The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-09-12
SENATOR VANCE SPEAKS.
when Money is Abundant ?Feas are Eigghh'"

when Money is Abundant 7Feo' are High"
The Best Speech Yet Made on the SILVER
Questionable Horrors Of the GoId
Basis Pictured-How Silver was
Demonetized in Various Coun-
tries--"Our Zeb" Holds
the Political Frauds
Up to Public
View.
Mr.. President, the metallic money Of
the world is estimated at about 81, 50O,-
900, 600. About one-half of this is sill
yer, which is full legal tender money,
and in addition thereto there is about
$3.50, 900, OCO Of subsidiary silver in use
in the different nations Of the world.
This money is the means by which the
worlds exchanges are effected and
their values measured. 1t is needlls
to saw that the greatlaw of supply and
demand has operation and effect in re-
gard to this money, as in regard to
everything else. When money is abun-
dant prices are high; when money IS
scarce the prices Of all productsarelow
Therefore, he that increases the abun'
dance of money benefits production and
enhances prices and wages, and ne that
contracts or diminishes the amount of
this money depreciates everything
which ia for sale, including wages,
though by reason Of combinations and
defensive measures in many parts OF
the world wages are affected less than
products.
The effect upon the conc itiOn and
well-being of mankind which would
follow the destruction Of one-half of
this currency, it is impossible accurate.
" to describe. The imagination of a
poet would be required to portray its
misery; and only he who wandered
through the horror laden maz9s Of the
Inferno, or he that exulting in still
sublimer song portrayed the wretched-
ness Of mans disobedience and fell,
could adequately set forth the evil, the
suffering and the sorrow which would
come to mankind if their wages and
the prices of all their products were
decreased in the proportion that would
follow the destruction of one-half Of
the worlds money. Yet, this process
of destruction has been going on quiet
" since 1872, the result of which we see
in prices lower in many things than
have ever been known within the
memory Of man
Great Britain led off in the demone-
~tization Of silver so early as 1916, in
consequence, as is said, OF her great
debts to the Jew Rothschilds, to meet
which she made gold her only stand
ard Of money, reducing silver to sub
sidiary circulation. After the great
Franco Prussian war Germany was in
duced to adopt the gold standard. So
great then became the pressure upon
adjoining nations that the Latin Union,
which had been formed for the pur-
pose Of maintaining silver within the
boundaries of France, Belgium, Swift
zerland, Italy, and Greece, were com.
PEELED to cease coming silver and de-
vote all their efforts to the maintenance
of that which they had coined. About
the same time the United States ceased
coming, by a fraud in legislation, when
silver, which at that moment was at a
premium over gold, began to decline,
and has continued to decline ever
since.
In 1878 the indignation Of the people
forced its reconciliation, and under
the operation Of the Bland law, coinage
was resumed at a rate Of not less than
So, 900, 600 a month and not more than
81, 600, 900, at the discretion Of the Sec
rotary Of the Treasury. Of course,
this discretion was exercised against
silver, as it always has been, and only
So 900 600 month was coined; but it
stayed the downward course Of silver,
and the common people received it
gladly.
At the beginning of this year, 1898,
it was coined for legal tender purposes
in none of the leading commercial ma
tions of the European world, to but a
limited extent in the United States,
and in India it was coined freely. 1t
is remarkable that in the United States
and in Germany in 1873, when it was
demonetized, silver was at a premium;
and in 1916, when Great Britain de-
mOnetized it, it was likewise at a pre-
MUM.
In June of this year the British India
council, anticipating, as vas said, the
action of the government of the United
States in ranaalino the Sherman lam