The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1894-05-25

Iolution on the silver ana coinage
Questions were almost wholly con
fined TO the city Of Saint Lous. On
100 votes polled in the convention
on the motion 10 adopt the majority
report 65 came from Saint Louis.
The great danger that confronts the
Democratic party is the influence OF
the banking and commercial inter
ests in lis counsels. Ii need not be
said that the Democratic party i.
conservative Of all rights Of all classe.
OF people. Its great founder was
the father Of that school Of political
philosophy. But Thomas Jefferson
had no conception Of the magnitude
of commercial development as We
see it inourday. There was enough
OF the spirit Of gain and greed man
ifested however to give him great
,anxiety for the future liberties OF
The People. and he warned them
against permitting any particular
class, and especially the nonpro-
ductiye class, To have too much au-
thority or influence in shaping the
destinies Of this country. He be-
lieved that the virtues Of The Peo-
pie, and the integrity of the Union
and the free institutions, which cost
such sacrifices of blood and treas
ure, would be best maintained and
most safely guarded if the power Of
shaping government policies was
kept in the agricultural population.
which at that time comprised the
largest proportion Of the population
which then as now, produced all Of
the wealth Of the country.
The evils Of the legislation Of our
day are due almost entirely to the
fact that it is the trader. the specu-
lator, the money lender and the
non-productive classes who fix all
of the policies Of the government.
The farmers and miners take from
the soil all the wealth that is added
to the worlds store of wealth. ana
while they are busy doing this the
non-productive forces of society ave
just as busy devising laws by which
they can divide this wealth among
themselves, giving as small share
as possible to those who produce il.
Mr.. BANDS resolution calls for
the restoration of the coinage laws
under which the currency Of the
country was increased annually to
the extent os the silver and gold
taken from American mines plus
the amount brought to this country
in settlement Of balances on foreign
trade. Under this system Of auto
matte expansion Of the currency the
farmer was especially favored. for he
reaped the fruits Of his labors. He
got large share Of the wealth he
produced, and there were less banks
and fiscal institutions whose bust
ness it was to lend money for liv-
ing, for the reason that the farmer Of
that day was also the money lender.
Each years labor produced for him
a surplus, and it was lent out to his
neighbors and applied by them to
the still further development Of the
wealth Of the soil and its possibili-
ties. All this has been changed. at
first, by gradual, but in recent years
by tremendously rapid changes in
the laws Of the nation and the vari-
Gus states, by which the relatively
new and powerful commercial and
bank interests have gotten posses
Sion Of every department Of the ma
ton. They have exercised their
power by reducing the volume Of
the currency to standstili. They
have destroyed the automatic pro-
cess Of expansion by free coinage Of
silver as well as gold. They have
carried on these policies Of contrac-
ton until this country has been
placed on a single gold basis, which
means that all debts made on the
basis Of bimetalism have been
doubled in burdens to the debtor
and in benefits to the creditor. 1t
is responsible also for the long years
Of falling prices that have made the
farmers products cheaper and
cheaper, until the profits Of his
years industry are exceedingly
small, if indeed he makes any pro-
fit at all. 1t is responsible largely
for the stagnation in busins s.. for|
there can be no prosperity when the
whole tendency Of merchandise as
well as farm products is in the d.
rection Of still lower prices.
Mr.. Bland succeeded because he
and the common people he repre-
-ents understand the coinage ques-
ton thoroughly. and know on what
side Of it the interests Of all except
the uSurers lie. They won their
great victory in the Missouri State
because they knew what
they were about.
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