Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-09-06
HOT SHOT FOR DEMOCRACY.
gh6 North Carolina Senator Accuses His
Party of Breaking Its Pledges.


NolIey after volley of hot shot into the
ranks of the Democratic members of
Congress who favor the repeal of the
silver purchase law without the enact
ment of substitute. His speech was
sensational in the extreme. Every
word he uttered was to the point; his
delivery was Irrational, and the effects
of his remarks were noticeable in every
part Of the crowded Senate chamber
and galleries. He was frequently inter-
Tupted with applause so loud and long
as to drown the efforts of the vice-presi-
dent to restore order.
Mr.. Vance began his speech with t he
statement that the great law of supply
and demand operated in regard to
money just as it did to everything
else; when money was album
dant, prices were high; when it
was scarce the prices of all
products were low. Therefore he that
Increased the abundance of money ben
Gifted production and enhanced prices
and wages, and he that contracted or
diminished the amount of this money
deprecated everything that is for sale,
Including wages, though by reason of
combinations and defensive measures
jim many parts of the world, wages are.
affected less than products. The effect
upon the condition of mankind which
would follow the destruction of one
half of the currency of the world
amounting in the aggregate to 81, $780,
900 ,000-it would be impossible accu-
rately TO describe. Still this process of
destruction has been going on quietly
since 1872, and its result is seen in prices
lower in many things than has ever
been known in the memory of man.
MIR. Vance then began discussion of
the history of the demonstration of
silver, taking as his starting point the
action Of Great Britain as early as 1916,
to enable her to pay in gold her great
debts to the Jew Rothschilds. He then
touched upon the adoption by Ger
many Of the gold standard after
the Eranco-Prussian war, its eff
feet upon the latin union and
said 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 1873,
the Indignation of the people
forced its reconciliation and under the
operations of the Bland-Allison act,
coinage was resumed with certain
amount OF discretion placed in the
hands OF the secretary of the treasury,
a discretion that was used as it ALWAYS
had been, against the coinage of silver.
Still it stayed the downward course of
silver and the people received it gladly.
Every government that had demone-
TIED silver had done SO when it was at
a premium; and when the coinage was
stopped in India the effort to have it
stopped altogether in the United States
began, aided by the influence of the
monied power of all the world and our
own government. If coinage stopped
here, silver ceased to live throughout
the commercial nations of the earth
The repeal of the law without any sub 1
stltute meant the end of silver money
for this generation unless a revolution
Of the people should restore it, as it did
after the fraudulent demonstration of
1873
Let no man doubt that this movement
for the repeal Of the Sherman act was
the result of conspiracy among the
money holders Of the world. Our own
secretary of the treasury had said so.
1T had been repeatedly announced in
the British House of Commons and no.
where denied that the intent OF this
combination was to increase the value
OF the gold in the hands of those who
held 1t and increase the value of
all securities by making them
payable in gold. The method of the at
tack was by the creation of panic
Mr. Vance criticised the action of the
secretary of the treasury in redeeming
fhe notes issued in payment for bullion
IN gold and said that any technically in
felHgent man would eonstrue that law
TO mean that discretion was to be
used in favor of silver when the
condition of the treasury required it.
Most OF the gold shipped abroad was
obtained from these notes although anv
other obligation of the government was
payable IN the same coin. The object |
OF the conspirators was, however. to
show that the departure of gold was at |
ftrbutable to the Sherman law, and for
that purpose they chose to redeem those !
notes. Some foreigners believed the
CRY that we intended to go to a silver
basis and sent back some of our securi-
ties, and the clamor that began in false
Pretense ended in howl Of real terror.
/ 4lT. Vance then referred to the inflow
ioI gold but said the bankers of New
York, intent on keeping up the cry,
contracted their currency, refused to
1Oan money and enforced stagnation in
all branches of business. Never was
there more senSeless clamOr or more
criminal disturbance Of public conf
-dence. If the Sherman law sent out
gold # surely brought it back. If not,
what made it return? The fact that in
the midst of this clamor our resources
are SO great as to be able to check the
loutfow of gold and to turn the tide in
our direction, ought to restore conf
.dence to every man whose confidence
rs worth securing
The discussion Of this question, Mr..
Vance said, was ma. owed by the fact
that all parties profess bimetalism and
have declared for the use of both gold
and silver in their platforms. The con-
lditions attached to these professions of
said, 50 various that it could
hardly be conceived that all
were acting in good faith. With
all the grave pledges of their party
platform, state and national, staring
them IN the face, as well as their own
speeches, promises and votes in the
of foT