The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1902-11-14
Carson Letter.

EDITOR COURIER: The election re-
turns show that Douglas is about the
banner Republican county in Nevada.
cannot explain it upon any other
hypothesis than that I have been writ
ing Democratic letters in the CoURIIR
for about eight years. If this is COR
rect, / ought to play myself with
copper hereafter. 1t is likely, though,
that the pretty general prosperity of
the country, and the popularity of
President Roosevelt in Nevada, and of
Judge Hawley in Douglas county, had
a good deal to do with the vote in that
county. On the question of prosper
ity, the unthinking argue very much
like members of a baseball club: ifthey
win, it is all due to their mascot, and
If they lose, their hoodoo is to blame,
and they are satisfied to let it 60 at
that. The farmers of Douglas found
themselves doing well, and they were
satisfied with the conditions, no matter
what brought about their prosperity.
But the truth is that Republican poll
cles is entitled to only small part of
the credit for the high prices the farm
ers of Douglas have rec eived for their
products; they are entitled to only
that added price which is caused by
the beef trust The Spanish American
war and the English war, the dis
covery of ronopah and renewed activ-
ity in mining in Nevada is entitled to
the rest of the credit. Tonopah put
into activity large number of idle
teams in Carson and Mason valleys,
and took up about all their surplus
hay and products. The Republican
party is certainly not entitled to any
credit for the discovery of Tonopah,
for if silver had been forced down as
low as the Republican party wants it,
and will have it-Mr. Butler, it's dis
coverer, would not have bothered with
the mineral. The Republicans of Nye
county placed Mr.. Sinclair, one of the
rich miners of Tonopah, in nomination
for State Senator, and he was so ex-
ceedingly popular that it is claimed
that if the election had taken place two
weeks sooner he would have swept the
county. But it appears that during
the last days of the election the people
came to the conclusion that the Re-
publican party was not through with
silver; that there still remained so cents
worth of money in an ounce of silver
and that the Republican party were
after it; they further concluded that if
silver deprecated 10 cents an ounce, it
would take 20 cents out of silver dol
lar, and with silver at 40 cents an ounce
they would have to abandon their
camp, and they suddenly turned about
face and voted for the Democratic can
didate. But why should Douglas and
Ormsby vote to wipe Tonopah, and
the entire mining industry of that sec
tion off the map? Of course, ] am not
such rabid partisan as to claim that
Mr.. Van Duzer will be able to save
silver, but | believe he will do all he
can to do so, and on general principles
n man who tries to save is safer than
one who tries to destroy. l do not
claim that Mr.. harrington would try
to destroy the value ofsilver; he would
doubtless use all his influence within
his party to save silver, but that is all
the good it would do him. The party
has "got it in" for silver; they claim
and argue the less silver the more
prosperity. The argument is correct
for gold holders.
George F. Baer, President of the
Reading Railroad company, and his
community of interest associates,