The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1892-03-25

In the national house of representa-
fives on the 22d Mr.. BANDS free coin
age bill being the special order, Nj.
bland, chairman of the committee on
coinage, took the floor in favor of the
measure
This bill, - said Mr.. Bland, 10 open
ing the discussion, proposes to go
back a hundred years in the matter of
coinage. 1t " as just 4 hundred years
ago that the wise founders of this gov
eminent adopted what we call the
double standard They provided for
the coinage of god and silver without
limit at the minis of the United States;
that silver should be coined the same
as gold and should have the same ad-
vantages and the same recognition.
The silver dollar shonld consist of
3zi 400 grains of silver. precisely the
dollar of silver that is called for in this
bill This bill provides that gold aud
silver shall be coined al the ratio fixed
by the act of 1887, which was called
the ratio OF 1G to L or, more exactly,
it is -. 9s TO L This bill provides that
gold and silver shalt be equal at the
minis IApplausel.
'In order that this equality should
be preserved, it is necessary that silver
should be put on the same plane, in re
gard to the issue of certificates of the
mint, as gold. To-day the law provides
that gold bullion may be taken to the
mint of the United States and certif-
Gates issued to the owner, or that he
may be paid for it in money. It is not
required for its coinage"
Mr., Bland said that ne had agreed
TO. and would propose later, an amend
ment to that portion Of the bill pro-
viding that coin notes shall be issued
as rapidly as bullion is deposited. He
would move, at the proper time, to
amend by providing that the coin notes
shall be issued as rapidly as the minis
found it practicable to coin the bullion.
In arguing for greater volume of
money, Mr.. Bland said that he would
admit that the re fined system of credits
which has grown up in the country
does to IA certain extent economic the
use of money. but in the end the day
of payment of these obligations always
comes and we must have money. In
1881, when we had passed a bill for re-
funding the national debt, the national
banks of the United States sur
rendered SIS, 600, 900 into the nation
al treasury, for the purpose of
inducing veto from the president-a
threat which effected its purpOse-and
the result of this withdrawal of SIS,
COO, 900 from circulation put interest up
in New York at the rate of one cent a
day. Notes and bonds are not money
they are conveniences- The whole
capitalists who demand interest, and
the people, who demand money instead
of interest. Great applause
The gentleman denounced the peri
odic attempts for international confer
ences and international agreements
every time the free coinage of silver is
proposed. Are we to be shackled here
by the apathy of the governments of
other nations? Is our financial system
to be regulated, not by our own ideas
of justice and our own conveniences,
but by the ccuveniences of other ma
tions? The moment this great govern
ment declares for the free coinage of
silver the other commercial nations.
too, will solve that question. Self
interest will compel them to do so.
The restoration of silver means the
restoration of it the world over. Gold
and silver have been the servants of
civilization since civilization began.
They are twin brothers and when you
sever the ligature both are dead. Be
fore gold can leave this country there
must be some other form OF money
to take its place. The moment you
restore silver, il gold is taken
from circulation prices will go
down in proportion and that
necessitates money from abroad to pur-
chase commodities here that 60 down
because OF the co TRACTION of money.
Everything will be cheap. The man
who holds his gold IS simply hol ling it
for silver; for silver viii take the
channels of circulation Did is a ty-
rant. Gold won't tolerate any compe-
tition. He must dominate or he will
have nothing to do with your finances.
Let silver be coined once and see what
the result Will be then You bring
him to the level of the common people
of this country. Applause To the
level OF silver where he ought to be
You may have to pay a little more if
you have the two metals at par, but
let Us remember that As a rule when
money is plentiful prices are good.
You may have to pay a little more,
but labor, after all, is the only money.
Wall street Is to-day demOnetizing
. labor and wheat aud cotton This bill
remonetizes them ALL"
MIR. Bland then explained the last
section OF the bill providing that when
ever France opened her mints to free
coinage of silver at ratio OF 15J5 to 1,
the United States should adopt that
ratio. He called attention to the fact
that for seventy years Fra had by
her open minis fixed the price on both
metals and kept them on an unvarying
parity of 49, to 1. To allsy any ap-
pre- hension that might arise because of
the French ratio being 151s to /, while
ours was l6 to l, it was proposed that
the United States should adopt the
ratio of i5I< to 1 whenever France did
SO. Continuing, Mr. Bland declared
that the action of the government of
tire United States on the free silver
question had been an invitation to Eu-
rope TO go on the gold standard, We
began silver's demonstration in 1878
and in all our efforts to restore silver
we had been defeated by limitations
When n free coinage bill was passed in
the house in 1878 by a two-thirds ma
iority and sent to the senate the same
idea of an international agreement was
injected into the question, and mean
while we provided for the purchase of
from s.. 900, 900 to 81, GOO. 900 a month.
The last congress passed an act to pur-
chase 81, 500. 600 of silver monthly and
its friends proclaimed that it was done
in the interest Of silver. Sarcastical-
ly.l He opposed that bill and said the
gentlemen were deceiviug themselves
and the ,untry and that silver could
not be brought TO par in aay such man
ner.
The law of 1875 compelled the coin
age and use of the silver dollar The
law of the last congress used the bull