The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1897-12-21
Review of the Presidents Message.

Review OF the Rreot0Gnt@ 0~sH@be.
In a review OF the Presidents message II re-
quires a different style and more consideration
than OF partisan article. In the first instance
the party issuing II must reasonably be sup
posed to be honest without prejudice, and one
who is In love with the people and country he Is
addressing. II is true his message Is direct TO
Congress; but nevertheless, II Is for the benent
and continued prosperity Of the American peo-
pie. Therefore we shall try to treat 1t In the
the light it is supposed TO be issued. The
Presidents first suggestions are congratula-
tory over our prosperity. This may always be.
For the American people will always be march
ing on-no matter what betides; but the ques'
tion is more Are they prospecting as they
ought That they will move forward is GER
tain; but the degree Of our progress Is the
question to be considered; and in that, perhaps,
we have little ground for congratulations. Then
he has congratulations for the growing feeling
OF fraternal regard and unitcation OF all sec
lions OF our country" too long delayed" Ger
tainly he is not unconscious OF the fact that the
Republican party, has been mainly the cause OF
the former continued enlargement; and surely
he remembers his stroke OF political policy
with negroes last Fall, when he said This
mobbing must be stopped" He had better
have said Big, powerful negroes must stop
ravishing white women. For II he thinks mob
bling will stop until the practice Is stopped he
is reckoning without his host And it matters
not whether he be President-no not even
Jackson can prevent the American people from
taking summary vengeance, when all nature
and decency are outraged-either In the North
or South. But his threat was meant purely for
the South, and had strong tendency in the OPP
posite direction from unihcation that he now
so much admires. Questions OF sectional diff
ferences and partisanship he thinks are put
aside. We trust they are; and II his class Of
politicians will let these odious sentiments
rest, we believe they are-but how will they
get along, II again they come to a hot contest
without waving the "bloody shirt ?" viii 1t
not be an absolute necessity; and can his party
rise above it in such an hour? Let us hope
that in such case, for the first time, they will
conquer that vicious sentiment. Their Presi-
dent indicates that they will.
The tariff, he says is settled. Rather read !:
Is revised-to suit the other extreme. Extrem-
es can never settle anything.
The money question he admits is the great
question; but before another campaign, as in
the past, his party and the Cleveland and Carl
isle and Palmer and at least a dozen other gold
Democrats (there are only few of these over
pure gentlemen) will be just as sure to raise a
tariff question as the sun is to rise. But on the
financial question he suggests as encouraging,
the following
The work of putting our finances upon a sound
basis difficult as it may seem will appear easier
when we recall the financial operation of the
government since 1896. On the 30th day OF June
| of tibet year we had outstanding demand liabll-
tiles in the sum OF S72S 1868, 4474l. On the fiCst
I lfsl,41 A,1
duced to Si43 $50. 1888 or our interest bearing
| obligations the figures are even more striking.
On July |, 1886, the principal of the interest
bearing debt of the government was 81, 332. 43l :
208. On the first day of July. 1893, this sum had
been reduced is $3.50, o37, 100, or an aggregate
duction of 81 .7S7 29l, lUS The interest bearing
debt of the United States on the LIST day of Dec.
! 1897 was S847, 365, $40. The government money
now outstanding dec. lst consists of 1916, 6Sl,-
0l6 of the United States notes, $le7, 739, 230 OF
treasury notes ISSUED by authority Of the law
of 1890, 1878, 9635t4 Of silver certificates and SOL
28o,76l of standard silver dollars.
| Two things will be apt to strike the reader as
prominent in these favorable sayings. First
that it is well to put of as far as possible any
large demand liabilities; and second, that in
terest bearing obligations should be reduced
and we're to the amount of l,T37, 294, 108. AL
most two thousand million Of interest bearing
Indebtedness wiped out. Immense sum This
ought to make the people breathe easier. But
pursuing the same course which the President
now proposes to endorse, Mr. Cleveland was
enabled to enlarge the interest bearing debt of
the nation from $685. 037, 100 to S347, 365 go or
l $3.50, 1928, $50. OF course it is patent that this
was, in part, fraud, but we have to pay it.
Let us see how Mr.. Mckinley proposes TO mend
the system. He approves the plan OF Sec.
| Gage which is, practically to put the nation
under an issue of an unheard of quantity of in
| terest bearing bonds on which to give the bank
ers Of the nation the absolute control Of the
currency of our people outside of the small
amount of gold he Is now complaining about
What gem of consistency in connection with
his exultation over our former successful re-
duction of our interest bearing debt. If we
may be allowed the expression, this is symplic-
ity simpli1ed Why, If we had two OF three
Presidents after the pattern of Mckinley and
Gage we would hardly need Congress at all
But the President says, in effect that these
plans have to be carried out to avoid bond issu-
es and to keep the parity OF our money, (and yet
he proposes to multiply them.) Does he not
know that the parity is kept by the money itself
when let alone We should have no bonds and
have none that our silver would not pay IL we
did. And yet for the purpose of Tightening the
money market, and enabling the money dealers
to speculate more extensively they will refrain
from paying the obligations according to their
contract and thus depress the people. He says
our present system is "a dangerous menace to
our credit, There never was nation there
never win be nation that loses it's credit when
it pays promptly just as it agreed II McKin-
ley or Cleveland or Harrison tell bond holder
that they will pay debt contrary to the terms
OF the contract made and the rights of the peop-
lie, the holder knows the wrong and should suf-
fer for his attempted villainy. The debts of
our nation should be paid in coin of both gold
and silver as they are made; and II we have got
paper that is not full legal tender it should be
called in and an equal amount issued that is.
and not compel the people to the round about
way of paying interest for nothing TO allow a
| body of men to control the volume OF currency
of the country and through this channel depress
or initiate the money market at will and thereby
injure the country. There is no reason. there
is no right in this indulging one class to the in
jury of the body or masses. But to make this
scheme more lucrative for the money changer
they now propose to take of the ten per cent.
| security Of our present system Of banking on
| bonds and issue for the full face. Let MS he
careful on what ground we tread II war or
n oh a1,,o.