Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-23
POLITICS AND MONEY
Secretary Morton Talks on the Pop
ulist Party.
BE SAYS IT Is DSINTEGRATING.
The Democratic Party Can Have
No Alliance With It.
THE FARMERS AND SILVER,
BE SAYS IT Is DEINTEGRATING.
THE FARMERS AND SILVER.

! Nebraska, the very school OF political heresy,
he thinks on the money question like New
| England business man, and as a candidate for
governor Of the state he talked against the free
| coinage of silver and attacked the teachings Of
the pOpulists without hesitation or reserve,
when politicians generally stood in fear Of the
new crusaders. During the presidential cam
paign, after the election and since he has been
in the cabinet, he has attacked the position OF
the populists and the fiat money advocates in
his speeches or in letters with the greatest di-
rectness. From first to last he has vigorously
opposed snv association of the democrats with
| the popuists and has urged democrats not to
temporize as to matters of principle.
representative Of The STAR had q long
talk with him yesterday on the subject of tho
| populst agitation and the financial question in
politics.
THE POPULIsT PARTY pIsINTEaRATINa.
"The populist party" the Secretary said, sis
| disintegrating. By the nomination Of Mr..
Cleveland and the wording Of the platform the
democrats repudated all heresies and took the
position to which it belongs, on the side of
sound money and sound principles. The party is
pledged to this. and the election Of Mr.. Cleve-
land is an indorsement Of his position by ma
jority of the people. His election meant,
among other things, the condemnation
Of laws placing artificial prices upon
commodities. whether OF wool or metal,
tin Or silver: that the government should
not be forced to be buyer or a free coiner Of
silver, and that sound financial policies should
be inforced, with q relatively unauctuating
standard Of value. do not think the people are
led away for long by demagogues. The strong
1 of he ,,t;
the agltator and demagogue in time. and the
third party. led by disgraced demagogues
discharged from the two national parties, is
rapidly going to pieces All the plain honest
people Of the country want is q sound, reliable
currency sufficient for the purposes Of trade
and commerce. You never get majority
OF the people Of this country to favor a cur
rency based on artificial value and conse-
quently unstable and liable to serious deprecia-
ton. The great trouble in settling this ques-
tion has come from the fact that many of our
statesmen Of both parties in Congress are
demagogues and are influenced by the con-
sideration Of what may be the immediate effect
| Of their action upon their political prospects,
rather than by their own judgment as to what
is the right thing to do. They deceive them
selves as to what the people want and then
sometimes deceive their constituents into
wanting what is not the best thing for them
IAN evidence of the pressing needs OF the
| populis.s is given in the efforts they are put
what they call midsummer campaign holding
| camps and macs meetings, to press their false
! doctrines upon the people Allen. the newly
| elected Senator from nv state, is holding meet
ings and preaching the fiat money doctrines
| Throughout: the state. but is having small AL
diences, and Bryan is down south talking fr. Q
coinage of silver. but with all their efforts al
| this unusual season it is evident that they
are losing ground rapidly despite sll their
efforts"
"Are the democrats in the west disposed now
! to fuse with the populists?'' was asked.
| ''Of course the democratic party cannot af-
| ford such alliance. The party is committed to
policies not in accord with the populists' teach
| ings. / do not think there is nearly az much
| disposition among western and northwestern
democrats to fuse with the populists nor as
much danger of such a fusion as there is of a
combination of the republicans and popuiists
III the south. | do not think there can be an
alliance between the democrats and the popu-
| lists"
THE SHERMAN LAW.
"Do you think the advocates of the repeal of
the Sherman law will have to accept a compro-
mise?''
81 do not know about that. I am little un-
certain rs to just how Congress will stand on
that question. am hopeful Of the repeal OF
the Sherman law and think it may be repealed.
though there is element OF doubt. l have
no objection to the repeal OF the 10 per cent
bank tax as a means Of supplying the increased
| currency which 1t is claimed is needed. l am
opposed TO that tax chiefly because it
was levied under false pretenses and has
no right to exist. 1t is prostitution
| of the taxing power. because under the
pretense OF raising revenue, it was never i'll
! tended to raise revenue. but to prevent the is-
suance of state bank currency. l do not think
| there Is danger of wildcat banking. for only
that currency will circulate which is based on
sound security. unless it is in the locality where
issued, and nowhere can it be forced into circu-
lntion. for no state give its currencv legal
tender quality. The national government alone
can make a currency legal tender. l see
| objection to the repeal of the tax law a COM
promise with those who want more currency
"Under one condition the absolutely free
coinage OF silver and gold alike might be agreed
| to as Il compromise. That is. if they both were
deprived of their legal tender quality. The
stamp OF the government would then signify
no more than merely that the coin was of a
certain weight and fneness, and the people
could take which coin they pleased and refuse
either if they did not like it. The two sorts of
| coin would then be placed on their merits and
we could soon find out what the
people wanted. The bullion value of
.
dollar gold piece is s20 worth Of bullion. The
bullion value of silver is "a cents an ounce
! The coin value is 81 % per ounce Twenty
dollars in silver is worth As cents less per ounce
as bullion than 1T is as coin. To every ounce
there is As cents Of fiat or fcticious value
Twenty silver dollars represent an actual value
of little more than Sl2.
without the legal tender quality. deprived of
the fiat element silver would have to depend
on the proper measure of supply and demand
tor its value, and it is not difficult to Judge
which metal the people would want. as long rs
the difference between tn denomination value
and the bullion value OF the coin is SO great.
HOW FARMERS LOOK AT 1T.
81 think the farmers are beginning to realize
that they are being required to exchange their
products. produced at the cost of great labor.
for product costing much less labor and
possessing. therefore. less intrinsic value at
the ratio o. their exchange than their wheat
and their corn. Here is proposition:
what is silver? An earth product dragged
out by human effort.
1.-The Granite Mountain Mining Company pro-
duced refined silver in the year 1887. or 1888.
according to its report to Secretary Of Treas
ury, to the amount Of nearly 8. Goo 900 of ounces
at a cost for refined silver OF l2 cents an ounce