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This newspaper page contains 21 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Kansas Agitator
Location
Garnett, Kansas, United States of America
Date
Jan 29, 1897
Page
3
A poem-era meditation compares the world to a loom guided by a Heavenly Weaver. It describes nations and leaders moving up and down, as strings and shuttles cross the web. The piece foresees a final finish bringing truth, history, and a destined golden age.
In Washington Representative Maguire of Lanfarms introduces H. 2763 to create a postal telegraph system operated with the post office under the postmaster general. It envisions 10 cent first ten words, 5 cent per additional ten, nationwide, with 10 15 and 20 cent cards. Money orders to extend to the new system, with $50 maximum per telegraph order. Opposing telegraph monopolies vow costly resistance.
Secretary Treasurer Barter of the International Longshoremen's Association laments the AFL convention's failure to fund unskilled labor. He cites a $1000 tilt toward labeled unions, warns of a possible federation split, and predicts decisive action at the next meeting.
Topeka reports Labor Commissioner Wa. G. Bird plans a push to rigidly enforce the eight hour law across Kansas. Details indicate preparations to begin a sensational campaign to ensure compliance.
In a pretrial move a prosecutor prepares a criminal case against leading Kansas and Kansas City contractors. Months of work yield drawn papers, secured evidence, ready affidavits, and witnesses. The 1891 law mandates eight hour workdays on state, county, and city projects with penalties of $60 to $1,000 fines or 30 days to six months imprisonment.
A review of Amosi Warner’s American Charities summarizes that poverty chiefly stems from death in families of the poor. Unemployment, lack of work, and intemperance are major factors with varying degrees. The analysis claims to be scientifically gathered by careful investigators and argues intemperance is not the dominant cause in most cases.
Veteran labor leader argues during a council session as suspension of an assistant superintendent is discussed. He recalls a sharp speaker who swayed delegates with damning printed materials and secured unanimous endorsement before being fired.
Columbus Ohio dispatch notes Captain William R Ramsey, a Columbus native and veteran, seeks the public printer post under the Mellnley administration. He held a government printing job in Washington until the McKinley era, is respalded by influential Ohioans, and his qualifications are urged for special consideration.
Representatives from twenty five chair manufacturers met in Milwaukee to form the Wisconsin Anti-Convict Labor association. They adopted resolutions condemning convict labor in competition with free labor at state and county institutions and urged authorities to end the practice. M Mann was chosen president and C Mayhew secretary treasurer.
Traveling salesmen prosper in England while domestic machinery aids efficiency. Barbers plan a Syracuse New York convention in January to push legislation for licensing workers. Andrew Carnegie promises three libraries for workers at Homestead Duquesne and Carnegie costing 250000 each. Victorian railways replace station attendants as over 200 women now handle posts with salaries around 100 annually. Herral Coke and Coal miners in Newsomis, ens strike, rejecting company weighsman reports, with tensions reflecting Coal Creek district unrest.
The Reform Press notes the National Reform Frees Association's seventh annual meeting planned for February 22, 1897 in Memphis. A Reform Proxy of the United States is to meet on Washington's Birthday in Memphis, with broad Southern hospitality and strong local support from the Mechanical Association, Merchants' Exchange, Memphis Typothets, and Cotton Exchange. A regional excursion for northern and western friends to see the region is proposed after the session.
Essay by Charles Sumner reflecting on the danger of adulation for courts. He cites Socrates, Jesus, Galileo, and English and colonial tribunals to warn that judicial bodies have deceived history and harmed liberty. He condemns tyranny aided by legal authority and laments current fugitive slave laws and coal interests.
A wave of criticism targets a funding bill tied to Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads. The text accuses the government of refinancing fraud through bonds and permetrates a two thirds excess, arguing the measure would enshrine wealth for robbers while punishing taxpayers. It urges the attorney general to prosecute malefactors as felons.
The St Louis Evening Journal accuses Hon. Thomas B. Reed of Maine of using his House leadership to favor Huntington and his railroad allies. It claims Reed appointed committees and a harbor commission to back Huntington’s interests, opposing a San Pedro harbor as the water front owner Pacific coast octopus. The piece warns the funding bill hearing in January will test Reed’s stance amid Navy officers chosen for the commission.
The speaker denounces repeated assurances from moneyed interests and newspaper syndicates that Sherman era reforms would bring better days. Claims misleaders lied through seasons of fall and spring, blaming crops and overproduction, culminating in McKinley era “restoration of confidence” and lingering public discontent.
A 1890s editorial argues that major voting irregularities may have influenced the presidential outcome. It cites Senator Jones and Senator Allen pushing for inquiry into alleged fraud by Hanna managers, comparing state by state vote shifts in 1892 and 1896 and questioning how pivotal states showed large gains. The piece speculates on conspiracy, campaign finance and the stability of McKinley’s proclaimed prosperity.
A San Pranchivo Argus summary notes widespread economic failures despite an Advance Prophet of Prosperity. It critiques Cleveland's tenure and anticipates McKinley’s leadership, hoping Republican promises will restore confidence. It cites the American Economist December 25 review claiming magical restoration of commercial activity after the election.
A flood of financial collapses cascades across the nation. Richmond banks face distress as Security Mortgage and Trust fails. Dallas firm also fails. Salt Lake brokers liquidate. Independence bank enters voluntary liquidation. Minneapolis’ Scandia Bank suspends payments. Laconia Car Company petitioned into involuntary insolvency. Columbus and Hocking Valley Coal assets pass to a receiver. Sioux City dry goods firms falter. Auburn’s American Banking and Trust closes floors. Chicago machine and boiler works fail. combined assets and liabilities near forty thousand dollars for several individuals. Calumet Bank at Big Island shows deficits. a Fort Wayne dry goods house places receivership. Georgetown Boot and Shoe workers strike over wages.
The Colorado legislature will meet in January to unanimously reelect Senator Henry M Teller, uniting Republicans Democrats Populists Independents and a lone McKinley Republican. They back free coinage of gold and silver at 1 to 16, viewing Teller as the embodiment of that policy. Waldorf supports McKinsey and the St Louis platform, likely naming federal appointees.
A Clay County resident north of Smithville has mounted a red glass-front box on his farm gate post. The box displays yellow books with the inscription Coin’s Financial School. Passersby are invited to insert 10 cents and take a book, with the collection reportedly supported by readers who deposit dimes as they take a volume.
A New York Tribune quip notes a husband describes his wife’s morning worry as she forgot the troubling thought from the night before. The joke hinges on memory lapse and light domestic humor from period press.
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