The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1893-01-04

WueIO bu0 law says Bn OuAOo VI SOAN AZ
worth so many dollars! That settles it.
1t is the voice of the people Of the United
States, in the form of law, which fixes
the market price Of the ounce of gold.
Under the old law an ounce OF gold was
equal to sixteen ounces of silver. That
fixed the value Of both metals. Upon
that basis Of value the miner sold his
gold and his silver either at the mint or
to the manufacturer.
Gold and silver owe their value to the
law making it legal to use them, when
coined as money. Take away that law
and the two metals are simply commodi-
ties with their market value fixed by the
demand for them by the manufacturers.
The Capital does not seem to under
stand that the trouble with the people
Of this country to-day is the fact that
from the hour wEen silver was demon-
etized in the United States in 1873, down
to the present moment, gold alone has
been the standard Of value here, and
silver has been treated as commodity.
From that hour to this the American
congress has treated silver as if afraid of
it. Congress has listed to the demands
of an outraged people 80 far as to pass
the Bland bill and afterwards the Sher-
man bill, but both laws were mere tenn
porary makeshifts to appease the wrath
of the people and to stem the tide of
financial disaster threatening the coun-
try, but neither measure was made in
the interest of the people of the United
States. Both measures acknowledged
the supremacy of gold and both bills
really intended to make gold the basis
of all our money. Neither bill sought to
redress the evil resulting from the de-
monetization act of 1873. There is but
one solution of the problem. Silver in
the mine must take its old place occu-
pied by it up to 1873. When you say
"Put 100 cents in the silver dollar" do
you not mean that every paper dollar re-
deemable sin coin" is really worth but a
fraction Of it's face value? How much
longer must the coinage laws of the
United States depend upon British
standard? Is it not high time to make
American laws for American citizens?
No sane man doubts that the demon
etization Of silver was brought about by
British and European CAPITALISTS, through
their agents in Wall street. 1t was a
conspiracy to help the few ut the expense
of the masses Of the people. Why object
to a coinage act precisely like the one re-
pealed at the instigatlon Of the owners Of
gold? The Capital does not need to be
told that the price Of wheat has been
governed by the price of silver bullion
for the past twenty years. In 1873 silver
was worth $1.29 an ounce and wheat in
Chicago $1.17 per bushel. Three years
later silver had dropped to $Ll4 and
wheat to S1O5. In 1887 silver dropped
to 81 and wheat to 81 cents. In the
present month silver went down to 83
cents and wheat in Chicago to 73 cents.
Whenever England desires to lower the
value of American wheat it knocks down
the price of silver. Last October a
member Of the British parliament said:
The decline of silver has made wheat
cheaper. The wheat market takes its
quotations upon silver basis. India is
paid for it's wheat in silver, and as that
country is a competitor Of the United
i 81. =. -----1- - La= aa=aal H. -.n:oo