The herald., 1896-08-31
SOME C0NuNDRUMS ANSWERED
A Workingnan Replies to the Hon. Sam n.
ShortrjUe

Editor Herald: After my days work
was done yesterday l went In the even
ing to see the parade of imported Re
| publicans so gay and fine. When | be-
held them l thought the head of the pro
cession very appropriate. When 1 lis
tened to the strains of music leading
them and surveyed the followers, 1 could
not help but think of the old song: "One
little Injun, two little Injuns, three lit
| tie lnjuns," etc. Following the people
and going to the pavilion, found it full
| to overlooking, a majority of whom
| were Democrats and Populists, fact
they made known at the mention of the
| name of the next president of the Unit
ed States. Hon. w. j. Bryan.
Securing standing room in the gal
lery, began to listen to Mr.. Shortridge
He asked: Are hard times the result of
the lack of money!" l answer yes, and
the lack of money is the result of the
long continuation in power of the cor
rupt Republican party and its class leg
islation. He said: There is more mon
ey in the United States today per capita
than at any time since the foundation
of the republic was laid by our fore
fathers" What an assertion to be
made by a man aspiring to the United
States senate. 1t is an undiSputed fact
that we had at the close of the war at
least $50 per capita while today the av-
erage estimate is far less than ne-half
that amount, and the best times we have
had in this country for many years We're
those just after the close of the war,
while there was a large amount of mon
ey in circulation. He exclaimed. THE
trouble with the American people today
is the fear that Bryan will be elected"
What an idea, that the people are
afraid of electing a man they are going
tD vote for He wants IN hrir I,on ntr
confidence" The way to do that is
with free silver, f6 to 1.-The coin, the
cash. 1t beats the Mckinley tariff. We
can't make good times by increasing olir
taxes. He gave his party the credit Of
passing the resumption act, resuming
specie payment, redeeming the green
backs, etc. There is more credit in that
than anything else. They did
redeem some of the greenbacks
in coin, but great many
of them they did not. They re-
demed them like poor man redeems his
mortgage, when he can't pay-took up
the old notes greenbacks, and issued III
terest bearing bonds i'll the place of
them, burning up the peoples money by
the millions of dollars, behold the credit
He told us they established a reserve
fund of $100, 900, 900 by system of tariff
that paid the expenses, etc" 1t occurs
to me that they established an income
tax, enforced and collected it. 1t was
all right then, was not unconstitutional.
How is it now? And didn't they issue
more bonds and sell them? And didn't
they blow in all the surplus before Har-
rison went out of office, leaving an
empty treasury, except the silver they
had refused to pay out?
In speaking of his party, he said:
1T built up industries and caused the
nation to advance with gigantic strides"
Yes, in a horn; it has built up great syn
dicates, monopolies, trusts. combines
and millionaires on the one hand, and
an impoverished people on the other.
The Republican party boasts of our
prosperity. They forget to tell us about
the two millions of idle men and tramps
no place to sleep, nothing to eat, only
Wnat they can beg or steal; of the three
millions more that only have work half
Tue time at low wages; of the five mil
lions or suffering women and little chill
dfen, or the thousands of small boys and
girls that have to go into the factories
etc, 10 work at starvation wages to try
70 keep soul and body together when
tney ought to be in school, Look at the
niue fellows in every large city, in this
union without homes, selling papers
placklng boots, doing anything thew can
get 10 90, and then talk about prosper-
lty, tnat there is plenty of money. etc
Mr. Shortridge wants us "all to get In
the Mckinley band wagon where there