ssfreudu1apt dolfor"