Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1895-07-19

the double standard unless we can
have an international bimetallic treaty
This talk of international agreement is
a mere excuse for doing nothing. Eng
land has recently ayowed is determine
alton not To- Join in any such treat and
British interests are now really control
ling our financial legislation II would
evidently be better if the principal ma
tons OF the world would Join in a COM
mon standard of money, but they will
not. We may rest assured that a long
A. long as England can hold the United
States to the gold standard, England
will not Join in any act that will lessen
the purchasing power OF gold. Our
high tariff laws have led her to have no
commercial good feeling toward rs,
and with the single gold standard she
evidently delights in making Us pay in
gold the immense revenue she draws
from this country by way of interest on
bonds and her share of profits ON Eng
liSh capital invested in commercial en-
terprise in the United States
We need new declaration OF indie
pendence, financially, a complete cut
ting loose from control of the banks of
England. on one side Of the water and
Wall street on the other. That the
peoples rights are gradally being alb
Sorbed is evident to any one who studies
the trend of our deyelopement-the in
diyidual Is fast disappearing and in his
place rises corporations, combines and
secret associations, which have somuch
influence, that voters 90 to the polls
and vote largely in platoons, subject to
orders of some board Of directors who
do the thinking and direct how the
voters shall vote We SEE this demon
strated very clearly now IN President
Clevcland'S position on the gold ques.
ton. His tariff views and attitude ON
the money question are directly at yari-
ance. yet under his influence free
traders become single gold standard
men. and recaat the most earnest teach
ingS of their life Mr.. Cleveland has
east his lot in with the money kings of
the world. he has immense patronage,
power by appointment to Office to make
or unmake the fortunes of many of his
followers, and so we see, as in his sec
rotary of state, large numbers of these
followers who are good men, who nat
ural instincts are with the people, wan
dering away from the masses and pre-
dieting the most dire results, If we re-
turn to silver coinage at the old ratio
But none of them can show that silver
was demonetized in the interest of the
poor, nor because commerce suffered
from the double standard.
On the other hand, the records show
that if not fraudulently done it was
done secretly, without demand tor il by
the people, and beyond question it was
done IN the interest of capital.
Gold and silver prior to 1873 had
been used at an established ratio As
money from the dawn of civilization.
They had freely circulated at a substan-
tiol parity; no serious trouble had come
to man because of any variance in their
value. So long had the custom pre-
vailed to use the two metals as legal
tender money, each standard, each.
so to speak, measuring value, and the
habit, with right TO such use, was so
completely interviewer in our COM
merce, in our contracts. men had pur-
chased and sold for SO many centuries,
had incurred debts, given mortgages,
in every way dealt in reliance upon this
double standard, that to change the
standard without consulting the people
and without the most imperative reason
was most monstrous act, unwise, I'M
just, cruel in its effect Then the adj
vocates of this swndle, with the most
audacity, turn to those who
denounce it, and tell us that we are adj
vocates of a fraudulent scheme, and
seek to aid debtors cheat their creditors.
that Black Fridays will occur on Wall
Street, national dishonor will follow,
bread will be taken from the poor mans
family, that it is dishonest thought to
seriously think of restoring silver as
money at the old ratio.
If dishonest to restore the free coin
age of silver at Is to /. will these good
gold men tell us what was the nature
of the act that demonetizcd silver? Was
il not utterly infamous, and can it be
dishonest to undo the wrong To urge
as a reason that we ought not to restore
free silver coinage at the ratio of to