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THE JACKSON ECONOMIST.
VOL. VII.
“The Man With the Hoe.”
Not often, among the verses that achieve their first appearance in
the columns of the daily press, do we find anything that commands
such attention as Prof, Edwin Markham’s “The Man With the Hoe”
has aroused. The poem is an interpretation of Miller’s famous paint
ing known by that name, now in California. We quote the lines as
they appeared in the San Francisco Examiner:
Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in the face,
And on his back the burden of the w'orld.
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and that never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?
Who loosened and letdown his brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?
Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave J
Tc have dominion over sea and land;
To trace the star;; and search the heavens for power;
To feel the cession of Eternity?
Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And pillared toe blue firmament with light?
Down the stretch of Hell to its laßt gulf
There is no shape more terrible than this —
More tongued with censure of the w'orld’s blind greed—
More filled with signs and portents for the soul —
More fraught with menace to the uuiverse,
What gulfs Ootw’een him and the s traphim!
Slave of the wheel of labor, what to him
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?
What the long reaches of the peaks of song.
The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose?
Through this dread shape the suffering ages look;
Time’s tragedy is m that aching stoop;
Through this dread shape humanity betrayed.
Plundered, profaned and disinherited,
Cries protest to the Judges of the World,
A protest that is also prophecy.
0 masters, lords, and rulers in all the lauds,
Is this the handiwork you give to God,
This monstroms thing distorted and soul quenched?
How will you ever straighten up this shape;
Give back the upward looking and the light;
Rebuild in it the music and the cream ;
Touch it again with immorality;
Make right the immemorial infamies,
Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes?
0 masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
How will the Future reckon with this Man?
llow answer his brutu question in that hour
When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world?
How will it be with kingdoms and with kings—
With those who shaped him to the thiug he is—
When this dumb Terror shall reply to God
After the silence of the centuries?
The name of the author is not altogether unfamilliar to readers
of the Century and Scribner’s Magazine, but never before has he a
roused so much enthusiasm. Some of the Western papers are particu
larly zealous in praise, one of them, the San Jose Mercury, going 90
far as to term it‘‘the strongest, most meaningful, and most striking
poem, with the single exception, perhaps, of Kipling’s ‘Recessional’
that has been written in any country in the last quarter of a century.”
Poet-Lore says:‘‘The poem is true to the picture and interpets
its message not ineffectively, at this time to a country which is adding
new burdens, military, official and commercial, to the back of the
man nearest the soil, ‘The Man With The Hoe.’ ”
Uncle Sam Never
Issued a Gold Bond.
A. friend writes us. that a neigh
bor says, “he did not believe in ir
redeemable money and that U. S.
bonds were redeemable in gold.”
That Democratic neighbor is like
a great many of his party leaders,
who make assertions without re
gard to facts. There is not a
U. S. State bond on the earth
which by its terms is made re
deemable in gold and thers never
was such a bond in existence, for
the reason no such bond was ever
issued. At first the government
bonds were issued and made re
deemable in the lawful currency of
the government, which was at that
time greenbacks, aud gold and sil
ver coin. In 1869 old John Sher
man at the instance of the bond
holders, (who had bought their
bonds with depreciated green
backs) succeeded in inducing Con
gress to pass what was called the
credit strengthening act. This
bill provided for the taking up cf
all outstanding “currency” bonds
and the issue of “coin” bonds in
WINDER, JACKSON COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1899.
their stead. This eliminated the
greenbacks as a money of redemp
tion, and th 6 conspirators set about
at once to get rid of silver, but
this w’as a more difficult job. They
knew a measure to demonetize sil
ver aud make the bonds payable
in gold would not be popular, so
they got up a bill entitled “an act
to regulate the coinage weights
and measures of the United
States” which w r as finally sneaked
through both houses of Congress.
This bill simply failed to provide
for the coinage of the silver dol
lar and make it a legal tender for
debts, and as the bouds outstand
ing were made payable in coin “of
the weight and fineness” provided
by law, at the time of the issuance
of the 18G9 bonds, we had no coin
except gold that met the terms
nominated in the bonds, aud
hence bonds were only payable in
gold although the bonds did not
so read.
This miserable trick was par
tially undouo by the Bland-Alii
son act of 1878, but silver has nev
er yet been restored to its former
estate.
IRREDEEMAHLE MONEY,
As regards our Democratic
friend’s statement, that he does
not believe in irredeemable curren
cy, we have only to say we have
never seen a Southern man, who
could give a sensible reason for
such an assertion. We suppose it
is meant, that he does not believe
in a money not redeemable in go’d,
and if any man, not a banker, an
importer of foreign goods or a
wealthy nabob, who wishes to trav
el with his family in Europe, can
give a valid reason why he would
prefer gold or silver to a legal ten
der treasury note, we would like
to form his acquaintance. The
greenback bill will buy any thing
the gold or silver will buy and it
will pay any debt the citizen may
owe for tax°s or to his fellow, at
its face value and coin will do no
more. When the farmer sells his
cotton he receives his pay in
greenbacks, the merchant receives
it from him in the payment of his
account, the wholesale dealer re
ceives it from the merchant and
credits him with the face value,
the wholesaler pays it to the im
porter and gets the same credit he
would were it gold of the same
amount, and Uncle Sam receives
it from the importer in paymont
of customs, just as he would it it
were double eagles. What more
redemption does my citizou need?
The banker wants metalic moil
ey that he may corner it aud cre
ate a speculation The importer
and the over rich wai.t to save the
expense to them of buying ex
change on the foreign markets
with which they deal, and hence
they favor the maiutaiuance of a
system of finance in this country
that will promote the interest of
these classes, probably not more
than 100,000 in all, no matter how
much it costs the millions of
wealth producers and bread-win
ners in this great country.
We have not space in a uewspa
per article so discuss [this subject
iu all its phases, but we desire to
say in conclusion, there never was
a straight legal tender paper dol
lao issued by a solvent govern
ment that was worth less than its
face value, and in some instances
such money has been rated above
par, notably the book credits o r
the bank of Venice, which existed
625 years, (from 1172 to 1798,)
and was never at a discount, but
on the contrary commanded a pre
mium of twenty per cent for 300
years of the time. Strange as this
may seem to some of our Demo
cratic friends, there are many of
them now living, who will not de
ny that solvent bank paper hs
sold at a premium in our own
country within their Knowledge..
Before the war, when travel was
confiued mainly to boats bn the
rivers or the old coach lines,
it was a common thing for our
merchants to exchange their gold
and silver for Mobile or Louisiana
money and pay a premium for it
every spring and fall, when they
went to buy goods. This only goes
to show the superiority of solvent
paper ever metallic money, and as
nobody at home cr abroad would
question Uncle Sam’s solvency, we
affirm that the best money on earth
would be the full legal tender
greenback bill issued from the IJ. S.
treasury and made receivable for
all dues public and private. —Frank
Burkitt, Editor Peoples Messenger,
Okolona, Mis3,
The People, Not the
Trusts, Need Protection.
There is a strong sentiment
among right minded Amerecan
people agamst giving the power
full trusts of the country the ad
ditional benefits of a protective
tariff. There may be some justice
in protecting “infant industries,”
but in the case of oppressive mo
nopolies the line should fie drawn.
In such cases the people and not
the trusts most need protection.
For our part. we are in favor of
anything to wipe out monopoly,
and if that can be done by remov
ing the duties on all foreign goods
that come in competition with
trust made goods—or if the trusts
may be crippled by this plan, and
it is plain that they can—then, we
say, let it be done. And we hope
that all antimouopolists wiil join
hands to bring about this re
form.
Speaking of the power of
the trusts, an exchange says:
“Owing chiefly to the power of
combined capital, iron prices ad
vanced sharply in the past few
months, and results are far reach
ing. Nails are markedly high, ad
ding to the cost of constructing
farm buildings and fences. In the
past three months the tin plate
trust has thrice advanced its price,
and is now said to pay enormous
dividends on 46 million of capital
■lock, largely water. The stove
manufactures have planned a 10
per cent advance which means an
added coat of some $4,000,000 an
nually to the American people.
The wire trust has been equailv
active in increasing th© cost of fin
ished goods. Since the beginning
of last December wire has advanced
sl3 per ton; size which manufet
urers of wire fences formerly,
brought at S3O now costs them $43,
aud sooner or later they must be
forced to advance their prices to
farmers.”
These are but a few instances.
When the various trusts that have
just been organixsd also get "in a
good way of w r orking” greater re
sults may be con fidentlv ex pected.
Is’t not plain then that the people,
not the trusts, protection?
—Progressive Farmer.
Knaves and Fools.
One does not have to move about
in what is called fashionable or
polite society to find that there are
a good many knaves and a good
mauy more fools in it. Men who
live by their wits, aud men who
live witless lives; men whom one
despisep, and men whom one pit
ies. These knaves and fools are
of so various a guiee, that one
might fill a whole paper with a
mere mention of the different var
ieties. We can not and o this, but we
can mention a few of the most
prominent, w’th a certain knowl
edge that they will he found famili
ar personages with most who read
this article.
The nio3t prominent knave in
society and by for the wickedest,
is the “ insinuating knaves.” The
low-lived sneak who at clubs and
hotels, among a set of cronies as
bad as himself, intimates by shrugs,
winks and sly inueudoes, that he
has had conquests —where such
conquests means a blot upon some
fair name. Some young lady is
mentioued as having a fine dispo
sition, of being a model of purity
aud goodness, when this destroying
demon will perhaps remark ; ‘ Ah,
well,if I was to tell my little story,
you might think differently”—or,
“Those who have known her, and
have as Tom Jones has, are
of a different opinion.” Such a
man ought to be seized on the spot
and choked till he is made to tell
*■ liis story” or, failing to do so,
should be kicked .ignomm
iously out of good societv, —
Ex.
National Plan
of Organization.
Yoar committee appointed. to formu
late a plan for the future organization
and government of the paopie’s party,
realiz ug the necessity of preserving
party independence and wishing to
prove that oar party aloue stauds for
dir<*ct legislation through the initiative
and referendum system applied to party
government as well as to the making
of laws, reports the following rules on
organization:
1. All delegate conventions of the
People’s Paity for nuking nominations
and platforms are hereby abolisuad,
and instead thereof, nominations for
office, platforms and am mdmeats there
to sbail be made by direct vole at the
People’s Parti) primaries of the politi
cal subdivision affected there
by.
2. The People’s P irty orgauiz itiou
shall consist o : H national committee
of three member from each state to be
chosen by the stite central com
mittee on each presidential
year.
3. A state central ommittee of three
members from ei ch congressional
district to be elected
by direct vote at the party primaries on
each election ye ir,
4. A congressional committee of
three members from each county in the
congressional discrict, to be eleoteij.
by direct vote at the party
primaries on eash election
year. ,
5. A county oin n'ttee of three
membors from each township or ward,
to be elecsed by direct vote at the
party primaries on each election
year.
6. National, state, c mgre3sion al and
county committees shall perform the
same duties as heretofore, not inconsist
ent harewith, provide blank hallots for
the referendum votes horeiu contemplat
ed, aud canvas aud certify the votes cast
in their respective territories.
?. The uuit of organization shall be,
the precinct club
8. Any voter may becom) a member
of the precent club of any precinct by
subscribing to our national declarations
of principles and our rules ou organiza
tion.
9. Any member of any precinct ciuo
who shall propose fusion or co operation
with either the Republican or Damo
cratic organiz vtions in the mike up of a
ticket tnrough conference ennmittee
or otherwise, shall, upou conviction
thereof., by a majority vota of ins club
be deemed outside the party.
10. No person not a number of a pre
cinct club, aud in good staudiuß shall
be eligible to membership on any Peo
ple’s party committee or a People’s party
nomination for any office.
11. Each committee shll make prompt
report to the committee next higher of
all referendum votes and other matters
within the jurisdiction ol suca higher
committee, aud the chairm in of each
committee shall be deemed responsible
for the prompt and faithful performance
of the duties of his committee.
12. State platform* can be changed
only upon demand of a majority vote of
the precinct club membership of any
county, raffled by a vote of the precinct
club membership of the State; and the
national platform can be changed only
upon demand of a majority vote of the
precinct club membership of any State
ratified by a majority vote of the pre
cinct club membership of the nation
13. No salaried official shall be elected:
a member of auy committee of the Peo
ple’s party organization, and any mem
ber of such committee elected to a sal
aried office shall be deemed to have
vacated his position ou such committee.
14. All People’s party candidate* for
offlie and members of People’s party
committees shall at all times be subject
to the principle* of the imperative man
date and may be recalled by a majority
vote of the league membership of their
constituency.
Respectfully submitted,
John O’ZABEL, Chairman.
H. B. FAY, M. D.i Secretary
Adopted in national Cin
cinnati, O , Sept. 6th, IS9S.
NO. 13.