People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-07-29
Senator Stewards Speech.
fCoNTINUED FROM 1sT PAGE. ]

of protest, is death. The condition of
the laboring man in Europe is fast be-
coming what it was in the dark ages,
and in this country the same iron hand
of contraction is being laid upon him.
He is the only one who stands to resist
it, and he is denounced by the law
abiding citizens of this great Republic
for protesting against the falling prices
of his wages, and he must ultimately
be subdued if this goes on.
All, the evil lies deeper than the
mere dealing in futures, speculation in
futures, and business transactions. 1t
is brought about by the destruction of
half Of the money of the world and by
the impossibility of increasing the
other half. All the gold that is pro-
duced is consumed without making any
appreciate increase in the gold coin
of the world. 1t is estimated by stat
isticans that the gold coin of the world
is no greater in amount than it was
eighteen years ago. Nearly $40,000,000
of the annual product goes to Asia,
never to return, because their exports
always exceed their imports. The bal
ance is used in the arts. Still, the gold
kings insist that those who are at
tempting TO use any other kind of
money shall be forced to buy gold in
order to increase the value Of gold, the
property they own, to make bonds
more valuable. That is what is being
done.
We passed a bill of relief here, to
supplement gold coin with silver coin.
But the edict of the gold kings went
forth operating upon parties, upon
men, and upon conventions, to make
them forget their constituents, to make
them forget the sufferings of the peO-
pie whom they had robbed. How long
this will continue is question for the
future; but if it is not stopped we shall
have money famine the like of which
the world has never seen.
Between 1810and 1910 when a money
famine was created by the Spanish
American wars the production Of golC
and silver was between S30,000,000 and
100000 per annum, and some of that
could be put into new money. From
1910 to 1850 little was added to it, about
$10,000,0 900 from the gold mines of Rus
STA. From 1850 to 1875 the worlds pro-
duct of gold and silver was more than
$200,000,00 per annum. We had then
rising prices, and business was con-
Quoted on the basis of high prices.
Since 1875 no addition has been made
to the gold coin of the world, and we
are marching more rapidly to decline
than we were in the celebrated money
famine in the early part of this centu-
ry. Still we are here proposing relief
to the people, getting patriotic over
side issues, and allowing the evil to go
on increasing!
Much has been said about the reasons
for the fall of silver. Silver has not
fallen. 1t will buy as much of all the
commodities produced by man as it
ever would. 1t is gold which has gone
up. The average price of bushel of
wheat has been an ounce of silver in
Liverpool every year for the last TWEEN
ty years. The Indian farmer will take
his bushel Of wheat to Liverpool, sells
it for an ounce of silver, take his silver
home and coin it into $1.37. That sill
yer has for the farmer of India the
same purchasing power it ever had.
The American farmer, on the other
hand takes his bushel of wheat to Liv-
erpOol, takes his ounce of silver for it,
and brings it here and sells it for 81
cents. He is put in competition with
the farmer Of India. and in that way
we are driven out of the foreign mar
ket. Russia is similarly situated in
this respect to India.
So we go on putting up the price of
gold and putting down the price of
property, and the gold men say what
terrible thing it would be for some
of this gold to go out of the country.
If we had this gold in Europe, where
we sell our products, the price might
be higher there and we would be ben
Gifted. There is no place on earth
where our gold would do us so much
good as in Europe, where we sell our
commodities. 1t is the falling prices
that casts such financial gloom that
no business man can contend against
it.