People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-07-29

was a commodity like cotton, or corn,
or wheat. Since 1892 it had been
MONEY, and had, in conjunction with
gold, measured values and assisted in
making exchanges. After the act OF
1874, however, it was no longer a
standard Of value; it no longer had
the same usefulness in making ex.
changes. Gold won a monopoly
The men who had raked in all there
was of that metal, became Money
kings in name and in fact. They
ruled the roost. They priced every
mans product. They mastered Ia
Dor in all it's vocations. Cotton,
wheat, corn, lumber, ETC., brought
smaller prices. The mortgage on
the farm swallowed greater amount
of produce every year. The account
at the store demanded more days Ia
Dor every year.
Free coinage of silver means that
silver shall again supply the people
with medium of exchange equal to
gold; that the monopoly enjoyed by
gold over labor's products shall be
destroyed that the clutch which the
spectators and bankers have on the
markets shall be loosed.
Free coinage would help the farm
er, the debtor and the producer, by
putting more money into circulation;
by taking away from gold its pres
ent tyranny over all values; by un-
lettering the markets from the bank
ers land Spectators; by assuring a
better price for every bale Of cotton
and every bushel Of grain.
We are told that the silver dollar
should contain a dollars worth Of
silver. Measured how? By gold.
This is an insult which the plunderer
throws into the teeth of the man he
has robbed. From 1892 to 1873,
silver more than maintained it's equal
ity with gold. Measured how? By
both metals: by the "double stand
ard Of value" established by our
fathers. Gold and silver, minted on
equal terms of freedom, constituted
coins Of equal value.
Now in 1873 and 1874, the bank
ers gave silver a black eye. They
had the law to put mark of degra-
dation upon it. 1t was pulled down
from It's place as MONEY and put
among products as mere article of
bargain and sale. Is it any wonder
its value Gas measured by gold) de-
clined? Would not gold have done
the same? Did not gold decline
when it was demonetized in Europe !?
Our enemies insolently say that we
must make good all the losses silver
sustained by reason of their crime
against it. They say the depreciation
they brought upon it must remain.
On the other hand, we claim that
silver will 60 to it's old place if the
laws against it be repealed. We say
that we ought to put the two metals
side by side just as they were in
1873 and 1874. If this is not done,
we condone the crime against Free
Silver; we leave gold the superiority
which that crime gave it; we refuse
to put our standard of value where
Jefferson put it, we refuse to lift
our people out of the distress which
the destruction of their currency
brought upon them.
I have never claimed that Free
Silver wo uld remedy all our financial
ills. It would not do so. But it
would add $22,0OO,O0O annually to
our volume of money; it would
loosen the grip Of the Money-kings
to a very considerable extent; it
would be proof that the wrongs Of
the past were being considered and
it would give strength to
the reform movement which seeks
a better currency system and it
would most assuredly stop the down
ward tendency of prices by affording
the markets of the world a standard
of value and a regulator of prices
more just, and liberal, and flexible
than the arbitrary, exacting and