The Evening dispatch. [volume] (Provo, City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1894-08-20
a SILLY ARGUMENT.

went into power found a bill on the
statute books, which made q
market for 4,5O0,0OO ounces ofEilver
monthly" says the Tribune. So they
did and they proceeded to wipe it off
the books with commendable prompti-
tude. The Tribune would have done
we'll to tell the people why that law
was on the books and why it became
necessary for the democrats to wipe it
off. But it was very careful not to tell
them anything about the under or
over ly ing reasons for this action 1t
did not explain that up to the COM
mencement of the good year 1873, for
six thousand years, the world had
found silver to be very Wholesome
and useful sort of money. The expert
ence of the ages had all been in its
favor. Everybody was pleased with
silver and everybody was diligently
endeavoring to get hold of as much of
it as possible. 1t Is true that England,
Germany and few of the second ate
powe IS of Europe following their lead
ers had forced silver into the position
of subsidiary coin, but the United
States, France and the nations of the
Latin Union still enthusiastically
sustained the white metal of the ages,
were prospering in its use as nations
rarely prosper, when all at once a
certain republican chief, John Sher-
man, by name, discovered that silver
was the poison to our business, do
mestie and foreign, which was sure to
destroy both in an exceedingly brief
space of time, he determined, backed
bY the whole republican party, to des-
troy it as soon as it could be done. But
this republican chief and the republi-
can influences behind the move soon
found lion in the path, the demo-
cratic minority, But in order to get
round the lion they interpolated few
fateful words into bill then before the
house on another subject, and behold
before either the congress, the execu-
tive of The nation or the people was
= II -1aad- -szaS Tss rSli shed
money functions, in the dust and dis
honered.
1t was found, even by the traitorous
Sherman and his fellow conspirators,
that the change was so vast, so sudden
and the prospects ahead so disastrous,
that they weakened and tried num-
Der OF weak and vicious expedients to
les it down more easily. This Sher
man law, Sherman purchasing law,
was the final patchwork business. 1t
simply forged anew more powerful
chains for the binding of the victim,
The original act had reduced the
money metal of the poor of the nation
TO the position OF a mere commodity
and this purchase law, while 1t kept
up the price by arti6eially and falsely
stimulating production, yet really
added the finishing blow in forcing its
depreciation.
Ever since the democratic party has
been warning to restore silver it
has been confronted by the republican
party in opposition. Now the Tri-
bune has constituted itself the cham |
pion Of silver, its own peculiar and de- |
voted champion and is today striving |
fer republican leadership In the west
and achieving it too. 1t must logically
either abandon the republican party
OF take. long sad farewell of silver.
Ii evinces its choice Enthusiastically
when it unblushingly commends the
Sherman purchase act and scolds the
democracy for repeating it. AS long as
that act remained in force, silver
could be nothing other than a mere
commodity. Under its provisions sill
yer could not be real money. In fac5
The stamping Of a piece of leather, or
Iycurgus' iron were much the same
money in intrinsic value.
We grantthst it WAS a great, mis-
take to repeal the act without follow I,
ing it with. an absolute free coInas
act, but this does not interfere with
the original Yiciousness of the purchase :
law itself. For these reasons we sadly
fear thai our great cotemporary lacks
good deal, of being honest, either i,
that, or be is densely ignorant,