News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-09-10
Just What it Means,

The following so clearly explains
the question which is so often asked,
What is Free Silver?" that we give
it in full from the Troy Times:-
- Free Silver" means the raking in
to the United States mints of all the
silver in the world that speculative
hands can get hold of; to coin this
silver at the expense of the govern
ment into American dollars, putting
less than eighty cents worth of the
silver in the dollar as its price is QUO
ted in the markets of the world; to
force the so-called dollar, deprecated
as it is, upon the government, upon
the working classes and tradespeople
as dollar in fact which it is not
the silver spectators thus eXtorting
under law over twenty cents from the
government besides the cost of free
coinage on every dollar thus coined
for them without charge. This is pre-
cisely what free coinage is and what
1T implies. 1t is a proposition for
wholesale and fiagitious robbery of
the government and the people-tak-
ing from the workingman more than
twenty cents of every dollar he earns:
bold and villainous scheme to en-
rich the few by plundering the toiling
many, at the same time undermining
the integrity of trade and Inaugural
ting the chaos of fluctuations and
imitation whereof the end would be
inevitable financial calamity.
HOW THE TWO PARTIES STAND.
TFrom the philadelnhia Prass
President Harrison has made profound
impression by his Albany speech on the silver
question. The position he takes is clear, I'm
mistakable and unanswerabe:
Il do not intend to enter upon any subject
that can excite division but do believe that
the general government is solemnly charged
with the dut of seeing that the money issued
by it is always and everywhere maintained
at par. believe that | speak that which is
the common thought of all, when say that
every dollar, whether paper or coin issued
or stamped by the general government should
always and everywhere be good as any
other dollar"
This only reiterates the declaration in the
act of July IA, 1890, that it is the establish
ed policy of the United States to preserve the
parity of the two metals (gold and silver) at
the present legal ratio, or at such ratio as
may be fixed by law" but it asserts it at
time when the assertion is greatly needed
and when the Democratic party in state after
state is pronouncing for free silver. In Ohio.
in Kentucky and in Iowa the Democratic
state conventions have declared for free silver
coinage. In every state south of MARYLAND
or west of Ohio the party stands on the same
platform. The next house, which it controls
will be overwhelmingly for free silver The
Republican majority in the senate is SO mar
row that it will be possible for few boiling
Republicans like Senator Cameron to make
an alliance with the Democratic minority on
this is sue, and it may be to secure N aiority
of the senate, but it will be impossible to pass
any such bill over President Harrison's veto
By xt winter it will be plain to the country
that President Harrison stands between the
country and the demand for free silver His
position on this issue has always been clear.
and his Albany speech renders it equally clear
that he looks on the day of compromise as
past. The country must choose between the
Democratic party, which supports the unim-
tied coinage of silver, and the Republican
party, which oppose it. There is no middle
ground, and the struggle next winter promi-
SEES to center the attention of the country up
on President Harrison's defense of a sound
currency, every dollar at gold par.
CONSEQUENCES OF FREE COINAGE.
From the Cleveland LEADER
The free coinage of silver woul bring back |
to this country at once nearly all of these
$500 000, 900 of American securities held in |
Germany, and perhaps twice that amount |
held in England and France and other coun-
tries. Europeans would rather have or 4 |
per cent interest from any European govern |
ment than per cent from some of our rail- |
roads in deprecated silver. with the prospect |
OF beng compelled to sometime take the prin
cIpal in silver at "a to 80 per cent. discount. /
The good gold dollars would go to Europe
to pay for our bonds, and 1.-THE poor
er dollar would do its first errand in paving
some poor laborer for his work" The very
talk OF free-coinage silver is Injurious Re.
tween the beginning of the discussion of this
subject last summer and December 27, there
was a decrease in our visible supplv Of goid
amounting to $37 POT 900 No one knew
where this money had gone. 1t had disan
peared from the banks and from the national
treasury. 1t had been boarded. Even fine
silver miners who received certificates for |
their bullion drew gold upon their certificates
and salted it down to sell it at high premi-
after free coinage should have wrought
its mischief. and the employers had begun to
pay out the poorer dollar for labor Others
boarded the precious al because they
feared this country would become a silver
country like India; that the gold exchange
opened by the Democratic rebellion and closed
by John Sherman's specie resumption BILL
would be restabished in New York and gold
bear large prsmium- The free coinage prop
osition caused &sEEIst; the adoption of a
free GO. coinage ps1& A fks n ono Democratic