Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-02-19

Because Governor Hill. of New York,
failed to attend the anti silver meeting 10
which Mr.. Cleveland sent his regrets md
terseiy approved the object for which the
meeting was called, republican and mug,
wump papers of the east have attacked
him for cowardice. Who, they ask, with
note of triumph is the coward" and
"skulker" now?
Certainly not David B Hill, says tn e
New York World, whatever NAV be
thought of his attitude in the matter.
Had the memories of his enemies extended
over period of only five months they
would have known the reason of the gov
ernor's non attendance at an anti-silyer
gathering. None could be palmer or
more definite. He was not in sympathy
with the ideas of the party which ap-
plauded Mr.. Cleveland's letter so vocifer-
ously. He believes in ''free coinage ua-
der proper international ratio" first of
all, but as a choice of evils he considers
free coinage without foreign cooperation
superior TO the present system.
There is no doubt of Gov. Hills posl-
ton. He enunciated it with a character
istic directness on Sept. 90 last, when he
gave the principal address at the opening
of the Thomas Jefferson dub in Brook
Ign. At that time, after denouucing the
republican financial policy generally, he
spoke as follows:
"The new monetary legislation of con-
gress as exempliied in the recent silver
act redoubles tine latest repeats the earl.
lest and perpetuates the worst of those
errors which for nearly thirty years have
made unsound finance a daily nation4l in
struction and honeycombed the constitu-
ton with republican law. Instead of
executing the granted power to coin the
peoples gold and SILVER into money. in
stead of effecting its circulation by gold
and silver certificates strictly representa-
tive of coin, dollar for dollar, this repub
llcan congress has now managed without
the excuse OF war or the pretense of me-
cessity, TO add another new tangled legal
tender to that promissory debt currency
which the United States supreme court
decision, nightly adjudged illegal. After
twelve years failure by compulsory silver
purchases to promote free bimetallic
coinage at home or abroad, the Iepubli-
can party Is trying to deceive the people
by the claim of having settled what il
calls the silver question. The assump.
ton is as unwarranted as it is deceivirp q.
The recent legislation of congress is
merely temporary eXpedient 1t will
give permanent satisfaction nowhere. II
puts heavier strain upon our resources
than free binetallic coinage withou for
eigu CO operation would d., and obstruc,s
our progress towards that end which we
all desire to reach-the free coinage of
silver under proper int rnatio al ratio
I'm order to give Internationally to
our ratio. sixteen, il would be necessary
to obtain beforehand the concordant votes
of all the states of the European CONT
nent and the simultaneous recoInage of
the gold francs. the gold marks, the gold
forms, the gold roubles, while the siugle
vote of congress in favor of the Euro
pean ratio. fifteen and one-half, and
the recoinage of single piece, namely,
our silver dollar, would be sufficient
for realizing everywhere an iden-
tical bimetsllic ratio. Congress persists
in making sixteen gold d liars weigh as
much as one silver dollar, while fifteen
and one half is the monetary ratio be-
tween gold and all the enormous stocks
of silver coins existing in Frauce, in Hol.
land. in Spain, in Austria. in Germany
and in Russia.
Congress thus, with laundering in
competence. actually prepares either
future conflict of mint ratios, such as
twice already swept the United States
clean OF its monetary metals. first of gold
and then of silver. or else it casts away to
foreign lands that large profit incident to
the recoinage. which. either here or in
Europe. must precede to make possible
free bimetallic coinage at one ratio on
both sides of the Atlantic.
"In one act republican congress has
thus usurped more than doubtful pow
er, which. if lawful, it has worse than
unwisely used; has repulsed a popular
demand or restoration of our monetary
unit. which, till 1873 was bemetaIllc,
with free coinage alike to silver and to
go d and has interposed new hindrance
to q single and fixed weight ratio of par
ity for the gold and silver of the worlds
commerce. which is rational solution
Of the silver question, If commerce re-
mains international and universal.