The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1893-02-18
COMMUNICATED

1880 -
EDITOR KEYSTONE: AS it is a
notable fact that you can hardly
pick up Shylock or Gold-bug
paper but you can see Shylock's
hidden hand in their editorials, en-
deavoring to give silver and its ad-
vocates a death stab, how can they
look these plundered men in the
face and ask them to subscribe for
and support papers that are not
leaving a stone unturned to kill the
only interest that gives them bread,
and still men advocating the un-
limited coinage of silver will con-
tinue to support and keep alive
these journals which resort to every
conceivable subterfuge to lead the
unwary from the ONLY means by
which they can ever emerge from
their servitude, by suggesting all
the remedies their ingenious brains
can devise, except the correct one,
ever keeping that in doubt. :
l saw in a subsidized Shylock
paper printed in Idaho, which ex-
poets the miners support, the fol-
lowing:
eve believe if we could secure
the free coinage of American prod
uct THAT would settle the question.
We believe the repeal of the Sher-
man law would have an immediate
beneficial effect. To be sure the
price of silver would fall, but the
reaction could not long be delayed"
&C., &c.
Bah! What rot to be driven
down an Americans throat. Won
der how literally they were paid to
blow that straw at us.
Now, Mr.. Editor, the Populists
are liken unto the old Abolitionists
who from 1910 to 1860 fought
against odds for principle, and no
amount of pickering or side issues
could induce them to swerve from
their objective point, and by strictly
adhering to principle they won.
Let us emulate them and never
gile one jot or title from our prin-
ciple of free and unlimited coinage
at ratio of 16 to /, as adopted by
our fathers, never giving heed to
these hired Hessians of plutocracy.
Simply coming the American
product MIGHT help the miners of
the West, but not the masses, and
as we must look for our support
from the farmers of the North, Mid
die and Southern states, we must
look to their interest as we'll as our
own; and how we'll does Shylock
and all his minions know that the
coinage of the American
product would silence the miner
and still enslave the great agricul-
tural interests which form the fun
basis of our Republic.
For instance, should we not con-
cede to their plan it would result
in this way:
The immediate effect of unre-
stricted and free silver coinage Of
the United States will be to raise sill
YER bullion in the United States to
it's par value Of 81 1929 an ounce
As compared with and in exchange
for the United States silver dollar,
which, it must be remembered, has
the same weight of pure silver that
it has had for more than fifty years,
and as compared with the coins of
it will take of the latter
over Sill in silver to coin 800 in
United States silver dollars. or
Germany, $114 would be required
to coin 500 of United States silver
dollars, while of France it will re-
quire SOB or over to make 500 of
United States silver dollars. There
fore you will readily see that bull
ion would go to an advance above
par compared with their coins
against the United States silver
dollar, and the result is plain to
any man who will think for himself
that the moment we have free and
unlimited coinage it effects .ex-
change on New York, London, Ant
werp, Hamburg and San Francisco,
in favor India, China and Japan,
which are large wheat, rye, rice and
cotton growing countries, and are
also the largest silver using coun-
tries in western Europe, and who
compete with our American pro-
ducers. Consequently you will per-
ceive that exchange MUST 60 to or
above par to relieve the agricultur-
alists of this country from the stress
of an unfair competition that Shy
lock and our subsidized press are
FORCING upon them. For instance,
you go to India, Persia, China or ia
pan and buy $4,000 worth of wheat,
rye, rice or cotton and give a bill
Of exchange on New York, London
or Hamburg, as it now stands it
would cost you a little over $4,000
for the bullion, which commodity
it must be in. which in its turn will
be coined in Calcutta into rupees,
and for China, Japan and other
Asiatic cities at their respective
mint cities. Consequently the diff
ference in exchange pays the freight,
insurance and other incidental ex-
nenses. Can YOU wonder that Eu-