Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-09-24
PROSPERITY 40 AN ISSUE.
rnu,, rN~a /. 80 IL d " tst

statesmen anU pOlStclAnu 40 sSelkln8sI
OF the Philippine. question and the
money question, but It Is probable that
after all the supreme issue in the minds
of the people is that presented by the
contest between the conditions OF work
Ing and business men in 1895 and. those
which prevail today. General Prosper
ity isn't much OF q talker, but his sic
ilence is OF the kind called golden and
Its influence felt in every American
homest Is more potent than the eloquence
OF all the calamity orators from the Pa
5cific to the Atlantic.
Four years ago the working men and
the business men Of this country were
almost at the end OF their resources.
The long years of Industrial and COM
mercial depression following the panic
of 1893 had about exhausted the saw
ings OF the workers and the capital Of
the merchants. Bryan's promise OF an
easy way to pay old debts by reducing
the standard of value Of the currency
was thenia very dlreful threat indeed.
1t was not known how far the people
suffering from a lack OF work and
wages would be deceived by 1t, and as
a consequence something like paraly-
sis of trade was upon the country for
months. The very day Bryan's defeat
was made known the mills began to-
resume work. Since then there has been
such activity in all lines of industry as
was never known before Our home
market has been profitable to produce
ers OF all sorts of goods and in addition
thereto there has been a way to exc
lpand our foreign commerce to an extent
lundreamed of four years ago. These
| facts are fresh in the minds OF the peo-s
pie. There is no desire for q return Of
lcalamity. We have had enough of that
for the rest of the life of this genera
lstion.
The prosperity of the time is so nota-
1 BILE among the seaboard states of both
1.-The Atlantic and the Pacific that there
| is not the slightest prospect of Bryan
carrying any OF them. His fight is to
carry enough of the states OF the middle
west to make up with solid south ma
jority of the electoral college Even in
THAT section of the union, however, the
prevailing prosperity is so great that it
lis doubtful if the calamity candidate
will get as large a vote as he did four
years ago.
For the purpose Of obtaining up-to-
Idate facts concerning the condition of
that section the republican national
|committee recently sent out letters to a
large number Of representative business
linen asking how the financial affairs of
their communities compared with those
5lcf five years ago. A summary of the re-
4 plies shows that savings and CONNER
4 cial deposits have increased from so to
100 per cent since 1896; that municipali-
ties are able to borrow money at rate
A ave.aging more than one half of per
A cent less than in 1896; hat farm valuss
lin most sections have almost doubled;
SIsthat about so per cent of farm mort
|gages have been paid up and the re-
mainder renewed only with prepay
|ment' privileges and at lower interes,
lrates. and that from 20 to % per cent of
4 the debtor classes. TO whom Bryan fou.
years ago vainly appealed with his dis
honest propositions for cutting in two
the value of money legal tender in pay
ment for debts. are now actually lend
ing money in competition with the bust
ness men writing these letters.
i The letters from which these conclu-
lsions Were drawn were received from
Illinois, Kentucky. Ohio. Kansas. Min
8 neosta. Nebraska, South Dakota, North
{ Dakota and Montana. They are there
4 fore fairly representative of the whole
tof the central portion OF the union ~
ling between the Rockies and the Allie
.I.ghany mounties Some of the strong
lest evidence of prosperity come from
4 irNan's own state. Such arguments
EIneed no speaker toseXpound them. Pros
#|rerity is an issue which the intelligence
lief the American people perceives of it
(seif and moreover that intelligence
has learned by experience how to value
4 prosperity when it sees it.