The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-04-09
BILL ARP IS TALKING SQUARE,
United States Senators Should be
Chosen by the Pcoplc--Thc Old
Idea and the New,

These times remind me very much
OF the times when | sold goods nearly
Illty years ago, when cotton was u on
cents pound and bacon about the
same as cotton; chickens were IN cts,
eggs cents a dozen and sweet p0ta-
toes % cents u bushel; sugar and coffee
were twelve pounds to the dollar. We
called these few years hard times and
the negroes felt tho pressure too and
improviscd q song with a chorus of
lizard Times Come Again No More"
But gradually there came on a change
for the better and prices Of everything
advanced just as cotton advanced.
That is why cotton was called king.
1t seemed to regulate everything. And
so we thought these hard times would
soon pass, but they show no sign.
Nearly everything has come down to
hard time 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 2 shil-
lings apiece and said he could get one
over in Ireland for q sixpencc "Well,
why didcnt you stay over there and
buy them ?" said the market man.
"Faith and begorra, | couldent get the
siXpcnce," he replied. That is the
consumers fix now. The ncccssaries
OF life are cheap enough. The farmers
and producers complain that they are
too cheap. They want some kind of q
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 q Dutch
butcher say that the way to make
money "vas to puy sheep lcheap) and
sell deer (dear)." He didcnt under
stand how that could be done and asked
q Scotchman, 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
swarming to the front are ready and
willing to work, but they can't get
work to do. No wonder they leave
their homes ard go West or to Mexico
and Brazil. | was ruminating about
advising some of them to go to Central
America aud raise coffee. There must
be money in that business For years
and years | sold coffee at twelve pounds
to the dollar and l don't understand
why 1T advanced to double the old price
and for years has maintained it. | was
reading about the island Of jamaica
and found that for thirty years the pro-
duct averaged %, ,000, 900 pounds u year,
but when in 1913 England cmancipated
her slaves there the production dropped
in ten years time down to 1900. 600
pounds. In fact, everything dropped
away down except rum and that still
holds its own.
| wish that | was great statesman
and could sec through all this tangled
up business like the X rays penetrate
dark and hidden things and bring them
to the light. [ remember when the
great national question before the peo-
pie was whether the government should
make Internal improvements or not.
The Wings said it should and the Dem
ocrats said no and the Democrats car
ried it. AT the next election the par.
ties changed sides and system of
Internal improvements began. Appro-
priatiOnS were made for rivers and
harbors and custom houses and post
Offices and this policy has been cstab
lished 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
annexlng Texas and the presidential
elections turned on these issues. Now
we have got the tariff and the currency
and party lines are very much unset
tied. But as the preacher said "Evcn
this will pass away" Georgia is to be
the people are to be the judges. | am
glad that it will be over soon. Let the
people hear and then make choice. It
Is no new thing: it is old and the peo-
pie have been reading about it for three
years and almost everybody is ready
for the vote. | like this way OF the
people having q voice in the choice OF
q senator. Why not? What is the
difference between a. senator and d
representative The old-time theory
was that the senators reprcntcd the
States and the representatives the
people. a hundred years ago there
was something in that, but there is
nothing 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 to
abolish the Senate. 1t was intended
to be an assembly Of old men-counsel.
lOrs in wisdom, and VINO would protect
the rights Of States, and Il small State
had as much power as o. large one. But
that is a thing Of the peoJ. States
rights have gone into Il state OF innoc-
uous deseuctndN and money has more
TO 40 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. If
population should settle it then Now
York should have forty-cight senators.
If territory should settle it then Texas
should have 1000 in proportion to
Rhode Islands two. But we don't need
such body at all. One house is enough
and there ia no good reason in eighty
four men in the Senate overriding 300
in the House. The constitution re-
quires senator to be thirty years
old he should be sixty. Then he
would have moro sense and less am
hitiOn.
We'll, | never voted for q senator in
my life and many a one has been iili-
bustered through the legislature that
l would not have voted for and the
people would not have chosen. A
shrewd, ambitious man can play "par-
lez vous" with 200 men, but he can't
do it with 2O0,000-so let us oil vote
this time.
And now let the great battle for the
next president come on. This is an age
OF surprises and the Democracy is not
dead. nor its great principles aoandon-
ed. | wouldn't bet on its success, but
We were not very sanguinc the last
time. The POpulists will be i'm the
fight pretty strong and there is no toll
W nj hn 10, ~. 90