The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-06-27
sam JONES, LETTER.
The Preacher Discusses the PoHH-
cal Situation.
Ne Does Not Believe The Silver Question
ths Only Issue Before the People
The Increasing Rate
o~fffaxatfoA.

along his track as he came back through
Kansas, Missouri and 50 on. He certain
ly had an ovation in Denver. Pitchforks
were at 3 premium. But as he came
east the procession grew beautifully
less. I am sure that free silver has Coll
orado by an overwhelming majority.
IL looks now like Kansas and Missouri
are following close in the wake of Col
orado, with Mississippi and Alabama
next in line.
1t does look like an alliance between
the west and the south. However in
homogeneous and unmixable they may
be on other lines, they are together on
silver, and a great many of them in both
sections really think that free silver
means free silver. The goldbugs are
looking on the procession with some
amusement and with some chagrin.
The democratic party is evidently divid-
ed and will most assuredly put two cam
didates in the field unless there is a
revolution in some way between this
and the Chicago convention. That there
is depression and dissatisfaction and
unrest upon the country anyone with
eyes can readily see, and it is not hard
to persuade most of the dissatisfied ones
that the decentralization of silver has
brought all these woes upon us. What
ever this may have had to do with the
condition of things, or may not have
had to do with them, deponent saith
not; but the man who ascribes the
financial depression and commercial
lsz-z4.- N AKA, o,,-A-x ~ A1o laroon-
citation of silver alone has travelled
less than I have and has less sense than
l have, and / am willing to confess /
have about as little as a man can get
along with. Maybe Ben Tillman is
right, that it is not only the demonetiza-
tion of silver but the overproduction of
fools. 1t will be just like the democrats
to put two candidates before the people
and get the very hind sights beat off of
them. With some democrats acting the
rascal and the balance of them acting
the fool they will fetch up somewhere
between the devil and the deep blue sea,
if they are not already landed there.
A man who is proud of being a demo-
crat now would be proud of his daddy,
if he was a mule. a rantankerous,
consolidated, concentrated prohibition
isl like my fool self can look on the
marching procession of the democrats
and republicans with as little concern,
as to which shall lick the other as the
old woman was concerned when her
husband and the bear were fighting.
With Bland or Ben Tillman as the cam
didate OF the free silver party, and
Whitney or Campbell of the goldbug
democrats, and Mckinley as nominee
Of the republican party, a cross-eyed
negro can shut his eyes and BEE the head
dog in that race. But seriously, a great
many men think and feel that with the
free coinage of silver at a ratio Of six
teen to one, we can bring back pros
perity to our country again. If the
proposition is true, then who would
not be for the free and unlimited coin
age Of silver? Who is it that does not
covet prosperity for his country2 IF
the gold standard will bring back pros
perity to our country, who would not
be a gold bugger? But will either the
one or the other, or both, bring pros
perity? Is the sordid, solid stuff called
gold and silver the only basis upon
which prosperity can come? am ready
to say, with my knowledge of the facts
and situation, that neither one nor the
other will ever bring prosperity to this
country. We must have some other
things along with them, more industry,
economy and more careful view Of the
situation, and less fools and jackasses
L ~, o-1rrv,7 ~ aar,rArr 7 laa94
believe that any people under the sun
can be prosperous and be taxed to
death. In some of our municipalities
the tax rate for city, state and county
combined is six per cent, scarcely less
than az per cent. anywhere, with an
increase from year to year. In Pueblo,
Col. / am told, it is six per cent, in At
lanta, Ga, 3K per cent, in Gainesville,
Ga, two per cent. Thus it ranges. ]
repeat it: No people under the shining
sun can stand such taxation! No won
der the rich are hiding out their mill
lions from the tax gatherers. No won
der in so many instances perjury is
manifest in tax returns, and the worse
feature Of the whole business is that
the taxes are growing. The present
congress, with its appropriations, has
exceeded a half billion dollars, in the
midst of the most strenuous times we
have ever seen. Every legislature in
every state is piling up appropriations
thereby depicting the treasury and
adding additional percentage to taxes.
We are pensioning this and giving
something to hat until the difference
between having something and having
nothing is in favor of the latter. Free
schools, free books; and 1 suppose some
statesmen, so-calfed. win soon i'm
mortalize himself by establishing free
boarding Bouses. free clothing stores
and a free hardware store to furnish
the Tillman procession with pitch.
forks. And as to the principle of this
thing, it is my honest conviction thai
it is no more John Smiths business tx
pay the tuition Of my children than Il
is for him to clothe my children, feed
my children, lick my children, and wheI
they are grown, furnish them witt
pitchforks to march in Che Tillman line
If / were a politician I would not saJ
these things. lido not say them as a pol
itician, but as a gentleman, Every lit
tie candidate that pops up these latte
! days is making rare promises to thI