The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-10-03
The Ruling Question,

AosOo GuOt 1ObioSho Pbhb mao
been the political guard and hope
Of the South. Since the war It has
been the sole barrier between our
people and u party built on sec
tional hatred and maintaining it.
self by persistent robbery of the
masses. That party it has at length
conquered. Until lately our peo-
pie e satisfied to rely on the
Democracy to reduce the tariff and
SO make possible the fair distrib-
ution of wealth among the produ-
GERS. Until lately they were ready
to thank the Democracy for shield
ing them from force bills and the
destruction of local self govern
ment. They were glad to shout
well earned praises in the ears of
Northern Democrats whom they
now damn as plutocrats and
thieves. In the mean while and
during long years after the Democ-
racy had commenced its struggle
the yexing silver dollar had not
been conspicuous in tho United
States. Until 1878 it was a COM
parative stranger. 1t was out of
sight. For moro than forty years
it had been unknown within our
borders and it had never been
missed. Only since the passage of
the Bland law fifteen years ago
has 1t been a wheel in our none
tary machine. It should be re-
membered that the formal demon
etization Offs did not expel silver
dollars for there were practically
none among s,although it did in re-
ference to the future wall them out.
Nor should it be forgotten that
silver in this country was practi-
cally d~cmonetized as far back as
1884.
These observations are repeated
here because there is a wide i'm
preston to the spreading of which
many politicians are sedulously
addicting themselves that silver
has at some time or other in the
bygones been the victim of foul
plays 1t is attempted to create
sympathy for it as tho under dog
in the fight.
AT the present moment our party
is at last the master of hard won
field and its gallant and earnest
leaders are eager to make use of
the fruits of the victory. The sill
yer question is in the way. The
best thought of the party realizes
that silver legislation since the
passage of the Bland bill has been
a series of delusions and snares. 1t
is recognized that as a natural re-
suit the whole country is on the
brink Of a pitfall. The repeal of
the Sherman law is the only way
to avoid it and until that is accom-
plished advance on reform lines is
impracticable. To undertake tar
iff reduction with silver purchases
continuing is for the Democratic
majority in Congress to plunge
blindly into mires and quick sands.
1t is to impede a forward move
ment, to fling to the winds the ad-
vantage already gained, to lay their
victorious party away in q mouldy
shroud, that the masked Populists
OF the South are now pressin" the
Democratic Senators to do. The
assertions which Populistic Free
Silver leaders employ to create
public sentiment are as groundless
as In most cases the motives which
cause their u%tterance are false.
TO illustrate: 1t is a gratuitous
and indefensible assertion that the
free coinage of silver would under
present conditions swell the vol
ume of the currency. The people
have been repeatedly told this but
they have no reason TO believe it.
The truth is that for every addi-
tional silver dollar that would come
into the country a gold dollar of
much greater real value would 90
out.
1t is a specious and yet finsy,
unsnbstantial and and improbable
assertion that the amount of the
currency was larger or even as
large for the years Immediately
following the close of the war as IL Is
now. Butthe people have had such
stuff monotonously drummed into
their ears for SO long q time that
many have come to accept IL as an
actual fact.
1t might be, eve seriously ques-
Gion it,J that with an international
agreement silver would again be
coined i'm civilized countries with
oat imperilling the safety of bust
ness transactions but for the United
States now to presume to "go it
alone" and try to bluff the remain
der of the world is equivalent to
delivering v the wealth which
is naturally theirs to European ma
tions and DOMINIC the latter's cost
of off clothes.