Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-05-16
j. LINN LADD.
His Ideas About the Silver Question
The Former Editor and Owner
of the Ledger Has Started a
Daily in Texas.

J. Linn Laid, who sold the LEDGER
to r. NJ. White i'll September, 1876,
has just started a daily paper inGaines-
vile, Texas. The following, taken
his s~alutatory, will be of interest
to the readers of the Mexico LEDGER:
But do not infer, dear reader, that
we have no political convictions. Far
from it. We are n Democrat of the
stalwart school. We believe that the
doctrines of that party embody the
wisest and most just policies for the
conduct of the Government and the
preservation of popular rights. But,
while no man has more positive po-
litical convictions than we have, we
yield to none in breadth OF tolerance
for the opinions of those who differ
from us. We believe that we are
right; we know that we may be
wrong. We are human and therefore
fallible. We conCede to Republicans
and Populists the same right to en-
terrain and to advocate their doc
trines, and the same sincerity therein,
that we claim for ourself. We do not
believe that our cause n be
strengthened or theirs weakened by
calling them hard names. The dig
nifty of journalism and the piainest
dictates of good breeding require that
the language of the newspaper should
be as chaste as that of polite society.
"But how do you stand on silver?''
Silver? Oh, yes! Well, since the
Senate is for free silver and the House
and the President are against it, and
the Progress has no reasonable hope
of converting either or of seating
others i'll their places for ut least two
years to come, we do not propose to
rend our linen or tear the Democratic
party asunder over the silver ques-
ton; and if the farmers remain in
their fields until they hear our bugle
call on the silver question. Texas vii
have big crops this year and conse-
quent prosperity next year.
However, our views on the silver
question + peculiar, and we confess
that we are just a little bit vain OF
them. This writer was clerk to the
Committee on Banking and Currency
in the Forty eighth Congress, ant
made a special study of national fl
nance. We then concluded and still
believe that stability of values cannot
be secured as long as the two metals
are coined separately. Any unusua.
discoveries or developments in the
mining of either will depress its price
and destroy the parity, at any ratio.
But if we had neither gold coins mol
silver coins, but had instead Il dollar
composed of fifty cents worth of eacf
metal, we would have a stable stand
ard and practical bimetaliism. Any
decrease in the value of the silver il
such a coin would be accompanied by
a corresponding increase in the value
of gold in the same coin, so that the
value of the coin would always remain
the same. Larger than the gold dol,
lar and smaller than the silver dollar
it would be more convenient thar
ever. If the two metals were thus
bound in indissoluble union neither
would be subject to speculative ma
~nipulation, neither could go to a prem
ium n drive the other out of circula,
ton or out of the country, and there
would be no waning gold reserve K
rob Mr.. Cleveland of his peace o
mind and even Mr.. Cleveland coult
not object to free and unlimited coin
age. While those are our views yol
do not have to subscribe to them; bur
subscribe for this paper and in its new:
columns you will find from time tt
time the opinion and arguments o
Cleveland and Carlisle on one side
and of Bland and Bryan on the other
and then with all the light before you
you a exercise your prerogative as
a free American citizen to believe ant
to vote as you please.