Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-09-24
Established in 1913.
A FUTILE ATTEMPT
By the Democratic Organ of This
Place
To Answer the Sound Political Argument
of Hon L. Danford on Coinage
and Protection

The Gdzette'S column and half notice
of the Hon. L. Danford's address at this
place on Monday evening of last week is
preposterous, discourteous and untrue.
Starting with backwOods headlines in
which the meaning is throttled by the
type, it attempts by half statements, by
evasions and by perversions to answer
Captain Danford's powerful and logical
argument. 1t gives a garbled resume of
that argument, and proceeds to substi-
tute fairy story of its own. Captain
Danford maintained that the free coin
age of silver at this time would drive
from the country all our gold and all
promises based on gold, and would sup
plant our now permanent and reliable
currency by debased medium, fuctuat-
ing with the ever changing demands of
the market, and disturbing by its fiuctu-
atiOns the country's business, producing
immediate panic and dismay. ultimately
cutting down the wages of the wage
Garner, and breeding only uncertainty in
business ventures, wild speculation and
feyerish excitement. Mr.. Cleveland's eel
ebrated letter was read in confirmation
of this view, and as evidence of the omi-
nous division of Democratic opinion on
this subject, and the axiom OF political
economy enunciated that if there are two
kinds of money, unless they are exactly
equal in value, they part company.
The Gazette says that from the demon
etization of silver in 1873 until now, de-
preciated silver currency has been forced
on the country, that from '7S until last
winter this amounted to $2,000OOO per
year, and that now by the act of the last
Congress it is S4,5OOO00. This is mental
fog. Our silver is not now deprecated.
Every silver dollar made in this country
is backed not by 4121a grains of silver,
but by 100 cents worth, and it will go
anywhere for 100 cents, although as bull
ion it will command but 76 cents. The
Gazette, then, without attempting an
apology for Mr.. Cleveland, misrepresents
Mr.. Mckinley by making it appear that
he spoke and voted for free coinage.
Major Mckinley did nothing of the sort.
He last winter voted not with the Democ
racy and the silver kings, but with the
Republican majority, in favor of limit
ed coinage of silver. He voted for free
silver in 1878 because there were then but
100000 silver dollars in circulation, and
he has twice since voted against free sill
yer. He stands to-day at the same point
as does Captain Danford, in opposition
to the iniquity and injustice of the free
coinage of silver. The Gazette makes
much of the fact that with limited
coinage silver has not driven gold out of
the country. This is beating the wind;
nobody claimed that it had.
No attempt is made to answer Mr..
Danford's admirable protective tariff ar
gument, despite the fact that Mr.. Camp
bell insists that the tariff is to be the one
question of the campaign. Mr.. Danford
handles this subject in way that will
win votes. He brings it home, not only
to the manufacturing population of the
larger towns of our county, but equally
to the farmer who finds market in these
towns. Thirty-two years ago the popu-
lation of Belmont county was about
5000; to-day it is 81 600; 1900 of the in
crease in the last thirty two years is in
Barnesville, Bellaire, Bridgeport and
Martins Ferry, and the other 5000 is
along the line of the Cleveland, Lorain
and Wheeling Railroad, Wheeling Creek,
and the Baltimore and Ohio, on McMa
hons Creek, at the mines that are tribu
tary to the mills and factories and fur
naces of the Ohio Valley. These have
prospered under the protective poll
cy of the Republican party, and have
brought about the only increase in pop
ulation in this county, thereby increas-
ing the value of the home market TO the
farmer, who does not produce a single
thing now that he does not get more
money for than then, and who buys every
thing he uses cheaper than he did thirty
two years ago.
Why did not the Gazette tackle this
part of the address? Why waste a col
umn and half of valuable space on a
side issue, leaving without word the
great cause of free trade On which the
Republicans have "funked."