The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-04-14
subscription Price--12 Months, 81.
The Silver Question.

question upon which the great
mass Of the people are i'll informed
and they are content to allow the
agitation to remain within The halls
OF Congress. Public sentiment
seems to be equally divided. There
are those who believe that the con
tinued coinage of silver will bring
untold disaster upon The country;
they contend that gold alone should
be the standard. On the other
hand, there are those who cling to
the dollar Of their fo~rcfathcrs; who
believe that the currency that has
Deen used from the beginning Of
Government, and has broughtus
thus far in safety, should remain.
Opon the proper solution of this
question by the Forty-Ninth Con-
gress, depends in Il great measure
the future prosperity of our coun-
try.
The fight is made by the national
banks, the holders of the Govern
mcnt bonds, and resisted by the
people Wb''" honest money uOcs
to pay thca, bonds. Capital on tho
one hand against labor, demanding
that the great bulk of currency now
in the hands of the people shall be
made of no value, in order tlat the
value of the gold, which is con-
trollcd by the banks shall be in
creased.
BY the report of the Director Of
the Mint, it appears that the ma
tlonal banks hold very nearly one
half CT the gold in circulation in
the United States, and only SILL
100000 of the $27S,OOO,O 600 Of the
silver. Here is the secret of the
whole matter. These banks, hold
ms bonds which they purcascd
with legal tenders, worth 80 cents
on the dollar in coin, now ask the
government to change the stand
ard from gold and silver to gold
alone.
We believe in the free coinage of
silver. While it is right that the
b~ondholdcrs should be protected
ana alt contracts of the government
performed to the letter, it is unjust
10 leSlSlata so rs to impovcrish the
laborinG class. Those who toll for
their bread, in the farm and at the
forge, have 4 greater claim upon
the government than the few who
control the wealth.
We need more money, as will be
cen when we compare The amount
per capita In the United States
with that of other countries. On
the lst dayof July, 1885, the United
States had $1G.GG3 per capita, f37.-
so less than France and $S.4l less
than Great Britain. With an an
nual increase of one million of pop
ulation and our commerce con-
stantly growing, and consequently
the demand fOrmoney ever incrcaS-
ing, 1T seems to us Il serious mis-
take to destroy over onc-third ofthe
currency of the country. No one,
we presume, will for IL moment con
tend that there is an imitation of
the currency. Property is as low
almost as it eve has been. Our
cotton is sold for scarcely more
than the cost of production, while
all articles of food are cheaper than
they have been for years.
We have millions of debts to be
paid, and if all the money outside
of the banks be taken from us, we
can sec only lamcntable state of
affairs ahead. Already, the bur
dens of the laboring millions
are grievous; and, while groan-
ing under the weight Of an
unjust protective tariff, it will
be a matter of serious consequence
to ~dcmonctize silver. President
CLEVELAND and many of our
Wisest and most patriotic states
men believe that the coinage of
silver should be stopped. They
contend with equal force that to
demonetizo silver would bring
prosperity upon the country; but
until the great panic that spread
over the country in 1873, just at the
time when silver was demonetized,
a be explained upon some other
hypothesis, we r unwilling to
risk having the interest of the
country again paralyzed. Itseems
to us a significant fact, that when
the silver dollar was again res
tored to it's place of confidence, al
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