Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-09-11
SILVER AND PENSIONS.


west under the guse of "sample copies," i:
filled with drivel that borders on the contempt
ible. All possible changes are rung on the
pension bells. All manner of appeals are made
to the cid soldiers except the one to vote thei1
convictions, and for the greatest good to the
greatest number.
Here is sample of the sickening drive
with which column after column of the edit
orial page is filled, careful reading of which
will show to what desperate straits the Repub-
licans are driven in defense of their inconsist-
encies:
"All comrades know of the struggle VIC have
maintained for 80 years to get pensions to where
they are now. Every step has been bitterly
contested. The men who are now shouting for
free silver have been solidly arrayed against
the rightfulness of free pensions as principle,
but have deluged us with the fouest calumnes
and ISLANDERS.
care we now to lose the major part of all we
gained by these long years of contention and
strife by having every pension cut in two by
being paid in deprecated silver? Can we en-
dure such calamity at our age, when we need
all that the money will give us far more than
ever, and when we feel far less able to make
battle for our rights than we did years ago?
"a hundred times; No."
When this is fully analyzed, the reader will
be forced to the coviction that the man who
is so given over to the defense of the inconsist-
encies of political organization WILL in the
supreme hour, betray his country.
When the editor goes so far as to say, "The
men who have been shouting for free silver
have been soldly arrayed against us, and have
not only fought against the rightfulness of pen
sions as principle, but have deluged us with
the foulest calumnies and slanders,' he lies.
The calumnes and ISLANDERS come from his CO.
laborers.
''Silver lunatics, " anarchists, " ''commun-
ists,' "repudiators," and to the end of
the list of foul epithets, have been the stock
in-trade of John McElroy and all who march
with him under the partisan banner. They
are masquerading as patriots, consistent in their
political teachings, when it is patent to every
student of history that the only thing in which
they have been consistent is party trucking to
their owners and keepers-the coupon-clippers
and money-changers, and they cannot but know
that the success of Mckinley and his grooms
would add appallngly to the burdens Of the
wealth-creators of the nation.
The value of no dollar, no matter what its
character, was ever reduced except by special
law, and it is history that the Republican party
has enacted all the laws that have deprecated
any given kind of the moneys of the nation
enhanced the purchasing power of others, and
it is an exhibition of astounding gall for them
to appeal through a covert lie to the old SOL
diers that i'll order that their pensions may not
be "cut in two through free coinage" they
must vote for Mckinley.
Free coinage of silver is no new experiment.
Eighty years of experience satisfied the money
changers that they could not own and enslave
labor with the minis free to whoever owned
any of either of the precious metals. To-day,
they see the prize about to slip away from their
grasp. appeal to gross ignorance and partisan
prejudice has failed, and now they appeal by a
lie to the cupidity of those who are drawing
upon the assumption, we presume, that all the
pensioners value more highly few dollars of
pension for present needs than the prosperity
of the country, the revival of business every
where, and that they may bequeath to their
such men as Mckinley, Hanna, Cleveland,
Sherman and Carlisle.
HANNA and his henchmen are now threaten
ing tho small merchants with refusal of credit
and general bankruptcy if they don't support
MoH;p1ev We'll have more to cav about thic