The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1894-06-01
Anti-MonopoIy Drug store
70 the isdisor Of the hammer.

y
On the silver question, and / respect
fully request that you will publish this
reply in Your paper, which / have 10
doubt that in courtesy and Justice yo,
will do. ~ Z =
You speak Of the recent assenblare
o. orange growers at Orlando, and saw
that II they had been told that nv
speech and vote on the repeal az the
sherman act benefited them thew
would have laughed the assertion to
scorn. l donot think SO, as / have had
the good fortune heretofore to prove
both my desire and my capability Of
Deneiltting the orange growers OF Flor
ida, not by words and promises. but bv
acts and results, have no doubt thai
my assertion W suld have received !
fair and respectful hearing and con-
slderation. la nay opinion freight rates
on orangesare too high, but they would
be higher still but for my successful
efforts to have them reduced. When
4 was attorney general, at the REQUEST
Of some of the leading orange growers
OF Marion and other counties. / under
took TO have put in effect lower
freight rates on oranges prescribed by
the state railroad commission. i
found a prompt and efficient way OF
doing it when il had been supposed it
could not be done, and | compelled
the railroad companies 10 adhere to
such lower rates 50 long as / was at
torney general, and saved to the
orange growers Of Florida several hum
dred thousand dollars.
With the Florida Fruit Exchange.
lresisted the iucrese of freight rates
on oranges TO northeastern cities.
maintained the cause of the orange
growers successfully before the inter
state commerce commission of the
United States against the officials
aud attorneys of all the lines Of trans
portation from Florida to. New York,
had the rate reduced five cents a box,
aud got an Injunction in the United
States court to prevent more being
charged, which injunction is still in
force, aud which saved to the orange
growers of Florida last season alone,
one hAndred thousand dollars.
When Congress was called upon last
summer to take action to stop the
panic, which had been brought on
chiefly by the operation of the Sher-
man act, which had broken down
confidence, credit and the financial
system of the country, saw that the
market for the great bulk Of all the
products of East and south Florida
was at the North, that our great tour
list trade came from there, and that
unless prompt measures were taken to
stop the panic, all our Florida pro-
duets would bring lower prices, tourist
trade would be diminished, and there
would be hard winter in Florida.
The Sherm an act was an act devised
and passed by John Sherman and
other republicans against the united
opposition of the democrats, for the
purpose Of preventing free coinage of
silver. Its repeal was demanded by
the democratic platform, and voted
for repeal with Sir. Wilson, Of West
Virginia, the democratic leader of the
House, and a majority of all the DEM
ocratic members, including many OF
fha hnaf aoA .kfo.k ,,,.,. So -. A.
south. The repeal did end the panic,
but on account of the long delay of the
Senate In passing the bill, there was
not time for as much recovery as there
would have been otherwise before the
season for sale OF Florida oranges came
on, and this was one of the principle
reasons that oranges brought lower
prices than before; but the partial re-
covery which took place after the
passage Of repeal kept the prices of
oranges and other products from going
as low as they have done otherwise,
and saved our tourist trade from being
as poor as it would otherwise have
been; hence il is true that every farm
er and business man in Florida has
been benefited by my speech and vote
thereon.
The democratic platform as to
coinage declares that "lhe dollar unit
Of coinage of both metals must be of
equal intrinsic and exchangeable val
ue, etc.n have introduced bill for
free coinage of silver upon the terms
Of coinage OF the democratic platform,
and the only terms on which there is
possibility OF success, without inter-
national agreement
To take the commercial ratio on the
present selling price OF silver would be
unjust 10 silver, but by fixing day
some months oil for resumption of free
coinage Of silver, rs my bill does, the
market prices OF silver would come 50
near to gold as free coinage could bring
It. would fix the ratio at that point
and believe that we could have a
free coinage that could be maintained,
that.would bring up and keep up silver
much nearer to gold, than it is at pres
ent, and accomplish great benefits to
this country and to. the world. I
maintained this plan before the House
committee on coinage in discussion
and on a cross examination in which
the leading members took much in-
terest.
II we can coin silver on these con-
ditlons. at its real or intrinsic value,
orat ratio of IS tol so much the better,
but II II viii not come up to that, then
we must coin II at its real value what
ever that ratio may be. ! know, and the
men who wrote the democratic plat