St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-08
SENATORS ON SILVER
Continued From First Page.

Continued From First Page.
spiracy will result In universal distress,
and probably violent social commissions,
which will endanger civilization itself;
therefore, be it
Resolved, BY the senate and house of
representative OF the state of Minneso-
la, that our senators are directed, and
our members in congress requested, to
use all proper means to restore silver to
the position it occupied, in relation to
gold, for eighty-odd years in this nation,
until demonetlzed secretly in 1878
through the efforts of the agent of the
Bank of England. and that the minis of
this country be as free for the coinage
Of silver without charge as they are to-
day for the coinage of gold, at the rela-
ton of sixteen of silver to one OF gold.
Resolved, That the secretary of state
is hereby directed to forward copies of
the preamble and resolution to our dele
CATION in congress-.
DOnneily's Great Effort
In urging the adoption of this substi-
tute Senator Donnelly made powerful
and eloquent speech. filled with figures
and historical incidents. that provoked
great applause at frequent intervals.
An abstract of this address follows:
| feel that the senate and the state are
under obligations to the senator from
Ramsey (Sanborn) for bringing up this
question. am aware that there are
those who think we should do nothing
but attend to state legislation; but that
is not my view. In becoming a state in
the Union we did not relinQuish our
right AS free people to consider all
national questions. We have an able
delegation in the senate and house at
Washington. but it is no disparagement
to them to say that we could find hun
dredS of others throughout the state just
as well qualified to fill those places as
they are.
This is an exceedingly important
question. 1t IS not, and 1t ought not to
be, political or party Issue. 1t far
transcends anything OF that kind. 1t
touches the prosperity of every man i'll
the civilized world.
- There was a period in the history or
Europe popularity called the dark
ages" "For thousand years." says a
high authority, 'the human mlnd took
Not One Step In Adyance.''
1t was period of torpor, Stagnation,
mental darkness. What caused 1t? Many
answers are given. One says it was due
to religious intolerance and superstition.
Another that it resulted from the lack
OF the printing press. Another that it
was caused by the absence OF universal
education. But Allison, the Scotch his
torian, says: 1.-The downfall of the
Roman empire, so long ascribed, in
ignorance, to slavery, heatheni5m and
moral corruption, was in reality brought
about by decline in the silver and gold
mines of Spain and Greece" How, it
will he asked. could the failure of gold
and silver mines result in the mental
torpidity and unprOgresSiVeneSS OF the
inhabitants of Europe? The answer is
plain, Scarce money is dear money. that
is to say, it takes more OF any or all
commodities to procure the money. The
purchasing power of the coin is in
creased. or to state the proposition an
other way, the value of all things neces-
sary to the life or happiness Of man
shrInks. AS the products of industry
decrease in value, industry itself lessons
in value; the labor of man, the muscles
of man, the man himself depreciateS;
he has TO work harder and more hours
to live; he cannot afford to buy books;
he has no time for education; he
Becomes Machine,
boor. The world is ''on down grade"
everything is constantly falling in
value.
Jacobs, in his History of the Precious
Metals" estimates that at the beginning
OF the Christian era the precious metals
in the Roman empire amounted to
$1,640,0 100000. but this volume had SO
shrunk, that when Columbus sailed out
of the port of Palos, with his three
little shallops, the stock of money in all
Europe did not exceed $f70,00 .000. But
the Spaniards, under Cortez and Pizarro,
sacked the ancient civilizations of this
continent. and i'll fifty years the cur
rency Of Europe was increased to $780,
100000, and according to Adam Smith
prices increased in that short period
fourfold. And this it was that caused
the marvellous lifting up of the white
race, which has marked these latter
centuries; the conquests, the colonial
lions, the renaissance of intellect, poetry,
philosophy, art, science, everything.
And this conspiracy of the great cap
italiSts of the world to strike down, to
demonetize silver, which constitutes
one-half the metallic money of the
world, is simply proposition to reverse
The Wheels OF Time,
and send these vast populations and this