The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-25
FOMENTERs OF TREASON.

The most vicious form the demand for
free silver has taken is the threat that
If it is not granted there may be divi-
sion Of the Union. IF silver is not
placed on an equality with gold,' said
a speaker in Denver recently, 1.-The time
may come when the West will secede
from the United States government, and
the States west of the Mississippi river
set I'D a republic of their own" The
threat is an idle one. yet it,was made by
an ex-Congressman and found sympa-
thetic listeners in the audience before
whom ii was made. 1t is a striking illus
tration of the inherent yiciousness of the
cheap-money movement and the utter
lack Of patriotic motives in some Of its
leaders. Aaron Burr sought to form a
new republic In the Southwest, which he
protested to believe the Western States,
breaking away from the Union, would
ultimately Join. Jefferson Davis tried to
destroy the Union for the purpose of
forming a new government whose cor
nerstone should be slavery. These
schemes were reasonable. but they were
a new confederacy of States based on
the Reputation of honest debts and the
enforced circulation of a debased cur
rency Preposterous as the suggestion
is, it shows the animus of those who
make 1T.
Something Of the same spirit appears
in efforts to array the Western States
and people against those of the East by
showing that the latter have much more
accumulated wealth per capita than the
former, and are in a condition to lend
money or make investments, while West
ern people have to borrow and pay in
terest A recent writer cites official figures
to show. as he says, that the North
east owns or controls. If not the whole
country. at least about all there is in it
worth having" To show to what base
uses official figures can be put, we quote
some of this writer's statements. He
says:
In the first place, the Northeas. owns the
bulk of the money and The money items.
port as bank capital, surplus. undivided
profits and individual deposits. The aggre-
gate OF these for the whole country. as given
in the Controllers report in 1898, was 81, a.
93e 954 and OF this sum $i.0i6. .053 was in
the nine Northeastern States. The popula-
ton o. these States Is is, 450 900. or less than
oae-thrd Of the population or the whole
country. Nevertheless. this one-third OF the
population own nearly txo-;hirds OF the
country's aggregate OF money and money
items OF wealth. The Controllers report
shows that the aggregate OF deposits in all
savings banks in the country In 1898 was
81 1885, $50 957-and OF this sum 81, $50 916 CO., or
over four-fifths. was In the nine Northeast
ern States, and only $50. 23i.900. or less than
oEe-difth, in all the other States. The whole
number OF savings bank depositors in the
country was $780, $685. and OF this number A.
070 1T. or more than ffve-sixths. were in the
Northeastern States. and only 760. 49, or less
than one-sixth, in all the rest OF the coun-
try.
Putting the argument In another form.
this writer presents a comparative table
of the number OF voters and savings
bank depositors in all the States. and
calls attention to the fact that while
in each OF the agricultural States OF the
West and South there are a great many
more voters than depositors. in the New
England States and New York there are
a great many more depositors than
vofers He conceals the fact that In the
Western States building and loan asso-
Citations largely take the place~of saw