The Butler weekly times., 1890-07-09
THE COMING BATTLE CRY.
Free-T'rade and Free Coinage.
= n.e,I, of Hon. William j. Stone, OF
M,ssouri,i in the House of Represe''
tat,yrs Saturday. June 8.
1890.

Washington, June THE house
having under consideration the bill
II. R. 53S1, authorizing the issue OF
treasury notes on deposits OF silver
bullion, Mr. Stone of Missouri said:
Mr.. Speaker: Until 1873 we had
free coinage Of both gold and silver
Both were money metals, and the
silver dollar was worth as much as
a gold dollar. The money power,
so-called, and properly SO called,
with view to curtailing and de-
creasing the volume of money circu-
lation, in 1883 secured tina passage
of an act which forbade any future
coinage of standard silver dollars,
and which further provided that the
silver already coined should not be
legal tender for any sum in excess
of SIS.
BY one quick, sharp, desperate
blow, surreptitiously dealt, more
than one-half the money producing
metal of the country was, for none
tary purposes, destroyed; and silver
dollars already coined, and which
had been in circulation for decades,
and which was recognized as money
in the constitution of the country,
were deprived Of their legal tender
quality. All this done in single
day, without debate, without warn
ing OR preparation. It was dan
gerous and wicked thing to do, and
could not have been done in any
other country under heaven without
bloodshed and revolution, nor prob
ably in this at any other period of
it's history.
So it remained until 1878. Dur
ing that period, from 1878 to 1878,
gold was the only money coined at
our mints, and was our sole stand
ard of value. In 1878 the house of
representatives, passed a bill repeating
the demonetization act of 1878, and
restoring to silver its legal tender
quality and providing for its free
coinage ON par with gold, ac,
cording to the law as it stood prior
to the act of 1873. The senate re
fused to agree to this bill. The sen.
ate would not agree to free coinage
of silver again; instead it insisted
on limited coinage. The conflict
of the two houses resulted finally in
the passage of on act restoring tc
silver its legal.tender quality and
providing that the secretary of the
treasury should purchase and coir
not less than $2,0OO,OOO and not
more than $4,000, 900 worth of silver
per month. That law requires hlu
to purchase and coin not less than
$2,OOO,OOO worth per month; he may
in his discretion purchase and coiI
as much as $4,O0O,O00 worth pei
month.
That is the law now and has beer
since 1873.
For some years there has been {
growing demand for larger circula
tion. The boarding of the immense
sums of money in the treasury as re
serve funds; the collection by taxa
tion of vast sums over and above
the public needs of the government,
and the necessary detention of the
surplus from active use, together
with the rapid retirement of the ma
tional bank circulation, have so con
tracted the volume'of money in act
ual circulation as to greatly embar
rass the business of the country, t.
depress values, to cripple enterprise
to add new burdens to labor, to ere
ate the necessity, while it increases
the difficulty kof borrowing, and t.
heap hardships on the shoulders o
our people who are unfortunately i,
debt. This condition of things ha
originated a widespread popula
demand for more money. This bill
pretends to meet that requirement
Is it properly met, fairly and salts
factorially met. Is it such meas
ure as the people of the country an
the business Of the country demand
Is it an honest, manly, straightfo,
ward response to the public demand