Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-07-16
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States senator from Arkansas and at
torney-general during President Cleve
lands first administration, was invite,
to attend the Memphis free silver con
ference and in a long letter he CAV,
his reasons for being unable to attend
and added: II am none the less il
full, direct and unequivocal accort
with the objects and purposes of the
calling of this convention, and hope
and pray it will be a success in all re
spects, and its teachings and lessons
may meet the approval of our people
and serve to bring the country now
debt-ridden and generally depressed
almost beyond hope, back to the ways
and methods of real comfort and
healthy prosperity"
Mr.. Garland then refers to the repor,
of Alexander Hamilton to congress in
1901, on the financial question then
| agitating the country, also the speeches
| of other able financiers in favor OF
| silver-not forgetting to contrast the
position of Mr.. Carlisle in 1878 with
the sentiments put forth in his late
speeches. Mr.. Garland's letter con-
tinues:
"Silver came here to this country
with our forefathers and foremothers,
hand in hand under the law with GOLD
it peregrinated, it rusticated it
domiciliated with them and became
thus one of the institutions of our
colonies, and walked thus with gold
and took its place in the constitution;
and our first and greatest secretary of
the treasury, as we have seen, takes it
up with full recognition and fixes it's
place in the financial transactions of
the country; and it thus continued on
under all circumstances as such till the
dismal period of 1878 already referred
to. Yes, for eighty-four years after
the adoption of the constitution of the
United States, the right of the people
to have free coinage of silver, as well
as gold, was not only distinctly recog-
nized but carefully protected by con-
gress.
81 cannot believe silver is worthless
advocates claim it to be, and that it
deserves the treatment they insist it
shall receive. 1t was current money
with the merchant when Abraham
bought the field of Machelah in which
to bury Sarah, and it has been so al
most ever since, and l cannot believe
any sound reasons can be given why it
should not now be so.
II cannot help believing that our
soil and climate, in all the appliances
of the arts and sciences, in all it's
variety of productions, in all its differ
emit interests of its people, in energy
and honesty and in name and char
acter, to fix it's own standards of value,
without waiting for, or dancing at
tendance upon, foreign powers, Let
us fix them, and these foreign powers
can follow, if they will, but let US fix
them.
1T is not possible there is any real
basis for the fear sometimes expressed
that bringing silver back to it's proper
status will cause foreign nations to
dump all their silver here and smother
u.s. Where is it, to this extent, to come
fromP Who has got it? The emptiness
of this charge Was fully exposed by
Senator Jones, of Nevada, in his re-
markable speech-a very pandect Of in
formation on this question and cognate
questions - delivered in the United
States senate In October, 1898; and in
that speech Senator Jones showed con-
clusively, if there were grounds for
such a fear. we could easily, by wise
and judicious laws, protect ourselves
against any such efforts.
SIS it fair to degrade, demonetize
silver, and then to complain it is of lit
tie value? This, with all due respect
to everybody, is bordering on the 'vul-
gar legerdemain of sophistry'; it is
complaint that one cannot see after
himself stirring up a dust; it is the
logic the wolf uses against the lamb;
it is to allege the source of the stream
has been befouled and poisoned by it's
mouth-the effect is put before the
cause-and indeed it is to vindicate op-
preston by pointing to the deprava-
ton which oppression has pro-
duced.' This mode of argument
lacks that element without which no
human speech or conduct is of value or
entitled to one moments respect-fair.
ness This absent, and the words are
meaningless and empty. And the cause
driven to this kind of assertion must,
in the nature of things, be helpless,
whatever of intellect or high patriotic
purposes may come to its. support. The
friends of silver need not dread or fear
such weapons;s they can meet them
successfully, / am confident, on all
parts of the ground, and they should
put on their armor, and grid themselves
for the struggle, until it is completed
to finish.
"And now, and here, just as soon as
possible, this controversy should be
settled; no more evasion; no more
straddling; no more postponing. The
country, and the business of the coun'
try, regardless of personal or party
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