The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1893-09-13
A FULL SYNOPSIS
HON. W. II. BRAWLEY'S
Speech On the Silver Question.

HUN, W. H DIsA W AGI -
Speech onthe Silver Question.
Mr.. Brawley said: Thatthe history
of Legislation is the repeating Of bad
laws enacted, to abate the fervid
hopes of misguided majorities which
in the nature of things must be so,
for the best that can be done is to
provide such Temporary expedients
as win meet the exigeneies before rs.
The question before the House is the
repeal Of the Sherman Act. Through
two weeks of debate not one word
. has been said in its favor, it is uni
versally considered failure, dis
owned by its putative father, it has
no defender. The Democratic party
demands It's repeal The Republican
party does not sustain it. Business
interests from all sections cry for its
repeal andthe President recommends
that it be wiped out from the statute
books as the means of restoring con-
fdence in the public credit. The
remedy is so simple that it is amaz-
ing that there should be hesitation,
The repeal Of itself may be no
great thing, the fact that the peo-
pie think so, viii, of itself, help to
cure the disease which is more men
tai than physical. Our opponents
oppose repeal unless something favor
able to silver be given, and use thiss
hateful, misbegotten, injurious thing
as club TO extort terms.
The steady recurrence of the phe-
nomenon that. silver by means of leg
s - to gold .
sssfs s INC fixed cause aud the
saet that this belief is strongest IN
those parts of our country that are
backward in industrial developments
has ledto the opinion in some quarters
that il is due TO the desire OF debtor
classes to relieve themselves on easy
terms, is proposition as unjust as
it is untrue.
The clear understanding of mys-
ferrous evil is necessary for its re-
moval. Trained and experienced
thinkers on monetary subjects are
rare in all communities, and erroneous
opinions, like vague mists, distort and
obscure popular vision. There are
certain prevalent delusions dissrub-
s2g the popular mind. The first is,
that sll available money of the coun
try is in the hands of the few whose
interest it is to contract its volume
In order to increase It's value, an error
arising from eonfounding capital
with currency, and the circulation by
designing parties of conspiracies on
1.-The part of the rich for oppression
] of fhe poor. The second is that the
maintainance of the gold standard
tends to make money dear and
double standard to make it more
abundant. The truth is that the
question of standard has in itself no
y relevancy to the volume of currency,
and there is no fixed relation between
the volume of transactions and the
standard that measures them. The
gold standard existed from 1884 to
the suspension of specie payments
in 1861, while the volume of the cur
rency was regulated by the States.
The Act of 1873 only enacted into
law what was well recognized fact.
AS evidence of this fact from the
foundation of the government only
blight million of silver dollars had
been put in circulation.
The third is that as the gold and
Asilyer coinage of the world being
about equal in volume, that to stop
the purchase of silver would strike
down half the money and tend to
increase the wealth of the rich and
the debts of the poor. This bill
does not drive out any of our silver
coin but the whole is maintained
with the pledge Of the Government
to keep it at par with gold.
The fourth isthat England adopted
a gold standard because she is a
creditor nation, and that it is to our
injury and unpatriotic for US to
maintain such standard, and appeals
to the spirit of "'76" have been con
tinuously made to resist such domina-
ton. England adopted the gold
standard before the close of the last
century, but could not carry it into
effect on account of the Napoleonie
& wars before 1916, when instead OF
B being creditor nation she was strug
& Cling with a gigantic debt. The