The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1891-07-04
Free Coinage Of Silver.

Tree coinage OF silver through Its
representatives in the National
Grange. All farmer and labor or
ganizations of any importance have
demanded free coinage, and yet with
all the resolutions and demands
that labor could make on the pres
ent Congress, the bill for free coin
age was defeated. .-...
The same crowd of financial
wreckers that were instrumental in
having silver demoneti5ed in 1873
"A are to-day fighting free coinage.
In demanding free coinage, labor
is asking for but very little more
than the restoration of silver to the
position it occupied before. The
bill4for the demonstration of silver
was sneaked through Congress by
men who, if they had their just de-
serts, would be spending their time
in a State prison instead Of in Con-
gress, where some of them are to-
day still the champions of organ
lied capital.
The opponents of free coinage
are working and depending upon
the forgetfulness and ignorance of
the people to carry their point.
The chief arguments of capital
lists and their willing tools in Con-
gress are, that free coinage will drive
gold out of the country; the same
argument was used prior to the
Act of Feb. %, 1887, as an inevita-
BILE result of limited coinage of
silver of 100000 per month.
Pass that bill said the gold bugs
of Wall street, and you will drive
gold out of the country; they are
raising the same cry now. But did
it drive gold out, as they were sure
it would?
No; but instead of having $167,-
900, 900 of gold coinage in the U. S.,
it has increased until we now have
1862, 100000.
That is how limited coinage drove
gold out of the country from 1887
to 80. What reason have the anti
coinage men to base their predic-
tions on only the forgetfulness or
ignorance of the people? History
has proven them to be false proph-
cts and they should be stoned out
of their positions by the ballots of
an outraged people.
We tried free coinage in this
country for more than 80 years from
1892 to 1873. We had free coinage
and found it safe financial policy.
Upon that policy we built a great
and prosperous nation and carried
on one Of the greatest wars in mod
ern times; all industries grew to-
gether, each one retaining a just
reward for its labor; theequilibrium
of each industry was maintained,
strikes among laborers practically,
unknown, trusts and combinations
to Cypress were wholly unknown,
But there is another objection
brought against free coinage equally
as absurd, and when investigated
shows that the authors of the OBJ
jections are either ignorant of the
facts or else they take the. people
to be fools.
Wall street money bags, ETC., are
predicting a terrible calamity in
shape of an influx of foreign silver,
should free coinage be adopted.
France has 3 ,250, ,000, 900 francs
in silver, which is worth in her ju-
risdiction $644,695,000- in gold,
1850 to l..
Suppose America should adopt
free coinage and France should want
to wreak vengeance upon US by
sending her silver here and flooding
our markets. as some would-he
statesmen would try to make us
believe, how would she succeed?
We said she had $3.50, 600 900
francs; if she sent here and coined
at our mints at cur ratio of 1850
to / here, $3.50, 100000 would be
worth 1927 ,25O, 900, a clear loss to
her of nearly $4,000, ,000.
Spain, Belgium, Italy and Switz-
erland, which coin at the same ratio,
would sustain corresponding losses
on their silver.
India coins at Is to !, has stock
of silver worth at home 81 1852, ,OOO,-
600, and worth at our ratio 81 ,269,-
600 900, will she food us with cheap
silver and lose by SO doing So, ,OOO,-
OOO?-that would be money-mak-
ing scheme throughout. Where are
those large importations OF eilver
to come from that threaten to en-
gulf us7 Only from the imagina-
tive brain of Wall street tools.
The chief among them stands Jno.
Sherman who seems to have been
the leader in smuggling through
Congress the Infamous bill, which
practically stopped the coinage OF
silver; and when in 81 the limited
coinage act was passed, Sherman
advised President Hayes to veto the
bill, 'tis said. Sherman is said to
be great financier, but his 6nan-
ciering has afways been in the in
terest of Wsll street hs agalpst the