The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1878-02-21
THE SILVER GOSPEL.
in Their Den-Text or EIia Speech
Before TumuItuOus Au-
dEence ia Cooper Institute.

GEence IA Cooper Institute.
At the meeting in favor Of silver re-
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 had passed the house of represen-
tatiyes and were at present pending in |
the senate. One was to restore the |
ancient dollar and make it Just SIS it used |
to be. The other was to repeal the re- |
sumption scheme. The vast debts of the |
world owned outside the countries max !
ing them were held by few German, |
or English, and French bondholders. |
These capitalists always watched with |
eager jealousy the production of the |
precious metals, knowing that a 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
debt by the Naroleonic wars her fund
holders demonetized silver. They did
this for the purpose of contract
| ing the currency and bringing down
values, and making the nation pay
vastly more than it had promised them.
But as England was the great gold-pro-
ducing power of the world, avarice came
| in this time TO their rescue, and helped
them to demonetize silver. From 1903
to 1848 the demonetized dollar increased
| in value 145 per cent, and with that the
| bondhOlders were content and no other
| demonstration was asked for. But when
California and Australia poured their
tide of gold into the world, Iessening its
purchasing power Is per cent, there
arose a great agitation on the part of
these bondholders for the decentralization
of gold, and Germany did demonetize it.
The production of gold gradually fell off
afterward, 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
demOnetize silver because it was getting
cheap. They also got the Latin nations,
consisting of France, Switzerland, Bel
gium, Wallachia and MOldavia, to restrict
the coinage of silver, and a congress was
convened, which deliberated upon the
question of how to make 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 &
1873 which nobody suspected, and which
J, did not demonetize or forbid the coinage
e of the old dollar. But the commission
e who were appointed to cedify the law
!. inserted in 1874 provision which forbid
? the coiuage of the old silver dollar. Thest
e commissioners had no power to touci
to the extent of hair the meaning o
II any existing statute. They presented
d their report to the senate, and the senate
a passed on it without opening the bundle
d In that bundle was this-fraud. For tW,
d years nobody knew anything about
l. except the rascals who profited by havin
e the deed done; but now, when the out
is rage had come out into open day and tn
IS people demanded the restoration of tn
Ie silver dollar, these men have the afro
cious impudence, through their grea
organs, the press, to turn upon tn
wronged and outraged people of thi
country, and represent themselves q
wrong be righted? 1t was said that th
creditor class was to suffer. But hov
were they to suffer? 1t was said tina
A silver had deprecated. But how had
D. deprecated By this very act of de
ID mOnetization. It had deprecated onl
1t in respect to one commodity that exist
i. in our land and that was gold. TAX
lie one of these DISTINGUISHED dollars and
Of will buy more by twenty per cent. tina
le it would in 1874 Who was wronged b
Sc being paid with a dollar whose purchai
l. ing power had been rising every momer
o. since it was demonetized? The Onl
u thing it would not purchase was gOlC
Id because gold was the only money, an
at that had reduced silver to the level of
le mere commodity. It was said that I'll
e, public faith would be impaired. BIT
Il, how? We should be honest as a natio
x as much as an individual, so far as OIL
IN keeping q good conscience required i
is He would rather take the hone
IN of q man in Wall street who paid g
in his debts, but refused to pay any mo
than he owed than that of an insolvel
iy braggart who attempts to raise mo
n from him than he was entitled to. Tai
nd the funding act of 1870 which declare
an that bonds issued under it should be pa
as in coin as authorized and fixed at IL
in date of that law, the 18th of July, 1877
Ter That provision was printed on the face
,es the bond SO that all could see it. No
he because some rascal has stepped in al
for cOnvertibly demOnetized one of our COLI
he could it be pretended when these bon
on matured twenty or thirty years hence
ed would be cut off from paying them
Id, that coin. We had paid for the optic
de Yes, we have it, and we will keep
zen Suppose the gold dollar had been den
he netized by accident at that time, VIII
vas would the bondholder say to the peoE
no who should offer them paper in paymen
to They would say, stand to my cOntra
na- If calls for gold or silver, as establish
ler by the act of the 18th of july, 1870, a
a that they asked no more. He felt til
so his dwelling on the subject was almost
M loss of time, because the remonetizati
her of the old silver dollar was already
lar foregone conclusion. Outside this lit
the corner of republican America the peol
ITO were unanimous in favor of it. TV
sed thirds and more of the members of be
of houses had plainly indicated their pl
sis pose to restore it, veto or no veto, a
ped it would not be sixty days until Il
of dollar, which, for eighty years, had be
lad the standard of value in f
1ne America, would be restored to I
am currency, of the country; but
ged feared that the coinage of the
me silver dollar would disappoint both
len friends and its enemies. He could
the say that he hoped so, but it would
Ger about fair thing. As he said befo
the the drive for the decentralization of sill
the was chiefly at the United States.
and had been producing sixty per cent of
art silver of the world, and Great Brit.
ing and her colonies were producing si1
the per cent. of the gold. The aim was
eed ham-string us and make our vast de
her abroad payable in metal over which
fter had no command. Let us reason
and silver currency, and Germany, and pro
the bly, the rest of the world, including
and Latin union, would do the same, and
e of yer would go back to its old place
her every nation except Great Britain.
nth fact, it was probable that it would 81