Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-04-16
WROTE OF MONEY.
Views of Champions of Silver
and Gold.
THE CONVENTION AT KANSAS CITY.

tent-Farmer Elder Makes Remark
| That May Lose Him His Hair-A
| Couple of TariG Reform speeches De-
| livered
| KANSAS CITY. April l6-The subjects
discussed at the commercial congress yes
terday were numerous and important j
| F Skiff, of Denver, said that the elements
of population and raw material in one
section wanted trading treaty with the
same elements in another section, and
| that the United States could sustain a
| population OF 500, 600 600 p. p Elder, ex-
| speaker of the Kansas house of represent.
| atives. remarked in the course OF speech
that the wives and daughters Of farmers
were getting too highfown and too much
in love with fnery but the gigantic evils
were the boards OF trade bucket shops,
trusts and combines. He wanted reci-
procity enough TO go round.
! Stewart of Nevada on Currency.
a letter was read from Senator Stew
art, of Nevada, which was devoted to the
money question lie wrote that it was
time for the west aud south TO resist the
| absorbing avarice OF the gold contrac-
| tionists of the commercial centers OF
Europe and the United States" For the
past twenty-five years every admin stra-
ton has recognized the banking fratern-
| ity of New York city a. the only business
community in this country capable OF adj
vising on fiuancia, subjecls, The produc-
ing classes had been ignored and their
rights disregarded Silver had been de-
monet.zed and there had been no mate
rial increase in the volume OF gold coin in
| the commercial world.
The Gold Olisarchy.
| An ohgarchy OF gold mouometalists
| either owned. or controlled by the bonds
| they held, every dollar OF gold coined in
| existence. In the language OF the street,
| they have ~cornered7 all the gold, ana
| now dictated terms TO the debtor and pro-
ducer He advocated that the people break
| the corner by the restoration Of silver 10
| its proper place as MONEY. and thus free
| themselves from the hard con ditions i'm
| posed upon them. AL financial laws en-.
| acted by congress for the last twenty-five
years have been direct subsidies to the
money powers. How long. he asked,
would the producers o. wealth permit
| such legislation. It was time for TIE
producing classes. especially those OF the
west and south, TO assert their rights.
4 Plea for Free Coinage.
He advocated the free coinage OF silver
and making it legal tender. and said the
coined silver Of Europe was legal tender
on a par with gold at premium OF about
| 81 per cent. above our standard dollar
The suggestion that under free coinage
the silver coin OF any country would find
a market II che United States and suffer
discount OF from 81 per cent. in European
silver 70 : per cent. on Indian silver was
| absurd. Besides, no country has mora
coined silver than it absolutely needs /
| Free coinage would not furnish too much
! money, Other measures might be neces-
sary 10 supply a circulating medium, but
free coinage was the FIRST and most impor
| tant step in the emancipation Of the
masses from the domination Of money
kings.
Atkinson on the Dollar.
Edward Atkinson, Of Boston, could not
accept an invitation to attend, but sent a
letter containing AZ ella 0orate discussion
Of the money question. II laid down
the principle that there can be no sound
reasoning upon the money question,
upon the currency question, or upon the
coinage question until true definition is
given 10 the word dollar or until the
separate functions OF acts OF coinage and
acts Of legal tender can he dealt with
separately. Mr. Atkinson illustrates by
the case o. two standards Of weight
voirdupNs which contain, 1000 grains;
and troy, which contains oniy 500
grains. He said: II any one tried to
weigh ont corn or cotton or beef or wool
to fulfill a contract OF sale with troy
pound weight he would be knave; if he |
weighed out silver or gold bullion TO full |
fill a contract OF sale with an avoirdupos |
pound weight ne would be fool
Two Bases Are Dishonest.
w hat terms shall we apply to those |
who, having contracted to pay money on !
a gold basis, offer to fulfill their contracts |
on a silver basis? VINO will trust them a |
second time: The difference in value be- |
tween gold and silver on an average for |
the last two or three years has been al |
most the same as the difference in weight |
between the avordupois pound and the
troy pound"
MIR Atkinson argued at length in favor |
of the gold standard
Free Coinage a Forced Loan.
Regarding free coinage he said: The |
proposal to open tae minis of the United !
States 10 the free coinage of silver dollars |
of full legal tender, under our present |
statutes, =, but a proposal TO collect q |
forced loan from the property, the pro-
duct, the wages and the earnings of the |
people Of this country for the benefit and !
support OF Tue petty industry OF mining |
and smelling silver ore, a product OF |
which the annual value Is less than half |
OF that OF the hens eggs which we get |
every year from our barDyards
The Way to Make 1t safe.
THAT proposal is dead Let US now |
bury it by opening the minis to the free
coinage of gold or silver dollars: but let |
Us make this practice safe by so amending
this act of lega! tender that no man can
force silver dollar upon farmer, a me-
chanic, tradesman, or creditor who has
a right to expect to be paid.n dollars |
made of gold or in the lawful unit of value
Of the United States There is no danger
IN coming as many dollars of silver or of
gold as people want who may bring their
bullion 10 the mint TO be coined The
true and only danger is in the abuse of
trust under an act of legal tender"
Resolutions Proposed.
A large number OF resolutions were in
rroduced.. One recommends a canal from
The lakes to the Atlantic. anor her wants |