Middletown transcript., 1892-03-17

the nominal ratio at which. silver coin
age is progressing is 16 to 1-while in
fact the actual ratio of market value
is 23 to 1.
History will not permit it to be for
gotten, although some men may wish
to forget, that these measures were all
placed upon the statute book under the
counsel and advice of the Republican
party and while as Democrat I may
and do derive some satisfaction from
the fact that the responsibility for such
| grave errors and consequent injury to
the country cannot be la id at the door
of that party, and on the contrary have
been strongly disapproved by the only
Democratic administration Of the past
thirty years, yet, in the progress OF
4 events I find even that negative satis-
faction rapidly giving way to a feeling
of little less than CONSERVATION when
1 perceive in the present Congress and
elsewhere such indications of dispo-
sition on the part Of Democrats pro-
Tossing to represent their constituents
to accept, expand, intensity and con-
tinue these terrible mistakes of their
party opponents and this. too, just at
the moment when the public mind
seems to nave been slowly awakened to
the exposed and admitted dangers OF
such a course of action. cannot
sufficiently express my amazement and
sorrow to see men Of the Democratic
party now fastening to adopt these
dangerous fallacies and clothing their
honored party with such cast-off, dis
eased and fatal garments and to impede
its march to power and usefulness BY
such balls and chains of suicidal error.
ST don't pretend to read between
the lines of the late votes and action
in the House of Representatives, it
means shrewd and cunning finesse,
the strategy of concealed motive, can
only say.
IT Is PLAYING WITH FIRE,
and is treating question Of the
gravest public import in an unworthy
manner |; but, if the votes mean what
they say on their printed face, then.
say, the hour has struck for the Demo
cratic masses to arouse themselves and
examine their individual consciences
and sense of duty to the country, and
to realize that salus popak saprema est
lez is the rallying cry Of true Demo-
cracy everywhere -and not of Demo-
Gratis alone, but of all other patriots to |
whom parties are but means to an
end, and that end the safety and well
fare of the country. Full well am I
assured that the true Democracy will
never permit their party organization
to be so misled as to become an in-
strumentality Of injury and wrong to
the country.
I" Where does any man find warrant
in the long and honorable record of
the Democratic party, or any Of its ac-
cepted and authorized exponents, for
the heresy that value can be created
by acts of Congress ? Where do they
end warrant for the ownership and
forced coinage of the precious metals,
or either Of them, by the government
of the United States 2 These precious
metals are not public property !; they
belong the world over, to private own
ers by whose labor they were produced
out Of the earth-but are certified by
the stamp of the mint-not as to value
but as to actual weight and fineness
for money dealings. Who will deny
that the simple creed under the con-
stitution, of the Democratic party in
relation to money has ever been that it
has two essentials, the material and
the stamp the former giving it its
value and the latter assurance of the
weight and fineness Of the metal Of
which it is composed.
Natural laws, the laws of demand
and supply, and the right of private
contract, properly and justly control
the presence or absence of gold or
silver and statutes arbitrarily re-
placing these laws will be always male
f1cient and creative Of confusion and
disaster in the business of mankind.
These truths are plainly written on
the face of history and all human ex-
perience. Their denial or rejection
will be met by speedy proof of their
necessary and inexorable acceptance.
Il those who now propose to deny
being possessed Of the
representative power, shall
assert by the passage of statute their
power to create value in the metal of
silver, or any other commodity, and
enforce its free and unlimited coinage
at ratio Of value as compared to gold
far above the intrinsic value attested
by the prices current in every market
in the civilized world-they will soon
find themselves and their followers
face to face with the "opinions of
tribunal to which our
SO solemnly appealed when
they struck the shield of the arbitrary
power of British king and his minis
try, and declared for Liberty and Inde-
pendence.
Sup to this time the government
alone has assumed, and for the public
profit only, to coin silver bullion into
pieces of money issued at a nominal
value, whose intrinsic value is far be-
low in open market, but the PROPOSE
tion is now strangely advanced to !
hand over this power, and the enor-
nous profit attending the transmuta-
tion of 70 cents into 100, to the class I
Of private owners of silver bullion for
their individual enrichment. But
must this not Inevitably and in tbo |