The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1893-09-07
What One of Our Citizens
Has to Say
ON FINANCIAL STATUS OF AFFAIRS.
He Defends the Honesty and Integrity
of President Cleveland and
Our congressman.


patriotic farmers and best citizens asked
me to write letter to be published in
Jour paper giving my views on the f.
nancial question.
He specially wanted me to do this in
view of the fact that the people around
in the country, after listening to the
strife breeding speech of Tom Watson at
Kennesaw and after reading the litera-
ture that has been distributed among
them for the same crafty purpose, are
wrought.up to the highest pitch thinking
that our law makers in Washington are
about to commit some terrible unheard
of crime and rob the people of all they
have.
1t is an unfortunate state of affairs
when the people who elect Congressman
to Office lose all trust in their honesty
from the time they enter upon their
work and make all sorts of charges
against them for selling out to Wall
street and even boldly claim that Secre-
tary of the Treasury Carlisle and Presi-
dent Cleveland have been thus bought.
1t is doubly unfortunate that they do so
when not one scintilla of fact, circum-
stance or motive that is founded upon
truthful facts can be shown to Justify
the charge.
If our Congressman waiver at all from
what they think the best interest of the
country demands, they will go where
popular clamor is loudest in order to
please the people and secure reelection.
They could not and would not for a few
paltry dollars from Wall street become
traitors to their country and commit the
terrible crime of being bribed no more
than you or would. They have patri-
otisn as well as ynrl- and I, and their all
is staKed upon the record they maEe
Do sensible people become rogues as
soon as they land in office as an invari-
able rule and are we alone right in all
our views and all who differ with us dis
honest?
What motive has Cleveland or Carlisle
got to be false to the prosperity and best
interest of the United States ? Their all
is staked upon the record they make
With this Congress Cleveland's public
record will be forever closed and he is
knowingly facing that fact. Would he
try to ruin the country in view of this
fact? Has he not always been honest
regardless of consequences to himself?
This financial question is profound and
exceedingly difficult of solution. The
great masses of the people know COM
paratively nothing about the system and
demagogues can easily preach to them
false doctrines and secure their belief
Congress with all the facts and figures
before it can be trusted to render a
righteous verdict on this question-and
we should await their decision at any
rate before we condemn. In making
their verdict they have got to study it
in view of the financial system of the
whole world. No man liveth unto him
self alone, neither does any nation do so.
A few facts taken from the speech of
Hon. Benjamin II. Hill delivered in 1878
under similar conditions to those now
existing will show what this country has
to contend against.
In 1873 silver was demonetized and has
remained so ever since. If untold misery
would follow from it we ought to have
seen it during the twenty years the coun-
try has lived under that law since then.
Mr. Hill says, ''It was not the demone-
tization of silver either by the United
States or the other ten nations that alone
produced the depreciation in silver. On
the contrary, it is my opinion that the
wisdom of the statesmen of those coun-
tries discerned coming events and they
determined for other courses to demone-
tie silver; and now to these causes I
invite the attention of the Senate He
then shows that since 1861 up to 1878 the
decrease in the product.of silver in the
United States alone was 1900 per cent.
The increase in the product of the world
was 100 per cent. The decrease in de-
mand by reason of the fact that India
ceased to take silver was IS per cent.
during that time. Out of 33 leading
nations of the world at that time not
including the United States, 10 had the
single gold standard, only 10 the single
silver standard and the small number of
8 the double standard. The condition
of things now are if any thing worse for
silver than the figures above given for
1878 In the fane Of ;rn,nnnsnl,r i,,o..Oo.