The Anaconda standard. [volume], November 19, 1899, Morning, Image 20

About The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
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C0LONEL SANDERS TALKS ABOUIT
THEMES OF CURRENT POLITICS
The Doughty Republican Believes that His Party Is Right
in All Things-He Views With Satisfaction
the Record that It Has Made.
PROBABLE ISSUES OF THE CAMPAIGN OF NEXT YEAR
Probably the most striking figure in
Montana politics is Colonel Wilbur F.
Sanders. Fearless and possessing the
courage of his convictions, the "re
publican war horse" has hewn true to
the line without particular regard as
to where the chips fell. At a time when
it was decidedly unpopular in this
state, even among republicans, to ad
vocate the gold standard and when a
large majority of his own party repu
diated the financial plank of their na
tional convention, Colonel Sanders was
still a republican, unswerving and
loyal to the principles which his party
had enunciated in its platform. Since
that time the colonel has been scores
of those who forsook him in the early
stages of the battle of the monetary
standards seek to return to the 'ranks
that they left. He has paid but little
attention to these vascillating politl
clans, but has held to the straight
"course that he had decided to pursue.
..ell satisfied in his own mind that he
is right, it matters little to him what
others do. That is characteristic of
the man.
i Colonel Sanders spent a pleasant day
in Anaconda last week and while here
he submitted to an intervi,-w. lie re
ceived the reporter cordia!ly, express
ing surprise, however, that there should
be any desire for a statement from him
ion matters political. He Ihought that
everybody in the stale underst-od his
1posltion. He settled himself comfor:
. ably in an easy chair and spoke as
follows in characteristic strain:
"Political issues are not the artifllial
'creations that many men seem to think
,and that much political talk would
seem to Indicate. They grow out of
the succession of events, and in the ev
elutlon of things shape themselves, un
influenced by minor individual action.
There is a great deal of anxiety mani
fested by individuals in exceptional
eases that this or that question shall
be the leading issue in the political
controversies of the next year. But
the issues will be framed without very
much regard to this individual desire.
Although the controversy of 1tAt seems
to me to have been relegated to the
background by the elections of that
year and since, and in a great, r regree
by the events that have since transpir
ed, individual pride will probably in
sist that the manufacture of medals
as money out of some cheaper material
than gold-a sort of mud-pie theory
to allay the monetary appetite-I a:n
,onstlained to think that the pride of
being consistent, which is the folly of
ignorance, will place in the platform
of some party next year the silver
theory. This will make men who have
thought the problem out to its ulti
mate essence yawn, but a good many
men will endure it. But because it is
in the platform does not necessarily
signify that it will be much of an sle
sue. It is to me passing strange that
men, who, with me, were for bimet
allism in the 70's and 80's, do not com
prehend that the question of coining
silver now is an entirely different ques
tion from what it was then, and that
day by day new problems enter into
it and make it wholly different from
what it was before. All commerce,
which Is vaster than we comprehend,
is adapting itself to a standard of
money that shall be stable, efficient,
single and as immutable as in the na
ture of things is possible. If there
were the remotest danger of a propo
sition of that kind succeeding the peo
ple of the United States would rise in
their might and crush it, for they com
prehend the question now much more
clearly than they did in 1896, and every
thing which has since transpired con
firtms the wisdom of what they then
did. Interference now with the basic
value of ultimate money would produce
a cataclysm of unparalleled energy
that would destroy the prosperity of
the country and remit us again to pov
erty, hunger and rags. The little by
play between the Anaconda Standard
and the Butte Inter Mountain on this
subject deludes nobody, interests no
hely. The political aberration in Mon
tana and vicinity on this subject was
excusable, and a large majority of
those who were the victims of it were
very patriotic and Fincere, but those
of them who have looked deeper into
the questi n art, now satisfied that they
were wrong. You know I do not hold
in very hitih esteem the men who saw
its folly and "scud' before the storm.
HaIId they stood boldly for common
sense in monetary affairs, we should
not have beheld th" pitiful spectacle
which Montana has made of herself
during the last five or six years,
whereby she has impaired her credit,
injured her good name and humiliat
ed her pride. Any party that carries
that load is without an immediate fu
ture. Of course I take this folly as an
individual wrong. It took a great many
men 30 years 'to build a republican par
ty in Montana in the face of obstacles
seemingly insurmountable; but it did
not take as much time nor near as
many men to give that party to the
wolves, and the consequences of the
folly that was perpetrated In a single
campaign cannot be retrieved as
'asily.
"There is another matter pending
which is not very imminent, but about
which there is much babble. What
shall be done with Porto Rico and the
Philippine islands? On a question of
that gravity the people of the United
States will insist upon ample time 'to
deliberate. They will know the char
acter and quality of these islands and
their inhabitants before they make any
permanent or final disposition of them.
They are now ours; not as we own
ranches, but as we act as guardians of
infants. Nowhere is there the remot
est suggestion that we shall exploit
them for the money that there is in
them, or act otherwise toward them
than is for the good of their inhabi
tants.
"No surprise in recent years equals
that caused by the very distinguished
men who have in charge what is called
the 'anti-imperialist' or 'anti-expansion'
policy of the country. Many of them are
very great men, of whom no word of
disrespect can be justly spoken, ani
while intensity of feeling may have in
duced some of them by heated words
to overstate their own position, I do not
doubt their general sincerity or their
patriotism. It has been my fortune
generally to be in accord with their
views. Speaker Read, Governor Bout
well, Senator Edmunds, John Sherman,
Senator Hoar, Carl Schurz, ex-Presi
dent Cleveland, are not men to be light
ly brushed aside by epithets or sneers,
nor do I think any of them can be ac
cused of self-seeking. Their dissent
from the wisdom of acquiring and hold
ing these islands has compelled me to
reconsider my own opinions on the sub
ject, and I have done so with great
care; and after listening to all they
have said and giving due weight to their
apprehensions and solicitudes, I am
compelled to disagree with them utter
ly. More than that, I confess to some
astonishment at their position, notwith
standing it may be true that their disg
sAnt grows from their very greatness,
for they are among our greatest Ameri
cans. They are all advanced in years;
they have been actors in the great epic
of American history; they are used 'to
dealing with large controverties, and,
adequate to that task, they are habitu
"You know I do not hold in very high. esteem the men who saw its folly and
'scud' befefore the storm."
ated to settling them. Nearly all the
great events of the last 50 years have
been controlled, directed and their fruit
age garnered under the direction and
control of these men, and it is not
strange that they shrink from bringing
onto the stage new events, prolific of
great consequences and lifting their
country out of the groove in which they
have securely navigated it, when they
are conscious, as I am conscious, that
the results of this action cannot be
measured in their day, and the direc
tion and control of which must be re
mitted to another generation than ours.
Every man looking at the vastness of
these results must experience some so
lititude, buit I have a cheerful and abid
ing faith that the generations which
follow ottrs Will be as wise in their day
as are we, and that no peril will come
to the republic by reason of the sov
ereignty and influence of the United
States over these most fortunate and
beautiful possessilons. I am glad we ob
tained them; I do not apologize that
they have fallen into our hands, nor
place their transfer of sovereignty upon
any ground of necessity. Wisely we
needed them, sincerely we wanted
them, fortunately we obtained them.
"All talk about our holding them be
ing a manifestation of tyranny seems
to be sham and shallow. I lived in
Montana 25 years while the congress of
the United States had absolute author
ity over me and my neighbors as to our
form of government, and, although 200,
000 of us, fresh from the United States,
chafed at our territorial tutelage, we
were not conscious of any 'tyranny ex
ercised over us; and what was true of
us, is yet true of Arizona, New Mexico,
Alaska, the Indian Territory, Porto
Rico and the Philippine islands. Dur
ing these years of our tutelage we did
not get much sympathy from these ex
cellent gentlemen by reason of any de
nial of the rights of American citizen
ship, although most of them favored the
termination of our territorial existence.
"When order shall have been re-estab
lished in the Philippine islands we shall
wisely consign to their inhabitants all
the authority which they are fitted to
exercise in arranging institutions of
their own. In those elemental rights
embodied in 'the constitution of the
United States, beyond the power Of de
struction by them, neither they nor our
people will feel that they are denied
any inalienable rights whatever.
"I recently returned from the East,
and all my information from Boston,
from Massachusetts, from the North
and the South, confirms my conviction
that more than nine-tenths of the
voters of the United States will insist
upon the retention of the Philippine
islands, and indignantly scourt the Idea
that our flag should be furled in the
face of a foe."
"Colonel, what about the trust ques
tion?"
"I was coming to that proposition
unless this interview is too long. All
acquisition is a monopoly of the thing
acquired. When one speaks of trusts
and assails them he is 'kicking againstr
the pricks.' Steam and electricity and
accumulated wealth have unified the
human race and human enterprise and
activities, and manufacturing will pro
ceed as and where it can be done the
cheapest. Large enterprises are, there
fore, the order of the day. The little
soap factory where my mother made
her soap, the spinning wheel with which
she made yarn out of the wool of our
sheep, the loom in which she wove the
cloth for my coat, and all the multi
plied industries of that little manufac
tory which I called tpme, are annihi
lated, and monopol has gone on, con
quering and to con er. You speak of
trusts; that is a misnomer. None of
the discussion that I have seen rises
(!
.y /7 1 </'
4 ' p1/
dii"
to a conception of what is involved in
this wild and incoherent contention of
trusts and monopolies. Involved in it
is the question of ownership. Until we
are ready to assail that, enterprisc,
thrift, industry, must have their way.
Ownership signifies dominion, and so
long as a man is permitted to own
property, so long .he must be permitted
to have dominion over it. The question
of monopolies is a question of the fu
ture. It is not yet formulated; hunman
experience has not yet ascertained their
consequence, and until we know the
precise form of the questions and as
certain and measure the flagitious con
sequences of them, a wise remedy will
not bed preearlbed. .When the evl' ooiir
we shall-be able to care for it and pre
vent harmful consequences.
"There are not so many people who
have nothing and want something that
other people have, without compensa
tion, as the newspapers would lead one
to suppose. Many consolidations of
business have been very helpful to the
poor, and a recurrence to former con
ditions would starve a great many peo
ple. It is a curious fact, very instruc
t'.
"I/ lived in Montana for 25 years while the congress of the United States had
absolute authority over me and my neighbors."
Wve in its quality, that the grangers;
whose organization 33 years ago wasa
,aid upon the middlemen, at'their re
:ent national meeting are'going to
move heaven and earth to bring back
middlemen to the industries and dis
tribution which they so well adorned.
rhey seem to desire to increase this
useless expense between the producer
and the consumer for the sole benefit
of middlemen, thereby reducing the
value of what is produced and increas
Ing the cost of what is consumed. I
confess, however, to some solicitude as
view this great movement, which is
perfectly resistless, of the consolida
tion of nearly all human industries.
When the questions which it brings
forward are fully formulated, sobri
ety of judgment in their treatment,
in view of their vastness, is ordained.
I do not despair of the republic, of
social order, of public morals, because
these questions are thrust upon us for
solution.
"And so, upon this question of the
ownership of property and the right
to control it, I do not anticipate the
capacity of anybody in this genera
tion, or for some centuries to come,
to manufacture a successful and com
manding issue."
"You do not seem to think that any
of these topics of curient discussion
will result in political issues next
year?"
"You have not misread my opinion,"
said Colonel Sanders. "Whoso seeks
to debese the money of the country
and thereby detract from its efficiency
will not command the approval of the
people of the United States. Whoso
wishes to curtail the influence of
American inasttutions, in the Pacific
sea or elsewhere, by the epithet of
'imperialism' or 'expansion' will be
overwhelmingly buried. Whoso at
tacks the ownership of property will
be laughed off the stage. These three
issues are inconsequential, and the
people of the United States, never more
serious in their purpose than now, will
demand something more substantial
about which to contend.
"In my view the next question which
will be of commanding import in pub
lo' discussion and determination will
be the ownership and control of the
public utilities. This question is de
ferred, because of so much heated talk
upon the subject and so much revenge
and inconsequential babble. Wise men
upon this subject do not greatly dis
agree, some, however, thinking that
the public judgment is not sufficiently
sober nor sdffiilently mature to enter
upon and determine that very immi
nent controversy."
"Will we. then, be without any live
issues when the next campaign opens?"
"By no means. Even these subjects
which I have dismissed as unworthy
of oursattention, will occupy more or
less public attention: but within 50
days we enter upon the last year of
the most renowned century in human
history. We do this in a country un
paralleled for achievement, fortunate
in its location and resources, which
has set an inspiring example to all
nations, kindreds and tongues. It 5i
i:: nationsk-asebhIr
l`tt, :*1 th'eough ail the centur.is to
comee, aed a. t*e story orf mankind
is' Wttteu, thehistorian will regan@
it at an eppaoh to be carefully studied,
and as a landmark from which *t me&
sure prsa au and retrogrVSden.
"It wiealt ..pr it, in this felle
lious era, allthe people of the United
States could come together (on my
platform, of courms) aad.with entire
unanimity elect all the officers of our
great government, state and national,
thereby affirming our confidence in
ourselves and demonstrating that na
tional differences make natiopal peace.
Why does not that great paper, the
Anaconda Standard, become the organ
and advocate of this century millen
ium and cease its talk of lesser purpose
and smaller things?"
First Wligpole on Pacificle Coast.
From the San Francisco Call.
On the highest ground of a long, low
hill distant about one mile to the
westward of the little town of Bodega,
in Western Sonoma county, Cal., there
stands a tall, somewhat decrepit red
wood flagstaff. This ancient looking
pole is about 60 feet in height, is bent
with age and exposure, and is slowly
decaying. That plain, warped old.
redwood flagpole is the patriarch of all
flagpoles not only in California, but on
the entire Pacific slope. For it was the
first erected to fly the banner of the
Union when California and all other
territory in the same latitude from the
Pacific to the Rockies were taken pos
....I n ..f by 44.n TTI+.A a+.+..
11
"Political issues are not artificial crea
fions."
iusia i JQ;· 9k i> tTb Rtlks
Mpi vin States Last Yearl.
SOME PROBABLE CHANGES
Thre Is an opportunity for the .oate.
"toisc orlursia Delivery to Montana
sad rIdah-Star outs Oon
UMotors In the Way,
Waeiuingtea aBirn ot the atndrd, id,
o, 114 4o. "Street, tr. W C
Washington; Nov. 14.-The report ot
the fourth .~sitent postmaster general
shows the gross recetpts of postofmc$e
by Atate.and territories, and gives the
following flggree for the several Rocky
mountain states and territories:
Colorad o... ....... ...... rM 07.05
Idaho .. . . ................ 77,547,11
tah "" .................. 190,709.79
Utah..................... 13
Nevada....4........... ..4, ,9542A
Wynomnng.................. 19,094.59
New Mexico ...... ... 14ts11t 49
Arizonsa ................. 1.4,09.49
In amount expended per capita. in the
use. of the mals Colorado ranks fourth
among the 91 states and territories;
Nevada eighth, Montana eleventh,
Wyomng - hirttee tr., ronne foltr
teenth, Utah thireeith, :daho th rt
second and bew Mexico forty-stxth.
During the year postofles were robbed
In these, tater as follows: Colorado.
18; Miontana. 4; Nevada, 1: Arizona, ;
Idaho, 6; New Mexico, 5; Wyoming. ;
Utah..
if' the senatrs from Montan, Ideaho
and Wyomlng are active this winter
thoSe states wll cease to. be the only
ones in which there fIsno rural free de
livery servie. Thse report of First As
sistant Iostjh err. neral Heath. in
reward to',the oreraetlonsof rural free
delvory during, the past ,ear also r -
pearad, thi we o 'It shows that ole
November 18 free delivery service
was h n, succesu . operation on 383
roites. The repet is voluminous add
cover~ the histerot othe etableshmtnet
of the different 3outes In the various
states. and also giv~e an account Of
the ch&racter of the opposltlion which
spring* up fromnlpostmaasters in rural
townQ, It Is not3. that those who have
investigated the dubjeot and the people
who 're served generally, declare that
rural free delivery servloe Is decidedly
advantageous to the people.
In his report Assistant Postmaster
General Heath says .that the efforts
which have' been made in some states
in the interestof star route contractors
to impede the progress of rural free de
livery are even less animated by a de
sire for the good of the postal service
than Is the opposition 4nterposed by
some of the postmasters interfer$d
with. T'hose. who have petitioned and
agitated for the continuance of star
routes in. territory served by rutil
delivery are usually sub-contractors to
whom the work has been sub-let at
prices below the rates awarded by the
postofflce department in the original
contracts, but who still find sufficient
profit in their sub-contracts to cause
them to laboir successfully for a con
tinuance of their employment.
HOSFORD,
INDIAN .REMEAY .FQRA FEVER.
Enollislrmaa in South America Mads
Immune.
From Chambers' Journal.
The world moves fast, but it is pos
sible that some of its most brilliant dis
coveries have not gone beyond the sim
ple practices of uncivilized peoples. A'
Jamaica journalist gives his personal
experience of how the Indians of South
America not only cure a patient of the
most dangerous stage of malarial fe
ver, but also, by inoculation, insure for
many years his immunity from future
attacks. Other travelers have had
similar experience, and no less an au
thority than Sir Clements Markham
has testified to the efficiency of these
Indian cures. The writer, after long
escaping the terrible fevers of the
country, succumbed at last. He says:
"I lay in my hammock, ravaged by
an all-consuming fever, with death In
sight. Medical aid, supposing it to' be
of any use, was not to be had within a
fortnight's journey. A few miles from
our camp was an Indian settlement. I
had had some dealings with and won
the good will of the head man, so I
sent to tell him I wanted the services
of a peiman, or native doctor.
"It was midnight when the messen
ger returned with my friend, the old
chief and the tribe 'medicine man.' By
this time I was past knowing anything
of my surroundings. My companions
told me afterward that I had already
developed all the well-known symp
toms of febrile collapse.
"The peiman tended me, administer
ing internal remedies by means oat
roughly devised but effective subcut
aneous and other injections. Then fol
lowed the inevitable mummery, when
I was shut up with the peiman, and
enough noise was made to indicate a
dozen people inside.
"At about S o'clock In the morning,
when the peiman issued forth and my
companions were allowed a sight of me,
I was sleeping naturally, bathed in pro
fuse perspiration, which. was already
moistening the outer folds of the dou
ble blanket that enveloped, me. At 8
o'clock I awoke, and then slept again
for 24 hours, the pelman from time to
time administering subcutaneous in
jections. When I finally awoke there
was not the slightest trace of fever. In
three days I was able to be about and
in a week I was fit to undertake a lqng
journey."
The most wonderful part of the stOty,
however, is the sequel. The peiman,
pleased with the reward given him, 'of
fered to inoculate his patient so as to
render him proof against all kinds of
"bush" fevers, no matter how much he
might be cxposed to them, for at least
100 moons. If he contract fever it would
be of the mildest kind.
The traveler went to the settlemint
and was inoculated. The operatton q~n
sisted of stabbing gently into the 'left
wrist with a bunch of exceedingly fine
needles plucked from a hard spiny leaf,
the needles being first passed throiagh
a flame and then dipped in a black
liquid. In a short time all the well
known symptoms of malarial' fever de
veloped, then a peculiarly nauseous
medicine was administered and a deep
sleep completed the business. When
the patient awoke he felt perfectly well
except for the smarting of his wrist,
which had to be bandagdd.
For a time after this he traveled in
some of the worst swamps of Central
America, undergoing considerable ex
posure, including a night spent under
the trees after the upsetting of his
boat. Of the four white men in the
boat three had fever and two died in 24
hours; the third returned to the United
States with health completely broken.
Afterward he spent six years about
the IlthmIps of Panama, and in that
hotbed of fever, Colon, never experi
enced a day's fever. Not until 10 years
after inoeilation did a touch of fever
come, and., then no alarming symptoms
were developed,