The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-02-28
TIE SILVER GOSPEL.
ur. Thomas Ewing Ecnrds the Gold. Bugs
In Their Den Text of His specrh
Before TuinuItuOUs 4u.
diencc la Cooper Institute.

monetization in New York city on Fri.
day night, at which Mr.. Ewing was the
only orator, that gentleman said He
had come TO speak of two measures
which hsd passed the house Of represen
tativcs and were at present pending in
the senate One was TO restore the
ancient dollar and make it Just as it used
to be, The other was to repeal the re-
sumption scheiSe. The vast debts of the
world owned outside the countries max
ing them were held by a few German,
or English, and French bondholders
These capitalists always watched with
eager jealousy the production of the
precious metals, knowing that large
production tended to reduce the
purchasing power of their dollars, and
that small production tended to in.
crease it. After Great Britain had
quadrupled her already vast national
d,bt by the NapoleOnic wars her fund
holders demonetizpd silver They did
this for the purpose Of contract
ing the currency and bringing down
values, and making the nation pay
vastly more than il had promised them
But as England was the great gold.pro
ducing power Of the world, svarice came
in this time to their rescue, and helped
them to demonetize silver. From 1903
to 1913 the demonetized dollar increased
in value li3 per rent, aud with that the
bondh0lders were content and TO other
demonctizatiOn was asked for. But when
California and Australia poured their
tide Of gold into the world, lessening its
purchasing power Is per cent, there
arose gleat agitation on the part OF
these bondholders for the demonetizltion
of gold, and Germany did demonetize it.
The production of gold gradually tell off
atterward, while from 1854 to 1870 the
production OF silver doubled. Then
came the agitation on the part of this
same class again, and they succeeded IN
having Germany remOnetize gold and
demonei2e silver because it was getting
cheap. They also got the Latin nations,
consisting of France, Switzerland, Bel
GUM, Wallachia and Moldavia, to restrict
the coinage OF silver, and congress was
convened, which deliberatcd upon the
question Of how to maze the United
States the greatest silver. producing
country in The world, the greatest
debtor nation in the world, cut its own
throat by demonetizing silver They
solved the question somehow ; but how,
we did not know exactly. They got
clause into the innocent coinage act of
| 1873 which nobody suspected, ana which
! did not demonetize or torbid the coinage
Of the old dollar But the commission
who were appointed to codity the laws
inserted in 1874 II provision which torbids
the coiuage OF the old silver dollar. These
commissioners had 10 power to touch
to the extent of hair the meaning Of
any existing statute. They presented
their report TO the senate, and the senate
passea0n it without opening the bundle.
In that bundle was this fraud. For two
years nobody knew anything about it
except the rascals who protited by having
the deed done but now, when the out.
rage had come out into open day and the
people demanded the restoration of the
silver dollar, these men have the afro
cious impudenCc, through their great
organs, the pre:s, to turn upon the
wr0nged and outraged people OF this
country, and represent themselves as
prosecuted saints. Why should not this
wrOng be righted? 1t was said that the
creditor class was to suffer But how
were they to suffer? 1t was said that
silver had deprecated. But how had it
deprecated ? BY this very act Of de-
monetizati0n. 1t had deprecated only
in respect to one commodity that exists
in our land, and that was gold. Take
one Of these disfranchised dollars and it
will buy more by twenty per cent. than
it would in 1874 Who was wronged by
being paid with dollar whose purchas-
ing rower had been rising every moment
since 1t was demonetlzed? The only
thing 1T would not purchase was gold,
because gold was the only money, and
that had reduced silver to the level o, n
mere commodity. 1T was sad that the
public faith would be impaired. but
how? We should be honest as nation
as much as an individual, so Tar as our
keeping a good conscience required 1t.
lie would rather take the honor
OF man IN wall street VINO pald all
his debts, but refused to pay any more
than he owed than that OF an lnsolVent
braggart VINO attempts to rafe more
from him than he was entitled to: lake
the lunding act OF 1870 which declared
that bonds issued under 1T should be paid
in coin as authorized and hxed at the
date ot that law, the l4th OF July, 1870.
That provision was printed on the lace OF
the bond so that all could see it. Now,
because some rascal has stepped in and
conyertibly demonetized one OF our coins,
could it be pretended when these bonds
matured twenty or thirty years hence he
would be cut off from paying them in
that coin. We had paid for the option
Suppose the gold dollar had been demo
net;lsd bv accident at that time what