The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-12-08
A CRY FOR GOLD AND EMPIRE
A Few Points in the Presidents Mes
sage as Seen by The Union.

Pennington county to present the
presidents message while it is news
The document is an important one
and has been tittingly designated
as "a cry for gold and empire.
To a great extent it removes the
mask from the republi-
can party and exposes its true aims
TO the American people.
1t recommends an extension of
further power to national banks
the institutions which have already
overreached the bounds OF safety
under system which mas placed
the power of issuing money in the
hands Ct private corporations, to
contract or expand at will--to crush
the people or give them "easy
times y as they may desire, to bring
wreck and devastation to internal
commerce and business enterprises.
or to allow them to 90 on and reap
the beneficial results Of energy and
enterprise. Snch power cannot
safely be conferred upon private
corporations, President Mckinley to
The contrary notwithstanding.
To those republicans who in 1896
declared that republican success did
not necessarily mean the fastening
OF the gold standard upon the coun-
try, the presidents message must
Indeed be refreshing. The ''inter-
national agreemect' farce was play
ed out early in the administration.
Now comes Mckinley recommending
the enactment of a point blank gold
standard law and empowering the
secretary Of the treasury with the
right to issue bonds at will to main.
tain it. The evils of the gold
standard have been pointed out so
often in these columns that it seems
unnecessary to cite them again at
this time. Suffice TO say that every
banker, bondhoder and stock iobber
who reaps his harvest of riches from
the great army Of laborers and far.
mers is in favor of the gold standard
pure and simple. 1t means that the
larmer mus. give more of his pro-
duct to obtain a dollar, and the
wage-worker more Of his hard labor.
The banker, the capitalist and the
bond holder are the ones who rea;
The benefit.
The president further recon-
.nends the retirement of the green.
oacks--tne one money which saved
the nation in the sixties, issued by the
immortal Lincoln when gold left the
nation and its institutions to the
mercy of those who assaulted them.
The next recommendation pro
poses to pay subs idy-a premium
or bounty to Americans who shall
construct American ships for Ameri
can commerce. This is the law
framed by that king of corruption
and bribery, Mark Hanna. Such {
law simply enriches the shipbuild
ing corporations OF the coast states
men who have grown rich through
the systematic robbery OF just such
legislation as that proposed. As
! predicted by TIE UNION, the mes
sage contains clause denouncing
trusts and other dangerous cor
porations" and asking congress tt
pass law and compel genera
observance" OF it. The suggestion
is both disgusting ana humorous
coming as it does from the head O
an administration whose victor,
was bought by trust funds and un
der whose reign the trusts hav,
multiplied as never before, unit
they rob the people on all thu
necessities OF life, defy the alton
judiciary and wax fat under tn
wing OF republican ''protectiv'
tariff. ' With the United States at
tornev general at the head of more
trusts than one, how can he "compe
a general observance of any trust
| law? With the trusts booked fo
heavy contributions for the republi
can national campaign fund for 1900
will republican congress and 1
republican president work in earn
est for new antitrust law? Any
sane man knows better. The Who'll
play is made to deceive the people
just as the international agree
ment" 6asco was used for the sam,
purpose in 1896.
| On commissions the president rec
commends one to study the resource
OF China as "a field for American
tral e and enterprise This look
like verification OF the assertion
made by the silver press that tn
present imperial administrator
proposes to share in the dis
membering Of China, Damn tn
justice OF it! 1t is the dollars an,
cents in the game!
i The message contains some hop
for the Cubans next year. " The