The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1894-10-20
WHOLE NO., 2O3.

but so is every citizen of Montana,
be he republican, democrat or popu-
list. But the question for the silver
producers of Montana to consider is,
not what the individual views of Mon
tana populists may be, but what are
the views upon silver as money held
by them as party seeking our suff-
RACES? This is the important ques-
ton for the silver miners and the
voters of Montana to consider. Let
us see. The populists demand that
the currency of the country shall be
Immediately increased to $50 per
capita by issues of paper money.
Every populist of any note or promin-
ence in congress and in the country
is in favor of larger issues of paper
currency. They claim that all that
is necessary is for the government
to affix its stampupon any article, and,
10 and behold, 'tis money. ! In
other words, they say that this gov
ernment of ours, which is itself the
creature of the people, and depends
upon the contributions of it's citizens
in the way of taxes for its support,
can, by stroke of the legislative
pen, create something out of nothing!
All the history of the human race
shows that money is the product of
toll and labor, just as is every form
of property. And if it were not so,
then it would lose it's value in human
estimation; it would no longer pos
sess the magic power of being ex-
changed and transmitted into every
other form of property. Money
which requires only paper mill and
government printing press to pro-
duce it, and which can be readily in
creased or diminished to suit the
whims and notions of whatever polit-
ical party happens to be in power,
can never command the confidence
of this nation. And yet this is the
character of the money that the pop
ulist party would trust upon this
country if it had the power to do so!
Civilized humanity has settled upon
gold and silver to represent the me-
dunn Of exchange between all other
forms of property and commodities,
and the intelligent people of Mon
tana will never cast it's vote for a
party who favor making money out
of paper, because the question will
naturally suggest itself to every re-
flecting mind, if good money can be
made out ofpaper by simply bearing
the stamp of the government, then
why waste time and energy in dig
ging for gold and silver. If an ire
deemable paper currency is good
money, then why employ men to
mine for gold and silver? Why
waste money in miners wages?
We assert that the populist party,
as party in the country at large, to
the extent that it is in favor of pa
per issues of money is the worst en-
emy that silver has to contend with!
For the simply reason that if it's theo-
ries were carried into effect gold and
silver would be discarded. Then,
why should any silver miner vote for
a populist?
AS proof that we are not exager-
ating or misstating the attitude of
the populist party on this vital ques-
ton, we call attention to the follow
ing bill introduced by the we'll known
populist leader in congress. Jerry
Simpson of Kansas. Read it's pro-
visions closely, and you will receive
the truth of what is here stated.
This bill fairly represents populist
sentiment on the question of money:
Bill (H. r. 135)-Section l 5 reads
as follows:
Section 10. That one year from
and after the passage of this act, the
coinage of gold and silver coins a
bove the denomination of twenty-five
cents shall cease, and three years
from the date of the passage of this
act, such coins shall no longer be
legal tender, and the United States
shall provide for the redemption of
all such coins at their face value, by
exchanging for them legal tender
paper money, and manufacture them
into bars, and keep the same on
sale"
If the above bill were to become
a law silver mining would be prac-
tically abandoned. Populists are
not in favor of silver as silver, but
simply as means of increasing the
volume Of currency. They would be
) equally or better satisfied with paper
money.
The true reason for advocating the
free coinage of silver is because sill
yer is money. Because it is money
; constitutionally, additionally, his
torically and naturally, and because
it was wrongfully and unjustly de-
prived of it's full money function.
This is the reason that the republi-
; cans of Montana are in favor of the
free and unlimited coinage of silver
at the old ratio of Is to l. This is
the view Charles S. Hartman taken
of it, and this is why he has labored
and fought for silver at every oppor-
tunity.