The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-08-11


unconditional repeal of the Sherman
law, for without the support of men like
Daniel, Pugh, Vance, Morgan and other
free coinage men the silver senators per
80 cannot long hold out and force an
other compromise.
I look for y southern flop on the silver
question. Heretofore the sentiment for
free coinageof silver has been as strong
there almost as in the far west. Now
the south has cast loose from this old
mooring and is whipping in the stream,
uncertain which channel to choose.
Cleveland has pointed the ways for some,
and If their constituents point the same
way there need be no doubt of the re-
suit.
The one definite settled thing at pres
emit is that all over the southland the cry
is for relief A remedy is demanded,
but what prescription will ease the money
patient is the point on which the fnan-
cial doctors disagree. Two classes Of
public men have polestars by which
they tie, the absolute free coinage men
and the unconditional repeal advocates.
The soutiaerners haye all preached free
coinage, but the tide, it is clearly seen,
lis sweeping that doctrine down stream.
One Of the strongest Democrats from
the south is Livingston of Georgia, a
man Of marked individuality and a well
to do cotton planter. He showed me up
into his room, near the capitol, and when
I told him I wished to know if the south
had changed its silver views he replied:
ssI think there has been this much change
In the south. Our people thought 16 to 1
a fair, equitable silver ratio. think
they will concede this was an error and
that it makes no difference to them
whether Is to 1 or 90 or % to be the
ratio. They are willing to concede to
the outside world that q silver dollar
ought to be good dollar. Tt matters
not whether our present estimation OF
that dollar be correct The fact is the
outsideworld don't think Is to dollar
good. We are willing to put silver
enough in the dollar until we make it
the best dollar in the world, and one
which all countries will want, but we
want double standard.
s.Our people are to some extent in
desperate condition about moving the
crops. The farmers owe the merchants,
and their mortgages are falling due early
in the cotton season. The merchants
and banks now have no money to buy
cotton. f they fail to get it, the sale Of
cotton, in my opinion, will be stopped.
The farmers certainly cannot and ought
not to be called on to sacrifice their cot
ton, when by sacrificing they cannot pay
their debts II by selling they can pay
their debts, would advise them to do it.
IF they cannot, they ought not to be ex-
pected to sell. The creditor class would
not get any good from such sales. 1t
kills the goose that lays the golden egg.
eff the money is not coming soon, there
will be no cotton on the market. IF
land Mr.. Livingston settled himself i'm
pressively and brought forward his fore
.fnger) it is not sold at the usual time,
the banks and merchants cannot respond
to New York and Liverpool and you
will see the biggest panic ever seen, for
the big crops must be moved. We are
in slow panic now-it bursts out like
"a volcano on a mountair-but if wheat
and cotton don't move there will be a
perfect upheaval, and I don't know how
we are going to get the money to move
them.
1.-THE New York banks, | see, have re-
solved not to furnish southern and north
western banks with money for the pur-
pose of moving crops. By that they
concede they control the surplus cur
Irency of the country, a charge made
against them heretofore and denied by
them. There is nothing they can do
more disastrous TO the money centers
than to withhold the money needed. II
they withhold their surplus, 1t will con-
Vince the world they are in control of
the currency, and there will be such a
fight in the money system as has never
bsen witnessed. They will be putting
the knife to their own threats, for the
eastern banks and Lombard street MUST
go down in the end if the agricultural
Interests COLLAPSE