Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1900-10-04
ANOTHER BRYAN FALLACY EXPOSED.
New York Tribune

New York Tribune.l
Notwithstanding the soberer vision and
ripper judgment which some oyerimaglna'
tive worshippers profess to discover in
"the new Bryan" the fusion candidate for
President seems to have about as much
difficulty in fitting his theories and proph-
ecies to practice this year as he did in
| 1896. The Misrepresentation of his sec
end campaign have been, if anything,
more persistent and more ingenious than
those of his first. Yet his greater skill In
evasion and sophistry has not saved him
from quite as many humiliatng head'on
collisions with fact. We have noted from
time to time the failure of certain of Colo
mel Bryan's efforts to twist conditions and
records to suit the varying necessities of
his logic. We call attention to one more
breakdown, not because it is more fragrant
or surprising than the others, but because
the discrepancy between fact and state
ment is established by the unwilling testl-
mony of one of Colonel Bryans stanchest
political friends.
In his speech at Topeka on August % to
the Populist National Committee Colonel
Bryan declared
"The prosperity argument which the
Republicans bring forward TO answer all
complaints against the Administration will
not deceive the farmer. He knows
that the much Wanted prosperity, of
which be has never had his share, is on
the wane in spite of the unusual and I'M
natural stimulation which it has received
during the last three years. He
knows also that discoveries of gold, fam
inc abroad and war on three continents
have not been able to raise the price OF
farm products as rapidly as the trusts and
combinations have raised the price of the
things the farmer buys"
Yesterday the Bank Commissioner OF
Kansas, John w. Breidenthal, issued a
statement showing the condition of the
State banks on September l. According
to Mr.. Credentials figures, the deposits
in those banks year ago were S25, 1906
957. On June 4 of this year they were
S29, 272, 592 Today they are $3l 500.
On June 4 the reserve funds stood at ST.
1872, lie. Today they stand at $40, 1865, OOO
the largest percentage of reserve to de-
posts in the history of the State. Nor has
Mr.. Breidenthal any misconception of the
causes of this extraordinary prosperity
He says frankly:
"The great increase of bank deposits
and the general improvement in the con
dition of Kansas banks is the natural re-
suit of four years of good crops. The big
wheat crop of 1897 enabled many of oul
farmers to pay off their entire indebted
ness. The proceeds of crops of 1898 ano
1899 were invested largely in improve
ments, IN the purchase Of machinery
household furniture and in stock. This
proceeds of this years immense wheat
crop will largely 60 into the banks.
| confidently expect the deposits in banks
under my control to reach $50, 900, 900 be
fore the close of the year. To illustrate
what this large surplus means, l call at
tention TO the fact that our banks could
stand withdrawal of deposits double the
amount Withdrawn during the panic o
1893 without calling in single loan, anC
still have reserve of 20 per cent. in excess
OF the legal requirements"
Mr. Breideathal is himself a Popullst
the recognized head of the Populist party
r in Kansas and the candidate this year o.
the fusion forces for Governor. In hi;
official capacity, however, he cannot es
cape putting on record facts which dem oil
ish utterly Colonel Bryan's airy assump
ton that in the "vaunted prosperity o.
the last four years the Kansas farmer "hat
never had his share" MIR. Breidenthal'
report shows that instead of "being on the
wane" prosperity in Kansas is notably or
the increase, and that its true measure car
only be taken now thai the farmers have
satisfied outstanding obligations, invested
in new stock and equipment and are be-
ginning to deposit their surplus savings in
the local banks. What becomes, in view
of this showing, of Colonel Bryan's pitia
BILE declaration that the Kansas farmer
could never have profted by Republican
prosperity" because the trusts had raised
the price of the things he had to buy as
fast as his own products had risen in valuef
If the cost of production and the cost Of
living had advanced as rapidly as the
prices of wheat and corn, how would the
Kansas farmer have been able to lay by
those savings, which have not only put
him out of debt, but carried his bank bal
ance into hitherto unheard of figures
Colonel Bryan has descended to many ex-
hibitions of demagogy in this campaign,
but in none has he been caught more red
handed than in his pettifogging effort to
explain away prosperity among the
Western farmers to which even his most
ardent sympathizers are unwillingly forced
to testify.
The Line of College Presidents Lengthens.
Hartford Courier Rep.
Chancellor Day, of Syracuse University,
| l.