OREGON CITY COURIER
SUPPLEMENT
MR. PHILLIPS EXPLAINS.
Some of Our Laws Really Foster the
Greed of Gain.
CLACKAMAS, Or., Oct. 11.
(Editor oftlie Courier. ) It seems tliat
my artiole in the Courier of Sept. 14,
was not clearly understood by our
frieud, E. Warrior. Well such things
will happen among the best of men
and this should not be considered an
exception, and by your permission Mr.
Editor, -f .will try to further explain,
promising to use the utmost brevity
in the case.
Mr. Warner, like many others,
seems to think time because die gold
standard got the verdict in '96 that
that should be die last uf the question
as a politioal issue. But my dear sir,
was any question - regarding the
people's interest ever irrevocably
settled by the ballot? Nor scarcely by
the sword? And 1 respectfully submit
that the money question of '96 was
not well understood by many of the
voters. Hera is Clackamas precinct
- dnrinor tlhaf. namnnioin T nnof. a amm a n w
r 1 n - --
as a dozen voters who were zealously
in favor of unlimited coinage at 16 to
1, but were deceived by goldstandard
orators to believe that if free coinage
prevailed, a silver dollar would only
pass for SO oeots and instead of being
able to purchase a barrel of flour for
$4 as common, would have to pay $8.
I tried to argue with these voters,
but their reply was, "away with your
free coinage, let the money quostion
alone just as it is and always has been
and give us plenty of it. " Yet these
men voted the gold ticket.
J read a good many gold standard
speeches in those days, and heard a
few from the "stump" and it seemed
to me that in every suoh Instance the
writesr and speakers labored , to de
cieve the people us to, conditions and
results ot the money question. I
son b lit a further explanation frm
some of these "careloss talkers,'' but
when pined down to a vital question,
would become angry, seemingly at my
impertinence and turn' away. Not
only in Claokamas precinct did such
conditions prevail, out I read of suoh
conditions in other parts of the state,
and in Eastern states, aaoording to
news received from there at the time,
the condition was worse. Hundreds
and hundreds of factory and mining
employes were told just before the
national election that if they voted for
free coinage and that question won,
they would all be paid for their woik
in silver dollars, which for trading
purposes they would only be allowed
50 cents on the dollar, hleuoe a con
siderable vote for the gold standard,
that in all probability had went the
other way.
"What kind ot a man will the
leader of the new party be?"
That is a hard quasi ton to answer
correctly, as we have no means of
knowing. I suppose he will be white,
though lie may be black or the son of
a naturalized Chinaman or of an
Indian. But when the time comes, as
it surely will, the MAN will be there.
Nature, or Nature's God, it seems,
provides a remedy against continued
evils. Columbus, Washington, Lincoln,
Grant and others, were men' in the
right place at the right time.
"What has brought the people from
their ignorance?"
The gold standard has been adoptei
and we have no "cart wheel" dollars
in circulation, nor any change from
16 to 1, leaving the gold standard
party to appear as a party of "shift"
at the expense of justice and of the
people's wellfare.
Our prosperity is not due to the gold
standard, but rather in spite of that
standard the gold standard holds coin
age in check and any limitation of
coinage causes a corresponding scarcity
of money ; and a scaroity of money
retards business and make the volume
for circulation more easily cornered
by the money speculator)). Thns aid
iug the aggregations of wealth and ex-
emp'iifyng the suggestion of Alexander
Hamilton, "Legislate for the rich and
trust the rich to care for the poor," a
suggestion at antipodes of that of
Linooln, "As labor is the father of
capital, labor should receive the first
consideration."
"Are members of Congress any less
just or moral than those who elect
them?"
General Lane once in a sneech in
Milwaukie declared: "The "heart ol
the people is always right," implying
to my mind atthe time that it was in
cumbent on the people to closely
watch the actions of Congress, and
Lincoln said: "We cannot fool all
the people all the time. " Doubtless
Linooln spoke in a general way, but.
the implication was against the
politicians in OongreFS or out of it,
but spare me from sitting in further
judgment on the morality of the
American Congress. s
There are monopolists by the
thousands in our country today and
the laws that allow suoh to exist are
invitingly open to others to try the
same if they wish.
A Rockefeller, by questionable
methods, gathered to his pockets
millions that other people should have
had a fair chance to get a share. Did
r.hey have that chance? I think not,
Mr. Rockefeller could over bid them
and nnder sell them, thns driving
many families to poverty. Any wrong
there? The remedy suggests itself.
A few years ago there were 29
persons who owned 84,000,000 aoreB of
land within the United States; did
those 29 -persons get possession of
those acres strictly In harmony with
the moral law? And was there not a
moral laxity on the part of Congress
in holding wide open the door of such
opportunities? To say nothing of the
homeless and landless thousands that
suffer 48 a consquenoe.
I do not see how it can be denied
that some of our laws really foster
the greod of gain. According to those
laws one man, provided he has the
bar'l, and is schemer enough to get
possession, may own every dollars
worth of private property within
Clackamas County, or the State of
Oregon, and while this door is legally
open for each, there are but few that
can enter therein. To me it seems
almost Bacriligious to uphold Buch
laws or to highly honor the men that
make them
Yes there were ''monopolies and
aggregations of wealth before our
day," but that fact does not make
monopolies and;aggregations of wealth
right today, nor does it speak well
for the deeper wisdom of our fore
fathers. No I have no knowledge of the
origin of 16 to 1. The ancients per
haps were not as much concerned
about the ratio of coins as we are
today, not so speculative perhaps, but
satisfied to get the coin. At least
we read of no political .campaigns
being fought in those days on the
raMo question, but the value of coins,
or of the talent and sheckel, varied
tomewl at in different countries. In
1840 I had the pleasure of reading n
lecture by a professor either of
Dartmouth or Yale, on the relative
value of coins of Nations. The
professor gave the supposed value, as
compared with our coins.of the latent
of both silver and gold down to the
smallest coin, but will concern our
selves with only the Hebrew sheckel
of silver and of gold, and if I remem
ber the professor remarks aright, the
sheckel of gold was reckoned at about
$8and the sheckel of silver at about
SOcents of our money and Webster,
uuder the heading of "Sbeckel,"
says: "A Hebrew silver coin worth
about SO cents," and I have seen
occasionally in the public press since
that day allusions to this ratio and
occasionally a few times only from
the political platform. I suppose the
ancients in their experiments id coin
making must have been convinced
that gold was worth about 16 times as
much as silver and from the best in
formation I can get on thojquestion,
something near that ratio, 16 to 1, has
obtained among Nations from ages
past unm we oi today, profiting by
their experience perhaps, have settled
aown not oounting samples to 16 to 1.
And if a more just ratio can be found.
in the name of all that is good, let us
nave it.
In my artiole of which friend
Warner seems to take so much ex
ception. I omitted some things that
might have been said, and I will add
only this, I read it from the publio
press of that day and hea'd it pro
claimed from the platform by Whig
orators, tnat Southern State bank
notes were occasionally taken in
Liverpool in direct exchange for
j&ngiisii goods because these bank
notes would be exchanged for
aoutnern products to arrive in port.
In regard to specie payments I can
say that in our part of the country, '
Southern Illinois, state bank notes
were certainly considered specie pay
ing institutions. In presenting a
note of these banks for trade the
question, in case of any doubt, would
be, "In tnat bank paying ooin lor its
notes?"
Again I have read in the papers of
that day that such banks had failed
for lack of coin in its vaults, but
thought to resume specie payments in
a few mouths; during this interval
the notes were at a discount and
speculators bought some of them,'
awaiting the time of nueh vaults
again. After a while I read in those
same papers that such and such bank
bad resumed specie payments, that
state bank notes were ever sold at a
discount except on the fact of the
failure of the bank to honor its notes
was something'Ilnever heard ot in our
part of the country. Whig orators
were dumb on that point and why
ftngliBh speculators should come to
our shoreB and try to cheat the Yankee
out of his trade, is one of the unsolv
ed mysteries, I am a Southerner by
birth and have knowledge that the
Southern people generally were very
slow to accept a bank note at its faoe
value except tho bank was on a speoie
basis. I aui slow to be persuaded
that any American trader in Europe
ever accepted a state bank note, even
of his own state, in payment for goods
that was not on par at home ;uor oan
J ee tnat it is very pertinent to the
question rnder consideration how
those English gentlemen got possession
of those bank notes? They may have
stolen them. In any event they
doubtless expected to reoeive-face
value i'or each note. Hence my con
tention seems sustained that Uncle
Sam should make all the money for
the people, keep it in his own vaults
until paid out and restore free coin
age. This "money that wonld buy
goods or other articles of trade in
any part of the United States would
pass at its face value in any foreign
port where we have trade relations.
WM. PHILLIPS.
Wounds.'Brulses and Burns.
By applying an antiseptic dressing
to wounds, bruises, burns and like
injuries before inflammation sets in,
they may be healed without matur
ation anJ in about one-third the time
required by the old treatment. This
is the greatest discovery and triumph
of modern surgery. Chamberlain's
Pain Balm acts on this same principle.
It is an antiseptic and when applied
to such injuries, causes them to heal
very quickly. It also allays the pain
and soreness and prevents any danger
of blood poisoning. Keep a bottle of
Pain Balm in your home and it will
save you time and money, not to
mention the inconvenience and suffer
ing such injuries entail. For sale by
Huntley Bros. Co. , Oregon City and
Molalla.
HIGHLAND.
Harry Gard has left for his home in
Madras.
The farmers have subscribed more
than $1000 in labor for the roads lead
ing towards Oregon City.
Ben Marshall and wife are living
on his father's place.
The Moehuke-Klebe wedding took
"place at the bride's home. Only a
few, otrtiBde ot their parents, were in
vited. The newly married couple
have rented Fred Kelbe's place, which
will be their Home for the present.
Bob Shockley has just completed a
fine cellar.
Ed Hornshuh has ordered out a
crew to cleai out one mile of road,
prepratory for plank on the Beeson .
and Myers foad.
Jessie Mayfleld's motherinlaw and
family, formerly Mrs. Trailer, are
visiting at Mr. Mayfleld's. Their
home is in Jackson County, Or.
Potato digging has been the older
of the day. They are pretty small and
not mi ny in a hill.
PARSIFAL EXCURSION.
A very low excursion rate will be
made by all lines of travel to Portland
on October 19 to 21, the date of the
presentation there of "PARSIFAL,"
Wagner's mighty festival play, in
which text, stupendous soenio em
bellishment, and a noted company of
fifty artists are united in a vast and
mystical Embolization of one of the
legends of the Holy Grail. It will be
given in English.
in the ettort to reproduce the
reverential atmosphere of the original
surroundings, and in other details,
the tradition of Beyrouth is prestrved,
exoept in the commencing time, which
has been sightly changed. Formerly
the commencing time was 5 :S0, and a
two hour lntermisson was given for
dinner. This long intermission has
been done away with, which permits
of commenong the first act at 7 :45,
the performance concluding at 11
o'clock.
The public is most earnestly re
quested to subscribe to the rule tnat
everybody should be seated before thn
house is darkened and the first act
begins.
Seats ordered by mail will be given
prompt attention and forwarded on
receipt of certified check or money
order, and addressed and made pay
able to W. T. Pangle. Self addressed
envelope should also be sent to avoid
mistakes. Scale of prices for the
"ParsifaJ" (in English) Festival
drama as follows: 50, 75, $1.00,
$1.50, and f2. 00.
MOUNTAIN VIEW.
The sun is shining beautifully after
the hard rain and hail storm of Tues
day noon.
Mrs. Selby is still quite poorly with
a Blight attack of Typhoid Fever.
Messrs. Pearl and Curtis Selby went
to the wood camp Inst week and their
father came home
Will May and Jim Corrin are build
ing the addition on S. V. Francis'
house.
J. M. Gillett is blasting a well for
r. B. Jackson last week
llndia'l Loris is quite sick at the
home ot Mr. Molloy. Dr. Norris is
in attendance.
Jim Currin and John Gillett antici
pate taking a big hunt around Tab'e
Rock next week.
Mrs. Everhart and Mrs. Johnson, of
Molalla, were the guests of Mrs.
Nickels last Wednesday.
Mrs. Miller and son Albert, were
the guests ot Walt Curran and family
last Sunday evening.
Mrs. Friedrich and Miss Stacie
Nickles spent last Sunday afternoon
at the Oaks.
L J. Frauds, ot Tualatin, visited
relatives and friends in Oregon City
this week.
Mrs. Young and baby, of Oregon
City, are staying with Walt Curran
and family this Fall.
The Courier is the aggressive paper
of Oregon City.