Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-12-29


An fhs n arnos Of sound money agree thAs
some simpltncation Of cur complex currency
system would be desirable, but right there the
agreement erds A single step beyond that -
chaos. Tbs obvious thing 70 do s 10 got to-
gether. An army split into EARRING factions
and ouarreling over tho object ana details Of
= campaign needs a good deal Of preparation
before IL enters upon a hard fight against q
united enemy IL formidable numerical
strength.
Surprising the reform leaders = the gold
Standard men in both houses of the Fifty-kixth
congress-to have come TO an agreement as TO
what ought 70 be done. the next thing for
them 10 do, IL they are wise and prudent, win
be 10 put their ears TO the ground and place q
finger on the public pulse. There is no such
necessity for reform As would Justify a serious
risk Of disrupking the sound money forces. Up
70 this date we have seen no evidence o. such
q condition Of public sentiment or popular
feeling a. would render Il expedient 20 subati-
tute national bank notes for the greanbacks.
such q ssntimant may be created for sught
that we know, but the friends Of reform
should be thoroughly convinced Of its exist
ence before going too far. Meanwhile LET them
show that conhdence In the honesty Of the
American people which Is justified BY this ma
lions i~ncomparabie record in finance.
welcome Christmsstiae.
Christmas Is the great festival Of the
civilized world. Its distinguishing char
acteristic is the arousing 10 an acute
state the charitable impulse Of the hu-
q heart. The motto for Christmas
tide is, 1T IL more blessed TO give than
TO receive" Even the yeriest skinhint
wearing the human form divine, In this
season of generosity, looeens his purse
strings under an impulse that cannot be
resisted and contributes TO the happi-
ness Of his fellows After I,soe years
the gentle babe, Graded In q manager
walks abroad on the face Of the earth,
and countless millions are happier by
reason Of the recurring anniversary Of
his birth. Everybody gives In this sea-
son of gladness the widows mite counts
for as much as the kings gift The
blazing light Of the star of Bethlehem
enriches the meanes present and makes
Ii sparkle like a gem.
After reading most Of the poems
which have been written from King
David to James Whitcomb Riley l am
fully persuaded that the finest poem
ever penned, though expressed in prose
and usually considered prose, is ST.
Paul's rhapsody on charity in the thir-
tenth chapter Of ! Corinthians.
Though / speak with the tongues Of
men and of angels and have not charity,
! I'm become a. sounding brass or q
tinkling cymbal," says the great apos.
tie to the gentiles.
Swelling with his theme, he ex.
claims, "And though / have the gift Of
prophecy and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge, and though l have
all faith. 50 that I could remove noun.
tains. and have not charity, I am moth
ing"
And in this vein to the end Of the
chapter disoourses this most exquisite
metaphysical philosopher that ever lived
in all the hoary registers of time. What
a brain the man had What a heart!
What oouragei What q cunning pen
What immortal famel But it was NOT
Of Saul Of Tarsus that I started in to
write, though he is a perpetual delight
to me, but Of one separated from him
by nearly 10 centuries and by noun.
tains, plains. seas and rivers, q dwellel
in a land Of which st. Paul never
dreamed-w Winfield Scott Stratton Of
Cripple Greek, Colo, a man who prac-
tees without ostentation that boundlesE
charity inoulcated by the great Chris
tian Hebrew.
/ have never seen Mr.. Stratton and
never expect to see him, but be did one
thing that proves him one of natures
noblemen.
A Prineely Christmas Gift.
One Of the pioneers Of the Centennial
State was Hon. II. A. W. Tabor, who,
after the usual hardship Of frontier life,
became multimillionaire, lieutenant
governor and senator Of the United
States for 80 days. To use a common
saying. Tabor "out a big splurge" and
bored with a big auger'' in the heyday
Of his prosperity. He built the finest
opera house IN the world. His $3.50 night
shirts were a ten days wonder. His
jewlery, his clothes, his squipages, daz-
zled the multitude until they blinked
their eyes like 80 many owls at high
meridian. But withal Tabor was the
best friend Colorado ever had. He would
go into any Colorado enterprise, stake
anybody. spend his money in any man
ner that promised Advancement to the
state. Scores Of wealthy men owe all
they have 10 the munifcent and indis-
eliminating generosity Of Tabor.
For years he appeared to be the lucki-
est Of mortals. He welded Prospero's
magic wand. Everything he touched
turned into gold. But it's a long lane
that has no turn, and finally the turn
came TO Tabor-quick, unexpected,
ruinous. appalling. The panic of 1898
found him with millions Of assets and
millions Of liabilities. A helping hand
from the scores whom he had helped to
riches would have enabled him to
weather the storm and come out still
a millionaire. No such help was ex-
tended. His vast properties were sacri-
feed, and he was left pennilessL Reso-
lutely he went to work to rebuild his
fortunes, onoe more delying into the
bowels of the earth with common miners
in the endeavor TO discover her hidden
WchAeus Ills uupSo WcHo VAIL huu y
dreary and poverty stricken old age ap-
peAred in store for him, but it was not
10 be.
While Tabor's fortunes were at the
nadir, Winfield Scott Strstton Of Dem
yer, a journeyman carpenter, working
hard 20 make buckle and tongue meet,
discovered the Independence mine at
Cripple Greek, the richest gold mine Of
which there Is any authentic record,
and instantly became a multimillion-
aire, rising in a night from poverty to
Afiuence.
Most Of the tribe of the nouveau richie
have their heads turned and are ashamed
Of their humble ~Anteoedents; not so
with Winfield Scott Stratton, however.
He had wealth beyond the dreams Of
avariea. His future was assured. He
was not, however, pulled up, did not be-
have himself unsesmly-whioh proved
that he was worthy Of his splendid
luck.
We are prone 10 think Of multimil-
lionAirss as q hard hearted lot. bat one
Of STATIONS first acts overthrows that