The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-09-12
SECRETARY SMITHS SPEECH.
He Opposes Free Coinage and Thinks
the Pops Are Wild.

Secretary Holxe Smith followed. In
opening his remarks the secretary
reviewed the financial troubles Of the past
eighteen months and congratulated the
South. as well as Georgia upon the excel
lent showing made. The attention Of the
commercial world had been attracted and
he predicted for the section a period of
development and marked prosperity such
as were never before experienced. The
international exposition would prove of
great assistance in this work, but the at
tention of capital once secured its con-
fldence must also be won, and IL was
therefore, of the utmost Importance 10
the future welfare of the state that in
the coming election the people of Georgia
should show the world that the wild
theories ofs the populists had no foot
hold amongst them.
Calling attention to the recent ex-
perience of the great states Of Kansas
and Colorado under populistic rule, the
secretary asked who wished to see
Georgia follow the leadership of a LEVEL
ing or a Waite. Bad as was the record
of the third party in the West, the crazy
theories of their leaders in congress were
enough to stagger comprehension and
shock thoughtful men. They sought dis
bursements amounting in the aggregate
to over s35, 600, 900, 900. The people of
Georgia could not afford to indorse such
a party. The state would be disorganized
locally ana OlScreQlIeQ before the world
if it appeared TO have even listned to
their impracticable theories. Few OF their
beliefs were worthy of discussion, but
there was one which seemed to have APP
peared attractive, although when careful
~ investigated it must be classified with
their other theories as almost equally
wild and impracticabie.
Concerning Free Coinage.
He referred to the free and unlimited
s ill . Il 1F I
by the United States alone and declared
it to be a plan utterly at variance with
sound business principles and frought with
incaleulable evil. He did not wish his
position misunderstood. He was thor
ough blmetallist, strong in his faith, and
no one could be more unalterably op-
posed to the adoption of a single gold
standard. Such a course would bring
about contraction of the currency cal
culated to cripple industries and to les
son the demand for supplies. The in
jury inflicted by a single standard cur
rency had been recently demonstrated
abroad, and the evil effects had been felt
here upon products of this country raised
for foreign consumption. He believed
these evil effects would be lessened by
preserving the present per capita of cur
rency here, but where three-fourths OF
our great cotton product goes abroad,
three-fourths of the injury could not be
reached except Dy the success OF u
metalism in the places of consumption.
Currency in the United States had not
been contracted. but on the contrary the
per capita today was S2419 as against
an average of $14S5 from 1850 to 1850.
The secretary then described the eight
different kinds Of money now used in
this country and maintained that the in
slant any of these went to a premium
1T would become a commodity for pri-
vate sale and contraction would follow,
but by preserving them upon an equal
ity and by an Increase equal to the
growth Of business and population con-
traction would be prevented This could
be accomplished, first, by changing the
bullion in silver dollar to
quire a hundred cents worth of silver
in every dollar. Second. by information
al agreement which. if secured, would
prevent the necessity of changing the
ratio, or, third, by calling in all money
Of small denomination, say $40 aud less,
not consisting of silver and giving silver
the right-of-way. He especially urged
the repeal Of the 10 per cent. tax on
state banks as a remedy within control
OF the United States of great value.
The History of 1t.
After sketching the history Of silver
decentralization by Germany in 1871, and
subsequently By Norway. Sweden. Den