The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-15
TELLING BIG FIBS
SOME ONE FALSIFYING WICHITA'S
INTELLECTUAL HABITS.

Writes q Long Letter to . New York Paper
In which He Says That Very Few of
the Kansas People Know What the
stantiafion of all This q Number of
Definitions rs to What sixteen to Ore
Means-How Eagerly People Listen to
Talks,
Lots of iridescent falsehoods are be
ing written about Kansas. Some Wien
tia man is doing it now in the New
York Evening Post, the great gold or
gan. This is the way as scandalizes
our intelligence in an article dated
Wichita:
1.-The average eastern newspaper read
er may find it hard to believe, but it is
the truth, that the chief delusion of the
farmers in this neighborhood is that
the Republican platform means the
disappearance Of all silver from circu-
lation. They take the statement con-
stantly made by sound money speakers
and editors, that the effect of going
to a silver basis would be to drive all
gol out of circulation, and twist 1t
around upon itself so as to deduce the
contemporaries that to go to gold
basis would drive out all silver. 1t IS
useless to tell them that we are on a
gold basis now; they simply pull out
their purses and show you the silver in
Them There is gold in circulation, too"
they tell you; I'VE don't see any Of it,
but we know that the bankers of Wall
street have it. So we must be on a
bimetallic basis, and we don't want 1t
disturbed. If there has got to be
change one way of the other by this
years election, we'd rather so 10 the
silver basis straight out, because were
able to get silver, and there isn't gold
enough in the world to supply US with
money"
But, according to that statement"
perhaps you respond, The Wall street
bankers would be left without any mon
ey, for you assume that they have only
gold, and you admit that that would
soon disappear"
''Huh!' such a suggestion always
seems to strike a comical vein in their
minds wall street never gets lefti
The bankers there would be rich enough
to get along anyway. But they'll use
silver like the rest of us; there's enough
for ALL
with all their reasoning on This SUBJ
ject, it does not seem once to occur
to them that there is any fixed and au-
tomato law governing the movement
Of the money wetals They assume
that all the changes are brought about
deliberately and by collision between
nf LraG pa ioI ~,
stance, the idea is firmly settled in their
heads that the way the Republican
policy will operate if the ST Louis plat
form is ratified at the polls will not be
by the action of natural and CONNER
Gal forces as old as the world, but by
the deliberate act of the government.
standing in with Wall street This
combination they firmly believe, Will
compel the retirement of all silver now
in the hands of the people, and forbid
the use OF any more. Gold will become
the only currency: "and," they appeal
to You, "aS we never get any gold, and
there isn't enough of it to do the busi-
ness of the country anyway, what is the
poor man to do?"
''One would hardly suppose that peo-
pie who can hold fast to such absurd
theories could take any great interest
in nearing the money question discuss
ed But they do. The fact is they
will not listen to anything else. 1t has
been tried. Although the state cam
paign is not formally opened yet, some
work has been done in the congression-
al canvasses Republicans have gone
before large audiences composed of far
merS and their wives-for the women
take every whit as much interest as the
men-and attemtepd to stir them up
about the tariff in it's effect upon their
immediate home industries. In town.
ship where raw wool was formerly a
leading industry, the farmers OF the
county having once had 60, 900 fine grade
eheep, but now having only about 49,
900, an effort was made the other night
to convince these people that the free
traders" with their tariff bin Of 1894,
ruined the wool business. In another
place. now badly crippled financially,
where formerly there were three large
egg depots and eggs were shipped by the
carload daily, and in still another
where the hay trade used to thrive.
but is now somnolent, like efforts were
made. But no. the audience would not
listen to the tariff talk at all. "Oho,
drop THAR Come Off Tell us about
money!" ''That'l do; now, what have
you to say on the silver question: were
the cries that greeted the speakers,
and the presently had to yield and
change their tariff talk into a money
talk. The effect in every case was in
Simultaneous. From restlessness the
audience settled down to quiet and
absorbed enjoyment, and any one OF
those orators could have continued to
speak into the wee small hours of the
morning, probably, without a listeners
leaving his seat
'One Of the speakers was amused at
the close of the meeting at being ap-
preached by a very intelligent looking
farmer with the remark:
ct listened carefully to everything
You said, and Is was a good speech: but.
all the same, I'd like to have the govern
ment try this 16 to l and see how II
works. 1t wouldn't do no harm Just 10
try it. you know, and it might do some
good"
But. my friend" protested the speak
er. that is precisely what the govern
ment has been trying all these years.
and It is the Is TO / ratio that has got
us into our present fix"
The farmer stared at the orator in
credulously for a minute, and then said
with a disguised air, as he walked
away:
Pshaw, half suspicioned you was
foolin' all the time. and now know II.
That's the trouble with you politicians:
you think us common folks amt got
no sense. The gov 'ment's been givin'
US 1s to l. has it? Then what's all this
fuss about? No, sir. you can't fool me-
This mans hay notion OF the mean
ing of the familiar campaign cry was no
more ridiculous than that of two we'll
TODD tradesrnan in this city. who were
arguing last night in the lobby OF the