The advocate and Topeka tribune. [volume], September 14, 1892, Page 5, Image 5

About The advocate and Topeka tribune. [volume] (Topeka, Kan.) 1892-1894

Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS

                
Tim ilDVCOA-TZl
5
NATIONAL BANKS.
The Scandinavian, a Norwegian
paper published at Chicago, ia its
issue of August 10, 1892, has the fol
lowing question and answer:
Is the national bank act unconstitutional,
which some think?
Answer We can not understand wherefore It
should be so. The fight against the national
bank Is the most inexplicable for ns of all
wonders In the politics of our day. Agitators
and Intriguers have been filling the ears of the
people with lies about these banks, so they (the
people) have been confused. People don't know
what they are fooling about when they fight or
rage against the national banks, such as "op
pressors," "privileged monopolists," and soon,
The privilege of national banking Is open for all
and anybody. We suppose that the case Is
simply this : The people out In the western and
new countries have learned by experience that
the banks, or so-called bankers and money lend
ers, have been merciless skinners and usurers.
They have then been mad at any kind of banks,
which Is not wonderful. Then the demagogues
and Intrigues have come and made themselves
sweet for the people; and, as the most easy way
to obtain the confidence of the people In order
to become leaders or getting In offices, they have
devised all kind of falsehoods, and among these
are the many about the national banks.
A very few items of what the writer
of the above don't know about the
subject he undertakes to write about,
would be immensely more interesting
than the sum total of his knowledge.
We are not surprised that the cause
of this fight is inexplicable to turn. A
man must possess some little informa
tion upon a subject before he is in a
position to understand why it merits
either approval or disapproval He
says:
People dont know what they are fooling
about when they fight or rage against the na
tional banks.
Ha makes the common mistake here
of all who undertake to criticise the
policy of the People's party upon this
subject It is not the national bank,
but the national banking system to
which we object. That system per
mits the holders of government bonds
to deposit the same with the secre
tary of the treasury, and receive 90
per cent of their par value in cur
rency for banking purposes. Do the
bonds cease to draw interest when so
deposited? 0, no;' the banker calls
regularly upon the secretary of the
treasury for the interest in gold coin.
And what about the currency? This
he loans to the people for all the
traffio will bear. He thereby receives
double interest on the same invest
ment, and the people pay it all. Is
this fair? Is there anything about it
that looks like a special privilege?
But says this writer:
The privilege of national banking Is open to
all and everybody.
Undoubtedly, and the tramp who
is rambling over the country and
begging at the kitchen doors of our
citizens for a "hand-out" is very fool
ish that he don't stop and go into the
national banking business. A man
who will lead the life of a vagabond
in this way when he might be loaning
crisp national bank bills at 3 per cent
a month is a stupendous ass.
Perhaps this Scandinavian writer
may succeed in blinding some of his
countrymen by such rot, but not all
of them.
But the evil growing out of this
system is not so much in the double
interest upon the single investment as
in the power to control the volume of
money in circulation. This is a power
' that is absolutely dangerous to the
liberties of the people, and should
never be delegated to an individual
or a corporation. In a speech in the
United States senate, June 22, 1882,
Senator Coke made the following
statement:
Twice when bills providing for the free coinage
of silver passed the house, bearing down all op
position by Immense majorities, under the 1m
pulse of a great popular demand, the banks have
been able to defeat the measure In the senate
and were able to cause an executive veto on the
present law demonetizing silver after engrafting
upon It the stigma of inferiority.
How had the banks thus succeeded
in defeating this legislation? What
power did they possess which was so
potent with the senate and with the
president? Senator Coke says that
they threatened in case the bills
should become law "to contract the
currency and create a panic," and
under this threat the president was
led to veto the bills. This is the evil
against which we protest the posses
sion of the power by any individual,
or combination of individuals, corpo
ration or combination of corporations,
to intimidate congress or the presi
dent, and head off legislation in the
interest of the people. When any
system prevails which renders it possi
ble for any combinaticn of individu
als or corporations to precipitate a
panic in the country whenever it may
be to their interest to do so, it is a
power too dangerous to be tolerated,
and it must be destroyed or the liber
ties of the people must perish. Which
shall it be?
THOSE MORTGAGE FOSEOLOSCJEES.
ANOTHER BOOMERANG.
Republicans in their desperation to
find something with which to stain
the record of People's party candi
dates, do some very foolish things.
They published with blaziDg head
lines a few days ago some records
from the court docket at Wichita to
show the cruelty and hard-hearted-
ness of Mr. Lewelling in foreclosing
mortgages and distressing the dear
people. The following from the
Wichita Beacon shows this to be an
other republican boomerang:
W. S, Rogers, named as one of the defendants,
Is proprietor of the fine photograph gallery at
IOC East Douglas avenue. A Beacon reporter
called on him this morning and banded him a
Topeka Capital containing the above.
Mr. Rogers read It over and laughed heartily
and said: "Well, what do you want to know
about it?"
"What are the particulars of the cases? What
do you knew about them?"
"Well," said Mr. Rogers, "I will tell you all
that I know about It. This Peter Coggshell
named in one of the cases Is my father-in-law. I
sold him all this property and the old gentleman
borrowed some money from L. D. Lewelling and
gave these second mortgages as collateral It
turned out that my father In-law could not pay
Mr. Lewelling and, of course, all that was left
to Mr. Lewelling was to try and get something
by foreclosing the mortgages, but he never got
but very little out of the property. Whenever
we had a chance to turn the property Mr. Lew
elling released his claim, but we were able to get
but little out of the second mortgages. Mr. Lew-
elllnglj not the man to Injure any one. He was
very lenient In this case, and I just want to re
mark that while lama straight-out republican.
that I propose to vote for L. D. Lewelling for
governor of Kansas."
The Oakaloosa Independent is vio
lating the postal laws by sending out
New York campaign trash inclosed in
the paper at newspaper rates, and the
editor of the Independent is post
master, too. As has been repeatedly
exemplified, republican laws are
made for the other fellows. They may
be violated constantly by republicans
with impunity.
THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN SHIP
PING INTERESTS UNDER RE
PUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION.
President Harrison strikes the "keynote" in
his letter of acceptance when he says that the
Issue Is one for "new factories, new markets and
new ships" as against the democrats doctrine
of destruction of the American policy of pro
tection. Capital, Sept. 7.
That the issues presented in the
above paragraph are important to the
American people, no well-informed
person of any party will deny; but
that the objects stated will be secured
by a continuance of the policy of the
republican party is an assumption
not sustained by facts.
Let us take for present consider
ation the subject of American ship
ping interests, which is one of the
questions presented by the president
and noticed by the Capital in the
above paragraph.
In order to show the effect of re
publican policy upon this great in
terest, we invite attention to the re
port of the chief of the bureau of
statistics of the treasury department
for the year 1891. On page LXXX
of that report we find the following:
Our foreign commerce, carried in home ves
sels, measured by its value, has declined from
Its highest point, 75 per ceut. in 1866, to 11 98 per
cent, during the last fiscal year, while 81.07 per
cent, was carried In foreign vessels. Only 7.17
per cent, of our foreign trade was conducted In
steamers bearing our national flag, while 73.tl
per cent, of that trade, with all Its profits from
the employment of capital and labor, was con
ducted in alien steam vessels. The constant and
rapid decline of our share of the transportation
of the commodities exchanged between this and
foreign countries will be seen by reference to
appendix No. 9.
Appendix No. 9 is a table showing
the decline of American shipping in
terests from 1857 to 1891 inol naive,
and the facts presented m the table
are of such vital interest that we give
it below:
the period of greatest decline has
been since the war. In the light of
these facts it is hardly warrantable
to claim a continuance of republican
administration as favorable to Amer
ican shipping interests.
In chewing over the political fake
about the Chautauqua county mur
ders, the Chicago Inter-Ocean calls it
"the murder of Mr. Sedan." Another
paper says a man was murdered
while he was going to see Dan, not
informing its readers what Dan's
other name"was ox why the man
wanted to see him. Next week we
expect to see in the New York papers
that Mr. Sedan was foully murdered
by a man named Jerry Alliance and
that Detective Humphrey had, with
the aid of Gov. McCray, brought out
some very strong evidence against
two criminals named S. S. Kirk
patnck and Jeff Hudson, also that
the People's party wa3 responsible
for the murder, and that Jerry Simp
son and Senator Peffer were mixed
up in the conspiracy All a republi
can paper needs as a basis for a cam
paign sensation is a few names. For
the benefit of our readers in Europe
and Australia we will state that the
only Sedan in this oase is the county
seat of Chautauqua.
Republican papers refer to the re
port of Labor Commissioner Peck as
a bombshell Perhaps it does par
take something of that character, but
like all republican bombs, it exploded
in the republican camp. The pro
tection organs have been quoting the
figures for the year prior to the adop
tion of the MoEinley bill and apply
ing them to the year following; and
even the president of the United States
VIAR.
1857..
1858..
1859..
1800..
1801..
1X02..
1813..
1804..
18(55..
IMG..
1807..
1808..
1809..
1870..
1871..
1872..
1873..
1874..
175..
1876..
1877..
1878..
1879..
1880..
1881..
1X82..
1883..
1X81..
1885..
18X6..
1887..
1888..
1889..
1890..
1891..
IMPORTS.
In American
Vessel.
$259,110,170
2)3,700,010
210,123 428
228.164,855
201,541055
92,274.100
109,744 580
81,212 077
74,385,110
112,040,395
117,21(9.630
122,905.225
130,802,024
153,237,077
103 285 710
177,280,302
174.739.834
176.027,778
157,872.726
143.389.704
117,834 007
140.499 282
143,690,353
149,317,308
133,631.140
130.200,826
136.002 290
135 040.207
112,804 052
118.94 (,817
121.305,493
123,525,298
120.78i.910
124,948 948
127.471,078
In Foretgn
Vessels.
1101.773 971
78.913.134
122,044,702
134,001,3-9
134,100.098
113,497,029
143 175 340
248,350,818
174,170.536
3.(3471,703
300.6U035
248.069,583
300,512.231
309, 140,5 10
363,020.044
415 410.7X3
471,806.705
405,320,130
382,949 5U8
321,139.500
329.605,833
307.407,605
310499,589
503,491,913
491,840,209
671.617,802
601,171678
612.611.192
443613,801
491.937,030
513,392,210
808,222,357
680,120.881
623.740,100
678.BU.7fii
EXPORTS.
In American
Vessels.
1251,214 857
243,491,288
29,617,963
279,-2 902
179.972,7:13
125,421.318
132 127,891
102.849,409
93 017,750
213,071.400
180.C25.3fW
175,010,348
163 154,748
199,732,324
190,378 402
108,044 799
171 606.758
174.424,216
1 58,385.000
107.680.407
164,820.214
100,651.624
128.425,339
109 029,209
1 10,95 VU4
90.902,919
104 418.210
98,052.828
82,001.091
78,406.685
72.99 1.253
07 332,175
83 022.19?
77.50J.138
78,968,019
In Foreign
Vessels.
til 1.745,825
81,153,133
107,171 MO
12l,i 39.394
09 372.180
104.517,007
lit!) 880 01
237.44!,7.iO
202,839 688
351,754.928
280 708,308
301.880.491
2X5 979,781
329,7X0,978
394801,932
H93 9,i9.679
494 915 880
631.88 i. 971
601.838,949
492 215 487
630.354,71X1
509,5X3 504
600.709 033
720 770 621
777.102 714
641 400.907
694,331.348
6I5.287.U07
036 0)4,71)5
681.973,477
021 802 29J
606 471 904
630.942 000
747 370.041
771.689 324
Percentage
Carried in
A merican
Vessels.
70 5
73 7
669
60.5
052
50.0
414
275
27.7
3 J. 2
339
351
33 1
35.6
31.3
28 8
25 8
26.7
25.8
27.3
26 5
55 9
22 6
17.18
10 22
15 40
15 64
16.60
14 73
15 01
13.80
13 44
13,70
1229
1194
Table 10 on pages CVIII andCIX
gives the tonnage of American and
foreign vessels, respectively, and the
percentage of each which entered at
the seaports of the United States
each year from 1791 to 1891 inclusive.
This table shows the tonnage of Amer
ican vessels to have been from CG to
90 per cent of the whole from 1791
down to I860. At no time during
that entire period was it below 59 and
it fell to that figure only for two
years, t rom lbbl, the beginning of
republican administration, to 1890,
the percentage fell from 6G to 22, and
has been guilty of participating in
this perversion. It is a forlorn hope
that has to be bolstered up by such
methods. Mr. Peck thinks that when
the protection organs see his figures
for the year following the adoption
of the. McEinley bill they will not
take such a lively interest in them.
Another example of borrowing the
livery of heaven to serve the devil in
is the republicans of Colorado trying
to elect Harrison electors on a free
silver platform. It is astonishing
what transparent schemes they will
resort to.