Birmingham age-herald., 1895-08-16
NOW THAT ITS DINE FOR We May Ask What Was It Be-
 gun For. SILVER CONFERENCE OVER
l Lengthy Address to the People Threshing
 Over the Old, Old Straw
WITH CALAMITY WALLS AS INTERLUDEs
The Plan of Campaign Outlined-Address and Resolutions Adopted by Unani- nous Vote-Adjournmen Sub-
 ject to Call of MT. Harris.

Washington, Aug. 15.-Senator Harris called the silver conference together promptly at 10 o'clock today. AS soon as the delegates were seated he stated that the committee on resolutions, though it had worked most of the night, was not yet ready to report, but would be able to do so in about an hour. It was agreed to devote the hour waiting for the com mittee's report to speech making. The conference was then held with open doors.
 The conference was addressed by Col Casey Young of Tennessee. Ex-Repres en- tative Fithian of Illinois. Representative Livingston of Georgia Senator Call of Florida and MT. Hill of Missouri.
 When the committees report was an- nounced as complete, shortly before noon, Senator Jones took the chair and Governor Stone of Missouri presented the address. He announced that 1t had been partially adopted by the Texas sil- yer convention and adopted in toto by the Mississippi convention
 MT. Hill of Missouri moved the adop- tion of the address and resolutions, which were adopted by unanimous vote.
 The address is as follows:
 At a conference between number or democrats from different states who at tended the non-partisan convention re gently announced at Memphis, Tenn., TOT the purpose of promoting the cause or free silver coinage (which conference. was held after the adjournment Of the con vention) committed, consisting or Sena- tors Jones of Arkansas, Turpie of Indiana and Harris of Tennessee, was appointed and authorized to invite representative democrats from the several states to meet l,i tn,a a with the view of securing cooperation and concert of action among those demo- cratS throughout the union who believe in adhering to the cardinal democratic policy of actual blnetallism and who are opposed to committing the party to the plutocratic republican doctrine of gold monometallism. The present conference is the result of the action then taken. This is purely voluntary assemblage and therefore docs not assume to speak with party authority and disclaims all rights to bind any person by our utter- ances, but profoundly conscious that the democratic party confronts a crisis mo- mentous in its history and fraught with far reaching peril to the people and the country, we are assembled as individual democrats to take council together and for the undisgulsed purpose of inaugu- rating thorough and systematic organ 1Zation of the democratic masses so that they may go forward as one man with a resolute purpose to rescue the old party founded by Thomas Jefferson from plu- tocratic domination.
 Therefore, with this object in view this convention of the leading states of the union makes the following declara- tion on the monetary question, which has been forced into the leading places among the issues of today:
 'The federal constitution names silver and gold together as the money metals of the United States. The first coinage law passed by congress under the con stitution made the silver dollar the unit of value and admitted gold to free coin age at a ratio measured by the silver dol lar unit.
 From the beginning of the govern ment, following policy formulated by Thomas Jefferson and firmly established by Jackson the democratic party has been the party of bimetallism, favoring the free coinage of both silver and gold at the national hints and opposed to farming to the banking corporations the governments sovereign power of issuing and controlling the money of the people
 'The act of 1873 demonetizing silver was surreptitiously passed without the approval or knowledge of the American people, and from the time when the ef- feet of this act in fastening upon this country the single gold standard was un- derstood, the democratic party has con- sistently and consistently urged that the grievous wrong be lighted.
 Failure to accomplish this object has resulted in the steady appreciation of gold and corresponding fall in the price of commodities produced by the people, a heavy increase in the burden of all debts. public and private, the enrichment of the money lending class paralysis of indus try and the impoverishmcnt of the peo pie and unexamplcd distress in all gold standard countries. Experience has shown that while under the gold stand ard there may be an occasional revival of business activity accompanied by en- hanccd prices of a limited number of commodities. such revival Is due to arti- ficial and temporary causes and can not permanently alleviate the sufferings due to the falling of prices brought about by the appreciation of gold and the unequal supply of primary or re- demption money.
 "The rights of the American people, the interests of American labor and the pros perity of American industry have higher claim 10 the consideration of the peoples lawmakers than the greed of foreign creditors, or the avaricous de- mands made by idle holders of idle cap- ital' The right to regulate it's own mon ctary system In the interest of it's own people Is right which no free govern mcnt can barter sell or surrender. This reserved right is a part of every bond . of every contra ct and of every obligation No creditor or claimant can set up right that can take pi ecedence over a nations obligations to promote the welfare of the masses of its people. This is a debt higher and more binding than all other Z debts, and one that is not only dishonest bat treasonasle to ignore
 ..The land aEj it's products are the basis of all developments and prosperity The productive capacity of country must be the basis of iss credit In opposing the policy of contraction which must inev- itably depreciate the value of land and its products, W ho are the supporters or property rights and sound credit and stand between the homes and estates of the people and the red flag of auction eers?
 "The policy of gold monometalism has been characterized by repeated and dis astrous financial panics. The farmers