Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1894-10-11
ADVOCATES GOLD STANDARD
ComStOCk'S Views on Silver
Stated in an Open
Meeting.
Opposes Interference With
the Present Railroad
ManaRement.


night to draw crowd to the court house
to listen to Hon. S. G. Comstock Of Moor
head, who spoke in the interests OF the
republican party. There were mum Der
OF ladies present and small audience of
men. Mr.. Comstock is not stranger
here having delivered an address in the
! same room two years ago to a packed
| house.
AS might be expected, Congress-
man Comstock, who has been favored for
many years as the townsite agent Of J. J.
Hill and who is reputed to have crown
| rich under Hills railroad patronage. had
special grievance against the peoples
party, or any one proposing to disturb
the present railroad conditions of the
country. He ridiculed any attempt pro.
| posed, for the government or legislation,
to remedy existing abuses in the trans
portatlon system Of railways. He pre-
dicted what the result would be should
| any such policy be put in practice. The
| report Of the interstate commerce COM
mission in regard to the government
ownership of railroads, recently issued,
IN which a comparison of rates, both
passenger and freight, was made in for
elgn countries, where partial or complete
ownership of railroads exist, with the
United States, was adduced by the
speaker as conclusive evidence OF the
folly of this theory.
The speaker failed to state that the
| Interstate commerce commission has
proved simply dignifed adjunct to aid
the railroads instead of doing any real
service for the people in reducing rates
or equallzlng them, by making freight
and passenger charges for short hauls
proportlonate to long distance hauls.
The silver question, with which the
speaker eald he was not very familiar, he
understood was great question. Others
than the populsts believe that the policy
OF free coinage of silver should be
adopted. If it is good thing, be wanted
it. The independents declare, be. said, in
the Omaha platform, that the property,
products and labor of the nation have
| been deprecated by reason Of the de-
monetization act of '713. He had tried to
understand exactly what they hope to
accomplish by the coinage of silver at q
l6 to ratio. He argued that at this
ratio it would cause larger increase in
value of all products, property and Ia
| Dor, and frankly held that such an in
crease would not be best for this nation !;
would make the gulf between the rich
and poor greater than ever before" The
speaker said if the free coinage OF silver
is to add ), Is or 20 per cent. to the value
of property and products of this nation,
| it will add to the wealth of the rich as
we'll as to the poor and be who has moth
lbs will get nothing. If the populists
accomplish this result that increase
would suddenly 60 to the people who own
the property and products OF the nation.
The speaker evidently believed this
statement would be accepted as reason
for no further increase in money for an
increasing population, or for any higher
prices. He failed to say that the debts
which largely represent the wealth Of
the rich, would not increase a dollar by
free coinage while the power to pay
them by the debtor, or the poor man,
would be immensely increased if more
money should bring higher prices for
produce and better wages for labor. Mr..
Comstcck's financial policy. as outlined
in his speech, would do credit to an En-
glish gold bearing bandholder or coupon
| clipper, but not to An American citizen
o: to poor man trying to borrow money
to pay debts.
The speaker discussed the past ratio
| of silver gold and the fluctuations of the
metals. He had the courage to state
that methods Of production and trans
portat,on we're what have cheapened
silver and not its disuse as money by
nations of the world. Mr.. Comstocks :
remarks on the silver question he ad-
dressed evidently in his opinion to an
audience who knew as little or less than
he did about the question.