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Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS
Newspaper Page Text
AND TOPEKA TRIBUNE. fiSi? ffiSM . TOPEKA, KANSAS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1893. OFFICIAL STATE PAPER. SOLD 102 CASH. A Democratic Paper's Severs Criticism of the President and His Latest Appointee. During the past week the president has filled two important positions by appointment, and for both nominations he has been severely criticised even by his own party. They are: Win. Horn blower for justice of the supreme court and J. J. Van Alen for embassador to Italy. Of the latter the New York World saya: "Mr. J. J. Van Alen of England and Newport is chosen by Mr. Cleveland to be first American embassador to Italy. Mr. Van Alen believes, to use bis own words, that: 'America is no fit place for ladies and gentlemen to live in.'" "The appointment of Mr. Van Alen has been discuesed' for months. It was known that some one had promised him the place po positively that he discussed his existence in Borne as a matter of course. It was known to everybody who knew Van Alen that his appointment could not be justified by any worthy argument. "The statement that he had paid for his ambassadorship and expected it to be delivered was accepted by those who knew the man as necessarily true. No secret of the situation was made by Van Alen's friends. At a Newport dinner in 'August Van Alen's ardent supporter spoke up thus: 'If Van Alen doesnt get that appointment the democratic party need expect no aid from gentlemen in the future. A politician whom you all know gave his word as a gentleman that Van Alen would get the ambassadorship. Van Alen gave $50,000 to help Cleve land's election when the democrats needed the money badly. He paid for the office like a gentleman and if doesn't get it the democrats may have to get along without that gentleman's help in the future.' "The above is the substance of the re marks made on that occasion by Van Alen's friend. Van Alen, the gentleman who paid his $50,000 to represent the American nation, has got his post, and if there was any bargain it has been kept Now let us consider this gentleman who for cash in hand is, allowed to represent this country. That he paid cash there is no doubt No other reason exists for his appointment. He has done nothing in politics, nothing in any direction that would make him otherwise than con temptible in the eyes of self-respecting working Americans. "He comes to Newport for a short time in the summer. The rest of the time he lives in England. Last year, with an eye to making his bought ap pointment plausible, he had himself elected president, if 7 please, of the Newport democratic club. MrHarxy Aator Casey, who drives coaches, was a director. If that is not humorous, what is it! The president of the Newport democratic club made ambassador to Italy? It is funnier than anything in opera bouffe." "It will interest Americans to learn what sort of a bargain they got when they traded the post of American ambas sador to Italy for J. J. Van Alen and (50,000. Van Alen is short and rather fat. He prides himself on his resem blance to the Prince of Wales. There is a resemblance. It would not please the prince to say so. America, with the aid of anglomanis, has produced in Van Alen a man who looks lees like a prince than the prince of Wales. A string long enough to reach around Van Alen's body at the equator would reach from his head to his heels. He wears a single eye-glass with a heavy string attached. By special advice he kept thib out of sight when he went to interview the president on his appointment He speaks with what he h pleased to consider an English accent It is a weird bastard cockney which fills Englishmen with wonder. It is the sort of English accent that a man with no talent for imitation might get from hansom cab drivers and Strand barmaids. "He is about 45 years old. He wears white spat and has legs that make him look like Diodati Thompson. A prize fighting gentleman of the Bowery was brought to Newport to train fat off Van Alen. The work was begun in the cellar. The fighting gentleman, called "One Eyed Connelly," said to other Newport men whom he trained that he had never in all his hard life seen a man who seemed less fit to be on the earth than Van Alen. "One-Eyed Connelly" is a good judge of men. It has been said that William C. Whitney helped Van Alen as a reward for services of a. social sort rendered when Whitney first went to Newport That is nonsence. Only a few years ago Van Alen was received by nobody, and it has never been in his power to be of much use to any one in a social way, especially to such a man as Whitney. "Van Alen, who bad lived all his life in England, married Emily Aator, much against the wish of her family. His father-in-law, old William Aator, who was at heart a good American, would not speak to him. He started in patiently to worm his way i&to society. He built his big place at Newport, putting around it a high wall to keep out, as he said, the eyes of the common people. . His pro gress has been slow in spite of his wealth. This ambassadorship for $50, 000 is the greatest bargain of his life. It will give him a standing that the spend ing of hundreds of thousands has not given him either here or abroad." r EJGALLS 0U HOMY. The Ex-Senator Talks to Ex-Soldiers Afcout National Finance. In an address at the soldiers' reunion at Horton, Kaa, September 22, ex-Senator Ingalla talked a great deal on the questions of the hour, and aa one might reasonably suppose, his remarks were very forcible if not altogether consistent. He joked about his own war record a while and then descanteoVwith more or less precision upon the general condi tion of the people. This was done in a style of entertainment peculiar to In galls, but he did not engage the full at tention of his audience until he got down to the subjects of silver and pensions. Then he had no trouble in making them understand that he had arrived at posi tive conclusions upon which he was wil ling to stand, even if only a portion of his party stood wirh him. Mr. Ingalla always assures himself of one thing be fore making important expressions, and that is that a majority of his audience stands with him. The following extract is from the Topeka Capital's report of the speech: "1 avow myself here not only a repub lican but a free coinage silver republi can and as I have declared in a different form from this, to my political associ ates and adversaries, so I declare now that those who are proving falae to their pledge will not escape the wrath of a righteous, enraged and indignant peo ple, no matter whether he is a republi can, democrat or Populist We are pass ing through a wonderful crisis. While this portion of the country is devoid of vicissitudes and conflicts, other portions of the land are lying prostrate. We are passing through the greatest finan cial crisis in American history. Great enterprises have suspended. Industries have fallen off as if by magic. There are in this country more than 2,500,000 un-employed men. It is our duty this afternoon to inquire into the causes and the way to remedy this condition. I have heard it said that one of the reasons of the difficulties that surrounded this country is overproduction. The reason why so many men are hungry is because there is too much bread and meat in the world I The reason why bo many go poorly clad is because there Is too much clothing and fuel and food in this world! Overproduction ! I think that overproduction does not explain it I have heard it said it was because the country was overcrowded. Qod Al mighty has allowed a great many peo ple to come into this world. He said: 'multiply and replenish.' We have multiplied and replenished too muohl We speak about the earth being over crowded. If you will take your slate and pencil, when home, you will find that the state of Texas can give a five acre farm to every inhabitant on the earth and then have plenty of town lots left besides. Yet 'this earth is over crowded! The reason that men suffer is because there are too many on this earth ! Why, this country alone - would sustain 1,000,000,000 of people, I have heard another reason was the want of confi dence. Want of confidence of what? In the humanity of man and Qod? Why some of these political economists tells us that it is a want of currency, that we have a depreciating currency, and there fore industries are disturbed. "They say put a dollar's worth of sil ver in a silver dollar. Why do you not put a dollar's worth of paper m a paper dollar? What you want is a dollar that will buy a dollar's worth of staff at any time. I want a dollar that will buy a dollar's worth 'of stuff. I do not care fiboutaeilver dollar that has 100 cents worth of gold in it We have heard a great deal about the fiat dollar. It is true that the standard or unit is the gold dollar. Did any of you ever see a gold dollar? Is there man or woman here who does not know that it is pure flotion, a pure creature of law? You sea no gold dollars in trade. This gold dol lar, that is the phantom. This gold dol lar, this creature of the law. You see no gold dollars in the dally transactions of Ufa in this country and yet our finan cial doctors talk about that gold dollar, the measure of values. It measures nothing. It was a creature of statute. It was suspended by legislation in 1800. What all of us want is a paper dollar, not a silver dollar that will buy a gold dollar because there are none to buy, but a dollar that will pay a dollar's worth of debts and buy a dollar's worth of merchandise. You may call it what you please, a fiat dollar is a G4-cent silver dollar, but I want a dollar that will pay 100 cents, worth of debts. I do not want to see a law established that will multi ply our debts by two. Want of confi dence? No remedy has been prescribed by those who have been endorsed by the people. They claim that the currency is ample, that the people have been extrava-i gant We have spent too much money. We have paid too liberal salaries, we have been anticipating foreign revenues for the government Everybody has been trying to live like his neighborwho is worth three or four times as much as he is, and when pay day comes around he cannot meet his obligations. There fore, our friends who are now in charge ,of this great question, the ainstra tion,say that we must come down to economy. I aia in favor of it "I believe that the Amef'can people have been too extravagant a " snt too much. I believe we hav larger salaried for public service i , ' r -hoold (Continued on page . ',