The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-03-19
ARE THEY ALL FOOLS?

gonian has yet been able to say of ad
vocates of the free coinage of silver is
that they are all idiots and fools for
| not being able to see exactly as tina;
wise" journal does on all matters re-
garding the question of finance. Re-
Gently all silverites were. in the opin
ion of the Oregonian, dishonest vaga
bonds, but now it is rather more
charitable and condescends to term
then ''fools." In a recent article up
on the question of "what is an edu-
Gated MANI" it expresses its opinion
of the advocate of silver thus:
president Andrews, of Brown Uni
versity, is an enthusiastic advocate of
the intellectual and historical absur-
dity of free silver. has talked like a
fool about the Armenian and other
questions. The absurdity of
President Eliot's proposition that "a
college man" seldom goes wrong is ex-
hibited by the fact that Il per cent of
the Missouri congressional delegation
are college bred men, while only 70
per cent of the Massachusetts delega-
tion can claim that distinction. Both
of the free-silver senators from Mis-
souri, are college-bred men, and the
majority of her free-silyer evangelists
are nominally college men,
what does this prove? Nothing
save that so-called college education
is very cheap thing. 1t cannot en-
dow man with BRAN power nor intel
lectual honesty. The average college
man who goes into politics is the
creature and abject slave of his enviro-
ment, rather than the pure, proud
child of his culture. The fact that
Harvard, Yale and all the lesser schools
graduate men who are advocates of
free silver either impeaches the sound
ness of their teaching of political
economy or it proves that no system
of liberal education will give q man
intellectual honesty and moral sense
superior to his stupid environment"
1t has probably meyer dawned upon
the mind of the Oregonian editor that
p' ssibly his intellect may be some
what impaired or that his honesty
might be questioned. 1t is barely pos
sible that the advocates of the single
gold standard may not be so entirely
rational as they would have US believe;
in fact they may be the fools" while
the advocates of silver are sound
minded, or we may all be somewhat
demented, and the believers in exclu-
sive paper money may be the only
wise people in the land.
The -Mountaineer however
does not take this view. 1t believes
there are truly wise and honest men
who believe implicitly in all three OF
the money theories. There are argu-
ments in favor of all; anybody but
bigOt can see them.
The gold standard has some things in
its favor that cannot be denied. If we
were to be an absolute free trade ma
tion, and it were our policy to bny
where we can buy the cheapest, also
to have but one object in view, that
of building up the money power, then
the gold standard wonld be the thing.
But this is not the policy of our peo-
pie, and more liberal financial sys-
tenn, based upon both silver and gold
with an adequate amount OF paper
money is to be desired. Hence if we
were to designate those who are the
real fools. we would say they are those
who, like the Oregonian, are preach
irg protection and the gold standard
at the same time.