The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-12-18

ern men, the motives that prompt their
private and their public actions, you
would never talk about there being any
question about their honesty and their
patriotism. You declare that from your
standpoint they are mistaken, and
from this distance they have acted
unwisely. That is possibly true. In
Jones case l think it is quite true, eX-
cept that Senator Jones desires to sue
ceed himself, and to do it he will have
to have majority vote of the legisla-
ture of Nevada, and the men of Nevada
have grown tired of waiting for the men
of the east to devote few hours to the
study of the silver question, because
they know If they would, the east would
be as clamorous for silver as the west.
You misunderstood the motive of Sen
ator Jones and the other men who, like
him, wander away from the Republican
party, because their real position is
that they do not believe that either the
Republican or the Democratic party
will do justice to silver. They believe
a new party will have to be started.
i
believe that enough of the prominent
Republicans of the east will see be-
tween now and nomination time in 1896
that unless they begin to do justice by
silver they will be utterly overthrown
in the presidential election, and that
with that overthrow, their party will
go where the Whig party went.
The Value of Dollar.
"You state the position of great ma
iority of the rank and file of the Re
publican party upon the coinage ques-
tion. Are you sure that what you state
Is true? You assert that it is not one
of preconceived hostility to silver, but
simply profound regard for the honor
and stability of the currency, every dol
lar of which, in the forceful words of
General Harrison, shall be the purchas-
ing equal Of every other dollar, and
have behind it If necessary the equiva-
lent of the dollar in real value. Did you
ever stop to think what made the value
of the dollar? Did you ever stop to
think that neither gold nor silver has
any intrinsic value; that 1t is only the
recognition of the nations of the world
of these metals as money that gives
them any value? If you were dying Of
thirst on the desert and had $1,000 in
gold in your pocket, you would gladly
give that money for a pint of cold
water. That shows you that gold of
itself is not of any account.
10
gold and silver in our country were
both held as money of ultimate re-
demption, and when so recognized, sill
yer in our country was worth a per-
centage over gold. In that year, the
government of the United States. by a
statute, declared that silver was no
longer money. That Is, 1t made single
standard of gold, and everything had
to be measured by gold, everything had
to be redeemed in gold. You know the
effect of that. Was 1t not to reduce
the money of this world, so far as our
government could, one half? Did you
ever realize the effect?
Some Pennsylvania History.
II do not know how old man you
are, but If you can remember back fai
enough you will recall that gold lost
half It's purchasing power in Pennsyl
vania between 1S49 and 1869. That Is
measured in anything like property, Il
took twice as many dollars to buy any
thing in 1859 as 1t did in 1S49. Why
| Simply because the placers of Cali
| fOrnia and Australia had doubled thu
money of the world. and property II
valued by the amount Of money in any
country Of the world. Now, when oul
government joining with Germany
did what Great Britain did in 1916, re
fused to recognize silver as money anC