Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-02-25
THE PROMISE THAT FAILED.
How the People Were ..Sold'' by the


| How the People Were 'SOlds' by the
Mckinley Crowd.
The general public has become some
/ wnat accustomed to the great disap-
! pointment it began to experience
shortly after the November election be-
cause of the failure of the promised
| prosperity to materialize, and, as a
consequence, we don't hear so much
about it now as we did a couple of
months ago. It having been settled
that the promise of prosperity was
| nothing more than a bunco game, the
people have philosophically set them
selves to the task of bearing the hard
times and the growing stringency as
best they can, satisfied, at least, that
they were successfully worked"
Occasionally, however, we still find
expressions of dissatisfaction; sarcas-
tic comments on the gullibility of the
public, and caustic references to the
grand republican rainbow of promise,
in contemplation of which the Ameri-
can people were SO easily sold" Rev.
j. c. Hogan, of Forest City, Pa. a
Methodist clergyman, who is we'll
known in this city. recently wrote
letter to the Carbonate Leader. bear
ing on the republican promise of pros
perity, and the pith of his communica-
ton is found in the following excerpt:
81 am looking for the Advance Agent of
Prosperity. Evidently he is lost, stolen or
strayed, and 1 want to send word to the
public through your valuable paper.
"a few months ago we were told to vote
for Mckinley and Prosperity The under
signed then stated that the people could
get Mckinley by voting for him. but doubt
ed If this would bring prosperity. To-day
reports from the large cities relative to
the number of unemployed show that there
are over 4,500. 900 men out of work. There
are 100000 in New York, 10000 in Philadel-
phia, $4,000 in San Francisco, 1000 in De-
troit, 1900 in Cleveland, Is, 600 in Cincin-
natl, 5000 in Boston, and so on. During the
past few weeks widespread restitution has
been reported by the papers.
Where is the prosperity that was to
follow?
'It will hardly satisfy US to say that
Mckinley & Co. have not yet gone into
business. Why? Because they told US all
that was needed to usher in a paradise of
prosperity was sound money and conf
dence.' By Sound money was meant the
existing gold standard that we now have,
and Immediately after the election ignorant
partisans and pulpit orators pointed with
pride to the great boom in business as
proof that the announcement of republican
success had brought us an overproduction
of confidence
But since the late Iamented election
many private banks, miscalled national,
have gone republican, too. Over 80 of these
banks at the west failed during the month
of December.
Here in Forest City, preceding the cleo
ton, many patriots were especially anx-
ious to save the honor of the nation. They
held a meeting in the opera house, at which
a certain ancient statesman discoursed on
the beauties of sound money and conf
dence. The boys organized and sat up
nights to sing for Mckinley and Protec-
tion, and they now getting 1t at the
rate of seven days per month. They even
tramped in paradeS with the bosses In
command in carriages. And 10! even the
bosses have now been placed on half
time. A thing which has never been known
before the advent of the Advance Agent of
Prosperity
That confidence game was a success
in one way, but fails to work the other
way.
II notice that many of the preachers who
so zealously spoke and voted in favor of
plutocracy are now asking their pew renters
to contribute food and clothes for the
sipport of poverty. 1t is good to feed the
poor but it is better to work for conditions
under which none need to be poor. A just
social and Industrial system would make
this possible
Mr.. Hogan gives strong and graphic
expression to his estimate of the situ-
alton, but his view of the case is not,
in other respects, whit different from
the view entertained by the people, who
are not saying much, of course, but
who are perfectly satisfied that they
were "roped in" For it is hardly to be
doubted that the promise of prosperity
saved the major and his party last No
7emDer,-Binghamto IN. W Leader.