Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-08-09
HOW TO SECURE BIMETALISM
Silver Delegates at Chicago Call on Con-
gress to Legislate.

al silver convention:
WHEREAS, The constitution of the United
States in declaring that mo state shall coin
money, emit bills of credit or make any
thing but gold and silver coin a tender in
payment of debts" and at the same time
declaring that Congress shall have power
to coin money, regulate the value thereof
and of foreign coin gave to the federal gov
eminent supreme and exclusive jurisdiction
over the money question,
ResOlUed, That instead Of fixing the rela-
tive ratio of value between gold and silver
coin, the constitution expressly gives to
Congress the power to ascertain and declare
that ratio as It may change from time to
time, as was done during the administration
of Gen. Jackson;
Resolced That since the ratio of sixteen
ounces ofsilver to one of gold was adopted
about sixty years ago, and especially within
the last twenty five years, two most potent
causes have produced great change in the
relative value of gold and silver.
1. The war between France and Germany
recklessly brought on by Louis Napoleon
resulted not only in the invasion of France
and in the capture of Napoleon and of
Paris, but in the exaction by Germany
from France of one billion in gold; that
enormous spoil taken from France in gold
fairly intoxicated the conquerors. 1t led
Germany to demonetize silver and like En-
gland to establish the single gold standard.
Her example was followed by the Scandi-
navian states. Altogether it threw suddenly
upon the market of the world $400, 600, 900
Of silver or five times the annual produc-
ton of all the silver mines of the world.
2. The other cause is to be found in the
fact that since 1878, within the last fifteen
years. the annual output Of the silver mines
of the world has been doubled. Instead of
Is, 100000 ounces it has become lao, 900
per annum.
Resoired, That Congress, in the exercise of
its undoubted power and in the discharge of
its clear duty, whatever the European ma
tons may do, should coin both gold and
silver into money and maintain the bimetal-
ism of the constitution; and that in such
coinage the bullion value of silver to be
coined into a dollar shall be substantially
equal to the bullion value of gold in a
dollar, provided always that value shall be
fairly estimated on the basis that the two
metals concur together in forming the
monetary circulation of the world and that
it is the general mass of the two metals COM
bined which serves as the measure of value
Of things
The following is the report Of the
committee on resolutions in the national
convention 20 be submitted to the con-
venti0n this afternoon:
WHEREAs, Bimetallism is as ancient as
human history; for certain more than ZOO
years; gold and silver came down through
the ages hand in hand, their relations to
each other having varied but few points
in all that vast period of time and then al
most invariably through lesislation; and
WHEREAS, The two metals are named to-
gether, indissolubly united in the constitu-
tion OF the United States as the money basis
OF this country, placed there by George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adj
ans, Alexander Hamilton and their associ-
ates, and subsequently endorsed and de-
Tended by Andrew Jackson and Abraham
Lincoln, and
WHEREAS, Silver, one of these ancient
metals, was, in the year 1873, with out any
previous demand by any political party and
by any part of the people or even by any
newspapers, and without public discussion
whatever, stricken down from the place it
had occupied since the days of Abraham and
the Pharaohs, under circumstances of such
secrecy that Allan 6. Thurman, James Beck,
William NJ. Stewart, Daniel w. VOORHEES,,
James G.. Blaine, then Speaker of the
House; James A. Garfield, William ID. Kel-
~ and others present and voting for the bill,
as senators Or representatives, subsequently
repeatedly and publicly declared that they
did not know, until long afterwards, that so
grave and great change had been
made in the financial system founded
by the fathers of the republic and
WHEREAS, The debates in Congress show
that the parentage Of the measure was in
part ascribed by the friends of the bill, to
one Ernest Seyd, a London banker, who, it
Is claimed, was sent over to Washington by
the mOneyed classes of the Old World to Sc
cure its passage by secret and corrupt
means, and
WHEREAS, President Grant, who signed
the bill, declared long subsequently that
he did not know that it demonetzed silver,
and
WHEREAS, The purpose of this attack
upon one of the two ancient precious met
ais OF the world was, by striking down one
hall OF the money supply-to-Wit, silver
to deprive the purchasing power Of the re-
mainder- gold-by making it the equiva-
lent of everything possessed or produced by
the labor OF man, thus reducing the price of
all commodities, arresting enterprise, i'm
poverishing the toiler and degrading man.
kind. That these results were not only in
evltable but fOreSeen, appears by the follow
ing language used at that time by the then
president Of the Bank OF France,
who said; IF by stroke of the pen
in the monetary service, they double the
demand for the other metal, to the ruin of
all debtors" and
WHEREAS The awful consequences thus
prophesied are now upon the people Of the
whole world. We stand in the midst of
unparalleled, distress and in the shadow
OF impending calamities which are be-
yond estimate. The ruling industry of
the people who inhabit one-third of the
area Of this republic has been stricken
down, the property values destroyed aud
the workmen compelled to fly as if from
pestilence Everywhere over this broad
land the honest toilers, numbering hun
dreds Of thousands, have been thrown out
of employment and will have to eat the
bitter bread of charity Or starve; the
products of industry, of the farm
and the workshop have deprecated
in price as shown by official and
public statistics until production ceases to
be profitable; the money of the country, in
adequate for the business of the land, has
gravitated to the banks; while the people,
distrusting the banks, have demanded their
deposits to hoard or hide them. Mercantile
houses are going to the wall by thousands,
because the masses have not the means to
buy even the necessities of life. To
supply the lack of currency the banks
OF the great cities have issued a substitute
for money, unknown to the laws, called
Clearing House certificates" The move
ment of the great crops now being gathered,
demands vast amount of currency which
the banks are unable to furnish; and in the
midst of these conditions the daily
press are clamoring for the repeal Of
the act of July IA, 1890, called
the Sherman act, although the repeal of