The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-06-21
Sympathy with it, by lending their and
in organizing the meeting proposed.
a NIOnStrOuS IniUuity.

The passage by the Y. ). Senate OF
a bill authorizing the free-colnage OF
silver is undoubtedly one of the most
iuiuuitous acts which has diSgraced re-
cent congressional legislation. That
the Senate, usually credited with being
a conservative body, should succumb
to the demands of the worst spirit OF
partizauship and pass such bill, is one
of those unwelcome surprises which the
business sense and intelligence of the
country will be puzzled to explain. The
proposition contained in the bill is
simply to enrich the silver kings and
silver mine owners of the west. by com
pelling the Government to coin an I'M
limited amount of silver at II cents IN
the dollar, and make such base dollars
a legal tender for the payment OF all
debts public and private. In other
words the Government is to make
a market for the product of the silver
bearing states of the west, by law
making it obligatory upon our minis to
buy up and coin into short 7ocighf dol
lars, not only the output of American
mines, but what as consequence is
worse, the silver out put of large part
of the rest of the world. In the interest
of these bonanza kings of the west the
popular delusion has been created, that
by such a course money will become
plenty and everybody's pocket will be
full of it. By just such demagogery a
sufficient number of Republicans has
been found willing to vote with the mi
nority in the Senate to pass this meas
ure whose only result, if it becomes a
law, can be to depreclate our currency
and make this country the dumping
ground for the base metal of the world.
While this silver question is pending III
Congress 1t would be well for those
outside of the charmed circle of "sllver
kings" to consider what the inevitable
consequence of the passage OF such a
law would be. a vast amount OF "rot'
has recently been directed at the farmer
and the laboring man by publishers OF
newspapers claiming to be in their in
terest, in the vain attempt to prove that
a silver dollar worth II cents is just as
good, for all uses as currency, as gold
one worth 90 cents. These astute friends
of the laboring man never tell him what
injury and damage the country is to
sustain, through deprecated currency.
That when silver certificates become a
legal tender, the bonds of the United
States, principal and interest, become
payable in silver certificates, land as con
sequence the bonds of all railroads and
corporations now stipulated to be paid
in gold, become payable in silver. The
Government, with gold at premium
and forced to receive its income in sill
yer, must cease to pay out gold, while
with this deprecated medium the prices
of all commodities VOuld go Mb and
tile purchasing b0uoer of epe1y mars
7ougcS must go aO0on.
This is what free silver means and
many men advocate it without the
slightest conception of its disastrous
effects upon the general interests of the
country.
The silver delusi5n has been worked
for all it is worth in politics CD and as
a conservative daily says, it is the pop
ularity of the delusion that is now car
ryIng the once conservative Senate OF
the United States into the ranks OF the
aggressive silver agitators and forcing
such action as that IN the Senate on
Tuesday. BY demagogic tactics the
Democrats have beate n the Republican
Senators and led them away captive.
1t Is rivalry in recklessness for the
catching of the popular vote. If it were
not for this, neither the Republican
majority nor the Democratic minority
of the Senate would think OF passing
such bill, and least of the two would
the Democrats dream of it, now upon
the opening OF their new campaign for
the Presidency, with Grover Cleveland
as their candidate-that same Grover
Cleveland whose famous and incontro-
vertible letter on the silver question is
Numerically opposed to the present
policy and action of his party in the
Senate and House of Representatives.