Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-29
THE CURRENCY oUEsr1os.

Friends of the Silver Dollar Meet
 i'm Good Samaritan Hall-An Or-
 ganizatfon Proposed-Speeshes by
 Greenbackers.
 The call for a meeting at Good Samaritan hall on Chapel street for last evening to con- sider the advisability of forming an organi- zation for the discussion of the currency question was not largely attended. There were about dozen persons in the hall at the opening of the meeting, which was in- creased to about double that number before
 the meeting closed. Most of those present
 were gentlemen who were prominent in the
 old Greenback movement, among whom
 were Alexander Troup, Dr. J. P. Phillips,
 Joseph Sheldon and Dr. Fuller.
 About quarter-past eight o'clock MT.
 Sheldon took his position in front of the
 platform and proceeded to make address
 on the currency question. He said that ten
 years ago this fall an organization
 was started in this city to take
 into consideration the currency law and the
 subject was freely and fully discussed The
 Supreme court of the United States sus-
 tained us in the theory that greenbacks were
 good legal tender money. Then they told us
 that we wanted specie basis behind us and
 they gave it to us, whether we wanted it or
 not We now have these same people telling
 us that silver is not good legal money and
 that it is not worth over eighty cents on the dollar. There is not place on the globe to- day, said the speaker, that silver dollar
 with the stamp of the government upon it will not sell for a fraction less than dollar. In Liverpool it would
 be sold for over ninety nine cents;
 not that it would be used there, but it would be sent back here to pay for
 ] ..e4
 put silver on the same basis as gold? That is, let him who has silver take it to the mint, have it coined and sell it wherever he can.
 If we should lose our gold and every man
 was allowed to take his silver to the mint
 and have it made into coin, then the price of
 silver would go up.
 In closing, the speaker said he did not
 come to the meeting to make a long speech, but only to help start an organization that would discuss this matter in all it's bearings. Although the meeting is small in number, yet it is larger than meeting called for similar purpose on former occasion. Dr. J. P. Phillips. next took the floor and said: There were five of us when we started the Greenback organization, and there more than that number here tonight. He then proceeded to discuss the silver question and said that the silver dollar would buy more goods to-day than in 1864, when it was four per cent above gold. The value of gold is derived from the same source that gives value to wheat and potatoes, that is, the de- mand for it. The statements made in the New York Tribune and other papers are | made to deceive the people. The idea of gold standing still and everything else moving is like the old theory that the moved while the earth stood still. Without increasing the value of gold we can decrease l wages to ten cents day and four to $1 a | barrel by destroying the legal tender of silver and greenbacks. All they have got to do is fo ri nt fo 6alo md will go down to zero. Secretary Manning says this scheme will help the laboring man. He 1 lies and he knows it. I trust this organiza- tion will go on. The people will be amazed and astonished when they find the truth of the matter.
 Dr. Fuller who was present, said that he favored ap organization of this kind as he l thought it would enlghten the people if there was free and full discussion of the whole subject.
 In reply to question MT. Sheldon said there not the least shadow of doubt but l that the government had the right to pay it's debt in silver, both principal and interest. Dr. Phillips said that the financial policy of this country was controlled by less than a thousand men, and it is the fault of the peo- pie of this nation that such things exist Alexander Troup said he had not changed
 his views on the currency question, although he was a federal officeholder. He
 believed that good work could be done in the discussion of this
 question. He would not have it
 one sided organization, but he would ask the
 bank men and professors of political econo-
 my in Yale college to come in and enlighten
 us on this subject. He said it looked to him
 as though the present movement meant the
 North and South against the East. But he did
 not believe that all the members of Congress
 were fools. They talk about making gold
 the money of the world, why it's all hum-
 bug. What is money here is not money in
 Europe. My views are we'll known. I be- lieve I'm right and if am not am willing to be set right. Let us have Professor Sum- ner come down and set us right. believe the issue has got to be met fairly and squarely and let us have such organiza- tions az this all over the land. He said that men of different views on this subject should be invited to join the organization, and that the discussion should be free and full, that the people may thereby become enlightened upon subject that was of vast importance to ths welfare of every man, woman and child in the country.
 MT. Sheldon then announced that there would be meeting on next Monday evening at the same place for the purpose of organi- zation, and he asked those present to come and bring their friends with them. He then
 declared the meeting adjourned.