Birmingham state herald., October 11, 1895, Page 4, Image 4

About Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897

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Entered at the postofflce at Birmingham,
Eastern Business Office, 45 Tribune Build
ing New York; Western Business Office. 60»
••The Rookery," Chicago. 8. C. Beckwith,
Bolo Agent Foreign Advertising.
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desire to have their papers changed, they
must specify where the paper Is now going
and where they wish it changed to. Watch
the label on your paper and see when your
time expires.
The State Herald will appreciate news
from any community, 'll at a small place
where it has no regular correspondent,
news reports of neighborhood happenings
from any friend will be gratefully received.
All communications, of whatever charac
ter or length, should be written on only one
aide of the sheet. __
TELEPHONE CALLS.
Business Office.•.
Editorial Rooms.L.
All calls after 9 o’clock p. m. should bo
aent to the Editorial Rooms.__
It Is the money that remains In the
country that fixes the value of property
and labor. _
What producers want is a fair level
of prices and not waves of elevation and
depression. " _
The pay roll for the Birmingham dis
trict this month will be the largest ever
known here. __
There Is considerable complaint In
Montgomery of the scarcity of change
and even silver dollars are sought after.
It is said to be a wise child that knows
his own father. Would the difficulty be
Increased If the mother took to bloomers?
There are few medical colleges in the
country where a young man can be bet
ter prepared to practice medicine than in
our college here. _
Rigid economy has been the rule all
over the South and the consequence is
that we have made probably the cheap
eet crops ever grown.
Candidates for county offices are mul
tiplying and the “men of influence" are
liable to get a good many free drinks in
the next five months. _ _
As a rule most of the ladies who have
moved to this place came reluctantly.
But it would be difficult now to find one
who would be willing to leave.
There is an Impression that the Atlanta
exposition will be In much better shape
next month, and thousands of Alabam
ians are waiting until then to go.
Bets are now njade that the cotton crop
will not exceed 0,000,000 bales. If that be
true less money will come into the South
for the present than for the last crop.
The ladies of Birmingham are amongst
the most cultivated and refined to be
found on earth and are making an Im
pression in the fields of art and literature.
Said Mr. Herbert In Ills Opera house
speech: “We come now to 1834. The
cheap silver had not only driven gold
from this country, but we had no silver.”
The logic of the statement is not mani
fest. __
Men are very much like sheep—they
follow the leader. And the probability is
that the men who lead In making invest
ments here In mineral lands and city
property will have a large number to fol
low them.
Mr. Herbert made the best argument
that can be made on his side. He had all
the Insides of the government to aid him
with facts and figures, and the most en
thusiastic friend will not claim that he
made a single convert.
Real estate in Birmingham commands
less money than in many cities of smaller
population and one-tenth our resources.
It is largely below its fair value, and men
avho buy now will probably realize hand
somely in the near future.
Secretary Carlisle in his Memphis
speech admitted that the quantity of
money in circulation had much to do with
prices of commodities and general busi
ness prosperity. Secretary Herbert in
his Opern house speech denied this the
ory. Who is right?
We regret to hear so many expressions
of disappointment among the gold stand
ard advocates as to the outcome of the
Opera house speaking Wednesday night.
They admit there was an absence of or
atorical effort. The bimetallists main
tain that the distinguished speaker did
the best that could have been done with
the subject.
An intelligent merchant the other day
said h? was opposed to silver because the
(American sliver dollars were worth only
50 cents in London. A friend suggested
to him to sell out his goods for $5000, get
the money in gold, go over and buy 10,000
silver dollars, bring them back, buy an
other stock of $5000, equal to that he hail,
and clear $5000 by the transaction.
Vnllke Secretary Hoke Smith, Secre
tary Herbert seems not to have devoted
much time to the study of the financial
questiim since he became a member of
Mr. Cleveland's cabinet. He has been
busily engaged with the affairs of the
navy department, over which he H.fs the
honor to preside. It Is much to Ills praise
that he has made a very creditable re
cord as a cabinet officer.
The free silver Democrats of Binning-,
linm turned out quite largely to hear Mr.
Herbert's speech. They constituted at
least two-thirds of his audience and gave
him most respectful attention. We have
heard of no converts among them from
the time honored Democratic faith of
bimetallism to thenew.pseudo-Demoerat
ic (?) doctrine of gold monometallism ad
vocated by the distinguished gentleman.
The curious fact is reported, says the
London correspondent of the New York
Times, that a large section of Burgundy,
notably the Cote d’Or, has given up grape
culture altogether and gone In for hops
Inslead. It is true that the phylloxera,
which wrought special mischief in these
parts, is now pretty well under control,
but the Burgundians have decided that
It Is not worth the trouble and expense
or replanting with Californian stocks,
especially as France is becoming yearly
a greater beer consumer, and so the up
rooted vines by wholesale are planted,
with hops In their place.
ECHOES FROM THE WATER.
The “most distinguished Alabamian"
has come and gone. Bimetallists who
were not strong In the faith are more
pronounced than ever since this selected
chief has been able to offer nothing to
confirm their doubts, and even our sin
gle standard friends are free In admit
ting their disappointment. No one
doubts the good faith of Mr. Herbert;
certainly his opportunities to get all the
facts and arguments on his side have
been abundant and his leisure ample, and
yet there was nothing but the thrashing
of familiar old straw and the raising of
dust that scarcely obscured the Issue.
Secretary Herbert said In his speech
that oats were now worth 32 cents and
pork some $14.00, and had never gone be
low $9.50. Oats were quoted in Chicago
yesterday at 17?i cents and pork at
$8.50. These are minor matters, but ac
curacy of statement is always to be de
sired In discussing a grave matter.
There were Just thirteen gentlemen on
the stage when the secretary spoke. The
number was ominous.
* • •
Mr. Herbert said sliver men claim the
amount of money in a country measures
the value of the property of the country.
That this was humbug. Did the secreta
ry ever see any country in the world
where prices were high and money
scarce, or prices low and money abun
dant? Does he moan to say that the
volume of money has no effect on the
values of property? Does the law of sup
ply and demand not touch money? In
his own speech he said the inflation of
the currency during the war greatly in
creased values.
* * *
He also said that the increase of $1,000,
000,000 of our currency would not in
crease prices unless the currency depre
ciated. This means that it would not
help the United States at all to get
$1,000,000,000 of gold from other nations—
prices would remain the same. What
the silver men desire is an appreciation
of property and labor, and necessarily a
decrease in the purchasing power of
money. It now has an abnormal value,
created for it by legislation that has
practically made one metal the only yard
stick to measure value. We want two
yardsticks, each 30 Inches long, and a
fair level of values.
• * *
Mr. Herbert read the report of Dun
ham in 1853; which related only to the
coinage of fractional coins, and spoke of
making them subsidiary to gold, as if it
applied to the silver dollar, too. Possi
bly the honorable secretary did not him
self apprehend the distinction between
token money and full legal tender pri
mary money.
My lord, hearken unto me: The land
Is worth 400 shekels of silver; what Is that
betwixt me and thee? Bury, therefore,
thy dead.
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron;
and Abraham welshed to Ephron the sil
ver which he had named in the audience
of the sons of Hetli 400 shekels of silver
current money with the merchant.—Gen.,
Chap. 32, v. 15:16.
• • •
Mr. Herbert said overproduction had
decreased prices and brought on the
panic, and that the issue of bonds by the
President made everything rise. The
remedy, therefore, for overproduction is
to issue bonds.
The honorable secretary of the navy
stated that our circulating medium is
now $24 per capita. Mr. Carlisle stated
on October 1, in an official document,
the per capita at $22.57. The cabinet
ought to stick closer together, but what
is the difference of a matter of one or
two hundred millions on a campaign
tour?
The honorable secretary of the navy,
in his speech here, advised the laboring
men to lay aside their surplus earnings
in gold money. If there is any laboring
man in the district, or any farmer, who
has been accumulating a surplus after
supplying his family with the necessities
of life he will appreciate this valuable
advice.
Mr. Herbert stated that whilst wages
had declined they would today buy more
food and clothes than ever before. If
this be correct how happy must be the
men who produce wheat and corn and
cotton that constantly declining sums
will command more and more of the pro
ducts of their labor.
Mr. Herbert affirmed the Gresham law,
that cheaper money always drives out
the dearer, and then in a few moments
quoted Benton as saying that his bill was
intended to make silver the cheaper
money. If so did not Mr. Benton desire
to drive cut gold?
Mr. Herbert said that China, India and
Japan had some sixteen hundred millions
of silver and would “dump" it in this
country to get our gold if we undertook
free coinage. As we have only about
$600,000,000 of gold the Chinese and Japs
and Hindoos would have $1,000,000,000 left
after they swapped even and would get
dollars that would pay exactly the same
amount of debt and taxes as their silver
money.
There never was a day until 1873 that
a man who had silver bullion could not
take it to the mints and get $1 In legal
tender money for every 374V4 grains of
silver.
• • *
When Sherman struck silver from
coinage in 1873 the silver dollar was
worth 3 cents more than the gold dollar.
The object, therefore, was not to prevent
the coinage of cheap dollars, but to cut
off the money supply.
The Secretary said that overproduction
had brought about low prices. How
ttbout the value of land and lumber? The
prices for these have declined nearly or
quite 50 per cent, and yet there has been
no overproduction worth mentioning.
• • *
The concentration of money here in
Birmingham in 1SS6-7 caused an enor
mouse rise in lots. When that money
went away prices declined. The aggre
gate deposits in the banks at that time
reached some 14.500,000. The deposits
now are about one-half and values have
declined fully that much.
Mr. Herbert seemed to think that the
proper ratio is the market value of sil
ver and gold and yet he is not willing to
have free coinage at any ratio.
» . . .
When Hamilton aari Jefferson fixed the
ratio* they had no international confer
ence or agreement, but presumed to act
without consulting r.ny nation.
/
THE SECRETARY OP THE NAVY.
The State of Alabama takes great pride!
In her distinguished son, Hon. Hilary A.
Herbert, whose distinction as a states
man has not overshadowed his valor as
a soldier. The memory of both will be
treasured by this people among their
most pleasant and "Sacred monuments.
Courtly in manner, sincere and honest
in character, catholic in patriotism, he
stands a noble specimen of manhood and
worthy the confidence and admiration
of all true Alabamians.
Hs comes to debate with his people a
most important public question, and he
has received from all parties and fac
tions a most respectful attention. He
has upon the one question which now di
vides the Democratic camp been the most
intelligent and consistent of all those
representatives of the South who now In
dorse hts views, but even his record fails
to convince the people that It would be
Well to depart from the bimetallic stand
ard of money established by our fathers
through so many decades of American
history, and his conservative speeches,
plausible as they are, utterly fall to sug
gest any intelligent plan by which an ad
equate currency as safe as free sliver can
be established in its place. Colonel Her
bert has a right to refer to his speech
of April 8, 1886, ln_Cbngress, in which he
held that It would be dangerous to the
currency to go beyond the piand bill in
the coinage of silver. At that day he
stood alone upon that question among
our Alabama Congressmen, almost alone
among the Representatives from the
South. Upon that speech he predicates
his present attitude. There Is a fatal
gap, however, between his argument
of that day and his opinions of today.
In that speech he said:
The present distress of Europe re
sults from the demonetization of silver
there and the scarcity of gold.
And so the friends of remonetization
of silver now say that the distress which
has prevailed throughout Europe and the
United States for the past years is the
culmination of what Colonel Herbert saw
in 18S6, and that it has resulted from the
demonetization of silver and the Impos
sibility for gold to do the work needed
by commerce. Time has not changed the
conditions. He spoke as a bimetallist
in 1S86, an advocate of the double stand
ard. holding gold and silver as equally
sovereign and one not as suosicuary iu
the other. - Today he says that he js a
bimetallist, but he means that silver
shall he regarded as paper money and
subordinate to and measured by gold.
This is not what he meant by bimetallism
in 1886. At that time he looked upon the
silver dollar, no matter what its commer
cial value might be, as a sovereign stand
ard dollar, equal in all respects to gold.
Said he: H
To my mind there is no argument In
the declamation on this floor about tft'
dishonest dollar. If the doltar is dishoft
est because its bullion is equal to but 80
cents in gold, then our half dollar is dis
honest because it equals but 37 cents in
gold, and the nickel is dishonest because
its bullion value is but 7-10 of 1 cent.
To his mind it was apparent that the
commercial value of the silver coin had
little to do with its monetary value. The
commercial value would rise to the coin
value the moment free coinage was
adopted. He said:
‘ The truth is a coin is worth just what
it will buy. If a silver dollar will pur
chase, as it does, just as much as a gold
dollar, it does equally honest work and
is Just as honest a coin as the yellow dol
lar. The fact that the silver dollar has
for seven years maintained itBelf side by
side with gold is a refutation Of the fun
damental proposition of the monometal
lists that the State can weigh and meas
ure coin, but that it is powerless in any
manner or to any extent whatever to af
fect Its value. '
Here he laid down the fundamental
truth upon which this whole contention
rests. It Is admitted by every intelligent
mind that the money value and the com
mercial value should approximate as
nearly as possible, and we assume it is
true that no silver advocate would at
tempt to place the silver dollar
upon an unfair basis. We want parity,
and to preserve that parity equality of
value is desirable. The difference be
tween the gold man and the bimetallist
i*s that the former contend that remoneti
zation will not lift the commercial value
of silver to that of gold at the ratio of
1C to 1, and the latter contend that it has
heretofore done so, and, therefore, will
do so again. The Uatin union main
tained the parity at 15% to 1 for a long
period. France maintained it for seven
ty years. The United States maintained
it at 15 to 1 and 16 to 1 for over seventy
years.
Against these facts, widen are wortn
more than arguments, Colonel Herbert
sets the demonetization of silver by the
Latin union by Germany and by India.
But as opposed to the secretary’s view
we set the further facts that the balance
of our trade is always in our favor
with gold standard nations and against
us with bimetallist nations. In other
words we have the opportunity to win
gold from the gold standard nations and
send silver to the silver-using nations.
In such conditions there could be no de
pletion of our gold stock and no super
abundance of our silver stock. We fur
ther set against the secretary’s present
views the fact that silver is used as
standard money by the very people to
whom we wish to sell our products. Eu
rope takes from us only what she is com
pelled to take, our raw cotton and our
grain and oils, but the silver nations by
sympathy and monetary alliance could
be induced to take from us a very large
part of the manufactured products with
which Great Britain, France and Ger
many now flood the Central and South
American states and Japan and China.
Besides this, it is our firm conviction
that the moment silver is remonetized
in this country the nations of Europe
will be compelled to follow our example;
We ask the secretary in all seriousness
vhy he should prefer the stamp of a pri
vate corporation upon a piece of paper,
cabled a dollar, rather than the govern
ment's stamp upon a piece of silver which
is or will be worth a dollar in commercial
as well as money value? The piece of
paper is based upon promises to pay,
the flat of the government. The piece
of silver is interchangeable with gold
and is receivable in payment of all pub
lic and private dues.
Colonel Herbert’s answer to our ques
tion would be that he would prefer the
stamp on the silver tjiac rather than
that on the paper, if, in fact, the disc
were thereby clothed with all the func
tions of the gold dollar. Very well, let
us try itl We had no opportunity to try
it before Democracy got possession of
the ’Presidency and the two Houses, and
then we know how thA end for which we
'’’"••SSled so long was defeated in the
house of our friends. Let us try for It
again, afffl If after making the effort sil
ver cannot maintain Its place we surely
have statesmans hip and patriotism
enough to apply a remedy.
WHO 18 IN ERROR®
In his opera house speech Mr. Herbert
paid:
"In 1806 Jefferson, then President, or
dered the suspension of the coinage °f the
silver dollar, as it was driving out the
gold money.”
The reason assigned by the honorable
Secretary of the Navy does not harmonize
with that given by Mr. Madison, Secre
tary of State under Jefferson, in the or
der suspending the coinage of the silver
dollar. On pages 84 and 85, Mintage Laws
of the United States, 1792 to 1894, pre
pared under the direction of the Com
mittee of Finance, United States Sen
ate, and printed at the government print
ing office In 1894, is found the following
lettpr:
Department of State, May 1, 1806.
Sir: In consequence of a representation
from the director of the Bank of the
United States that considerable pur
chases have been made of dollars coined
at the mint for the purpose of export
ing them, and as it is probable' further
purchases and exportations will be made,
the President directs that all the sil
ver to be coined at the mint shall be of
small denominations, so that the value of
the largest piece shall not exceed half
a dollar. I am, etc.,
JAMES MADISON.
Robert Patterson, Esq., Director of the
Mint.
Secretary of the Navy Herbert con
tends that the coinage of the silver dol
lar was suspended by President Jefferson
because gold money was being driven out
thereby. Secretary of State Madison
states that suspension was ordered be
cause considerable purchases had been
made of coined silver dollars for export,
and It was probable further purchases
would be made for the same purpose. If
Mr. Madison understood his business
and knew what he was talking about
the order in question was made to pre
vent our silver dollars from leaving the
country, and not, as Mr. Herbert con
tends, because they were driving out the
gold money.
Either Mr. Herbert is or Mr. Madison
was mistaken. We think the weight of
testimony supports the latter.
A VOICE FROM OHIO.
Hon. Charles Foster, who has been sec
retary of the treasury in his day, and
who. unfortunately for Mr. Carlisle, left
It In a depleted condition, has been talk
ing: to an inteivlewer. He said:
"I believe the Republicans will be vic
torious all along the line in Ohio. Our
majority may not be so large as it was
last year, but it will be larg& enough for
all purposes.”
Concerning the Presidency, the secre
tary said:
“If Quay, natt and Clarkson can
agree on some man—Reed, or'Alllson or
somebody else—and secure the co-opera
tion of Elkins, they may be able to de
feat McKinley.”
Speaking of the basis of representation
in the next national Republican conven
tion, he said:
“The South should not be allowed to
vote. It never does us any good at a
Presidential election; their proportion of
delegates is the same as ours.”
The only interesting feature of this in
terview is the last. The Republicans of
the North appear to be unwilling to let
the voice of the States which never cast
an electoral vote for their ticket have
such a potential influence in naming the
candidates and selecting the platform
of principles. In this respect they re
flect the sentiments of those Democratic
States which always vote the ticket and
elect It whenever it is elected, but which
are doomed to see the ticket and the
platform named to suit the views or ca
price of States which never have, and
probably never will, vote the Democratic
ticket.
LINES TO THE MEDITERRANEAN.
The establishment of a steamship line
from New Orleans to Trieste opens up
very great possibilities to the commerce
of the South. Why our cotton and our
cotton oil should reach the Mediterranean
countries only through the North Euro
pean ports has long been a mystery, and
why our importations from those coun
tries should reach us only by way of
Liverpool and New York has been a sim
ilar mystery. This new line, which will
begin operations in November, will open
to us the trade of Austria and the Dan
uban principalities, and by means of the
Austrian Lloyds, which makes Trieste
their port, will also open to us the trade
of Turkey and Russia, Egypt, Asia Minor
and through the Red sea with India,
China and Japan. It Is interesting to
note that Trieste Btands as respects the
great inland sea of Europe as New Or
leans stands as respects the great inland
sea of this continent. Trieste is the feeder
of the Suez canal, just as New Orleans
should be for the Nicaragua canal. These
two cities, so far apart In geography and
race, and yet so near In having Imbibed
knowledge and civilization at the same
fountain source. Rome and Athens, are
destined to play hand In hand a con
spicuous part in the history of commerce.
They are the two buckles which hold to
gether the girdle which bounds the fair
waist of mother earth.
EDITOR RICHARDSON DEAD.
In the death of Col. B. H. Richardson,
editor and proprietor of the Columbus,
Ga„ Enquirer-Sun, the newspaper frater
nity in the South loses one of itsablestand
most learned members. For a number
of years since the war Colonel Richardson
was connected with the press of Ala
bama, and during that time made many
warm friends, who will learn with sor
row of his sudden taking away.
Why should not Birmingham have a
law college? Our judges and lawyers
here could get up a faculty that could
not be surpassed, and the courts are
nearly always open, giving practical
training.
ALABAMA EDITORS.
The following sound advice Is from the
Talladega Reporter:
•'Let the democrats play fair, meet the
emergencies of the day and stop all this
funny business about elections and the
split will weld of its own accord on the
silver question alone.”
Mobile, says the News, should build
a monument to Semmes:
“A movement is on foot in New Orleans
for the erection of a monument to Gen.
P. G. T. Beauregard, and several enter
prises are now on foot to raise money
for it. We have no doubt that the amount
desired will be raised easily. It is a
pity the Semmes monument in Mobile
could not be finished.”
The State Herald congratulates the
Tuskaloosa Journal on Its enlargement.
Highest of all in Leavening Power.—Latest U. S. Gov’t Report
ABSOLUTELY PURE
The Journal publishes six columns of
delinquent tax sales, and so delighted is
the editor that he throws aside the finan
cial issue and exclaims:
“Clear the track! The Journal's com
ing! The grasshoppers and ants had
better get out of the way. The engine
can’t stop for such. Life is too short.
Buy your ticket or you will get left.
All aboard!”
Men make the party and, not the party
the men, says the Talladega Reporter:
"The man who says he is for party first
and principles after confesses that the
party makes him Instead of his making
the party. Such a weakling has little
principle and is out of place in the dem
ocratic party. Only men strong enough
to make a party can preserve it, and only
such men can be democrats in every
sense. Let us keep the democratic party
strong enough and brave enough to re
tain strong, brave men in It, and make
It a party inviting to the best and most
courageous patriots in the land."
The Huntsville Argus is doing some
sound political thinking and making
some fine calculations. It says:
"Although the next election in Alabama
is ten months off speculation is growing
rife as to who will succeed Oates as gov
ernor and Pugh as senator. Politicians
will continue to punch away at these
plums with great activity, vrhlle the peo
ple will do the thinking more and more
for themselves. It must be admitted,
however, that there are conditions which
make Johnston a strong factor, and if
he and Bankhead pull together no other
team can afford to despise them.”
On launching the Escambia Messenger,
a new paper at Pollard, the editor, Mr.
C. Z. Fulton, in his salutatory, makes
his position plain and simple:
“It is my purpose to make the Escam
bia Messenger a weekly record of the
local news of the county, reliably and
carefully selected and arranged: a me
dium through which to keep posted upon
current events, a necessity for those who
subscribe for but one paper, and a val
uable addition to any list for those who
can afford more. In politics the Escam
bia Messenger is democratic, and will be
found at all times laboring for the ad
vancement of the principles of true gov
ernment founded by our forefathers.”
The Tuskaloosa Times thinks the Mont
gomery Advertiser a great paper and
ably edited, but that its attitude towards
those Democrats who differ with it on
the financial question is petty and needs
reforming:
“The Montgomrey Advertiser is ex
tremely unfortunate, we think, in its at
titude towards those democratic lead
ers who differ with iP on the financial
question. I tcontinually carps at them and
their policies, often unfairly. When crit
icism sinks to mere petty and pettish
faultfinding it always falls of its pur
pose. The Advertiser is a great paper,
.ably edited and deservedly influential,
but a little reform on these lines would
improve it.”
The Mobile Daily Herald is getting to
be very amiable with the republicans.
It is an ardent supporter of the gold
standard and would pine away and die
in an instant if democrats tvho supr
ported Captain Kolb should be allowed
to vote in the primaries next year. Hear
ye him:
“It Is evident from what we have said
that democrats and republicans can
meet on common ground In seeking to
place the finances of the country on a
firm basis. The financial policy of many
leading republicans has been creditable
to them. When democrats are twitted
then for holding financial views in ac
cord with John Sherman, It should not
disturb them any more than Secretary
Herbert would be disturbed if he was
charged with holding the same views in
regard to increasing our navy as were
held by ex-Secretary Tracy.”
The Tuskaloosa Times agrees with the
State Herald that the discussion of the
financial question should be on its mer
its and devoid of passion and bitterness:
"The State Herald learns that Mr. Her
bert pronounced himself a bimetallist In
his Montgomery speech and indulged in
no abuse of gentlemen who do not agree
with him. The money is one that should
be discussed solely on its merits, and
with a view of reaching correct and just
conclusions—conclusions that will pro
mote the welfare of our people and con
cord in’our party.—State Herald.
"The-Times fully agrees with its Bir
mingham contemporary in the foregoing.
Already there has been entirely too much
bitterness and passion injected into this
financial discussion, and for the good of
the party as well as for the relief of a
long-suffering public it should be stopped.
Let's discuss the question on its merits.
Nothing can be gained by abuse, while
much may be lost."
Carrollton News: A call for a county
mass meeting and beat mass meetings
of those who would advance the cause
of free silver and honest elections will
be found in another column. The meet
ings will be strictly non-partisan, and are
called by two populists and two silver
democrats. The address recommending
these meetings has the following in rela
tion to its non-partisanship: "We, there
fore, propose that a representative con
ference be held which all can attend with
out affecting their party relations. A
convention implies some authority in the
body over its members, and a mass meet
ing implies that it is not a representa
tive body. The gathering should be of
representatives of all the people who
favor honest elections and free silver,
but neither the numbers of the confer
ence nor those who elect them will be
bound by any recommendation or other
action of the conference which they do
not approve.”
Let honesty, integrity and noble man
hood prevail, ways the Talladega Re
porter, and all good citizens call for
justice though the heavens fall:
"The News-Reporter Is in <favor of all
fair, open and honest primaries, conven
tions and elections. If evil disposed men
have managed things anywhere let them
stand aside that honesty, integrity and
noble manhood may still prevail. Why
should any gentleman be afraid to be
watched? Why should he oppose ma
jority rule, if that majority is honestly
obtained? There Is little danger of ne
gro domination. By a belief that dis
honesty has prevailed all well disposed
citizens for public good call for justice
to all. though the heavens fall. What
harm can come of right? We believe we|
voice the opinion of all law-abiding cit
izens in Talladega county when we ask
that fair play between man and nian.
party and party, be the rule In every
gathering In this county and state hepce
forth.”
The Mobile Herald is pleased with the
increased interest manifested in the Bir
mingham literary clubs, and makes the
following suggestions for Mobile:
"The Herald is pleased to note that in
terest in Htcrary matters Is growing in
a city whose wonderful material develop
ment is.the pride and boast of Alabam
ians. There is no reason why the two
should not go together, for good litera
ture gives the purest enjoyment that life
' \
knows after fhe peace of religion, the
ecstacy of plighted love, and the calm
happiness of the home circle. It is lit
erature that does more than anything
else to make the home circle delightful.
"How important is it then that literary
taste should be properly cultivated, so
that we can avoid what is meretricious
and hurtful, and turn our attention to
what is elevating, refining and improv
ing to mind and soul. And this should
be the work—and to a large extent it Is
the work—of literary clubs and societies.
“We trust that Mobile will emulate the
example of Birmingham, and that the
number of literary organizations in our
city and Its vicinity will greatly increase.
v\ e trust, also, that a more liberal sup
port will be given the Mobile library, so
that the scope of its work may be made
larger.”
OUR LETTER BOX.
Help Wanted!
Editor State Herald:
After listening: to the very able (?)
speech of the secretary of the navy last
evening I retired to my room to spend a
restless night, my brain In a whirl, my
nerves unstrung, trying to solve the
many peculiar propositions put forth by
him on the money question, and pictur
ing to myself the awful condition things
might get Into should we re-enact the
free coinage laws. The result is I am
“all broke up," and have as yet oeen una
ble to get any of his "unanswerable" ar
guments through my aching head. I
therefore appeal to you for assistance,
asking that you explain, if possible, the
following assertions, which ha calls ar
guments, viz:
He says that If we open our mints to
free coinage that all the silver of China,
Japan and India will be dumped here and
gold taken In exchange, and that Just as
soon as the law is passed the people of
these countries will flash thetr orders by
cable for this exchange of sliver for gold.
Now, I want to know how long It
would take China to gather up the silver
change which constitutes the circulation
of th«€ vast empire and ship it to the
United States? In figuring out this prop
osition you must bear In mind that China
has lesd than $2 per capita of silver, and
all of this Is money of small denomina
tions, and which Is absolutely necessary
for their own use, and that these small
silver pieces are In the hands of over
400,000,000 people, in a heathen country,
devoid of means of transportation and
communication; and yet the secretary of
the navy tells us that this will all be
seht here to get our gold, and sent so
quickly as to make It necessary for China
to cable the purchase.
Why cable at all? Why not write, or
at least wait until they had the silver
ready to deliver? Then again, please ex
plain to me what these people who will
gather up these hundreds of millions of
silver are going to give the people from
whom they buy in exchange for It?
Will they give thern sliver for silver,
or will they pfiy them In gold, and where
will they get either in sucn vast amounts
and how will they get It? We won't
give up our gold until we get their sil
ver; neither will they give up their sil
ver until they get our gold.
Maybe they will go through the Asiatic
continent taking options on ea<ch man's
mite of silver, then do likewise with ns
for our gold, both to be paid when good*i
are delivered.
But after the honorable secretary had
gotten his audience thoroughly alarmed
at the prospect of losing our large stock
of gold, which Is now doing such valiant
service as a circulating medium, he qui
eted their fears by telling them that the
silver flood would not come, because, un
der the free coinage of silver everybody
who had any gold would hoard it and
refuse to part with it under any circum
stances, and that being "out of circula
tion" would place us on a silver basis.
Shades of Joslah Patterson!
Then again, the great secretary of the
navy tells us that the volume of money
cuts no figure In the prices ot-commodl
ties; that we dqn't need any money, any
how. Confldeiice Is all we need. He de
nied that prices of everything had de
clined since 1873, and cited mess pork and
oats as the two commodities to prove his
assertion. He said that mess pork sold
for $9 a barrel In 1879, and has steadily
advanced since that time to $14 per bar
rel, and at no time since 1879 has it ever
sold as low as $9 per barrel. It Is true
that mess pork did reach $14 per barrel in
1893, but we are all familiar with the
methods used by Armour, Swift, Cudahy
and other manipulators, who cornered
the market and forced it up for a time,
and how, when the pool collapsed, pork
went down again. Today's quotations
show it to be worth only $8.37>4 per bar
rel. He stated that oats were worth 34
cents per bushel In 1879, and has main
tained this price since that time with a
slight fluctuation of 2 or 3 cents at va
rious times. Today's quotations of oats
shows them to be worth 17% cents per
bushel.
Can you blame me for; being In such a
“wrought up" condition after spending a
sleepless night trying to reconcile sueli
wild assertions?
There were many other statements as
glaringly Incorrect as the above men
tioned. but as I am suffering from ex
haustion, and from the fear of having
my life insurance paid in depreciated
silver dollars, I will have to close, at
least until you convince me that such
“arguments” as were dosed out last night
will ever change a vote.
AMERICAN BIMETAHLTST.
Hood's Sarsaparilla acting through the
blood reaches every part of the system.
Cold Weather Gone.
Ward’s coal yard can furnish coa! and
wood on short notice. They have the
best coal for summer use in the market.
Ruy from them and you will not com
plain. Will also put coal In for winter.
Telephone 487. _7-19-tf
Awarded
Highest Honors—World’s Fair.
DR
BAKING
MOST PERFECT MADE.
A pure Grape Cieam of T/.-tar Powder. Free
hoot Ammonia, Alum or any other adulterant,
40 YEARS THE STANDARD.
)