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The Death of Senator Zebulon Baird Vance

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Senator Zebulon Baird Vance​

The State of Carolina is morning today following the loss of Senator Zebulon Baird Vance who had represented the State of North Carolina in the United States Senate since 1879. The Senator also served as the Governor of North Carolina twice, first in 1862-1865 and again in 1877-1879. It fell to the Governor of North Carolina Elias Carr. Being a moderate and a farmer, Governor Carr selected the respected planter Lucius Braxton Shaw as the replacement for the deceased Senator for the remainder of his term in office - which will expire in 1896.
 
A tragic day for the Senate and the great state of North Carolina, may God grant him rest. As for the current bill I must say vote Nay, I do not wish to see our nation become an Imperial power, and this I believe is the first step to such an action.

~Charles A. Beauregard of Louisiana, President Pro Tempore
 
It is an extreme honor that I, Lucius Braxton Shaw, be chosen to represent the humble state of North Carolina within our Federal Senate. I hope that I may serve these United States in a manner befitting a true Patriot, and successor to the deceased, God rest his soul, Senator Vance.

Onto business. I cannot in good faith support a bill that seeks to expend money extracted from the American People's pockets in pursuit of a militarist expansion, especially against some perceived threat. We experience the boon of God's Will with the serenity of the American continent, far from the shores of Imperialism and Old World Hunger. The Atlantic Ocean separates us from would-be boogeymen, and as such, we are safe. Thus, there is no need for such expenses. I vote NAY. Let us instead work towards a peaceful and profitable future, not a bloody one.

- Senator Lucius Braxton Shaw
 
240px-US_Vice_President_Seal.svg.png

Vice President of the United States​

In regards to the Naval Modernization and Expansion Bill of 1893 I vote yes.

Zebulon. T Abernathy
Vice President of the United States
 
In my power as the Speaker of the House, I hereby present this budget for discussion by the House:

The Congressional Budget for the Year 1893

I: 68 million shall be devoted to the United States Navy.
II: 11 million shall be devoted to the maintenance and discretionary use by the United States Army
III: 135 million shall be spent maintaining the benefits to United States veterans.
IV: 77.5 million shall be devoted to the upkeep of the operations of the United States Postal Service
V: 110 million shall be set aside for matter essential to the government that are not mentioned
VI: 30 million shall be devote to the maintenance of and the gradual repayment of minor debts​
Click to expand...

~ Charles F. Crisp​
 
I thank my fellow Republicans for my unanimous election to House Minority Leader. I hope to serve the interests of this nation, and this party, through what times lie ahead. My first duty as Minority Leader is to take a look at the budget proposed by our Honorable Speaker. I applaud the increase in benefits to our veterans and to the navy. I do have some questions though. Do the naval budget increases fully account for the cost of the recent Naval Modernization and Expansion Act? Does the Speaker have a plan for increase in revenue, or does he plan to spend the surplus to pay for this? I hope we can work together on this, and once again I look forward to working with you all.
-House Minority Leader Andrew Hawkin
((ascension to House Minority Leader was approved by Keld))
 
United States House of Representatives
Speech by William Jennings Bryan​

Gentlemen of the House;

I can only but decry the recent decisions taken by this body towards the expansion of our own Naval Army. The race by which we have entered into now takes us forward towards the lasting cause of Imperialism that we have now taken ourselves to be chained to. The failure of a Democratic body to forgo the evils of this dictatorial path shall see themselves at the forefront of the bitter reaction against it by a free peoples, who wish to not see the militarisation and rampant destruction of life and liberty, but the expansion of Democracy and Freedom. By that measure, the recent annexation of Hawaii shows the power of the United States in dealing with the spread of our righteous ideals through the measures of peace, not the measures of war.

In this extent, we can only expect an equal action against us towards the expansion of military aims of those who shall feel the threat of the United States of America pressing upon them. To these people, we shall see this expansion as a threat to ourselves, and again this body shall pass yet another law in an endless cycle of militarisation, and the ignorant pursuit of a strong and firm peace, which had existed before this dire road upon which we now embark on.

The recently proposed budget as well does little to solve the fears of those who may think of this nation as a bellicose and destructive. Our own focus now seems to shift abroad, seeking for ourselves a monster to destroy with our own weaponry. The power of the economic might of this country sent into the procurement of arms and the destruction of our own prosperity. The budget, if anything, is little more than a promotion of these ideals, and has begun to ignore the needs of our own internal nature. The procurement of military goods ignores the needs of the economic engine of this nation, which rests solely within our own rural population. Since our inception, we have been an agrarian people, at peace with the world abroad, and seeking the promotion of the unity of the Union. Only destroyed once, the War which had followed it was devastating.

To search for a better position at home, to seek the betterment and improvement of our own national upbringing and our own nation, we establish the due diligence and governance that we would wish to see, and show the special place which resides within these borders, a Free nation, not one that is chained to the ways of the Old World.

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William Edward George, always known as a bit eccentric, stands on a stump to give a speech in Portland Market

Men, Women, Children, Citizens of the United States all. Listen to my words and heed my warning!

The United States is starting down the road to Imperialism! First the annexation of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, and now the expansion of our navy? Shall we next try to attempt an American Empire on which the Sun never sets? Shall we soon use our new found powers to oppress the Asiatics across the sea and be their "guiding light to civilisation"?

I say NO! Our nation is built on the hardworking efforts of people like you and me, who see the Shining Light of Liberty here and come to find the American Dream. We come here, poor, starving and many times alone to find our true home, happiness and heart. This is what we should focus on, bringing true hardworking families like ourselves from Britain, France and Germany to America to prove to the world our Dream is neither false nor weak.

We need to promote domestic, private growth. We need to promote Western expansion, so that more people, more wealth and more heart can be seen in the Western States.

We need to show the world the true prowess of these United States. Not through Expansionism and Imperialism like the European Tyrannies we left, but through economic growth and industrial dominance.

Thank you.
 
The Panic of 1893

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The New York Stock Exchange​

Many American’s had invested heavily in Argentina in recent years following encouragement by the Argentine agent bank, Baring Brothers. A failure in the Argentine wheat crop and a coup d’état in Buenos Aires halted further investment in the South American nation. The collapse of the Argentine market precipitated a run on gold, as investors cashed in their investments. Additionally, many of the nation’s railroads were over extended, with greater expenses than revenues. The new silver mines in the West further compounded the problem as the flood of silver into the market cause silver prices to fall. Finally, farmers were facing hard times, particularly those farming wheat and cotton, as a result of a decline in prices for agricultural products.

However, it was the confluence of two events that drove the panic. The first was the bankruptcy of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, which was greatly overextended. The second was the Treasury crisis that resulted from the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which required the United States Government to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver per month, which was costing the Federal Government over $69 million per year. The silver sold to the Treasury was bought with a special issue of Treasury (Coin) Notes that were able to be redeemed for Gold or Silver, which caused many to redeem these notes for gold, further depleting the Treasury’s gold reserves.

As the crisis deepened, people rushed to withdraw their funds from the banks, causing bank runs. Across the nation over 200 bank closed their doors and 5000 business have failed thus far. The New York Bank of Mausche & Co, weathered this run well given its rather conservative position, boosting confidence in the bank. This in turn created a credit crunch, further depressing the national economy. Finally, a financial panic in the United Kingdom and a drop in European trade lead to many foreign investors selling off American stocks to obtain gold.

Unemployment is also spiking with rates hitting 15% in Pennsylvania, 23% in New York, and 33% in Michigan. It is expected that unemployment rates will continue to grow.
 


Stock Market​
Market Health: Bear
DOW Jones Index: $30.19
US Treasury Bond Interest Rate: 1.63%
Silver: 0.82 $/oz
Gold: 20.67 $/oz
USD to GBP: 0.2008 £/$


Stock Chart​

Stocks_1893_2.png


DOW Index (price per share)
American Cotton Oil (ACO): $1.36
American Sugar Refining (ASR): $2.00
American Tobacco (AT): $4.92
Chicago Gas (CG): $2.32
Distilling & Cattle Feeding Co (DCF): $1.86
General Electric Co (GE): $1.34
Laclede Gas Light Co (LGL): $3.36
National Lead (NL): $4.08
North American Co (NA): $0.75
Tennessee Coal Iron & Railroad Co (TCIR): $4.33
US Leather (preferred; USL): $2.27
US Rubber (USR): $1.60

Other Stocks
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (PRR): $2.55
National Cordage Company (NCC): $3.06
Northern Pacific Railway (NPR): $1.47
Union Pacific Railroad (UPC): $2.31
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (ATSR): $1.70
House of Morgan (HM): $22.78
Pullman Co (P): $5.44
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (DRGR): $2.74
Standard Oil (SO): $2.13
Colt Manufacturing Company (CMC): $4.42
George & Sons Pulp and Paper Company (G&S): $12.12

GM Notice: I will need people's individual orders by the end of the day Friday the 25th. Also note that the stocks will likely fall even further...
 
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Jackdaniel.jpg

Name: Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel
Profession: Whiskey Distiller/Senator
Political Affiliation: Democrat
Age: 43
Home State: Tennessee

Net Worth: $8,870,000.00
Cash on Hand: $146,069.5
Debt: $40,045.6
Companies: Jack Daniels Whiskey
Political Clout: 0.1
 
William turns to his associate during the beginning of the 1893 panic.

Well, time to buy up rediculously cheap stocks. Always a good thing to grab.
 
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and Fellow Americans:

The existence of an alarming and extraordinary business situation, involving the welfare and prosperity of all our people, has constrained me to call together in extra session the people's representatives in Congress, to the end that through a wise and patriotic exercise of the legislative duty, with which they solely are charged, present evils may be mitigated and dangers threatening the future may be averted.

Our unfortunate financial plight is not the result of untoward events nor of conditions related to our natural resources, nor is it traceable to any of the afflictions which frequently check national growth and prosperity. With plenteous crops, with abundant promise of remunerative production and manufacture, with unusual invitation to safe investment, and with satisfactory assurance to business enterprise, suddenly financial distrust and fear have sprung up on every side. . . . Values supposed to be fixed are fast becoming conjectural, and loss and failure have invaded every branch of business.

I believe these things are principally chargeable to Congressional legislation touching the purchase and coinage of silver by the General Government.

This legislation is embodied in a statute passed on the 14th day of July, 1890, which was the culmination of much agitation on the subject involved, and which may be considered a truce, after a long struggle, between the advocates of free silver coinage and those intending to be more conservative. .

This law provides that in payment for the 4,500,000 ounces of silver bullion which the Secretary of the Treasury is commanded to purchase monthly there shall be issued Treasury notes redeemable on demand in gold or silver coin, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, and that said notes may be reissued. It is, however, declared in the act to be

"the established policy of the United States to maintain the two metals on a parity with each other upon the present legal ratio or such ratio as may be provided by law."
This declaration so controls the action of the Secretary of the Treasury as to prevent his exercising the discretion nominally vested in him if by such action the parity between gold and silver may be disturbed. Manifestly a refusal by the Secretary to pay these Treasury notes in gold if demanded would necessarily result in their discredit and depreciation as obligations payable only in silver, and would destroy the parity between the two metals by establishing a discrimination in favor of gold.

The policy necessarily adopted of paying these notes in gold has not spared the gold reserve of $100,000,000 long ago set aside by the Government for the redemption of other notes, for this fund has already been subjected to the payment of new obligations amounting to about $150,000,000 on account of silver purchases, and has as a consequence for the first time since its creation been encroached upon.

We have thus made the depletion of our gold easy and have tempted other and more appreciative nations to add it to their stock. .

Unless Government bonds are to be constantly issued and sold to replenish our exhausted gold, only to be again exhausted, it is apparent that the operation of the silver-purchase law now in force leads in the direction of the entire substitution of silver for the gold in the Government Treasury, and that this must be followed by the payment of all Government obligations in depreciated silver. Grover Cleveland

At this stage gold and silver must part company and the Government must fail in its established policy to maintain the two metals on a parity with each other. Given over to the exclusive use of a currency greatly depreciated according to the standard of the commercial world, we could no longer claim a place among nations of the first class, nor could our Government claim a performance of its obligation, so far as such an obligation has been imposed upon it, to provide for the use of the people the best and safest money.

If, as many of its friends claim, silver ought to occupy a larger place in our currency and the currency of the world through general international cooperation and agreement, it is obvious that the United States will not be in a position to gain a hearing in favor of such an arrangement so long as we are willing to continue our attempt to accomplish the result single-handed. . .

The people of the United States are entitled to a sound and stable currency and to money recognized as such on every exchange and in every market of the world. Their Government has no right to injure them by financial experiments opposed to the policy and practice of other civilized states, nor is it justified in permitting an exaggerated and unreasonable reliance on our national strength and ability to jeopardize the soundness of the people's money.

This matter rises above the plane of party politics. It vitally concerns every business and calling and enters every household in the land. There is one important aspect of the subject which especially should never be overlooked. At times like the present, when the evils of unsound finance threaten us, the speculator may anticipate a harvest gathered from the misfortune of others, the capitalist may protect himself by hoarding or may even find profit in the fluctuations of values; but the wage earner-the first to be injured by a depreciated currency and the last to receive the benefit of its correction-is practically defenseless. He relies for work upon the ventures of confident and contented capital. This failing him, his condition is without alleviation, for he can neither prey on the misfortunes of others nor hoard his labor. .

It is of the utmost importance that such relief as Congress can afford in the existing situation be afforded at once. The maxim "He gives twice who gives quickly" is directly applicable. It may be true that the embarrassments from which the business of the country is suffering arise as much from evils apprehended as from those actually existing. We may hope, too, that calm counsels will prevail, and that neither the capitalists nor the wage earners will give way to unreasoning panic and sacrifice their property or their interests under the influence of exaggerated fears. Nevertheless, every day's delay in removing one of the plain and principal causes of the present state of things enlarges the mischief already done and increases the responsibility of the Government for its existence. Whatever else the people have a right to expect from Congress, they may certainly demand that legislation condemned by the ordeal of three years' disastrous experience shall be removed from the statute books as soon as their representatives can legitimately deal with it.

It was my purpose to summon Congress in special session early in the coming September, that we might enter promptly upon the work of tariff reform, which the true interests of the country clearly demand, which so large a majority of the people, as shown by their stiffrages, desire and expect, and to the accomplishment of which every effort of the present Administration is pledged. But while tariff reform has lost nothing of its immediate and permanent importance and must in the near future engage the attention of Congress, it has seemed to me that the financial condition of the country should at once and before all other subjects be considered by your honorable body.

I earnestly recommend the prompt repeal of the provisions of the act passed July 14, 1890, authorizing the purchase of silver bullion, and that other legislative action may put beyond all doubt or mistake the intention and the ability of the Government to fulfill its pecuniary obligations in money universally recognized by all civilized countries.
 
((as you may see i have been really busy and showing no love t this game which is unfair to caledonia, and so i must resign from it, thanks for the game, was fun))
 
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