Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1904-02-24

~ N~'HSct supporter OF MT
Hearst. | believe that he is th,
safest, soundest, and most availa
bile leader of the Democratic party
Under his administration the right.
of all the people, irrespective o.
classes and condition. would b,
protected. Mr.. Hearst has framed
issues that will win the next cleo.
tion. His candidacy will be 3
platform in ITSELF
Two matters have occupied pub
lie attention during the past week
to the exclusion of politics the
war in the East and the Baltimore
fire. Both of these events arc dis
astrous to humanity and much
more far-reaching i'm there terrible
effects than is generally supposed.
The enormous financial loss by fire
viii have its effect upon the money
problem which may result i'm has
tening the hard times that are
surely approaching, for the with
drawal of money from the usual
channels of trade to rebuild the
city of Baltimore chiefly comes
from the banks and trust companies
of New York, where the principal
deposits of the insurance companies
are used in stock market specula-
ton The war between Russia and
Japan will increase the demand
for some of our products for a
time. but rs the belligerents be-
come exhausted it will decrease
their ability to purchase and take
them years to recuperate from the
loss and waste that war entails.
There is a great difference between
war in Asia and war in Europe.
and the popular delusion that any
war will bring increased demand
for wheat and corn, will not he
found true of this Eastern war.
No large tract of country devo-
ted TO agriculture will be devaSta-
ted in this case, and Russia can
supply her army with bread from
her own fields, while the Japanese
exist principally on rice of which
a vast store has been laid up i'm
preparation for the event. Our
farmers must not, therefore, ex-
pect to make large profits from
any rapid increase in the price of
wheat, which would undoubtedly
he the case if Europe were the bat
tie scene.
The most interesting political
event of the past week outside of
the death of Senator Hanna. was
the ettempt of Secretary Shaw in
a Chicago speech to retire the tar
iif and trust issues from the COM
ing presidential campaign. which
he declared bad passed out of the
realm of discussion. Being the
chief advisor of President Roose-
welt on financial and economic af-
fairs, what Secretary Shaw SAYS
must be taken as the voice of the
administration. That the tariff
and trust issues are the principal
topics of discussion in most of the
states, and especially in Iowa. the
balliwick from which Secretary
Shaw was injected into the national
arena, does not seem to have any
effect on the dogmatical politician.
That trust prices are at the TOP
notch is ignored by Secretary
Shaw, yet Davis Index figures for
February, which had been pub
hshed a week before Secretary
Shaw made his declaration. show
that the price of commodities had
reached the highest point in two
decades, except in May, 1902.
That the tariff fostered the trusts
and supported those high prices of
most of the articles of general con-
sumption was not considered by
Secretary Shaw. Or if he did
consider it he purposely evaded
the issue, because it was impossi-
BILE to reply to the Democratic con-
tention and the clamor of the peo-
pie for reform. The much her
aided legal proceedings against
the beef combine has had a most
disastrous effect on the pockets of
the farmer and the consumer. for
in spite of the injunction to pre-
vent the beef combine from con-
trolling the market for cattle and
the wholesale market for beef, the
price of cattle has declined nearly
90 per cent, and the price of meat
is much greater in proportion to
the price of cattle than before the
the injunction was obtained.
A Mothers Recommendation