The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-11-18
The Political Situation.

of wheat in the old world, is shown in the
weakening reform vote in the western
wheat States. One of Sancho Panza's
maxims was, never look the gift horse in
the mouth'-accept good fortune without
inquiry, nor ask why or whence it came.
In this respect the farmer is very like the
old Knights faithful squire. One little
streak of good fortune is. prone to make
him forget multitude of ills. To this
trait in the farmers character it is safe to
attribute, more than to anything else, the
,ss of members of congress in the wheat
States of the West. The farmer was told
by the wiley bunco steerers of the gold
and monopoly party that the prosperity
they had promised had visited him to
stay He hoped such condition would
be lasting, and like the confding Sancho
forbore to look the gift horse in the
mouth, or inquire what foundation existed
for such hope.
The goldbug, sound money press are
making the most of the diminished vote
of the opposition i'll the silver States of
the West and loss of members of the
lower House, by comparing the vote
of 1898 with that of 1896 and former
years, while carefully avoiding any
mention or comparison of the vote in
the eastern and middle States where
the wheat incident had little or no
influence, and where the gold cause lost
members of congress and their loss of
votes was many times greater.
Their increase in the Senate is most
elating to the Republican party managers,
which they claim secures the speculative
cliques free hand for six years without
fear of change or serious interference with
their methods. They claim that boom
of confidence in Wall street and a rise in
stocks is prosperity in business and in
crease of wealth in the country. On the
day following the day after the cleo
ton $40, 600, 900 changed hands in Wall
street in the sale of stocks at advanced
prices, but in all of that change of money
added, directly or indirectly to the wealth
of the country, nor will its influence be
felt outside of the ring of stock gamblers,
in New York and London. No advance
in prices of products of industry which
constitute the wealth of the country, has
been or will be felt, only the speculative
cliques the proteges of the Republican
party, whose business will not be inter
fered with they believe as long as they
can keep the party in power.
The bankers of Wall street brand are in
gilt plumes, and the great trusts are re-
joiced at the prospect of not being inter
fered with now that their party is in con-
troll in both houses and they have Pres
ident after their own heart. But how does
rejoicing in these upper regions of the
money paradise strike the plain people,
who like Lazarus al the gate of Dives,
hunger and thirst for even the fragments
that are brushed from the tables of those
richer than Dives?
Bankers of the Rothschild class rejoice
in the hope that the object which they
have striven for i'll secret for thirty years,
may be secured while the term of McKin-
ley lasts and the life of the next congress
endures. They have succeeded in getting
their bill before congress, which, if passed
and allowed to work out its full measure
of iniquity, will destroy every greenback
and replace it with dollar of debt for the
people to pay interest on, in place of a
circulating dollar to transact business
with, and the debasement of every silver
dollar to subsidiary coin, to be redeemed
in gold, and placed on the low plane of
promise to bank currency. The consti
tutional power to "coin money and regu-
late the value thereof" would be trans
ferred from governn 1t to the banks,
which would regulate the value of all
money by controlling it wholly. To this
prerogative would be added the endorse
ment of the government to help sustain
their note circulation, and the most val
liable franchise of the people transferred
to the money power.
The bed rock on which this scheme
rests is low prices. 1t would fail with
rising prices, when business would ex-
pand and refuse to be controlled by the
financial manipulators. But with bus
mess resting on the narrow foundation of
gold, which grows dearer or more power
full in its purchasing power, and controlled
wholly by the credit system, the banking
power could increase aud depress prices
at will.
The simple, confding people do not
know this is what they voted for and the
only hope for the future and for their
children is that they may learn.
For forty years we have studied the
Republican party and are familiar with
every line of its history, and assert, with
out fear of successful contradiction, that
it is the most dangerous party that ever
existed in this country. 1t has steadily
and gradually shifted from the people to
the care and consideration of concen-
trated wealth. Its policy has been what
concentrated wealth dictated. Its taxes
are piled on the creators of wealth, while
concentrated wealth escapes very large
portion of its just share of taxes. All the
4.