The Man Or Woman Who Contrasts

present conditions unuer President McKinley and the Republican administration with those of four years ago under a Democratie President and Congress will realize to some extent the value of Republican methods as compared with those of the Democratie party. Pour years ago banks and business houses were tumbling in every direction, and the people were confronted with low prices, flnancial panic, and general depression, yet the Democracy did not nothing except to acid to the deprsssion and distress by passing a tariff act whioh closed thousands of faetones and threw hundreds of thousands of men and women out of employment. The present administration has given new Ufe to the country with its tariff law, its prompt action on international bimetallism, and there is prospect that the Secretary of the Treasury will present to Congress when it meets in its regular session a curreney meaBUre which will 'insure sound money and continued prosiierity and safety to business interest and working men and women. "Bradstreets, " which is recognized as a most conservative publication, summarizesthe business situation. "1. That the crops are good. "2. That the price of wheat and cotton has so groatly advanced as to pour scores of millions of dollars in the laps of the farmers, while the price of other Staples has advanced in sympathy with these. "3. That short crops m Europe, India, and Argentina assure a continuance of these high prices during the market season. "4. That mercbants everywhere are replenishing their stocks of goods as they have not done for several years pa=t. "5. That in consequence railroad earnings everywhere show improvement. u(5. That there are already signs of revival in industry, tile manufacturera beginniDg to anticípate the new demaud for goodp. '7. That our exports for the last year have been eo enormously in excess of our imports as to make us vcry heavily a creditor nation - a condition that does not guarantee prosperity but tends strongly to help it. "8. That there is everywhere atnons the farmers a feeling of hopefulness which has not existed for several years past." Mr. Bryan is notrepeatinglris little joke about the absence of "General Prosperity" these days. Nor is he saying anythins; about wheat and silver keeping pace with each other in the markets of tbe world. The recent cali for a conference of silver leaders is understood to be for the purposo of deciding how they shall explain the fact that wheat has advaneed 23 cents per bushei while silver has fallen '10 cents per ounce. The managers of the silver party have called off ex-candidate Bryan' pending further developments. If silver continúes to go down they recog;nize the fact that they will have to find a new hobby, and they think it unwise for Bryan to harp on the silver string any longer. Those silver Senators who have just left for the Oriënt to study tho silver question should make liaste in the accomplishment of their task. Ju pan has already gone to the gold Standard and China should take the same step while they are there, it would be embarrassing to them. Farmers of the West aro uow liaviug as much difficulty ia gettiug f reight cars to remove tfcieir crops as they wcre a couple of yearago in getting cropa to put into the freight eai-s. Thousánds upoa thousaeds of fieight cre which have been standing; Idle siace tho sumraer of 1893 are now ruihing day and night to oarry the abundant cropá of tho West, for which advanced prices are being obtalned, despite the f act that sil ver has steaciily fallón meantime. In another column we publish acommunication from Mr. Sedgwick Daan concerning the question of building a stdewalk on First street along the lino of the Ann Arbor depot grounds. Mr. Dean takes exception to the position taken by The Register last week. We fail to be fully persuaded by Mr. Dean's article that we are not right in the position we took however. He asks usto "look the matter upandinform the public what property the railroad is renting and what amount of income it derives from such rentáis." From Mr. Dean himself we have learnod that the railroad has a contract with Clark and Bassett, coal dealers, to furnish the latter the use of land upon which to build sheds, in consideraron oí Clark and Bassett's shipping all their coal over the Ann Arbor road. We admit that this is a little different from the usual manner af renting property but m faet it amounts to the same thing. In other words the rail road says, if you will give us so much cash business, we will furnish you the use of certain grounds. Our correspondent says farther that the Ann Arbor road made this city a freight point upon an equal footing with Jackson and Detroit, and then adds that over fifty citizens oí this city gave over ftfty thousand dollars to induce the road to como here. Tho facl is that the people along the route practicaily built the road and therefore owe nothing in favors to the present company for the fact that we have such a road. In reality the obligation is on the other side, henee The Register believes that no special consideration should be shown the company that is not shown to private citizens. The contention, also, that the üon of "Ann Arbor" as the name by wliich the road should be known was an act of magninimity on the part of the railroad company is one to which there are two sldes. We are very decidedly of the opinión that, while the use of the name of our city as the name of the road is a valuable advertisement for Ann Arbor, it is also one equally or even more valuable to the company, and that it was for this reason that the name was chosen. If silver goes oq declining during the next three years at the rate which it has declined during the last twelvc months, Mr. Bryan in 1900 will have to argüe for about a ten-cent dollar. The valuc of the metal In a silver dollar is but about 44 cents now, while a year ago it was 53 cents. Yet the inconsiötency of proposing to permit people to pass 53 cents' worth of silver for a dollar is not so much less than a similar proposition with reference to 10 cents' worth of metal when the principie of the thing is taken into consideration. President McKinley eeems to have taken the St. Louis convention and the 7 milliong t voters who supportcd its platform at their word. That covention declarad that the civil service law was placed on the statue books by the Republican party and that the party renewed its "ropeated declarations that it should be thoroughlv and honestly eníorced and extended wherever practicable." That Í9 what the President did by hi3 recent civil service order prohibiting tbe removal of men ana womon from position9 excopt upon written charges and permitting them to have an opportunity to reply to these charges wherever made. While the order has displeased many who had hoped to see faithful officials removed in order to make places for tliem, it has strengthened the one weak spot in the civil service and is thus commended by those whose only interest is the welfare of the nation and the party.