Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-04-24
Cause and Ell Il


/ he failures for the first three
months OF the present year are shown
ty hnnn and Brad>trcct'> reports to
lie larger than ever known before for a
lIc lr:ipi in this country. Last year
the nunucr WAS 400 is, and the la
t!.ii', - per cent. les than for the
fist quarter oi 1885. The cause for
this WAS prophciicdl!y stated by Car
Isle in 1873, when he said that the
demOnetization Of silver would he iol-
lowed by an accumulation OF disasters
more terrible than those which follow
in the wake "l war, and Il prOstratiOn
OF business industries for which the
history Of the world would find 10
parallel.
Is it at all surprising that the people
are arising in their might to reinstate
the white metal, when, one by one,
the fallacy OF alleged causes OF tinan-
cial depression have been proved?
First the Mckinley protective tariff
was responsible factor, but a removal
OF its most obnoxious provisions did
not check hard times. Then it was
the Sherman act, but its repeal did no
good. Now Wall street is making a
desperate effort to make people be-
lieve that it is distrust that the mon
eyed power have for agitation OF the
silver question that paralyzes the
nerves of trade and has caused the
glow of the furnace to be extinguished
and the joyful hum of the factory
wheels to be silenced.
Fortunate it is that the masses are
awakening from their apathy. Too
long have they been deluded by the
specious sophistry and hollow prom
ises of politicians who have done the
thinking of the masses simply to bring
about conditions that would enable
them to reap harvest without labor.
Contrast the condition of labor to-
day with what it was When our old
men were boys and each tiller OF the
soil made a living for his family from
the products of his farm, and was
debt-free and heart-easy after his hours
of toll were over; with the mechanic
who derived from his vocation OF
steady employment sufficient to build
him home and surround his family
with all the comforts that economic
industry required; with the trades
man whose business transactions were
conducted on cash basis which en-
abled him to buy to advantage and
sell at prices which permitted himself
and his customers to enjoy all the
benefits Of moneys purchasing power.
Then debt was scarcely known, and
the word mortgage" was so unfamil
lar to most ears that dictionary was
frequently called into requisition to
determine its meaning. Then every
husbandman owned his farm, small
though it might be, every artisan his
tools and the stock and appliances ne
cessary in the prosecution of his trade.
and the business of the commun-
tiles that sprang up everywhere, dot.
ting our land with happy and con-
tented yeomanry, was done on
strictly cash basis.
But the money lenders were not
growing very rapidly in those halcyon
days. The age of colossal fortunes
had not arrived. To be a millionaire
was to be distinguished beyond the
aspirations of mankind. Very few
had pioneered enterprises that had
placed their wealth beyond expression
in six figures, but those who had, daz-
zled by the Oppulence Of few con-
spicuous houses of the Old World,
sought for devices for the speedy &C.
quision of wealth. The Astors saw
the way by exploration of undeveloped
fields on the frontiers of civilization,
and the young John Jacob who
brought small invoice of musical in
struments to Baltimore, in 1888. met
on ship-board a furrier who told him
of the profits to be made in buying
furs from Indians and frontiersmen
and selling to large dealers. This az
forded the incentive and means for &C.
QUESTION of fortune-the possibility of
making hundred per cent. profits, and
the plan was adopted and the sequel
shows with what success.
Then Cornelius Vanderbilt, another
conspicuous example, discovered a
cross-cut to what was considered fabu
lous wealth. He literally drifted into
aquatic pursuits from marketing his
fathers farm products from Staten is
land, in sail-bOat. The boy estab.
lished ferry between New York and
Staten island; then he operated boats
to carry freight and passengers on the
Hudson river. At the age OF 40 he
had acquired 100000, which at that
time IS34) was regarded as fairly
large fortune. From steamboats, he
developed into the owner Of steamship
lines, and before he had passed the
meridian of life discovered the wand
of Midas to be in management and
control of the steam carriages then
coming into use. From "Commo-
dore" of foreign commerce, he became
the American railway king, over a
pathway dictated by circumstances to
mind that was attuned to large
achievements.