Show I WHERE CONGRESS FAILED The Thc experience of the world has been that nothing nothing noth noth- ing ng more quickly leads to the degradation of men and women u than to have hR through b some calamity great hosts bosts of men and women who have haye been receiving steady wages suddenly thrown out of employment I and kept idle for a long time That class of people have haye hand with enforced never a large surplus on n J idleness that little surplus quickly melts away and n then the desperate problem of how to live from day dayto to da day is presented and thousands quickly break breakdown breakdown down flown or in desperation become criminals That is what came last autumn with the crash and aud succeeding succeeding succeeding succeed succeed- ing 7 depression and while there is much published in inthe the the eastern press of the resumption of business the candid journals declare that the army pf pr the unemployed unemployed I is still numbered by hundreds of thousands When one thinks s of the children to be fed of the distracted father and mothers of young women who arc self dependent and have no wa way to earn cam a living it it is not hard to realize what the suffering must be le bo both physically and mentally and that the effect upon upon upon up up- on society is utterly l demoralizing That is wh why we think congress utterly failed in J its work last winter We Ve do not recall one speech m made de by any member that depicted the real situation or the immediate duty of the lawmaking power The depression was not like that of 1893 In that year rear there was no money moner in the country Last year when the shock came there were hundreds of millions locked in strong boxes b by timid men who had hud withdrawn withdrawn withdrawn with with- drawn their money from the banks through fear It was a clear case that something should be done to so reinforce the money volume as to restore confidence At that time THE TELEGRAM r pointed out the trouble and suggested that the government go issue in bonds drawing 1 or 1 per cent in interest interest interest in- in terest the bonds to be used as money passing from hand to hand and redeemable ble in gold after ten years With th this s money to start needed neede l public works to give the unemployed a chance to lo earn a living and andI I reasoned that with that done there would be such a revival that the ho hoarded money would be returned to legitimate b channels Congress spent the w winter in debating elastic currency propositions all having interest Interest In- In terest bearing securities behind them as their basis L of of credit but effort made not one was to immediately break the depression Congress failed to grasp its duties last winter |