Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-12-31
SILVER AND THE sESATORsHIP.

The free silver men in Oregon are
making the noise now. This Is all
they will make, and this il their ex
piring yell. The avsrsge intelligent
people Of Oregon do iut want our cir
culaiing medium d-issed for the beDe
fit OF = feg silver mine owners.-Sale M
Statesman.
Following ia the line If argument
pursued by the OregeDian, the States
MIN seeks to furce the Republicans Of
Oregon to take sides between goldbug-
Ism and frieDdliness to silver, or free
siIver-coinsge Republicanism. II that
4, the issue goldbugism as repIeteDted
b. Harvey Scott and Senator DolF b
will go to the wall. II is neither justice
nor federation to force all Republicans
70 subscribe to the Scott-Dolph inter-
pr.iaiiOB of the national Republicsn
platform. That platform treats silver
fairly, by placing it and its right to
coinage 10 American units upon equal
ity with gold. Mr.. Scott is very in
consistent in forcing the narrow con-
struction Of Wall street goldbugism p
oD the Oregon Republicans. Did he
not support Ellis and Heimaun for
congress or that platform? Did be not
help nominate Mr.. Ellis for coDgress
by voting to nominate him in coDven
ticn? Did be not support in his edi-
torial columns both ! sand Hermann,
knowing that they bad silver record
and had both voted for free coinage Of
silver? Would he not support the ma
Ii Inal Republican party if it declared
for free silver in 1896?
All talk that silver has no intrinsic
value except as it is given value or held
uD in value by gold, is nonsense. Sill
ver has intrinsic value and wheat has
intrinsic value. The value of both is
depressed when their value is con.
stantly measured by gold, in itself
scarce article. Make silver and wheat
legal tenders for debts and they will
appreciate in value. Deprive them OF
all debt-paying qualities and you de-
press them. Declare that gold shall
be the only ultimate money or means
of redemption and you deDress the
value Of all products, including wheat
and silver.
The narrow-contracted currency
theory Of the gOldbug, would leave sill
yer no monetary standing except as a
token, redeemable in gold, with no
more intrinsic monetary value than so
much stamped paper. That goldbug
theory OF silver and all other money
will never be accepted by the people
when they fully understand what 1t
means, The shrinking, constantly ap-
preciating, volume Of gold is not suf-
ficient basis for an Ameri can currency
system. We must have silver and
gold and national treasury notes and
the credit of the nation wisely but
literally used back of it all, or we all
become slaves to the holders of gold,
aud they will toll and measure all our
labor and products.
AS between the goIdbug finance
theory and friendliness to silver, or
even favoring free coinage of silver,
Republicans In the west aud especially
on the Pacific coast cannot be rounded
up in the goldbug camp. The attempt
10 do so by the Oregonian and States
man will leave them to feed on the
crumbs that fall from the tables Of the
and the milIionaires, while
the Republicans Of this state will gladly
line up with the farmers and producers
on the silver side OF the controversy.
-
run Daco nuUon1nu