Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-16


for the benefit and support OF the petty
industry of the mining and smelling OF
silver ore-a product OF which the an.
nual value is less than half that of hens
eggs which we get every year from our
barnyards. The prices in our market ,ol
our cotton, corn, wheat, meat and dairy
products are established by the price OF
the excess or surplus that will be ex-
ported. That price will be fixed in
terms of gold. We cannot alter tiff we
would, and we would not do it if we
could. Every man engaged in large
transactions is aware of the loss and dis
credit or commercial suicide which
would come from such a. parting from
the ways of true commerce and exchange
as would follow an attempt to establish
any other standard'than gold standard
in the United States by way of any in
ternational agreement. Suppose the
seller of cotton, pork, etc., needs gold
dollars, and has right to expect them /;
he claims he has, but the buyer offers to
pay him in silver dollars under the legal
tender act, which forces the seller to
take such dollars, even If by free coin
age, without the amendments of the
act of legal tender, they had
become worth only 80 cents each. What
term shall we apply to such transac-
tion? Such acts of legal tender can
only be destined for the purpose of col
lecting forced loans; they are acts of
war. There is no danger in coming as
many dollars Of silver or gold as the
people want, who may bring their bull
lion to the mint to be coined. The
true and only danger is in the abuse of
the trust under the act of legal tender.
Let the law prescribe the respective
uses to which the gold dollar and the
silver dollar shall be put, in the same
way, then, and then only, will free
coinage be safe.
Mr.. Atkinson submits with his paper
resolutions providing: That the mints
be opened to the free coinage of dollars
or multiple of dollars of silver or gold;
that the legal tender act be 80 amended
as to provide that in all contracts or
arrangements in which the single word
dollar" is expressed, the dollar i'm
piled by that agreement shall be dol
lar made of gold; that all contracts or
agreements for the payment of money
in express terms of silver dollars, be
made in silver or the equivalent thereof
that the purchase of silver for coinage
"
ment should cease.
RESOLUTIONS INTRODUCED.
The roll of states was then called for
the introduction OF resolutions, which
were referred to the committee on reso-
lutions, and among which were the fol-
lowing:
By j. Bryan, Nebraska-That part of
the revenue necessary for the support of
the national governments should be raised
from graded income tax; that all the
legal money of the United States should
be made of full legal tender for alldebts;
that no advantage was to be gained by
the people from the system of reciprocity
as at present prepared, but regard as
to our welfare freer COM
intercourse with those nations
which buy the products of our farms;
that coal, iron ore, wool. salt, lumber.
binding twine and cotton ties should be
placed upon the free list that the tariff
on necessaries of life be greatly reduced,
and that luxuries be made to bear the
heaviest burdens.
Ex-Governor Gear. of Iowa, responded
10 an invitation to address the congress,
the subject: Markets for
western Products" He favored more
railway facilities, the improve
ment of water ways and the extension
of reciprocity treaties.
a recess was then taken until this
evening, when several speeches were
made on various subjects, after which
the congress adjourned until tomorrow.
SENATOR STEWARDS VIEWS.
Senator Stewart in his letter said he
was in full sympathy with the western
states commercial congress, and realized
the necessity for the united action of
the west and south to resist the absorb
ing avarice Of the gold contractionists of
The commercial centers OF Europe and
the United States. 1t was admitted
that enterprise must languish, business
be curtailed and progress and develop
ment stayed by adherence to gold mono
metalism. But such was the policy die
tated to our government by the money
changers. Silver had been demonetized
and there had been no material increase
in the volume of gold coin in the COM
world. The output of gold had
been absorbed for non-monetary pur-
poses. Production, business and credit
had expanded enormously, while gold
for ultimate redemption had remained
stationary or declined. An oligarchy of
gold mono-metalists, either owned or
by the bonds they had every
dollar of gold coin in existence. He
advocated that the people break the cor
ner by the restoration of sill
yer to its proper place as
and thus free themselves
from the hard conditions imposed upon
them. All the financial laws enacted
by congress for the last twenty-five
years had been direct subsidies to the
money powers. How long, he asked,
would the producers of wealth permit
such legislation? 1t was time for the
producing class, especially those of the
west and south, to assert their rights.
Under the demonetization of silver,
have grown heavier and the
prices of farm products have declined.
He advocated then, the free coinage OF
silver and making it legal tender,
and said the coined silver of Europe
was legal tender on par with
gold, at premium of 81 per cent. above
our standard dollar. The suggestion
that under free coinage the silver coin
Of any country would find a market in
the United States, and suffer discount
from 31aper cent. on European silver, to
per cent. on Indian silver, was absurd.
Other measures might be necessary to
supply circulating medium, but free
coinage was the first and most impor-
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