The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-05-24
cARLIsLEoN SOUND MONEY.
He Makes Vigorous Address on That
Subject BEFORE the Memphis Convention.


Memphis, Tenn, May 23.-In the sound
money convention today, Gen Catchings
on taking the chair made speech in
which he said: ''I stand for Grover
Cleveland and John G. Carlisle -
The platform adopted favors mainte
nance of all our money whether gold, sill
yer or paper on a parity, declares bi
metallic standard cannot be mainta ined
where the ration fixed by law for the
free coinage of gold and silver does not
correspond with the market ratio of the
two metals; it opposes the free unlimited
and independent coinage of silver at a
ratio of 16 to l, when the market or COM
mercial ratio is more than 80 to Land the
difference between the bullion value of
gold and silver dollars is about fifty
cents; it favors in the absence of inter
national cooperation the retention and
maintenance of the existing gold stand
ard and asserts the impossibility for the
United States independently, to adopt a
b1-metallic standard it favors the policy
OF this country standing in the attitude
of readiness at all times to cooperate
with other powers in any effort they may
lnaugurate looking to the adoption of
true bi-metallism, and favors the reten-
tlon as part of our money of the silver
now coined and making our entire circu-
latlon below the denomination of ten
dollars either silver or silver certificates !;
it asserts that the national banking sys-
tenn is not adapted to the existing condi-
t1ons and favors such legislation as will
secure to the people a system of banking
surrounded by such safeguards as will at
all times furnish safe elastic and
sufficient currency for the transaction of
business; it commends the unfagging
courage and sturdy patriotism of Presi-
dent Cleveland in his efforts to maintain
public credit during a period of great
financial distress.
Secretary Carlisle was introduced and
received an ovation. His address was
punctuated with applause. Among other
things Mr.. Carlisle said:
1t Is argued that the existing standard
of value ought to be abandoned because
since 1873 prices of commodities have
fallen, and will continue to fall, if the
standard is maintained. SO that it has
been, and will continue to be, more and
more difficult each succeeding year to
pay debts; that this fall in the prices of
all commodities is attributable to the
appreciation of gold, and that the ap-
probation i'll the value of gold has been
caused by the alleged demonetization of
silver in Germany in 1871 and 1878, the
omission of the standard silver dollar
IIoIh M u o GoiHdBe VI tHt Ouiteu oIateS In
1873, and the suspension of the coin
age of silver by France in 1876
1t is true that the prices of many
things have fallen since 1878, but it is
true, also, that the prices of many things
had fallen long before that date
The assertion that the fall in prices since
1873 is due to the appreciation Of gold
alone is based upon the assumption that
the relations between supply and demand
have not changed, that that there has
been no diminution of the cost of produc-
tion and distribution, that the facilities
for effecting financial exchanges have not
been improved, and, in brief, that the
world has made no progress in the con-
duct OF its industrial and co numerical op-
erations for more than twenty years.
This assumption is SO inconsistent with
we'll known economic and historical facts
that it seems scarcely worth while to give
it serious consideration. Reductions in
the prices of commodities are generally
due to so many different causes that it is
scarcely ever possible to ascertain the ex-
tent of their separate influences. | pre-
sumo, however, that even the most ar
dent advocate of free coinage would be
willing to admit that the invention and
use of labor saving machinery, the exten-
sion OF our railroad systems, the improve
ment of our waterways and the great re-
ductions in the rates for carrying freight,
the employment of steam
ships, the use of the telegraph on the
land and under the sea, the application
of electricity in the production of light
heat and power, the utilization of by
products which were formerly wasted,
the introduction of more economical
methods in the processes of production,
the wonderful advance made by our la
borers in skill and efficiency, the greatly
reduced rates of interest paid for the use
of capital, and many other things which
it would require much time to enumerate
and explain, have affected prices in some
measure, at least, and yet they ignore all
these great influences in their argument
upon the subject and attribute the lower
prices of commodities to a single alleged
and inadequate cause.-the appreciation OF
gold 1 presume, also, that our free coin
age friends will admit that If the change
in prices has been caused entirely by the
appreciation of gold, the reduction would
have affected all things alike because it
cannot be denied that, in the absence of
other influences, gold must bear the same
relation to the price of one article that
it bears to the price of another. But we
do not find that the
PRICES OF ALL THINGS
have been reduced in the same proper
ton, nor do we find that the prices of all
things have IN TACT been reduced. 1t
would require far more time than could
be devoted to the subject upon such an
occasion as this to discuss the subject OF
prices in all it's Details nor is in necessa-
ry to do so for the purpose of this argu-
ment, because very few illustrations
will serve to show the weakness of the
contention that the decline is due alone
to the appreciation of gold.
In 1891, 1892 and part of 1898 l had the
honor to serve on a subcommittee
charged by the Senate of the United
States with the duty of ascertaining the
course of prices and wages of labor for as
long a period as authentic records would
enable us to embrace in our investiga-
tion, and after a most thorough and i'm
partial examination of the subject, re-
port was made which fills four large vol
umes and embodies mass of informa.
tion upon these subjects which cannot be
found in any other official from AS te
the course Of prices and wages the com
mittee was unanimous, though there
We're differences of opinion among the
members as to the causes that had from
time to time produced the changes The
prices of many articles and the wages OF
labor in many occupations were ascer-
tanned during each year as far back as
1S4O, and for the purposes of comparison