The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-03-17
VI VI II 1 Il National CAPITAL.
Lively Squihs and Pointed Comments From Our Man on the Ground"
= Doines Among Those in the Saddle" e Capital City Notes,
Washington, D. G.
March IA, 1899. {

purpose for which was elected-the
fastening Of a single gold standard
upon the country-has been ignored
through one whole congress-; half
the life of the administration is
spent aud it now looks as though
its purpose could never be carrie !
out.
1t is a fight of contentious victors
over the spoils. In the first place
the wiseacres forecast an annua.
production of four hundred million
dollars in gold as a reasonable GER
tainty within the next five years.
Improved methods of treating low
grade ores coupled with discover
les Of enormous new deposits in
every part of the world noint to a
plethora of gold. 1t cannot be de-
monetized. 1t as got to be coined
when brought to the mint, .and
working into the channels of trade
will at least cheek fur,h. decl e.
in values in all gold using coun-
tries. The present boom in indus
trial and corporate securities the
world over is as much a forerunner
of this glut Of gold as it is of an in
dustrial re.awakening.
But with the gold question aside,
the presen row in Washington, held
with difficulty below the surface, is
between national bank interests on
one side and the numeros and
powerful private banking insti,u-
tions known as trust companies, on
the other. Strangely enough. Sec
rotary Gage, selected for the trea.
sury department by the national
banks, seems to have gone over
completely to the trust companies
and favors such reforms in the bank
ing law as would in reality deprive
the national banks of their presen,
monopoly.
Statistics show that the trust
companies are making twice the pro
fits of the national banks and ar,
hampered by none Of the restruc-
lions which the law throws around
these treasury fl vored institutions.
1t is known that in every large city
the trust companies have been buy
ing up national bank stock in order
to close up these institutions anC
the process of consolidation an.
squeezing out is proceeding at sucl
a rate, that unless the grecnback.
a be retired the national bank is
sues will dwindle faster than ever.
But the trust companies, not oe
ing permitted to issue notes, are de-
voIping a quiet hostility the retire
ment Of the greenbacks. The up.
shot IL it all will be that this ad
ministraticn will probably leave the
financial question exactly as it foun(
it Moreover, there is never d clout
so dark as to be without some silve'
lining; the opening up of China an(
the Philippines to the worlds com
merce, forecasts a marked increase
in the demand for silver. The 81,
uat;on regarding The two metal
promises 10 be brighter next yea
than it was ia 1896. The G. MINER
cial ratio between silver and gOlt
will again have begun to marrow
toward 16 to /.
Tammany again shows its hos
tility to the Chicago platform thi
week. Only the gold plated demo
cracy were allowded to speak at tn
Jefferson banquet held under Tan
many auspices in New York city o
Monday. Richard Croker an
Perry Belmont were the manager
of the dinner. The original pla
was to have democrats of nation;
Importance invited as guests an
speakers. 1t Vas quick, discover
ed, however, that undying and VI
deviating devotion to the principle
of the Chicago platform would
the burden Of speeches Of the:
guests and the plan was sudden
re-arranged.
Next one out side of the limits
New York state got near the fee
BY making it a strictly local affai
free silver was avoided and the Sc
sitive fl eIings of the trusts and we
not shockec at this Belshazzar feas
Fifteen hundred Of the tiger bral
of democracy fed at $40 a plat
Since neither Bryan o any 9th