New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-06-27
LIND AND OUR FINANCES.
The Ex-Congressman Delivers an Address
at Minneapolis.

OF minneapolis 1dsC h"A''''S
Lind, as most of our readers know. al
though strong republican is free sill
yer advocate. He stands just where the
despised populists do on this question.
In order that our readers may know Mr..
LinG's views we append a portion of his
address as follows:
II am not an 1nhationist, but bimetal-
lism is the only thing to prevent the
greatest initiation today that any country
ever saw. If we do not see to it that
the people are provided with just med
ium of exchange, we will have an era of
populism or something else. When the
pendulum is swung too far one way it
must swing back with corresponding
force, If we're to choose between in
fation and contraction I should choose
the former. The history of the world
impels me to take that position. Con-
traction produces thousand ills, crime
suffering, want of employment, and I'M
der it the world comes to stand-still
as it has to-day. But it is not contrac-
ton alone that causes our trouble. When
prices are going down, what young man
cares to go into business? What man
wishes to build building when he
knows that he can construct it cheaper
a year hence? The reason we are at a
standstlll to-day is because prices are
going down. What other cause can you
give? Here is land possessed of the
greatest skill, the greatest self-confidence
teeming with riches and everything to
make a people prosperous, all in state
of paralysis
The speaker then said that the history
of the world showed that countries had
been more prosperous when an abund-
ance of the precious metals had been
put in circulation as money, and CORES
pondingly depressed when there was q
scarcity of their monetary use. What
gave new life to the nations of Europe,
which never endured darker period
than that from the Seventh to the Four
teenth century, was the discovery of
America. There never was more glor-
ious period than that embraced IN three
centuries following that great discovery.
There never was such times known III
in America as that following the wond
erful gold discoveries in California. The
world never saw such period of pros
perity.
Adverting to the Sherman silver law,
he said: II foresaw as the result of it's
passage thai there would be temporary
demand for silver. I knew that silver
would run up to parity after the act,and
had the act contained germ that silver
should be coined without limit, we would
have had no silver question to confront
today"
He said that the thinkers and leading
men of the country were beginning to ex-
anime the question. It had come to be
question of humanity and of civiliza-
ton whether this thing of contraction is
to continue from day to day.
eve are all agreed that we should
have more stable standard. You all
admit that it would be better to have
more gold My idea is to restore silver
and give it its position as money metal.
Make it perform the burden it has per-
formed in times past. 1t will give sta
bility. not imitation. You say thisis alb
surd. as we'll try to legislate value into
wheat and corn; that there is an over
production of silver. Well,if gold were
demonetized, silver would go up and
gold would go down. The minute we
say that l6 ounces of silver is the equiv
alent of one ounce of gold, the question
will be speedily solved. For when two
things perform the same function and
areof absolutely the same utility, they
are of the same value.''
II believe that if the United States with
all her wealth, her power, her future,
should say to the world: 'We call IS
ounces Of silver the equivalent of one
ounce of gold bring on your silver, we
{ stand ready to handle it at that ratio, I
do not think there would be Jew metal
broker in the world who would sell his
silver at a discount. I believe that 80
per cent Of the Indebtedness of this
country is payable in money and but l
per cent in gold. If gold should go to a
premium and silver to discount, just
as sure as two and two makes four, Just
so sure would the Indebtedness be paid
in cheaper metal.' So
.sLet congress pass an act onenino 5tha