The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-05-17
THE DEFEAT OF SILVER COIN
AGE.
Does 1t Advance or Retard Financial Re-
form?

form?
BLUE WING, n. @.
Mr.. EDITOR Weclaim ''eQual rights
for all and special privileges to none. ,,
Letus apply silver to this test. Isnotsil-
yer a product OF labor? Is not gold a
product of labOr9 ArenOt wheat corn.
lotion and tobacco just as much the
products of labor as either of the So
called precious metals?" Shall the
labor in the mines have special privi
leges' conferred by law which are de
MED to labOrers on the farm? Shall
the owners Of metal products have
especial privileges" conferred upon
them which are denied to the owners
Of farm products? Alliancemen have
come to believe, and assert, and de
mand that their products which feed
and clothe the world, have equal rights
with all other products, not excepting
the 50 called "preciOuS metal" prod
ucts And this is the bottom and sub
stance of the universally endorsed Sub
Treasury scheme
Beginning at an early period of his
tory, the two products of silver and
gold became the mOnarchs Of all the
o Olher products. A Especial privilege
was given, or allowed these two metal
products to measure the value Of all
the other products. From the remOtest
periods of civilization we find also
some special privilege" men, calling
themselves kings or rulers of all the
other people, They claimed-along a
parallel line with the especial privi-
1ege" metals superior, and even
" divine rights" to rule others. Might
and custom have perpetuated these
Especial privilege" men and families,
even to this day, but our fOrefathers,
who came to the American wilderness,
determined to side track these special
privilege" people, especially King
George, and declarged for ''equalrights
to all" But to make good this bold
declarati0n-fying in the face of the
whole wOrld-there ensued a struggle
sol long, 50 desperate and so bloody
that no thought could be given to any
other subject. Since that time, as
we'll as previously, the world has been
occupied with political and religious
revolutions But now comes the dawn
of a new CivilizatiOn-Che twentieth
century CIvilizatiOn-whi is about to
be ushered in by financial revolution
fraugh6 with less danger and greater
benefits to the human family than all
the political revolutions of the past
combined Il now devolves upon the
sons of the sires OF rs; the descendants
Of the brave and patriotic Eng;. 3e the
first revolution; to take up the work
where they left off, and placing our
feet upon the neck of both king gold
and king silver, proclaim again the
" sac Senper tyT0nniS" Of our fathers
who placed their feet upon the neck of
King George, of England. IF we are
true to the Instincts and traditions of
a noble ancestry, we will, not only de
throne, but trample in the dust the
metal m0narChs which have so long
asserted and maintained a superiority
over souls divine encased in God created
flesh Mind and muscle must re-assert
and re establish It's superiority over
the Especial privilege" metal products.
"Whom the Gods destroy they first
make mad, and whether the demOne-
tizatiOn of silver was an injury or bene-
fit; or whether the defeat of free coin
age of silver is an injury or benefit, it
matters not if it but opens the way for
the dethrOnement of gold-the other
Especial privilege" metal product
and secures a more speedy establish
ment of circulating medium 6 Of the
people, for the people and by the peo-
PIC. w hy p11Ou1u 11OU UOUA SO1u CJL1u
silver take their places, on an equality,
alongside of all the other products, and
if they be more handy to settle inter
national balances, let them be weighed
out to the foreigner for what they arr
worth-market value-like c)rn and
wheat, or cotton and tObacco7 Indeed
both are now used in that way for that
purpose.
If we MEAN "equal rights for all and
special privileges to none," then it
follows, logically, that we must have
''equal rights for all products and
special privileges to no products. Why
then should the free coinage people
contend that the government should
issue a 100 cent certificate on deposit
of 70 cents worth of silver, while we
only ask the government to issue S.
cent certificate on 70 cents worth of
farm products; or 80 cents on a 100
cents worth of farm products and so
cents on every 100 cents wOI tn OF IandE
Whv should the silver people ask so
much more for the silver producers
than for the bread -prOducers9 Why
not let the silver yoke stay off? Why
not 90 to work and get off the gold
yoke also7 The people have worn, the
double yoke of metallic money bond
age for centuries. Off with the yoke!
The success of free coinage would
only have delayed our deliverance, and
helped to strengthen the special
privilege" metal bases of money, and
thus retarded our progress towards
the true s-land-from whi n all
values emanate, and therefore the only
safe and true basis of money.
Does it not therefore appear that free
coinage of silver is really antagonistic
to the ub-Treasury scheme, and is it
not fortunate that it failed9 Will not
the failure of free coinage advance the
cause of financial reform? Are our
Cong essmen. who were elected largely
by Alliance votes, doing their duty in
this all important matter9 Free coin
age having failed, why should the at