The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-07-16
THE SHERMAN LAW AND THE
GOLDBUGS.

Let the people beware Of any man
who favored the repeal of the purchase
clause of the Sherman silver law in
1898. He will never be a friend OF sill
yer, or of the expansion of the currency
in any form. In a letter to the Char
lotte Observer on July 9th, 1893, Sen
ator Vance wrote: THE ~protessed
friend of silver money who favors the
unconditional repeal of the Sherman
law, trusting to the justice of capital,
or the chapter of accidents, to get
favorable legislation therefor, is either
a traitor or a fool" This law, accord
ing to Shermau's own statement, was
adding annually from $34, 600, 900 to
$50, OOO, 900 to the circulating medium.
Because it was increasing the volume
of currency about seventy-fve cents
per capita, ''the banks, stock brokers,
bondholdere, chambers of commerce,
ct id On1ne genus, clamored for it's re-
peal" Ito quote Vance AGAIN.. These
men we'll knew that to contract the
currency is a much more easy and eff
fective way to enslave a people than to
conquer them by force of arms. Some
of the hirelings of these men are now
crying for free silver at the top of their
voices. Two years ago when they had
an opportunity to help the silver cause
they were hand in glove with the enc
mics of the debtors of this country.
When Vance was making the last
and grandest fight of his life against
the shylocks before him, and death
itself behind him, these fellows turned
their little popguns against him and
declared that he was about to ruin
the party" He and his faithful col
leagues who stood up for the honest
money of the Constitution in the face
of the most pitiless attacks that were
ever devised even by the combined
powers of greed incarnate, were de
nounced as obstructionists who were
not earning honestly their salaries,
arch conspirators who were engaged in
tearing down the very bulWarks of lib
erty. Some men who are now, in the
face of another presidential election,
shouting for silver in 1898, hoWled for
the cloture rule, whereby debate might
be cut off and the nefarious scheme of
their masters for curtailing the meagre
money supply might be fastened upon
the country.
The man who favored the repealo of the
purchase clause of the Sherman act is
a contractionist, an ally Of the class who
own bonds, mortgages. etc calling for
''sound dollars" and who want dollars
made as scarce as possible in order that
they may secure an increased amount of
labor out of the people who must pay
dollars with interest. He Wronged the
people once, and he will betray them
again whenever he finds an opportu
nifty. Better an open foe than a
treacherous friend.
Editor Caldwell, of the Charlotte
Observer, has these manly words in his
issue of the 28th ult:
'The Asheville Citizen, replying to
an article in this paper, named Presi
dent Andrews, of Brown University.
and him alone, as a man of the first
order of ability who advocates the free
coinage of silver. The last thing we
had seen from President Andrews, was
an article in one Of the periodicals
nearly two years ago, advocating the
repeal of the purchase clause of the
Sherman act, and it appeared curious
that he should have whipped around
this time and be 10Y advocating free
coinage. Yesterday a gentleman gave
us the information that President An
drews favors free coinage only under
an international agreement"
Editor Caldwell is entirely right this
time. It is curious" for any intelli-
gent man who advocated the repeal of
the Sherman act nov to attempt to win
the confidence of the advocates of free
silver. 1t is worse than curious. 1t is
shameful.
SOME MORE SOUND MONEY"