Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-10-18
tied, and it has, in my opinion, been settled for

place IN ou lntDebhfg eJbitLus WHAT Is 70 De
the ultimate tate Of that metal is one of the
which time and events alone can
solve 1t is not possible, under existing cir
relation between the two metals, and for this
reason alone, II there were no others, we are
bound to place some reasonable Limitations upon
the coinage and useot silver"
Reasonable limitations upon the coinage and
use of silver," Under the advice of the Hon
orahle Secretary, the sherman law was repealed
and the coinage of silver dollars is stopped alto
pefher. Even the coinage of the idle seignoragein
the Treasury vaults is not permitted Whatever
that limitation. 1t is certainly very complete.
And the Secretary assures Us that this question
has been settled for all time to come" l
think not 1t is very far from settled. 1t can
not be settled by the mere dictum of any official.
IL ought not TO be SO settled If the present
settlement" is final, then the final settlement
is wrong. But l will not argue the question
with the eloquent and complacent guest of the
New York Chamber of Commerce. 1 will let
him prove me- right. Mr.. Carlisle was q MEM
Der of Congress before he was Secretary. When
a member of Congress, and while advocating Q
silver coinage bill, he said:
81 know that the worlds stock of precious
metals is none too large, and l see no reason to
apprehend that it will ever become 80. Man
kind will be fortunate, indeed, II the annual
production of gold aud silver coin shall keep
pace with the annual Increase of population,
and industry. According to my view
Of the subject. the conspiracy which seems to
have been formed here and In Europe to destroy
by legislation and otherwise from three-sevenths
to one-baif of the metallic money of the world
Is the most gigantic crime of this or any other
age The contamination of such o scheme
would ultimately entail more misery upon the
human race than all the wars, pestilence and
famine that ever occurred in the history of the
w0rld The absolute and instantaneous de-
s~truction of half the entire movable property
IT the world, including houses, ships, railroads
and all other appliances for carrying on COM
merce, while 1t would be felt more sensibly at
the moment, would not produce anything like
the prolonged distress and Reorganization of
society that must inevitably result from the
nan AnnIhftAtInr nf nA.ha nf IN N
tailic money in the world
Is 1t not surprising s~trange-truiy wonderful
~indeed-these sudden, quick, instantaneous con-
versions? The question of rapid transit in poll
tics has been solved. PresteZza! changed Now
you see 1t, now you don't! What has wrought
this inexplicable chameleonizing? What sub
%stantial reason is there for 1t? The conditions
existing when Carlisle and Mills made their
great congressional speeches remain practically
unchanged today. England, France, Germany,
had already, long before that, established their
tnti- silver policies. There was already a wide
margin in the commercial values of silver and
gold Since then the United States has repealed
the Bland law and substituted the Sherman law /;
and since then, on the advice of the secretary and
with the vote Of the senator, they have repealed
he Sherman law, and practically closed our
mints against silver altogether. The mints of
India have been closed also, In obedience to an
imperial edict from London. This wac done
turing the fight in Congress over the repeal of
| the Sherman law, IL was done to strepethep
and facilitate the characterization movement
here. 1t was an English reinforcement sent
IVA w oot VI IL SCelkAC AC O
Hessiap squadron to aid the Tories.
Aside from what we have ourselves done
within the last four years, and the simultane-
Gus British assault on silver in India, the con-
ditions of today are almost identical with those
| existing when Carlisle declared that silver de-
monetization would ultimately entail more
misery upon the human race than all the wars,
| pestiienea and famine that ever occurFed;'' aud
when Mills sounded his bold appeal to the ''un-
| purchased representatives of the American peo-
| ole to stand in the breach and call the battle on
and never leave the field until the peoples
money shall be restored to the mints on equal
| terms with gold as 1t was years ago.
| If the margin between the commercial value
of gold and silver has widened since
Carlisle and Mills left the House of Representa-
tives, is it to be wondered at, when these
gentlemen. as Secretary and Senator, hsve
Joined the hue and cry, and promoted, by vote
and influence. the en- actment of additional I'M
friendly legislation? What reason was there for
| this sudden shifting of position? know of but
one reason, and that is that the president
came down from his office in Wall street In
New York to his office at the White House In
Washington and ordered it. Who wanted this
thing done? Were the farmers mechanics. mer-
chants, w~orkingmen-the great productive and
Industrial forces of the couutry-demanding 1t?
On the contrary, from these sources alone came
| a storm of protest The bankers, the trusts,
the large manufacturers, the option dealers,
The boards of trade, the great commercial ex-
| changes-those who would control the prices of
products and the circulating media of the coun-
| try-did demand it. just preceding the panic
of 1898, the Bankers Association of New York
issued and sent out a secret circular to leading
banks throughout the country, In which 1t was
stated that
'The interests of national bankers require
immediate financial legislation by Congress
| Silver, silver certificates and treasury notes
must be retired. Make a money stringency felt
among your patrons, especially among infiuen-
tial business men. Advocate al extra session
| clause of the Sherman law, and secure a large
| petition 70 Congress FORT unconditional repeal,
as per accompanying form. Use personal in
tfuence with congressman, and particularly let
/ Vnlr Wishes hA EIRWnt tn Vlnr SENATORS 1hp
future life of national banks, as fixed and safe
Investments, depends upon immediate action,
as there is an increasing sentiment In favor oil
government legal-tender notes and silver coin
age"
"BUsINEss INTERESTS"
These are the people who have demanded ad-
| verse silver legislation, and whose potent voice
| has been obeyed. The ''business men, the
triumphant. The business interests!'' What
does that mean? It is a term which Is being
constantly ding-donged in our ears The ''busi-
ness interests are always on the stage, in the
foreground, demanding that this thing be done
or that thiag be undone No matter what sub.
ject of legislati n or governmental policy Ia
under consideration, the business interests''
leap forward with some imperative demand
Finance, tariff. the preservation Of
intangible something christened the Cuisines
interests What constitutes the "business
interests'-l mean those business interests
we hear so much about? Whatever they are,
they are very powerful, since they have pretty
much their own way about everything Who Ii
permitted within the sacred precincts of that
charmed circle2 Who is Quartered within the
breast-works, and who falls without Who IL
counted? The National bankers, the trust com.
panies, the money-lenders? Yes. The maj
with a mortgage on his home? No. The pro.
tected manufacturers? Yes. The unprotected
consumers? No. The option dealers, who
make great fortunes gambling in the products
of honest labor? Yes. The farmers, who real
the golden grain and pick the snowy cotton a.
prices scarcely repaying the cost of produc'
ton? No.
/ am opposed to these business interests
dominating and debating tbs policies of the
government. Like ali others, they should be-
fairly, justly ami conservatively treated, bui
they should not dictate or control. That would
mean the rule of wealth. 1t would put Wall
street 10 control OF our fiusnces. 1t would per
nit the beneficiaTies of protection and tht
shareholder of the great trus 5 to write theil
will In the tanf schedules. II would vtndicstt
those who believe in the d vine right of money t
rule, and would crown gold as the king oInnipo'
teut IL would deliver the country, and the con
troll of its public policies, over to the banks