The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-08-22


he has to save his country! A nation III
distress; banks failing; mines closed; Ia
borers unemployed; enterprise at stand
still, and behold, the farmer, bowed win
unceasing, even If unremuneratlve, ton,
steps forth to save his country-by selling
his wheat below the cost of production!
And | am afraid he will even now be cen
sured for allowing the panic to go as Jar
as it has before reducing. his prices
The junior senator from Texas, Mr.
Mills, never did the party greater service
than when on the Sd of February, 1SS6,
on this floor he denounced III language the
force and earnestness OF which cannon DC
suppressed, the attempted crime against sii-
YER Let his words be an inspiration now:
But in al the wild, reckless and remorsc-
less brutaties that have marked the foot
prints of resistless power there is some eX-
tenuatng circumstance that mitigateS the Sc
verify of the punishment due the crime Some
have been the product of the fierce passions
of war, have come from the antlpathy
that separates alien races, some from the
superstitons of opposing religions
But the crime that is now sought to be per
pctratcd more than fifty millions or peopie
comes neither from the camp OF cohqherer,
the hand Of Il foreigner, nor the a'tar OF an
i;lolator. But it comes from those IN whose
veins runs the blood Of the common ancestry
who were born under the same SKIES, Slcak
the same language reared In the same lnstltu-
TONS and nurturrd in the principles OF lhe
same religious faith. 1t comes from the cod
phiogmatic. marble heart Of avarice-avarlce
that seeks to paraiyze labor, Increase me
burden of debt. and fill the land with deS s,
tuition and suffering to Crafty tle iuSl iot
cold-ayarice surrounded by every comfort
that wealth can command, and rlch enough
TO satisfy every want save mat Mhcn 1; reluSe S
70 he satisfied without the suff0cation ana
s1rangulaton of all the labor OF the lanu
With a forehead that refuses to he aSnamea
il demands Of congress an act that W1i par
Awe All thc forces Of production, shut out
labor from all employment, increase the Dur
den OF debts and taxation ana send ucSoia-
ton and suffering to ali the homes OF tue
poor.
Language Could Not he Stronger.
Can language be stronger or CONCLUSION
more conclusive? What expression can De
more forcible than the most gigantic CRIME
of this or any other age! what picture
more vivid than that painted III the words,
The onsumma ton of such a scheme would
ultimately entail more misery upon the
human race than all the wars, pestllenceS
and famines that ever occurred III lne
history of the world? What more scath-
ing rebuke could be administered to aV.
arice than that contained i'll the words OF
Mr. Mills
BimetaIlisin.
Let me call your attention briefly 10 the
advantages of bimctalliSm. 1t is not
claimed that by the use OF two metals at
fixed ratio absolute STABILITY can De Sc
cured We only contend that thus the
monetary unit will become more stable III
relation to other property than under
single standard. If single standard were
really more desirable than Il double standard
we are not free to choose gold and would
be compelled to select silver. Gold ana
silver must remain component parts OF
the metallic money of the world-that must
be accepted as an indiSputable tact. Oar
abandonment of silver would, in all proba-
bility. drive it out of use as primary money,
and Silver as a promise to pay gold is little,
if any, better than a paper promise TO
pay If bimetallism is impossible, theh
we must make up our minds 10 SILVER
standard or to the abandonment OF botn
gold and silver (Applause.)
Let us suppose the worst that mas peeh
prophesied by our opponents namely, that
we would be upon q silver standard If we
attempted the free coinage OF both gold and
silver Mt any ratio. Let lis suppose that
all our gold goes to Europe and We have
only silver. Silver would not be neon
venient to use, because a silver cerlihcate
is lust as convenient to handle as a gold
certificate and the silver itself need not
be handled except where it is necessary tor
change. Gold is not handled among the
people. No one desires to accept any large
amount in gold. The fact that the treasury
has always ON hand large amount oil s?9l
coin deposited in exchange for gold certlf-
Gates shows that the paper rcpr1DeP .GNapc
il more ssos;irtrlc than the ..@t involved
following out the supposltl6hA co" tGera-
goes abroad, Europe viii have more money!
With which to buy our exports-cotton and
wheat, cattle and hogs.
If, on the other hand, we adopt gold, we
must draw it from Europe and thus lessen
their money and reduce the price OF our
exports in foreign markets. This, too,
would decrease the total value of our cX-
ports and increase the amount of products
which it would be Necessary to send
abroad to pay the principal and interest
which We owe to bondholders and stock
holders residing in Europe. Some have
suggested the ACCESSIBILITY of issuing gold
I i'm, GOLD .tu Il la rI
Let them remember that those bonds sold
in this country will draw money from cir
culatiOn and increase the Srugcncy and
sold abroad will affect injuriously the price
of our products abroad, thus making a
double tax upon the toilers OF the United
States, who must ultimately pay them.
Let them remember, 100, that gold BOMBS
held abroad must some time be paid III
gold, and the expectation of that gold
would probably raise a clamor for an eX-
tension of time in order to save this coun-
try from another stringeucy. a SILVER
standard, too, would make Us a trading cen
ter of all the slver-usiHg countries OF the
world, and these countries contain tar
more than one-half of the worlds popua-
ton. What an impetus would be gwen
to our western and southern seaports, such
as San Francisco, Galveston, New Orleans,
Mobile, Savannah and Charleston. Then,
again, we produce our silver and produce
it in quantities which would to some eX-
tent satisfy our monetary needs.
The government does not Try to Tx the
purchasing power of the dollar. either gold
or silver. 1t simply says in the language of
Thomas Jefferson. The money unit shall
stand upon the two metals and then al
lows the cXchangeable value of that money
to rise or fall according as the total pro
duct Of both metals decrease or increase
in proportion to the demand for money.
In attempting to maintain the parity be-
tween the two metals at Il fixed ratio the
government does not undertake the impOs-
siblc. France for several years did main
tain the parity approximately ut 10 Il
to 1 by offering unlimited coinage TO both
metals at that ratio. 1t is very common for
some people to urge you cannot put
value into anything by law and | am
sorry to soGe proclaim this who know
by rich experience how easy it is for the
government to legisate prices up or
down i 4
Fac Dollar of Our paddles.
| have here a silver coin exhibiting it,
which came from the mint in 1881. 1t has
upon the edge the significant words:
Hundred Ccnts-One Dollar OF Unit.
1t would seem, therefore, that the weight OF
the gold dollar was regulated by the silver
dollar and the gold pieces provided for
made multipleS of it. In 1854 and III 1887
the alloy was changed and the gold dollar
reduced in size i'll order to correspond to
The newly established ratio of 16 to /.
The amount of pure silver in the standard