The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-10-05
A:RINGINGLETTER.

Hon. S. M. Owen Writes on the
Demon tizing Of Silver in
the Face of Muturing
National Bonds.
The following graphic letter by
Hon. S. M. Owen, editor Of Faqma,
Stack Dc Home, appeared in the
St.zPaul Representatives:
Why this feverish haste, this in
sane desre Of the country's wealth
absorbers to accomplish the final
and. complete overthrow Of silver
as "a money metal? Why the
ulnaanimity Of the daily press on
this subject, unanimity as rare
as it is suspicious? Why a power
ful. and costly lobby in Washing
ton devoted to the cause? Why
the eagerness Of England's capt.
talists to see the final deed accom-
pllshed? Because they are the
last cards played by bondholders
in the game of defrauding and beg
Caring the people; game that has
taken "a years to play, but that is
now nearing it's end. They are
the surface indicators of the cul-
mination Of a conspiracy begun in
the credit Strengthening act'' of
1859, continued in the silver de-
monetization act of 1878, and will
be triumphantly contaminated in
the failure to restore silver to it's
old place as a money of final re-
,demption.
About 13 years hence $55O,Oo0,-
600 of government bonds mature;
they are owned at home and
abroad, but wherever owned are
largely in the hands of the wolld's
wealth absorbers. The bonds are
now payable IN ''coin,'' which
meant, prior to 1878, gold and sill
yer, or gold or silver, and will
mean the same at their maturity
if the attempt >to make silver a
part Of the nations '.coin'' be. not,
defeated.
But, the attempt defeated, the
bonds will be payable in gold
alone, and they cannot be paid.
All the gold of the world aggre-
gates but little more than five
times the face value of the bonds,
and at their maturity the worlds
stock of gold will be relatively
smaller than now, for the decline
in silver production will lessen the
production of gold, since all profit
able silver mines yield liberal
quantities of gold. Payment of
the bonds in gold, then, will be
out of the question, or if possible
it will be in gold so high of price
that it will take from so to 100 per
cent more of the products of labor
to buy a dollars worth of it than
now, even: which will mean that
the industrialists of the country
will have to toll, sweat and groan
to pay from s750,000,000 to
81, 000,000,O0O instead of the
S550,000,00O now ''nominated in
the bond.''
If the bonds are not paid in
gold, then this great nation, with
all its national wealth, its match
less skill, its tireless industry, will
become bankrupt to a lot of Shy
locks who are now conspiring to
that end, and they will be able to
make any terms they please, i'm
pose any additional burdens upon
the already overburdened should
ers of the wealth-producers that
their greed may suggest. 1t is to
the contamination of this scheme,
this conspiracy, that every Ameri-
can citizen contributes, who in
press, halls of legislation, church,
office, school or street uses tongue
or pen in behalf of monometallism;
though, in charity be it said, thou
sands Of citizens are so contribut-
ng Of whom it may be said truth
:ully, Father, forgive them, for
:hey know not what thew dOp'