The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-08-28
He DenOuDces Free Coinage in
Round Terms.
1T WOULD DRIVE AWAY GOLD
Cleveland Praised For His Attitude on the
QuestiOn-ImpOssibility Of Maintain
ing the Legal Ratio.

Vlded that all silver brought to the mint
should be coined into dollars, no gold would
be coined, for an ounce of gold is worth
moro than sixteen ounces of silver
gold would cease to be money and
would be boarded or exported. No man
would be fool enough to deposit an ounce
OF gold for coinage into sixteen dollars,
when with it he could buy enough silver
bullion and have it coined without cost into
twenty dollars. Free coinage is all non
sense. Under the new coinage act the
treasury is purchasing monthly more than
tne entire product of silver bullion in the
United States, and all this bullion is repre-
sented in our currency by either silver coin
OF legal tender treasury notes. We ex-
pended under this act in the purchase
OF silver bullion prior to Aug
ust Of this year 500, 191, S21, and
issued cthat amount Of treasury notes
which are now in circulation. We have
thus provided for an increase of the cur
rency equal to or greater than the increase
OF the business and population Of the
United States. One distinctive striking
feature of this law is that the United
States will not pay for silver beillion more
than It's market value Why should we?
Nearly all the silver produced in the
| United States IS by rich corporations in q
Few new states, and its production at the
market price is far more profitable than
any crop of the farmer, and vet il is the
demand OF the producer of silver bullion
tnat the United States should pay him %
| per cent more than its market value That
lies at the foundation of the differences be
tween the Republican and Democratic
parties
The tendency of the policy of the present
ACT Will De TO gradually advance the value
OF silver bullion to it's legal ratio with gold,
and when this is reached, both metals will
! De coined on equal terms and conditions I
| beheve the measure will work out most
oenehclal results. 1t has already advanced
the value OF our vast store of silver in the
treasury. 1t mas given great activity to
the production of silver, it has furnished
| an increase of circulation; it has main
talned the gold standard while utilizing sill
| yer to the utmost extent short of demonetiz-
ing gold; 1t is the KEY to our exalted, almost
preemlnent standing in commercial credit
ana national honor among the nations of
tne world. 1t treats silver and gold like
all other commodities or productions as
! subject to the universal rule of being worth
I what they Will bring in the markets of the
world. This is the Republican doctrine
| now proclaimed in our Ohio platform. The
Democratic policy of free coinage,n said
the Senator, means that we shall pur-
chase all the silver offered, come from
where 1t may, and give the holder coin or
treasury notes at the rate of 81 for every
81 grains, worth in the market now II
centss'
senator sherman spoke of the vast &C
| cumulated hoard of silver in other conn
tries OF the world, and estimated by statis-
ticians at So, $40, 81, 346, and said the Demo
Gratis are In favor of allowing any amount
OF this to be flooded il upon US at the
ABOVE terms. Who can estimate the vol
ume of silver that would come into the
treasury if this policy were adopted2 1t is
a public bid of 20 cents an ounce more than
the market price made it, at time when
silver IS declining in value and when MANY
| commercial nations are seeking TO convert
their silver into gold. They would gladly
see US take this load on our shoulders.
They will gladly give us their silver at the
rate OF IL to and take our gold This is
the doctrine which it is expected the con-
sentative Democrats of Ohio will adopt in
order to gain the support and alliance of
the silver barons of the west. and
Interested self seekers who hone
to gain an advantage over their creditors
by cheapening the standard of value. and
| wild enthusiasts who believe in an unlim-
tied supply of irredeemable paper money.
10 assume that the United States can
maintain silver at the old ratio of sixteen
to one, is wilder delusion than ever filled
the brain Of believer in fiat money For
fear we would attempt it, it carried
ST., 900, 900 of gold from the United States
within four months. 1t is said if we adopt
the silver standard we will get more money
for our labor and productions. This does
not follow. But even if it be true the
purchasing power of money will be di
min she'd A silver doller worth II cents
in gold will buy no more food and clothing
than II cents of our money
now. Capitalists and spectators
can protect themselves from loss
by STIMULATING for gold payments. The
whole burden of this policy falls upon those
who depend upon their daily labor for their
daily bread, and is for the benefit of those
VINO hope by cheapening money to pay
their debts with money less valuable. less
than they agreed to pay"
| Examing the position taken in this can
vass by the Democratic party, Senator
Sherman referred to eX President Cleye-
lands utterances on the silver question
nd said: while Cleveland was President
no tree coinage measure was proposed.
President Harrison is known to entertain
the same opinions, yetnow under a stronger
| leadership, this scheme to change the
standard of value is pressed into our state
canvass. ! believe it is the result of bar.
gain between what is called the national
executive silver committee composed of
representatives Of the great silver mining
corporations of the United States. with
some of the leaders of the Democratic
party, by which a portion of the profits of
these corporations is to be invested in this
| Ohio canvass to defeat the Republican
party and especially to down John Sher-
man on the issue of free coinage. As for
myself. it is 3 matter of little importance.
| but what | do care for is that the state OF
Ohio shall not in any way be responsible
for the policy proposed by this combina-
| ton, or for the evils that will flow from it.
| They invoke in its support q new party,
calling itself the Peoples" party, which is
represented mainly by disciples of the old
greenback, fiat money craze, some of whom
do their planting in law offices, and whose
crops, if thay have any, are thistles and
ragweeds. AS to their recently con-
structed Springfield platform, what is it,
Some of their creed is q repetition of the
mere dogmas to which all parties agree
Some of it appears to me an approach to
| lunacy 1 do not attribute to our Demo-
cratic friends any sympathy with these
wild notions, but they are committed by
their platform to the fountain head of ali
these vagarieS the free coinage of silver.
workers, farmers and business men of
Ohio. I appeal to the conservative men of
Ohio of both parties to repeal the service
they both rendered the people of the
| United States in 1875 by the election of
Governor Hayes in checking the wave of
initiation that threatened the country"
Circular to Customs officers