Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1897-05-15

tlILg Iney aDrOad.
They ought to give up this foolish fad and
spend their millions getting acquainted with
this country for few years. If are actu-
ally insolvent and cannot pay ought to
make general assignment for the benefit Of
all our creditors his Is the way honest
man does when he fails in business He does
the dollar Instead of being insolvent we
are better able to pay than any people on the
face OF the earth Our national debt is in
round numbers sells. SCI. 600. 1t has been re-
duced to one-third its former amount. In 1865.
it was s. S45. SCI. CO., The debt of Great Britain
and Ireland (tAe creditor nation) is So $50, 49,
600; the debt of France is si.446. Oo0.Ooo: Rus
s1a, 50 49lOOoOOO: Austria-H Hungary, s., sec, Co.,
OOO Italy, 2,;-4 OCUCo0: Germany. 81, Csc, Co.,
600: Spain with one-fourth of our popula-
tion), s1.251, 000.U0
The per capita debt of France is SIG: OF
Great Britain and Ireland, ST. Italy, $40,
Spain, s73; Russia, So. while our per capita
debt is sI4- Uncle Sam, bless his old soul, is
the only good housekeeI0er il the whole lott
Our bank deposits amount to 81, GU, COO, COO
while those OF all Europe only amount to
s6,oOO,OOO.OoO By our last census our pei
capita of wealth, shown by the assessment
rolls, was S34l, and the people have never been
bad about assessing their property too high
The war veterans cannot be for rcpudiation
account of our alleged inability to pay. 1t
is fundamental principle of law and morals
that man must be just before ne is generous
and that gifts made by insClvent void
as to creditors. Our government is giving them
about SAC. 600 600 annually. II we can afford
to be liberal, ought to strain a point and
be honest too. If our government give it
like prince. it ought to pay like gentle
man.
Who Are the Debtorse
large part of the debts figured against US
are in fact not interest bearing debts They
consist OF railroad, real estate and other
poration debts where defaults We're made, and
mortgages ON the property have been fore
closed, the property sold and the debts ;1rac-
tically extlngulShed-
The only debts that the people at large are
interested in are the national debt and the
state debts. The state debts, by the last
suS, amounted to S22S. $50 $50. he county
debts amounted to sI45. O4S.045: school district
debts, So 7O1 S4S, while the debts of cities and
towns amounted to S72I, 453, OG0. making total
of 81, 135, PIC, 442- You will observe that about
three-fourths of this tot-ll tebt owed by the
cities and towns. With this borrowed money
they have built gas, electric light and water
works plants paved their streets, etc. Now,
the Is to city asks his country brother,
who uses coal oil in his house ard darkness
outside, who draws his water from a we'll and
bathes in the creek, who splits the mud in wet
weather and kicks up the dust il dry. to help
him repudiate the debt incurred by him in
getting ahead of the countryman to these
comforts and conveniences Of life. As to all
our private domestic debts, it is i1nmaterial
to the government whether the redheaded
men owe the black headed ones. the black
needed ones owe the redheaced ones. One
holds the debt and the other holds the prop
erty it purchased and they cancel each other.
Injustice of Scaling Debts.
The suggestion is sometimes made that, by
the enhancement of gold, debts have been in
creased when measured in property, and
therefore they ought to be scaled. 1 have dis
cussed the gold enhancement theory, but de-
sire to add: That practically all debts
were contracted since the gold standard
adopted, and that standard entered into and
became part of every contract, and if gold
has advanced it would be just dishonest
pay by any other standard it would be if it
had not advanced. If a man contracts for
], COO bushels of corn, it is answer to his
contract to say that corn has risen since the
contract made. Besides, all our obliga-
tions have passed from hand to hand, most Of
them many times. and tine present holders had
no to do with the rise fall of gold
than they did with the rise or fall of the tides
The underlying. fructifying element of this
l6 to movement is socialism 1t is the same
old effort to get something for nothing. The
Coxeyites wanted grub for nothing. The sin
gle tax cranks want land for nothing. The
Populists want government monopoly of trans
portStlon and private monopoly of the wailing
business for nothing I he 16 to l people want
so per cent of debts for nothing. he Bellamy-
ties want everything for nothing. And /
might suggest that the new woman wants our
bifurcated garments for nothing. but that is
not pertinent to the subject under discussion
and will not do so.
The movement means rC,udiation. All else
is theory, pretense and dreams. It is an effort
to pass a left handed, bankrupt bill, not for
the benefit of the unfortunate debtor who
cannot pay, but for the rich as well, who can
pay, but want to beat their creditors. The
poor man is not in debt; he never had a chance
TO get IN debt. The corporations, SPECTATORS
and plunGers generally constitute the debtor
class Every wage Garner belongs to the cred
tor class. No would be benefited by 10 to
coinage except the debtor class. Even the
mine owner would not, for the temporary
stimulus given to silver would increase its
production until the price would fall below
what it is now. On the other hand. all would
suffer. If a bill for free coinage Of silver at
10 to were to pass either house of congress, 4
md it was ascertGined that it would pass the /
other house and that the president would sign
t, the panic that would would be to
hat OF 1893 what tornado is to a zephyr. \
Creditors. to avoid being paid in debased mon /
y, would crowd and crush for payment the /
people do for exit in a theater ON an alarm of /
ire Credit and confidence, the twin divini- /
ies of prosperity, would depart from us. !
All business would be paralyzed, labor unem- 4
,loyed, and despair would hang her black
,al in million of homes, only to be lifted 1
when reason resumed her sway. 1t took
France so years to entirely recover from the
John Law fasco.
How England Is Running Us.
The demagogues. in order to undermine the
moral sense of the people and make repudia-
ion palatable. rail about En- gland s wealth and
alsely assert that she is trying dictate our
monetary system and to crush England is
ich. but if she is trying to ruin she has
PECULIAR way of manifesting her hostility For
he year ending June 20, 1894, she took s423,
co. 900 of our exports, about seven times as