Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-10-08

and reduce wages by law has many at
fractions.
Now, will Mr.. Dudley tell his read
ers about safeguards of legislation?
II We have free and unlimited coinage
of both gold and silver at Is to l.
what possible safeguard of legislation
could be had? Or could the mind of
man conceive of? Now, If Mr.. Dudley
or any other man Will suggest a sem
sible safeguard of legislation that
would preserve the parity of gold and
silver dollars when both were coined
free and in unlimited amounts, at a
ratio which was not the commercial
ratio of the two metals, l will give
him gold Tor silver medal for the
greatest discovery since Columbus
Now, as to the calamity bowling; MIR.
Dudley seems as much astonished as
the average Populist when 1 tell him
that Texas Is not all starving, and
that our people have more comforts
and convenenCes of life than ever be-
fore. Mr.. Dudley has heard that pow
erty cry SO long that he half believes
1t. but certainly he knows every state
ment ] make IS true, And while he
takes delight in referring to the fact
that Navarro has gone Populist, l
want to say that it was calamity howl
ing. which has been kept up in this
county for six years, and that, without
reply, that caused It, II is true
made few speeches in the county
last year, and In every one of them
l denounced the howl. and every place
! went to, except one, where bad wealth
er prevented much attendance, gave us
a better Democratic vote than two
years before. The truth is. Mr.. Dud-
ley should know that so many OF our
so-called Democrats had preached com
munism, calamity, conhscation and
cussedness, that the county naturally
went Populist.
Mr.. Dudley talks about what said
as to the act of 1869 a great deal, and
says very little. He did not answer a
question / asked him about it-not
even the question as to whether he
ever read the act. Now. the Demo-
cratic convention of 1865 could not have
denounced the act of 1869. That act
simply declared that IT was the pur-
pose of the government to ultimately
redeem all Its obligations Some OF
the bonds then out were payable in
lawful currency, which meant coin or
greenbacks. The greenbacks fin 1863
were at a discount, because, notwith-
standing they We're promises TO pay on
demand, the government did not have
the money and could not pay. Now. If
the government should have paid these
bonds in greenbaclts, then the holder
OF the greenbacks had demand note.
payable In coin, and not one of those
bonds matured before 1879, at which
coin on demand. And I call your at
tentlon to the fact that while a con-
siderable tincture of greenbaclt issue
crept into the ranks of the Democratic
party along about 1870, the first express
sion of the National Democratic party
afer 1863. on the financial question,
was n denunclation OF the Republi-
cans because. while in power for eleven
years after the war they had not
brought their greenbacks to par. and
had not met their promises to pay in
coin. 1 asked Mr.. Dudley a plain
question. 1t does not require authority
to answer 1t. Was It n crime for a
debtor to declare his intention to pay
his debt? This question Is foreign to
the silver issue. but ii Is brought in
by some to cloud the issue, just as
Is the act OF 1851. in reference to for
eign coins, passed when we had a
Democratic congress and president,
The fact is, the free silver agitator
today charges fraud and corruption on
the party in power from and includ-
ing 1857 down TO today-and l think
the charge libel on American man
hood. and am willing to defend the
right, whoever did IL. against calumny
And while sporadic denunclation Of
the act of 1869, by individual Demo-
Gratis, may have occurred, just as Judge
Reagan denounced the act of 1857. no
Democratic convention since 1t passed
has ever disgraced itself or its country
by such denunciation.
To return to the question. Mr.. Dud-
ley does not seem to understand what
standard of value means. The stand
ard of value means that by which val
ues are measured. In this country af-
ter 1884. when a contract was made for
so many dollars, unless II was specl-
fed what kind of dollars. the payment
was made and expected in gold dollars
II an article OF merchandise was priced
NWa Il aaal
and paid In gold. because silver was at
premium. Gold was therefore the
standard. This continued till 1861. af-
ter which, II nothing was said as to the
kind of money n contract for dollars
meant paper money. because that was
the cheapest. and until 1879 paper was
the standard OF value, since 1879 a dol
lar has meant gold dollar or its
equivalent. and so from 1894 TN now
with the exception Of from 1861 to 1879.
gold has been our standard of values
and is today, l confess I can't see
what Mr. Dudley means by his repe-
tltion of his former statement about
the so cent dollar II is true / did not
quote his whole paragraph but the
part / quoted contained every grain of
sense there was IN it. The rest was So
absurd I omitted 1t to save comment
and space, but now I viii insert II all
with his late comments.
Mr.. Hardy accuses me OF being in
consistent. II he had quoted the en-
tire paragraph n i2-year-old child
could easily have understood my mean
Ing. The coined silver dollar today,
Notwithstanding It's enemies aud All the
hostile Legislation against II, will buy
as much OF the necessaries OF life as
the gold dollar. when the mints are
oeened TO the unlimited coinage OF
silver would not the dollar then coined
ana bearing the government stamp OF
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