The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1900-09-11
IhlPERIAL DEGREES.
BEING ISSUED FROM WASHING
TON MERITS.
All the Strength of the Government
sluat BE Used In Order to Perpstuate
tho Reign of the Money Power and
Other Trusts.
(yvashington Democratic Lottery
Washington, D: q, June 10. lsO0.

WHICH Is Tot DClAS OpeiGtSu III tnS
main purpose Of re-eiectlng Mckinley
next November.
A particularly lassant instance is
Just now engaging public attention.
There is a bureau OF the treasury de- |
partment known IS the bureau OF sta I
tistics. Its function is to compile sta |
tistics relative TO commerce, imports |
and exports, the movement OF coin and |
similar matters. For many years it
was under the control OF Wortnlngton |
C. torG. recognized as one of the prln-
cipal statisticians in the United States,
man of fine character and excellent
ability.
The position came under the civil
service law, and by law could be@4lied
only by an expert statistician.
After Secretary Gage took Office
with great pretenses as civil service
reformer, he gave Mir. Ford assurance
of his high esteem and OF his strong
desire that he should remain at the
head Of the bureau OF statistics. With
In few months, however, Mr.. Ford
was forced TO resign and newspaper
man named o. 2. Austin, without any
standing whatever as a statlsGcian,
was appointed to the place in clear vio-
lation Of the law MIR. Austin was ex-
tremely unpopular with his fellow
newspaper men in Washington tor
having run for a number OF years
''scab" newspaper syndicate and Tor
having tried to get newspapers away
from his fellow journalists by what
they considered unfair methods. But
be had been of service to Hanna
around Republican headquarters in the
campaign OF 1896 and that gave MIN
his appointment.
From the time he entered ONCE the
bureau of statistics was run for the
cole purpose of getting up Republican
statistics. In every way that human
/ ingenuity can devise, figures have been
twisted, warped, distorted and garbled
in order to back up the Republican
position in favor of protection OF trusts
and of the gold standard.
Now Mr.. Austin is GROWING his SER
vice by employing the whole bureau.
with its staff of highly paid experts,
in getting up campaign text book for
the Republicans, filed with pages OF
statistics and diagrams to prove that
the Mckinley administration is the
greatest three-ring circus that ever
crossed the continent.
His use of figures is such as to make
the nine digits blush to look the multi
plication table in the face. The book
will be printed in the government
printing Office at government expense
and circulated through the mails at
government expense.
This little job will cost the taxpay-
ers first ard last not over $4,000, a
mere drop in the bucket of Republican
extravaganza and Misrepresentation Of
public funds, but when any Democrat
hsars a Republican orator quote from
o. P. Austin's book a set of figures tc
sustain any argument he may advance
the aforesaid Democrat may call tC
mad the Illuminating fact of its or
lgin and rest content.
Flanna is occasionally brutal even t
his own slaves. He recently informed
Chairman Babcock Of the Republican
congressional committee that that or
ganiaation would have TO raise its owl
campaign funds, as the national com
mitter would need all it could get TO
its own purposes.
Hams hasn't much use for congress
anyway, particularly the house of rep
esentativses. 1t wouldn't pass tn
Hanna-Payne ship subsidy bill and tn
lrmy reorganization bill. both of which
lie wanted, and it did pass the Mica
: aqua canal bill, the antitrust bill an
, the eight-hoav labor bill, which he bit
! terly opposed
! So when Babcock was told to hun
/ up his own fun DIS he found himself il
the midst of an arid desert with Mar
: Hanna standing guard over ever
2 water hole in sight.
There was but a single prickly caC
, tus from whisa to squeeze a few re
/ luctant drops-the employees of tn
house of representatives, Republican t
a man. Babcock had these voted a
extra months salary all around jus
before congress adjourned, and the
? set a smooth and sIillful agent 6
/, work to make each employe give up
per cent OF that bonus. This woul
! have yielded about $4,000 despite tn
fact that 1t was a fragrant violation {
the law against political assessment
But there is nothing so ungrateful q
a government employee with an elet
: ton pending. especially when he fl
ures that the election is going again!
his party The employees are refusin
TO give up. They are saving the
i, money against rainy day. Almost
! a man they figure that the next houi
will be Democratic and that they wi
| lose their jobs. So Mr.. Babcock's con
mittee has had to call on each r,
publican member of congress as we
as each Republican candidate for col
gress for a special assessment. The
| may be an occasional crumb of col
! tribution fall from Mark Hanna
trust-fed table, but it will not do Bal
] cock mich good. This business of b
! ing tackal to the Mark Hanna lion
] a thankless task.
The government has spent $4,000
| IN transporting troops and bands