The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1892-08-19

that amendment, l made speech in
which, among other things, / said
"The Director Of the Mint, in his last re.
port, states that from January, 1875, when
the coinage Of the subsidiary silver com.
menced, to October I, 1877, there had been
purchased 2s,707, 634.57 fine ounces, or 81.
Sg7, stills standard ounces of silver bullion
at the price of SSi, Sls,sTS.26, being an aver.
age of 1lS.S cents per ounce fine, aud that
this bullion at the coming rate Of 81 .244l6S
per standard ounce will produce $50, 49,, 6Ss.
Here, then, Is seigniorage or gain 90 the
Government during the period mentioned
OF $500, 7l474. Under n system of free
coinage this sum Of more than five and
half million Of dollars would have gone al.
rectly into the Golfers Of the holders and
spectators In silver bullion, and, besides
that, the Government would have prepared
their coin for them at an expense OF several
dollars more. Under the free coinage pro.
visions Of the House bill the foreign holders
Of demonetixed silver of Germany would
have the right to food our minis with Il,
and have II coined into dollars for their
own benefit at the expense Of our Govern.
ment and people.
"The overloaded taxpayers of this coun.
try, already staggering and sinking under
the burdens imposed upon them by unwise
legislation, would have been subjected by
that provision To new exaction OF several
million dollars annually for coming the
bullion Of capitalists at home and abroad.
/ can not become the advocate Of such
system, either AS to gold or silver, and, al.
though my vote was given for the bill rs II
passed the House under a suspension Of the
rules, with this feature In il, did not APP
prove IL, and then hoped that II would be
amended IN the Senate.
"The minis Of the United States are op.
Grated at the expense of the whole people,
and, therefore, they should be operated for
the benefit Of the people. II, on account Of
a difference between the market value Of
the bullion and the legal value Of the coin,
there IL seignorage or gain in the process
Of coming, the Government should have the
benefit of IL; and II, as In the case Of gold
at the present time, there 10 no difference,
the holder of the bullion who wants IL con.
verted into coin should be required 10 pay
at least enough to defray the expenses of
the operation. The great mass Of the peo-
pie neither own bullion nor metal requiring
recoinage, so that the provision Of the
House bill was not provision for their ben.
eft, but for the exclusive benefit Of a few
bullion dealers and mining companies.
"My position upon this subject Is briefly
this: am opposed to free coinage Of either
gold or silver, but In favor Of unlimited
coinage of both metals upon terms of exact
equality. No discrimination should be
made In favor Of one metal and against the
other; Tor should any discrimination be
made in favor Of the holders Of either gold
or silver bullion and against the great body
OF the people who own other kinds Of prop
erty. A great government should treat all
its citizens alike, aud whenever IL attempts
10 do otherwise IL will engender spirit Of
discomfort which sooner or later must dis
turb the harmony, If not the peace, Of So
ciety."
The last paragraph Of this extract
shows precisely what my position then
was, and always has been, upon this sub
ject. believe that gold and silver
bullion should be treated exactly alike
in the minis OF the United States-that
is, that a dollars worth of gold should
be coined into gold dollar, and dol.
lars worth of silver should be coined
into a silver dollar, and If no charge il
made for coming the one, then no charge
should be made for coming the other.
In my opinion the declaration made
upon this subject by the Democratic
party at its recent National convention
is perfectly sound in principle and
enunciates the only true public policy.
That declaration is in the following Ian
guage, which do not think can be mis-
understood by any one who reads It:
"Section Z. We denounce the Republican
legislation known nv the Sherman act of
1890 AS a cowardly make shin, fraught with
tI.sI E.a.. L. .L
should make all Of Its supporters, Us well
as Its author, anxious for its speedy repeal
We hold 20 the use Of both gold aud silver
as the standard money Of the country, and
10 the coinage Of both gold and silver with.
out discriminating against either metal or
charge for mintage, but the dollar unit Of
coinage Of both metals must he Of equal In
trinsic and exchangeable value or be ad.
justed through international agreement, or
by such safeguards Of legislation as shall
insure the maintenance OF the parity Of the
two metals and the equal power of every
dollar mt all times In the markets aud In
payments Of debts; aud we demand that all
paper currency shall he kept at par with
aud redeemable In such coin. We insist
upon this policy as especially necessary for
the protection Of the farmers and laboring
classes, the first and most defenseless vie.
tins OF unstable money and a huctuating
currency
The gold aud silver coins can not be
Of equal intrinsic value, as demanded by
this resolution, unless the metal con.
tanned In each OF them Is of equal value
while still in the form Of bullion. Coin
age adds nothing whatever 10 the In
trinsic value Of the metal, but only n.
certains officially its weight aud fneness,
puts II In a convenient form Of circulation
and authenticates Il by the stamp Of