Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-01-26

made acquainted with the fact that
their own President, who signed
the act of 1873, and many Of their
leading statesmen were in profound
Ignorance of the existence of such a
law, they began to suspect that the
success of the measure had been Sc
cured by fraudulent practices. The
charge was openly made on the
hustingS and in legislative cham
berS. 1t has been met and denied.
Mr.. President, / am not prepared
to believe that the eminet men who
presented, and voted for the coinage
bill of 1873, were guilty of a con-
scious fraud, but do believe them
to have been the victims of the
men of fixed incOmes-the bond
holders-and their allies the dOctri-
mares. The latter would sacrifice
everything for the sake of uniform
ity-a common measure of value.
They are the SCIENTISTS" the sex
perts," the men Of profound inves-
tigatiOn whose advice we are now
implOred to follow. They are the
men of ideas who would sacrifice
the world and all its interests for
the sake of the idea.
The bondholders were flushed
with their victory in 1869, by which
sal conflicting questions and jnterpre-
tdfions" of the act of 1862 had been
settled their bonds had been enOr-
mously increased in value /; they
wanted q greater increase. The
country was agitated with the south
ern question. The minds of states
men and people were occupied with
the grave social problems to be solv-
ed. 4 favorable opportunity was
presented. The act of 1873 was
brought forward; was not cOnsid-
cred /; it was passed it received the
signature of a President, uncOn-
sciOus of its terms, and became q
law.
The act of 1875 was its logic Sc
quence. The fixed incomes "
were to be enlarged il demand for
gold must be created. Measures
were taken to cOerce the support of
recaicitrant statesmen; caucuses
were called, and the work was fin
ished. America united with Ger
many in the war against her own
great production.
Since that time US76 Germany
and the United States, both have
been in the market buying gold.
Germany has been selling her sur
plus silver, which no European state
can buy, and for the reason that
some of the states already have a
supply adequate to their wants, and
Others such as Italy, Austria, and
Russia, are using paper currency
exclusively.
To add, however, to the perils to
which silver was exposed, France,
Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, and
Greece composing the Latin union,
states devoted by policy, by tradi-
ton, and the habits of their people
to the double standard of money,
in order to guard against the sud
den irruptiOn of the German silver
and an equivalent loss of gold,
closed their minis to the unlimited
coinage of silver. Silver seemed to
be under the ban it fell rapidly in
value while gold stimulated by the
demand from Germany and the
United States advanced just in the
ratio of the fall in silver. They
were quoted at IS to /, Il greater
difference than ever was known
before.
But the India demand, for the
time diminished, again revived ;
the mines in Nevada fell far short
of expected production France and
the other states of the Latin union
firmly stood by their ancient coin
age, and while guarding against the
German stock, reduced to much less
than 500, 900, 600, resOlutely refused
to part with their own stock. Silver
recovered from the extreme limit
Of depression, and now the people
of the United States awakened TO
the importance of preserving one of
their greatest productions, a prOduc-
ton that equals One-fifteenth part
of their entire exports, and aroused
To a sense of the danger which
threatens their industries from de-
StructiOn of One-half the worlds
money made acquainted with the
insidiOus and stealthy methods
by which silver was stricken from
their coinage, demand its complete
restoration.
mined purpose by the gigantic pro-
portions of their public debt, FEEDER
al. State, county, municipal, and
railroad, which, without estimating
the vast amount of personal indebt-
edneSs, exceeds five thousand mill
lions of money, a sum equal to one
half the entire stock of gold and
silver in the world, and not less
than the entire sum of gold and sill
yer money. They believe that the
decentralization of silver by the
commercial nations of the West
means its ultimate decentralization
by all the nations with whom they
have commercial relations, inclu-
ding India and Japan, and the re-
ductiOn of that metal to simple
article of merchandise, like copper
or tin. and of but little greater val
ue than either. They are not pre-
pared to submit without struggle
to the destruction of this vast accu-
INFLATED wealth, the growth of all
the ages. Nor can they, without
the gloomiest forebOdings, cOntem-
plate their own future Overshad-
bowed by a mountain of debt, with
-gold alone to perform all the offices
of money.
Mr.. President, can we realize the
unhappy fate of this country with
gold the only standard in Europe
and America, with money reduced
to one half its present volume, with
all the nations struggling with all
desperate energy to keep what they
get?
All the efforts Of craftsmanship,
all the resources of political ecOno-
my will be put forth in the battle
for its possession. France has to-
day but 5000 ,OO0, 900 of gold Ger
many $500, 900, 900; the British
Isles, but $3.50, 900, 900. Has either
more than is necessary to supply its
wants ? Will either relinquish any
part of its stock without the most
determined efforts to save it &?
Everywhere met with a resOlute
purpose not to yield one dollar, eX-
cept from absolute necessity, how
shall we reach the goal of specie
payments, which 50 many incOnsid-
crate people expect to clutch ut Il
single bound" Is it not fresh in our
memories that, but a few years ago,
when our government offered to
borrow by a sale of its bonds S2l,-
OOO, 900, and it was believed that the
money would hn transferred bpIiIN