The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-09-03
AND THE SOLDIERS.


If Mckinley had accepted the advice
of Senator Sherman and confined him.
self to discussion of the tariff he
would have avoided some, at least, of
the pitfalls into which he stunt bled
when attempting a defense of the Re
publican financial policy. The easy
falshood is that to which Republicans
turn when forced to defend financial
scheme more disgraceful than was
ever before conceived against the honor
and welfare of a free people. Relying
upon the organs for repetition of bis
| falsehoOd, Mr.. Mckinley says:
The per capita circulation is greater
than at any other period before. The
| amount of money in circulation was
| about S435,000,O00 in 1860 and the
amount per capita was Sl3S5. In 1865
there were S723,O00,O00 in circulation,
and the amount per capita was S2OS2.
| In 1885 the circulation was 3 ,2a2, ,00O,-
| 600, and the per capita was S23O2. On
Jan. 5, 1891, the circulation was 3 ,329,-
| 100000, or S24.10 per capita. 1t may be
| necessary to increase the circulation,
but it can not be done with silver dol
lars that are worth less than 100 cents
each in value
Had there been an intelligent soldier
In his audience he would have hurled
back the above falsehood in the teeth
of the demagogue. In the sum named
| as the circulation in 1865 Mckinley
counts only the greenbacks, bank notes,
| old demand notes not then retired, and
coin in the hands of the government
| and banks. He knows how false is this
statement of the circulation. AS q
Congressman he has had access to the
| reports of the debates in the House on
the bills for contracting the currency.
He heard his present assertion denied
and disproved by the ablest statesmen
his party ever honored. He knew that
| John Sherman declared to the contrary
when he called the attention of the Sen
ate to the fact that every form Of cur
| rency obligation "made by law availa-
BILE for bank reserves was as much a
part of the circulating medium of the
country as the greenbacks, or bank
| notes, or coin," He knows of the hun.
dreds of millions of dollars issued in
the form of currency obligations to pay
| off the soldiers, for whom the arrant
| demagogue now pretends such friend
ship, and that they were part of the
currency in 1866, and that Senator Sher-
man was right in the statement that
| "in this volume of ,currency had been
fixed the price of every piece of prop
erty in the country" He knew that the
contraction of this currency caused the
soldier to lose his farm and homestead,
though partially paid for with the
money handed him when discharged
from the army.
If the Democrats Of Ohio will meet
this issue fairly and If they will present
| to the voters of that state full show
ing from the record of what were the
opinions of the Republican leaders at
and soon after the close of the war
they will drive both Sherman and Nc.
Kinley from their stumping tours
There is no greater insult offered the
| American people than that contained
In the assertion quoted from Mr.. Nc
Kinley's speech. The Army of the Po.
tonic was paid off in notes issued for
the express purpose. When rendered
to the veterans they were called
"money." True, they had been "de-
preciated as the war progressed" by the
policy of the party now seeking the
the soldier vote. But they were money,
or the soldiers were never paid. En-
tering into the circulating medium,
they caused an increase in the price of
every home bought by the returning
soldier. Contracted by being funded
in an interest-bearing bond, the soldiers
found themselves eight years later
driven as hunted tramps into the high
ways of nation their sacrifice had
saved. Democrats of Ohio need no bet
ter weapon than the financial folly OF
their opponents to complete the work
begun when the people rebelled against
unjust taxation.