The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-10-01
The Wise Men of Kansas.

"a Fable.
1t was near the close of the nine
tenth century - everywhere there
was great depression. Railroads
could not pay dividends, values were
shrunken, money was idle, labor I'M
employed. The well-to-do could not
make profits, the poor could not pay
their debts, and everybody was gloomy
and sad. Each man as he met his
neighbor would solemnly say in the
language of the Hon. James Fadden,
"what tell and moodily pass on.
Then there arouse the wise men Of
Kansas. They were mighty in their
day; with honeyed words they be
guiled the people. They painted in
colors of night the oppression Of labor
and the suffering of poverty, They
pictured in hues that paled the morn
ing's rosy glow, the delights of luxury
and the blessings of wealth.
Frenzied by the intoxicating dream
they exclaimed: Wherefore are we
not rich! Go to now. Let us abolish
poverty. Let us legislate ourselves
into affluence" And the people heard
and were smitten with the delicious
madness.
Then the Governor assembled the
wise men in special session and thus
addressed them.
Most noble, brave and mighty yeo-
men, our people groan. The burden
is heavy upon them. Early and late
they toll and eat the bread of disap-
pointment and bitterness. Make ye
laws for their deliverance.
I'VE are the greatest state i'll the
Uuion. We are big enough and rich
enough to have policy of our own
regardless of what other states may do
or may not do. Let us be patriotic.
A Kansas policy for Kansas is the
need of the hour. Wheat is hard to
raise and the yield is light and uncer-
tain; but we are great on corn. The
notion that the price must be govern
ed by the law of supply and demand
is a superstition by means of which
the rich plumber and Cypress honest
toll. Make we therefore a law III ac-
cordance with which sovereign and
august statute corn shall be put upon
a par with wheat. They shall be in
Interchangeable bushel for .bushel, and
the price of corn shall be the same as
the price of wheat. Do this, and the
people of Kansas shall rise up and call
you blessed, and all the world, except
the mOney-lenders, shall hail you as
the emancipators of mankind"
The wise men passed the law as the
Governor had advised and all the peO-
pie of the state rejoiced, for their cribs
were full of corn. They could hardly
contain themselves till the Governor
had signed the bill which raised the
price of Kansas corn from fifteen
cents to forty-five cents bushel All
the people now felt rich. They bought
many luxuries and some went in debt.
They wondered that they had never
before found out that wealth was sim
ply a matter of legislation, and they
left great pity and contempt for the
ignorant and superstitious people of
the other states. Then the farmers
from the other states began hauling
their corn to Kansas Long lines of
wagons came winding along every
road. Boats floated it down the rivers
and railroads rushed it in from every
section of the country. 1t seemed as
if the country was all corn and it was
all headed for Kansas. The people
of Kansas took their medicine, that is
they took the corn and gave up their
wheat.
The farmers from the other states
thought the Kansas people were queer
but they kept bringing them their
corn. Corn came in and wheat went
out. And besides all the Kansas peo-
pie had gone to raising corn because
it was more easily produced than