The Van Buren press., 1896-05-09
ARP TALKS POLITICS
Believes in Letting the People Se-
loot Senators.


years ago, when cotton was six to seven
cents pound and bacon about the same
as cotton; chiel ems were 1924 cents,
eggs five ceIes dozen and sweet pota
toes 25 cents a bushel; sugar and coffee
were 10 pounds to the dollar. We called
those few years hard times, and the
negroes felt the pressure, too, and I'M
provised a song with chorus of Hard
Times Come Again No More" But
gradually there came on a change for
the better and prices of everything ad-
vanced just rs cotton advanced. That is
why cotton was called king. 1t seemed
to regulate everything. And so we
thought that these hard times would
soon pass, but they show no sign
Nearly everything has come down to
hard times prices and the consumers
could live cheap enough if they could
get anything to do. There is the rub.
The Irishman who came over here
complained that chickens were two shil
lings apiece and said he could get ore
over in Ireland for a siXpence. We'll,
why didn't you stay over there and buy
them?' said the market man. Faith
and bcgorra, couldn't get the six
pence" he replied. That is the con-
snmers' fix now. The necessaries of
life are cheap enough, The farmers and
producers complain that they are too
cheap. They want some kind Of a
tariff that will make everything that
they have TO buy as cheap as dirt and
raise the price of what they have to
sell. An Irishman heard Dutch
butcher say that the way 10 make
money was to puy sheep Cheap and
sell deer (dear)." lie didn't understand
how that could be done, and asked a
Seotehman, who ruminatcd over it, and
said it was to buy mutton and sell it for
venison. But we can't do that. Our
young men who are every year swarm
ing to the front are ready and willing
TO work, but they can't get work to do,
No wonder that they leave their homes
and so west or to Mexico and Brazil.
! was Eliminating about advising some
of them to GO to central America and
raise coffee. There must be money in
that business. For years and years ]
sold coffee at IL pounds to the dollar.
and | don't understand why it advanced
to double the old price and for years has
maintained it. l was reading about
the island of Jamaica and found that for
30 years the product averaged $4,000, 900
pounds year, but when in 1S43 England
emancipated her slaves there the pro-
| 1nofio,, lrortal IN, tan -
100000 pounds. In fact, everything
dropped away down except rum, and
that still holds its own.
/ wish that | was a great statesman
and could see through all this tangled
up business like the X rays penetrate
dark and hidden things and bring them
to light. remember when the great ma
tional question before the people was
whether the government should make
internal Improvements or not. The
wings said it should and the democrats
said no, and the democrats carried it.
At the next election the parties changed
sides and a system of internal improve
ment began. Appropriations were made
for rivers and harbors and custom
houses and post offices, and this policy
has peen established and gets wider
and bigger as the years roll on. Then
again, there was the great question
about declaring war with Mexico, and
later on about annexing Texas, and the
presidential elections turned on these
issues. Now we have got the tariff and
the currency, and party lines are very
much unsettled. But, as the preacher
said: Even this will pass away
Georgia is to be the forum of the great
discussion and the people are to be the
judges. / am glad that it will be over
so soon. Let the people hear and then
make choice. 1t is no new thing; it is
cid, and the people have been reading
about it for three years, and almost
everybody is ready for the vote. | like
the way Of the people having voice in
the choice of senator. Why not
What is the difference between sen
ator and q representative? The old time
theory was that the senators represented
the states and the representatives the
people. A hundred years ago there was
! SOluCtHluS III llldAi bub bttlt 10 nun
ing now. In my opinion the people
should elect the senators just like they
DO the governor and all other officers
And the next best thing would be tC
abolish the senate. 1t was intended v
be an assembly of old men-counselors
in wisdom, and who would protect the
rights of the states, and small state
had as much power as large one. But
that is n thing of the past. States
rights have gone into n state of innoc
uous desuctude, and money has more
to do with a senator's fitness than age
or wisdom. There is no good reason
why Rhode Island should have as much
power as Texas or Pennsylvania. II
| population should settle il, then New
York should have AZ senator's. If ter
ritory should settle it, then Texas
should have 1000 in proportion to Rhode
Islands two. But we don't need such I
body at all. One house is enough. and
there is no good reason in 81 men in Tho
senate overriding 900 in the house. Tho
constitution requires n senator to be &c
years old; he should be GO. Then h,
would have more sense and less am
bition.
Well, l never voted for a senator il