The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-02-08

employed.
Idaho and the west need no defense at
my hands, much less is there any need
for its representatives to explain their
actions to the obsequious press of New
York city. If our states are proper sub
jects for abuse, however, because they
have two senators each, with but
small population, as compared with
New York or Pennsylvania, why should
not some Of the eastern states, repre-
sented by gold advocates, be proper OBJ
iects for attack also. Our mining states,
these rotten borough" states, have i'm
mense areas, are boundless in their re-
sources and are increasing in popula-
ton in a marvellous manner.
They are the haven now. as they
have been in the past, for the energetic
and industrious and law abiding people
of our own and foreign countries. L do
not wish nor intend to disparage the
smaller states of the east. for have the
greatest respect for them and their rep
resentatives, past and present; but they
are small in area, as we'll as population,
and their resources are well nigh ex-
hausted
California has more resources ana
area and nearly as great a population
as all of them combined. Utah, the new
state. almost equals them in popula-
ton. and / have no doubt that the next
census will show that all of the new
states of the west surpass these smaller
states of the east in population.
The census for 1S80-1890 shows that the
percentage of increase in population
during these ten years was: Washing
ton, $50 per cent; Montana, 238 per cent;
Idaho, 1853 per cent; Colorado, III per
cent; Rhode Island "a per cent; Della
ware, IA per cent; New Hampshire, s
per cent; Vermont. OOO4 per cent.
While there are no great fortunes
owned by families or individuals in our
section, the facts are, as shown by the
last census, that these mining camps,
these rotten borough" states of the
New York press, rank first in wealth
per capita, surprising any other states
of the Union. Massachusetts and Penn
sylvania are old established and rich
states, yet the people of Idaho are
worth 81 EACH as against 81 for each
citizen of these great commonwealth.
| am not boasting, Mr.. President;
am speaking in this strain only be
cause am tired of the sneers and the
arrogance of the ignorant or willfully
perverse In this same connection
beg further to say that until this west,
which is my home, began to turn its
streams of silver and gold upon the
east, this republic was but a second
rate power in the opinion of the world /:
but fourth or fifth rate power in finan-
cial standing, on a level merely with
Egypt and Turkey.
While the men OF the west have been
blazing the trails for and appearing
the temples to civilization they have
at the same time supplied the men of
the east with their vitalizing agent
called real money, which has enabled
them to transport and realize on their
common, coarse commodities until they
now have reached a point where their
poor memories and their absence of
common gratitude and their over
whelming egotism cry out, mot unto
you, but unto ourselves, all the glory
is due"
The reason why the mining states of
the west are for silver is not to be found
in the statement that they have silver
to sell. They have the gold also, and
probably in as great abundance as sill
yer. AS silver depreciates gold appre-
ciates, so that so far as the mere dol
!
chasing values of the metals it is prac-
! tically immaterial to us whether we
have gold monometallism, silver mono
metallism or the double standard of
gold and silver.
In addition to that, the value of the
silver which is now being dug out or
which can be produced in our states
under any conditions amounts to but
in r.fC xxrffI, nf u
er resources.
1t is and has been one of our indus
tries, however, the same as gold pro-
duction, and it has been, and should
now he, treated as money of the con-
stitution. When the money function
was taken away from silver by unjust
and uncalled-for legislation, and the
industry Of silver mining crippled, ouI
people and their representatives in con.
gress naturally INQUIRED the reason
and this led them to study the question
of money. The attention of our people
has been especially and directly called
to the subject of silver, no doubt, be
cause we are producers of both gold anC
silver, and the results of investigation
have united them firmly in favor of the
restoration of silver.
AS a fact, we suffer less absolutely
than any other portion of the country
on account of the decentralization Of
silver, and can endure the single stand
ard of gold with less personal hardship
than any other section. Taken all il
all, as communities we are today,
think, better off than eastern states
and will continue to be. 1t is of little
Importance TO us as compared with tn,
farmers OF the south. middle, west and
east, and the wage-earners generally
whether silver is restored or we main