The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-08-24

lieve that the great increase In Its pro-
duction, the great decline in its de.
mand, had no effect upon its value :?
Do you not believe that they were
somewhat causes in producing
that effect? If they were, L
ask every candid senator
upon this floor TO tell me why it is
that you insist upon telling the coun-
try that the only cause of the depreci.
alton of the commercial value Of silver
was the act Of 1873? Is it fair to make
that statement? Eleven nations dur.
lug this very period have discarded
silver from their coinage. Fifteen
hundred per cent increase in it's pro
duction by the United States, 100 PER
cent increase in its production in the
world, and 85 per cent decrease in its
demand. Yet, gentleman, tell me
there is but one cause for the depreci-
alton of silver" "Then put this to
senators: as you do not wish to
coin deprecated money, as
all the causes which we may reason.
ably say have united IN producing its
depreciation can not be removed by
us, as we can only remove one, as we
will in all probability fail to restore
by the act of one nation the value OF
silver in equal value of that OF the
gold dollar, you see the hazard at
once of passing this bill without any
Limitation upon it. If you do produce
dollar that is not worth gold dol
lar you see you derange the currency,
you confuse all values, and you in.
flict very great mischief upon the
country"
How to get at remedy-that was
the question. At that time there
was no hint of an international
adjustment, and Senator Hill saw but
one of three ways to make and keep
silver on par with gold. First, by
increasing its weight as Bland and
Vest now propose. But this he showed
to be no remedy, as it could not be
told how long any one particular
weight would hold good. Second,
limiting the coinage. France kept
between $3OO,OOO,OOO and $400,0O0,000
of silver in circulation by shutting
down her mints. But his third way
he thought the best-limiting the
legal tender power of silver. "For
the very same reason your minor coins
pass at par. The nickel passes at par
and 80 the copper cent passes" $50
in England. Look at her case.
England you say has demonetized sill
yer; but yet England makes coined
silver a subsidiary coin and she gives
the silver money higher legal tender
power than we have done with our
fractional currency. England circu-
lates from $4,000, 900 to 500, $1,000 of
silver, and it is not equal in value to
our silver dollar"
But the United States would not
listen to the warning voice of her
most distir guished statesman. The
act of 1890 made matters W. rse, and
now the crash has come. And
now what do we hear shrieked
as tho remedy? The same
old thing, "free and unlimited
coinage of silver.n Something, i'll
possible, under existing conditions
more impossible than at the time of
Ben Hill's warning. Democrats, go
back to the first pr nciples. Follow
the leadership of your true friends
such statesmen as Ben Hill and
Grover Cleveland-and all will be
we'll. They speak not for the hour,
but as they have grasped the full inn
port of the subject as it affects us as a
people per Sc, and in our relations,
intimate and stupendous, with the
civilized world.