The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1890-07-18

BILE. In that reduction the farmer
must be sufferer, because his stuff
cannot be sold for more than the price
| thus fixed.
| on FREE COINAGE.
Mr.. Speaker, in my opinion no ques-
| ton of greater importance than this
one has been before this House since
the great questions growing out of the
war were settled. Along by the side
of principles of human rights and the
maintenance of the Government lies
believed i'm this and ingrafted into the
Constitution a clause comforting upon
the General Government the right to
coin money and regulate the value
| thereof.
The importance of the exercise OF
this constitutional power at this time
seems to have impressed itself on the
mind of every gentleman In the House.
/ know of no one who thinks nothing
should be done. ! cannot regard 1t as
a party question, nor do I regard this
bill as a caucus measure of the Repub-
lican party, for at a meeting of the Re
publicans of the House to consider this
bill il was understood and SO express
ed that the meeting was no more than
conference, and was not intended to
bind anyone.
The bill evidently Is compromise
between the East and West, and,
following the rule of other compromis-
es, is unsatisfactory to many. And i'm
fact, Mr.. Speaker, after listening to
this discussion for two days, 1 have
come to the conclusion that were all
who have apologized for the bill in IA
vor of recommitting 1t to the committee
with instructions to bring I'm q free
coinage bill, we would have a free
coinage measure passed by this House
before another week. 1, for one, am
ready and willing and shall at the
proper time vote to recommit this bill,
with instructions to bring in a free
coinage measure; and if gentlemen on
this side of the House who have been
apologizing for this bill will vote with
me we will have free coinage. ZAP
plause on the Democratic side.l
Gentlemen on that side of the House
need not applaud, for I recollect when
you had an opportunity to pass a free
coinage bill your master, Mr.. Cleve-
land, stood over you with club and
dared you to do it, and you. did not.
Applause on the Republican side.1
Now, Mr.. Speaker, the alarming
condition of the business of the coun-
try, arising not by reason of the tariff
nor overproduction, as has been claim
ed on this floor, but by reason of an
insufficiency of currency, demands that
the minis be thrown open and every
ounce of available silver be coined into
standard dollars. The people are ex-
pecting this; they are demanding this;
and mark my word, the man from the
West who stands out against it will
forever have hung his political "harp
on the willow tree"
The people of the West and South
and Northwest have taken up this
question i'm earnest and they mean that
every man i'm this body from these sec
tons who opposes free coinage shall be
made to feel their power at the polls
Mr.. Speaker, 1 am opposed to this bill
and shall accept it only when I have
found 1t impossible to get anything
better. The principles of it are wrong
1t reduces silver from the rank 1t holds
as coin and stores it away as a COM
modify on which money is to be issued
at its value i'm gold.
But why this bill at all? I am con-
fident the people would be better sat
isfied with the present law If the full
amount of four millions, as provided
for by that law, were put i'm circulation.
Why not revoke altogether the sem
tence of condemnation against silver
and lift it out of its disgrace, place it
r,nnr, tho so,1n f,,nfsrn x,,;fh <.,1l .,.I
send 1t out among the people as cur
rency measured by its own value, in
stead of being measured by gold?
Gentlemen talk about its being a
dishonest dollar, a - cent dollar, and
so forth. BY what authority does
anyone ihake these charges? One dol
lar i'm silver may not contain 100 cents
i'm gold, but it does contain 100 cents
in silver. One dollar i'm silver will
purchase as much of the necessaries of
life as dollar i'm gold, and as much as
it would at any time during the last
hundred years. One dollar In silver
to-day contains as much pure silver
as it did in f794, when it was made
the coin of the country. 1t has never
varied in its weight of silver, while
gold in 1854 was changed i'm weight to
make it conform to the value of the
silver dollar, and thus, If precedent be
law, showing that silver should be the
measure of value.
Much of the time during the life of
the Government the silver dollar has
possessed a greater intrinsic value
than the gold dollar, and it was only
when legislated against and deprived
of its functions as money that il and
gold parted in value to any great de-
gree. And why should not silver go
down under such circumstances? If
by an act of Congress its use as table
ware could be prohibited its value
would 60 still lower, and If its use for
all purposes could be destroyed II
would have no value whatever.
Things are valuable only for the
purpose they serve. Restore silver to
its normal condition as q currency by
the side of gold and gold will have less
value because of its reduced purposes,
and silver will become more valuable
because of its additional purposes, and
thus the two coins approach each 9TH
er so nearly in value that there would
be no observable difference.
And now, Mr.. Speaker, if the charge
be true that the silver dollar IL only
worth seventy-two cents, am puzzled
TO know how the gentlemen who make
that charge are to explain to their con-
stituents the justice of forcing the Dor
rover to pay 100 cents for every ~
cents borrowed.
Either these gentlemen do not be-
lieve what they say about the lack of
value i'm the silver dollar or else they
are deliberately, and with a full
knowledge of the facts before them.
deciding that every man who has Dor,
rowed a hundred dollar. shall paw for
the same one hundred and thirty.