The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1890-08-30
The Value Of Silver and Who
Caused It.

Sweet exhausted themselves ane
their hearers with constant repeti
ton about the value of silver, attrib
uting it's advance wholly to the re
publican party, who did it all.
To a man who has read history
this sounds ridiculously. In the
year 1873 gold and silver were
equally money. Silver and goio1
stood upon the same step, and
were equally the money of the com
mercial world. In that fatal year
1873, the republicans in Congress
and a republican president, de-
stroyed silver as a circulating me-
dunn, and put it on par with
potatoes, to be bought and sold
when and where they could find it.
The value of silver on the morn
ing of that fatal day, Was 1929
equal with gold. Since that date
the quotations have wandered
through all the figures from 9S up
wards. Now, when by recent legis-
lation silver has advanced to 81 10,
we are generously informed by our
republican friends that this added
price must be attributed to the re-
publican party. Do they consider
who sent that value down from the
gold standard to SO cents? Why
has silver been of less value than
$1.29 for II years? Simply because
the republican party, through all
its official sources in 1873 declared,
and made their word good, that
silver was no better than lead or
iron. Silver then and there de-
scended from its pedestal OF Sl.29
and took a seat on number 90; and
shereabouts silver has been sitting
in the rain until this year. Now.
when she has climbed slowly up
the steep steps Of finance to S1.19
they clap their hands and exclaim,
Behold what we have done" II
would be more pertinent to inquire
why the necessity of doing any
thing2 Why is not silver $12
instead of s119? Who is respon-
sible for that missing ten cents.
even nov? and where are all those
missing cents from SO to 1.29 gone
TO during seventeen long, dreary
years2 Decayed camps, abandoned
mines, hungry miners wandering
over the face Of the earth, answer
the question. Had silver never been
demonetized these streets Of Ketch-
UNI, HALEY, Bellevue, would now
be thronged these deserted build
ings which strike observation all
along Wood river, would have been
filled with smiling families, aiding
to uphold the county and the State, !
reducing wilderness into the hab-
itations Of men and the institutions
OF God and humanity. These waste |
places were laid waste by the with
ering, devastating hand Of the re-
publican party when it demonetized |
silver; these black and tottering
walls tremble in the wind because
silver was slaughtered in the house
which now claims to be its friend.
Too late; too long have the Amer
lean people waited for the resurrec-
ton without. an inquiry, Why was
silver ever dead? Why doomed,
through al! these long years to pass
through a convulsive, miserable,
misrepresented condition. j, and its
producers, objects Of poverty and
derision?
For the first time this question is
sQuarely presented to the people.
While silver was in disgrace few
cared to ask the cause. It was
enough to endure the suffering with
out asking questions Of tina. which
to the ordinary mind seemed to be
above and beyond human control. |
Now, seeing how things can be
brought about, people pause and
ask why it was not done before
II this recent legislation has pro-
duced activity and life to the mining
world, why was it not done wears
sgo2 Who has pocketed the differ
ence between SO cents and 1l9 for
seventeen years2 Certainly the
democratic party has not, for at no 1
time during all this period has it
been in power. While Cleveland
was president republican Senate
held him in its grip That Senate has
been republican for twice II years.
l; Is late IN the day for any good to
come from that source to the mining
world. But little has come at
last; and that came from the dem
ocratlc determination in Congress
that something should be done
about silver; that silver should be
restored to the rank from which it
was displaced in 1873 by the party
then IN power; that it should re-.
ceive free coinage in the minis, as
we'll as gold; that the interests of
the great West should receive some
recognition, as we'll as the republi-
can states of the Atlantic border.
Free coinage agitation brought the
enemy of silver to his feet. he had
TO do something or perish. The
West in all of its vast agricultural
and commercial interests was in
terested. Every farmer had an in
terest, whether be knew it or not.