The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-10-05

purpose of making you feel that you have
some direct interest in maintaining sill
ver' and thus to secure our cooperation.
The Meat in the Cocoanut.
1 propose to ask your attention now to
the real significance of the demand for
free coinage" so called.
The precious metals may be coined
eltter on private account or on govern
ment account. Coinage on private ac-
count permits any owner of bullion to
take it to the mint and have it converted
into coin. If this is done without expense,
coinage is said to be ''free"; if any guam
tlty OF bullion, large or small, may be
thus coined for individuals, coinage is said
to be Unlimited The silver men de-
mand that coinage of silver shall be not
only free but also unlimited. Coinage on
government account means that the gov
eminent will buy the silver at it's market
price and do the coming for itself. If the
silver is coined on government account,
the profit, it there is any, goes to the gov
eminent; while if it were to be done on
private account it would go to the indi-
vidual This is the meat in the cocoanut.
This is what the silver kings are after.
They don't deny that we have used more
silver since 1878 twenty times over, than
we had used in our whole previous history.
They cannot deny that the world is using
more silver today as money than it ever
did before. They know that in the last
ten years especially the increase in the
worlds stock of silver coin has been enor-
nous, that it has risen from 50, ,O0O, 900,
in 1888, to more than S4,042, 900, 900 in 1898.
They know that every silver dollar in the
United States is full legal tender in the
payment of debt. They know that silver
and silver certificates pass at par not
only In the payment of private debts, but
also In the payment of public dues, both
receipts and expenditures. They know
that seven-eighths of all the silver coin in
the world is full legal tender. They know
that silver has not been ''demonetized" in
any substantial sense, but that instead it's
use as money has never been as great as in
the last twenty years.
This is time for plain speaking, my
friends. We have dallied with this ques-
ton long enough. Ever since 1874 it has
been a political question, while it should
be purely economic one. The question
for each citizen to determine is wha5 solu-
ton of this matter is the wise and right
one This should be the question also for
political parties. But the mountain states
OF the West, the states which produce sill
yer, have quite a number of electoral
votes. East of the mountains the two
great parties are pretty nearly equal il
strength. The electoral votes in the sill
yer states are sufficient to determine the
result of the election, and perhaps decide
ha fDt Of orty tho L
controls the destinies of parties, believing
that the success of their party will on the
whole be best for the country, have been
sorely tempted to bend far enough at
least to show that they are friendly to
silver" Therefore the platforms of the
Democratic and Republican parties have
lacked that Straight forwardness on this
question which ought to characterize
them They seem to have been constructed
sometimes for the purpose of avoiding the
issue. The one merit of the Populist plat
form is its frankness. There is not a sound
plank in it, There is not proposition
which they advocate which would not re-
suit in harm instead of good. And yet,
while denying wholly the wisdom of their
plans, we must and do honor their frank
ness
l am your representative in congress. l
am candidate for reelection. The uues-
ton for free coinage of silver will prob
ably come up again. You have perfect
right to know what my position and action
will be. | shall tell you so plainly that no
man need misunderstood. Thoroughly
convinced after years of careful study
that free COINAGE" so called, would result
in untold harm to the United States as a
whole, and to every man beneath it's flag,
with the exception of the silver miners,
you may rest assured that in pursuance of
what | conceive to be my duty, shall not
only vote against the proposition, but on
the floor of the house and elsewhere shall
oppose it with all the vigor of my nature.
If any of you should be offended thereby
I shall be sorry; and to such can only
say that, much as value your esteem, it
is my duty as your representative to pre-
fer your good to your good will Many a
time, and oft my mother has said to me,
'My boy, the best friend of truth is time.'
Preferring your final judgment to your
transient opinion, | am content to wait.
Real VS.. Fictitious Bimetallism.
AS have already shown, the free and
unlimited coinage of both metals with the
full legal tender of each, inevitably and
Invariably results in recommendation. l
believe that in fact you all agree with me
in desiring actual bimetallism. that is, the
actual circulation side by side of gold and
silver. We need them both. Experience
has shown that there are two ways in
which this actual bimetalism can surely
be accomplished. To these 1 now invite
your attention.
The great law to which have referred
several times this evening, the law
whereby man is prompted to dispose
of his wares in the best market,
the law known in financial science
as ''the Gresham Law" operates, as have
said, through all the ages So does the
law of gravitation. The law of gravita-
ton is operating upon the book now lying
upon my hand You know this to be true,
although your eye does not tell you so.
But the moment my hand is removed
from the book, even the eye is able to note
the continuing operation of the law of
gravitation Its action was temporarily
suspended by the Intervention of another
force. Similarly the action of that great
financial law can be suspended by that of
another great law of human nature.
Experience has shown that if we take
one of the metals for our standard and
make the other subsidiary to it; if we give
unlimited coinage and unlimited legal ten
der to one of the metals. and limit the
other either in tho amount ooino5 ~, in,