Evening star., 1896-09-08

bankers, Railroads and MahufaC
turers Educating Voters.

bankers, Railroads and Manufac-
turers Educating Voters.
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
GRAND RAPIDS. Mich.
September 4, 1896.
The Michigan Bankers Association will
take a hand in the campaign in the in
tere st of gold. The annual meeting of the
association was held here last week. AMI
among the papers read was one by w. ].
Cocker of Adrian on the History Of Amer
lean Money" The paper recalled the in
starces in American history when efforts
had been made by legislation and other
wise to keep deprecated currency, or what
De ssed as such in circulation and at par,
but never successfully. The association
ordered the paper printed in pamphlet
FORM and it will be circulated by the
bankers among their depositors and pa
trcns as their contribution to the sound
mercy cause. 1t Is, perhaps, needless to
say that the bankers are unanimously for
gold. 1t was proposed to devote an hour
to the discussion of the standards, but
in the absence of w. r. Burt and Spencer
O. Fisher, about the only bankers who are
silver men in the state, nobody could be
found to hold up the silver end of the
argument, and the debate had to be ahan-
dcred The New York Bankers Asso-
citation will send lot of gold literature
into this state for the bankers to distribute.
and the reading matter will be cheerfuliy
II.
The influence of the bankers in the cam
paign is not to be sneeZed at There are
about go state and national banks, be-
sides mary private banks, and each has
ers, depositors and patrons, and the bank
ers' opportunities to pass out improving
literature" are firSt-class.
Railroads, Too.
The bankers are not the only ones who
are taking hand in the campaign in a
quiet yet very effective way. The rail-
roads are systematically distributing sound
money literature, and many manufacturers
are doing the same. This is not being done
extensively, or in a way to arouse opposi-
tion or antagonism among the employees,
but entirely for educational purposes, and
often in response to demands from the
men themselves. The two railroads with
headquarters in this city have drawn upon
the republican state central committee and
also upon the gold league, for a supply Of
the right kind of literature, and care is
being taken that it should get into the
right hands In this city the manufactur-
ers are doing nothing to coerce or influence
their men, but sound money literature is
kept around the shops In such quantities
that the men can take 1t home il they
wish, and II Is in more than one language,
too. The wholesale merchants in this city
and Detroit are doing missionary work in
quiet WAY among the country merchants,
and onesoig house here has taken pains to
educate its travelling men on the financial
question, that they may meet any free sill
yer argument that may confront them
in their travels. 1t may be said In this
connection that the travelling men are al
most unanimously for gold, regardless of
previous political affiliations. and they will
have an important influence in the cam
paign.
The republican campaign opened last
Thursday night IN Detroit, with Governor
Hastings Of Pennsylvania as the speaker.
s{S4o$ $fN,,@p
ing for the state and national ticket. All
the state candidates, most Of the congress