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mb ecu: Official Organ Ordinary. OFFICIAL - ORGAN OF WINDER. PUBLISHED KVKIIV THURSDAY EVENIN'* JEFFERSON OFFICE: With the Ordinary in the Court House P. W. Quattlebaum will represent the paper and take subscriptions. Subscription Rates- Onk Year, - - - *I.OO A. G. LAMAR, Editor and Publisher. THURSDA/. JUNE 8, 1899. The cjuutry is having another epid eiric of suicides. The Populist party will be a power iu the la r and next year. If you want to be on the side of weight and humanity join the ranks ot reform. it is enough to tickle the trusts to death to hear the two old parties condemning them. The Alaskan boundary is again loom ing up and is likely to disturb the friend ly relations of our country witn Brit ain. Holp circulate reform papers and you will be doing a great good for the mas ses and strengthen the cause of the peo ple. There is no way to get reform only through the Populist party. You can never get it, my friend, through the old parties. If you want a change for the better duty plainly tells you what to do. The physicians had a lively discus sion last week at the meeting of the American Surgical association in Chi cago on the treatment of appendicitis. The discussion developed the fact that they know as little about this dreaded disease as the poor layman. The teachers of Winder public school have labored hard this year to make it a successful oue and deserve the thauks of the patrons for their efforts in this direction. Toe board can do no better than to re elect the same faculty again for another year. The Econo mist does not know whether any of them desire to remain, bat if they do, they should be unauitnously elected to suc ceed themselves. No Wonder. The aworn statement of the Standard Oil Company in the hands of the Attor ney general of Ohio shows that a barrel of refine oil cost that oompauy just 20 cents. In that cost is inoludedraw ma terial, treatment aud the expense of re fining the oil. Think of ic for only one moment and yon can see why the Staud - ard Oil Company has become the great est monopoly known aud why its presi dent has mado #.'00,000,000 in 30 years. It costs but too fifths of a cent a gallon and the consumer pays 20 oects. 40 gal lons cost the Standard Oil Company 16 cents aud the consumer pays $3,00 for the 40 gallons. No woader that Mr. Fiagltr, one of the magnates, could build a #3,000,000 hotel at St Augustine ou the profits of oil in olb day. No won der that Mr. Rockefeller, its president, has an income of over #12,000,000 per year. Talk about your gold and silver mines, but they are nothing compare and to the great Standard Oil Companv. T his ougnt to get the people to thinking if they are capable of such a thing. “A Graduated Income Tax.” The British government is colleotiug income taxes on the entire revenues of British corporations American brewries, even when the stock is largely held by Americans who have never been in Eng land. Every person or company within reach of the British tax gatherer ha3 to help sholder the public burdens of the kingdom unless exempted by poverty. If John D. Rockefeller were in England, he would have to pay, in addition to all his other taxes, an income tax of three and one third per cent., which, on <in income of |12.000,000, would amount to $400,000 a years. The British income tax-produces over $60,000,000 a year, with not more than two-thirds the nat ional wealth of the Uuited States to draw upon. Mr. W. W. Astor pays the British exchi quer a tax on the rentals of his New York houses, although he pays none to the government of the country that takes cire of them. In Germany the income tax increases by six graduations beginning at oue seventh per cent, on incomes of S4OO, it rises to 4 per cent, on income of $25, 000 and over. It' Mr. Rockefeller were a German, he would pay an income tax of $480,000 a year, in addition to his other taxes, and those other taxes would all be said—uot dodged. On auy theory of taxation, income taxes ought to be progressive increasing in rates as well as in amount as the in come increases. If we hold that taxes ought to be proportioned to the benefits received from government, it needs no argument to show that tho chief benefi ciaries are tho men who are protected by the government in the possession of enormous fortunos that would vanish in a day if that guardianship were with drawn. If we tiy to secure equality of sacri fices it is manifest that a million dol lars a year deducted from an income of ten millions represent less sacrifice than a dollar taken from a man who has to go without meat for a week to pay it If we base our taxes on "faculty,” as most professors of finace now think we should, it is obvious that the man with tho $10,000,000 income is much better able to pay a tax of a million than the man who is earning st> a week is to pay a dollar. There need be no ' ‘burden of taxation” in America, for in a country as rich as this all the revenue needed can be collected from the people who will not feel its piyment. Bat if \Ye hire soldiers and judge to protect great fortunes, aud tlieu make people with' out anything,pay for supporting them, we may expect to hear complaints.—New York Journal. Full Legal Tender Paper Money. From Missouri World, As money becomes more plentiful it is easier to get. Money is easier ob tained when it takes loss labor and less property to get a given amount of it. Money is cheap when labor and proper ty are high. Money is dear when labor and property are low. The advantage of a higher level of prices is in the fact that burdens of debt, taxes and railroad charges are lightened thereby. A giv en amount of labor or labor’s products will under a high range of prices pay more debt, taxes and railroad charges than it will under a low range of prices. The burdens of the people of the United States are great. National, State couu- ty and city taxes amount to one billion and two hundred million dollars every year; the railroads collect over a billion dollars a year. The interest paid by the people annually amounts to not less than a billion dollars every year. This is a terrible burden and no man can es oape shouldering more or less of it. The fairly well to do man gets it the hard est, though he may not owe a dollar. He is able to buy aud ou everything he buys there is interest on money aud railroad charges iu the price; he has property to be taxed. He may not see the burden and be unconscioas that he is bearing it, but it may drag him down as it has unllious of others. The stu pendous amount of the principal of the people’s debts which most all are strug gling to and hope some day to be able to pay, represents probably one-third of the value of all the property in the United States. The overtowering im portance of the volume of money can be realized when it is considered that every contraction of the volume in increases the burdeu aud every expan sion lightens it. An issue of currency which would double the money volume would reduce the burden of debt one half That is to say, oue-half the labor aud products it now requires tc pay a fixed amount would pay it. Such a reduction in the burdens of the people would bring immense prosperity. No strong arm would be in enforced idle ness. Billions and billions of dollars worth of labor and labor’s products that people now desire to but cannot get would be purchased. The whole na tion would be one busy, happy scene. The refiuement and other blessings brought by prosperity would be visible everywhere. Did you ever uotice a very, very poor but worthy family come into the possession of a small inheri tance after years of struggle to keep the wolf from the door? How they be came encouraged to try to be somebody, what interest they began to take in education, how well-fitting clothes brought them out, and how their old acquaintances gave them so much more attention and actually offered them substantial favors? A reasonable amount of property certainly has a most peneficial effect. The present is a struggle for a bare existence by three fourths of all the families in the United States, among which, if they had fair incomes, would be developed tho lead ers of invention, of science, art, true statesmanship, and progress generally. The road to prosperity and fortune is plain. The government should forth with issue- and put in circulation enough full legal tender paper money to bring about an equitable level of prices. The Difference Between Democracy And Popu lism. Dr. Henry B FAY says: On the fol lowing points of vital interest tho Chi cago platform is si’ent. On all the same points the Populist platform ex presses its positive and emphatic ap proval: 1. The initiative and referendum. 2 Election of president and vice pres ident and United States senators by di rect vote of the people. 3. All public salaries correspond to the price of labor and its products. 4. That idle labor should be employed on public works in time of depression. 5. Disapproval of the scheme for re funding the debts of the Pacific railroad company and demanding the execution of the law on that subject. 6. Establishment of the postal savings banks. 7. Condemus the excessive grants of land to corporations. 8. That private monopoly of land and alien ownership should be prohibited by law. Plutocracy has two wings to its army. One wing is always performing, the other is always promising. Which ev er one of these wings happens to bo out, does the promising: the one that is in does the performing. The two wings are the republican and democratic par ties. The combined money power voted the republican ticket in 1880. The combined money power voted the democratic ticket iu 1884. The combined money power voted the republican ticket in 1888. The combined money power voted the democratic ticket in 1892. The combined money power voted the republican ticket in 1896. In 1900 the office seeking fusionists and free silver republicans will again alternate to the democratic party. Democracy canuot succeed without the eastern and southern’ democrats. These constitute two thirds of the dem ocratic party and will be the tools of Wall street fully as much as the repub licans. The records of congress show that as mauy democrats as republicans have al ways voted against our principles even on the money question; that both are profuse in promising the dear people all sorts of relief before election and as freely breaking their promises after electiou. Wall street tries to frighten the un thanking voters, by picturing Brvan as a destroyingradical; The truth is they are not afraid of Bryau, but of the strug gling spirit of the masses behind him, which spirit Bryan conspicuously fails to represents by raising a olamor abont “sixteen to one,” and keeping larger and more vital questions iu the back ground. I can beconslnsively proved that fus ion means the destruction of the People’s party, because the democrats have for much self respect to fuse where they are strong by themselves. They advocate fusion only where they need voters from other parties to hely them into of fice. During the 16 years that the demo crats had controll of the house they suc ceeded iu defeating 20 free silver bills; and for the four years they were in con trol of the senate they knocked 15 free silver bills in the head. Under a democratic administration $262,000,000 in bonds were issued in time of peace. We have challenged democratic re peatedly to point out one siugle cardinal principle of their party, as announced in their platform, and backed by their record in congress, that is at the same time, one of the fundamental principles of the People’s party. They should stop their hypocritical pretense that the de mocrats and Populist are working for the same principles. If they honestly believe that the principles of both par ties agee, why do they insist that the anion must be under their name? A Christian citizen is not merely a man who happens to be a citizen and also makes a profession of Christianity. A Christian citizen is one whose Christian ity controls his citizenship, who carries the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount to the ballot box, who uses his citizensnip in accordance with the prin ciples of Christianity. A Christian citi zen ernnot give his ballot for the sup port of men measures through which his fellow men will be wronged or op pressed.—The New Era. To Be Prosecuted. A young man by the name of Mark Duster, and who made his headquarters in and around Winder last winter and claimed to represent a jewelry company in New York, has been arrested by the government authorities and is before the United States court or commissioner to-day in Atlanta charged with using the mails for fraudulent purposes: He advertised to sell watches at bargain prices and flooded the mails from this point last winter with circulars offering great inducements to those in need of a watch, These circulars it seems were sent to parties mostly in Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. It was noc long before he began to receive registered letters and money orders from those states and postmaster Smith was kept quite busy turning the money over to Mark Dosier. Iu a few months he be gan to get letters of enquiry from parties who had sent money to Doster for watches but who had never received them. This aroused suspicion and Doster left for parts unknown. This week he was located and arrested by detective and deputy postmaster West brook of our city and the postmaster at Hoschtou were ordered to be iu Atlan ta to day as witnesses for the govern ment in the case. THE HUGE SWINDLE. HOW WE ARE BUNKOED BY JOHN BULL AND HIS ASSISTANTS. The True und Terrible Meaning: of the Treasury Reports on Imports and Exports—Our Heavy I.oss Since 1873 Caused hy Debts. Flavius J. Van Vorhis of Indianapo lis has prepared for the Omaha Noncon formist a valuable table from United States treasury reports relating to our exports and imports. With the table he presented an article of rare interest, from which the following is taken: The New York and Washington press dispatches and trade reports are con stantly assuring the public that our commercial relations with foreign coun tries are satisfactory and that the trade balances are favorable to us. So often have these assertions been repeated by members of congress and others in high positions that a denial is received in astonishment. The president lately repeated the assurances in Bos ton. Not long ago a committee of the “American Economic association,” in a report made reference to “a favorable trade balance of exceptional amount.' It is not surprising that many intel ligent people are amazed and incredu lous when it is stated that this is not only not true, but that our relations with foreign countries are producing results that are unsatisfactory and trade balances that are unfavorable. The table made from treasury reports, covering a period from the earliest rec ords to Dec. 31, 1898, is a conclusive demonstration of the unsatisfactory condition of our business with the peo ple of other countries. It shows that the balances are now and have been for more than 25 years enormously against ns. Exports and imports are reported un der three heads In a letter from the treasury department it is said: “The tables of gold and silver and merchandise cover the entire field of ex ports and imports. There is no legal way in which anything can be exported or imported not shown in these tables. ” I have taken from these three tables the annual excess of exports and lm porta ancT from them caTcnlafeJ (im balance for each year. The table ther* fore ehows under three headings— chandise, gold, silver—the annual bal ance of each division and the annual excess of all exports and importa The public mind has been, by reiter ated statements, confused about what ij and is not a favorable balance. Intelli gent writers have added to the confn sion by failing to indicate the difference between a balance that represents some thing sold on credit, paid out for ex penses or lost, and a balance that repre sents something received and in posses sion, such as a cash or merchandise bal ance. A merchant who sells on credit will show in his accounts that someone owes him for goods with which he has parted. It is a debt in his favor, but as a balance it indicates that he must re ceive that amount to make good what will otherwise be a loss. An article sold is parted with just as really as an arti cle destroyed and charged to loss. It has been the custom to speak of an excess of exports as a balance favorable and of an excess of imports as a balance unfavorable. This is to regard an ex port as always a credit extended and an import as always a debt contracted. Everything is lost sight of except that one debt is to be paid to us and the oth er to be paid by us. Such a view is fal lacious and misleading. The criterion by which the business success of the country must be judged is the accumu lation by production or importation of wealth within the country. It is an ab surd proposition that our wealth is be ing increased by foreign trade while ex ports exceed the imports. It is absurd that it will be deci'eased when the im ports exceed our exports. An American citizen having mer chandise and money metals exports them, then follows them and remains away. Would this exportation form part of a favorable trade balance? An Englishman having merchandise and money metals sends them to this conn try then comes himself and remains. Would his imported wealth form part of an unfavorable trade balance? If a cargo of merchandise should be shipped at New York and consigned to Liverpool and, instead of reaching that port, should go to the bottom of the Atlantic, it would nevertheless appear in the treasury reports as an export Would it be a gain? Would it forru a part of a satisfactory balance? Suppose it reached the port and was sold on credit, would it add anything to the wealth of this country until the debt was paid? It is self evident that a country gains in foreign trade by what comes into it and not by what goes out of it; that it loses by what goes out of it, not by what comes into it. It is impossible to make any explanation of the excess of exports over imports between June 30, 1873, and Dec. 31, 1898, that will make it appear that it constitutes a favorable trade balance or disguise the fact that it represents a loss of national wealth. The method of reasoning that can con vert this loss of wealth into a national blessing will be a curiosity in logic. Comparatively few people seem to understand the influence upon the trade between two countries exerted by debts held in one against the people of the other. In commerce between two na tions with no debts and incurring none exports and imports will be equal. They must be equal. An indebtedness in curred must necessarily be by an im port into the country incurring it. If such a debt brings nothing of value to the nation, adds nothing to its wealth, every dollar of it, when paid, will be a loss. If a cargo of merchandise is pur chased in Europe on credit by one of our citizens when imported, it will rep resent the debt incurred by him and he an addition to the fiational wealth. If lost on the ocean in transportation, tha debt will ii exist, but will be with out an equivalent import. The loss of the cargo will not decrease our aggre gate of wealth, but the payment of the debt by exportation will. This country has incurred a large in debtedness, public and private, in for eign countries since 1860. The very best authority has put the amount at not less than $5,000,000,000. Therein practically no difference of opinion con cerning this as the minimum. Some in vestigators have placed the amount as high as $8,000,000,000. There can be no doubt that if this country has incurred so large an in debtedness in foreign countries, the ex cess of the debts we have incurred over the credits we have extended ought to be the measure of our excess of imports over exports. The reports of the treas ury department show that from Jnne 30, 1860, to Dec. 81, 1898, there is not a single dollar of imports to account for the existence of this vast debt Not a single dollar has been added to onr aggregate wealth by it. Every dollar of it has been and still is a draft upon onr national resources without a single dol lar of benefit in the past or to be ex pected in the future. It must be p®" by exporting the products of our shops our fields and our mines. When a man contracts a debt for a horse or a house, he ought to have a horse or a house to show for it. Other wise the debt will be as barren of bene fit to him as a debt contracted at a gambling table. So. if our nation ai ■ Continued to page 7,