The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-08-28

| gefate even the greaGuooe " ..a.eao+In 80
States of America. II - p1 npJar tb; ,tS
| years of Renublican rule has made
| snormons nro5trass 1t is true that our
nation is, perhaps, the wealthiest on the
| face of the earth 1t is true That our
wealth has increased year by year, and
| that in the future it Will increase stlll
| more. Nevertheless, tnero ielnalhs
TACT that our country IS ialSiIt onoH o ot
| United States are Thousand fold in adj
| vance of any progress which 1T has yet
made. There never was time In the his
| tory of the United States When us oe-
velopment required more capltai. IL
| has reached that point where us richest
| treasures can exploited, anu Ine rlchese
| treasures of the land can only be ex-
plotted by the assistance of the treasures
garnered up in past times in the whole
| world. When therefore we take our next
| upward rise. one of the greatest assist
ants which we shall have to develop our
| new regions will be capital from abroad.
The spare capital OF the UnItea states,
| our porpose. We therefore ought to put
ourselves in such position that when
| the time comes we may command the
| capital of the entire world, for we shall
need it. This is by no means day
dream. Within my own lifetime and
| under my own eyes, has occurred an eX
ample OF precisely what +ara am c Taking
years ago listened to a debate OF precise
| " the same character as that to which
| have listened this year. Hardly new
| idea has been presented, hardly new
| prophecy There was the same attack
| upon wealth, there was the same lauda-
| tion of the poor. Everything seems to
me, as | sit and listen to the debate here
| in the House, as if the tide of time had
rolled back and I were sitting here, as a
new member listening to the wisdom of
| fifteen wears ago. Then the object of
attack was the resumption of specie
payments. Then, on every hand, men
declared, and the hall resounded with
| the declaration, that the resumption OF
| specie payments meant the ruin OF
| the debtor and the destruction of the
| country; that it meant handing it over
| to England and to the foreigners, and
| that the..poor citizen of the United States
waa to lie forever PROSTATE at their feet;
and yet lived to see every one OF those
prophecies forgotten and every man CON
| nected with them forgotten too. when
| specie payments were actually and alb
solutely resumed, don't you remember
what a tremendous upward start the
| country took? Don't yoa remember now
the prices of all property in the country
rose? how all property actually IN
creased in value? how men were at work
| in the fields, in the marts, in the work
| shops, and everywhere all over the
| country everything was at the highest
pitch of production? 1t is because this
| country has been watered and fructlf1ed
by the capital of the whole world; and
the result at the end of the last census
showed what tremendous progress we
had made, and that progress has been
because the whole world has helped. us,
1 hoe raopivad v,,ora ar less benefit from
| it, but we the greatesJ benefit of all for
| all the great works which have been
erected by foreign capital upon our soil.
| So my reasons for voting for the repeal
are, first, that it will restore confidence
I to the people, and, in some measure, help
position; and, SECOND, when the time
comes it will assist us on the upward
path to the next period of prosperity and
| progress.
Now, let me answer so far as am able
| a few objections which have been urged
against this repeal. First, it is said that
| it is renewed demonstration OF silver,
On this question of demonstration OF
| silver there has never been really fair,
open and honest dieussion. do not be-
| lieye either that the present time IS one
which will produce such a discussion.
The subject has always been approached
from the domain Of prejudice I'd pas
sion. There is one element in IL which
| has always excited my disgust and also
my establishment. / have seldom heard
the subject of silver discussed without
some gentleman presenting what he
called "the stealthy decentralization OF
| silver"
There is nothing which will arouse the
| wrath, dissatisfaction and disgust of the
American people like any charge OF dis
| honesty or knavery or trickery in pubic
affairs. The American people do well to
be angry if silver was dishonesty de-
monetized. If any trick, if any game
| were perpetrated upon the American
people, they do well to be angry. 1t is a
| false appeal to this sense of honesty and
honor and fair play which has caused
| one of the most stupendous fabrications
| which has ever existed In political life.
| On every stump, at every hustings, in
| every city with loud voice it has pro-
| Gained, as from hill top, that when
| silver ceased to be standard of value OF
the United States, it was done by virtue
of stealthy conspiracy unknown to the
American people. 1t is astonishing that
| It is amazing that a falsehood of that
| kind should not have been burned.ou OF
| existence long years ago. The fact about
| it is, and [ have here the record which
proves my assertion, that. it took three
columns of the record, volume 1S,
| 1916 page 1881 TO even CndFdcCeTlZe
and describe the number of times it was
presented to the American people, the
| number of times that it was argued be
fore Congress- and the direct declarations
| of what the purpose of the act was.
Why, 1 myself, have heard man, an
honored member of the House, whose
name will not state, in this very House
Of Representatives denounce the demone-
tization of silver as stealthy and fiendish,
and he himself introduced the bill which
did it, on the floor of this House, and
squarely and openly declared that a
double standard was impossible and that
| the gold standard was the only thing we
could possibly have. This thing has
been answered SO many times that
shall not cucumber my discourse with
an insertion of proofs.
shall simply content myself with say.
ing that there never as a more open
straightforward discussion Since the be-
gin ming of time than that by which
Silver Was Demonetized.
or rather destandardized" in thi:
country. Here is the Globe, vol. 102
page 23O6 and pages following second SEES
sion Of 4ad Congress, April 9, 1872. Any
body can look at it; and for the second
time in my life make proffer of it il