The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1895-08-03

Address to the People.

AuuTcSS " tuc u |
The following address was issued by
the Missouri Democratic Editorial asso-
citation, which met at Sedalia, July
esd:
To the People of Missouri large
per cent of the democratic editors here
assembled are conductors of weekly
country newspapers ana are in daily
personal intercourse with the people.
Therefore, they are in close touch with
the people and enjoy opportunities
favorable to an understanding of their
views on public questions and of their
best interests. Hence, they have no
reason to doubt that at least ninety per
cent of the democratic voters Of Mis-
souri, are not only reasonably well
informed in respect to the financial
questions so frequently and so earnestly
discussed, but are true bimetallists, IN
favor of the free coinage of gold and
silver at the ratio of IL % l, and are
irrevocably against the single gold
standard. Without any attempt in this
short paper to discuss these questions,
the following may be submitted as
some of the reasons, briefly stated, that
influence the democrats of Missouri to
entertain and advocate the views men,
toned.
l. The democratic party, during its
entire history, from Jefferson to Cleve-
land, has been in favor of bimetalllsm,
by which is meant money constituted
by admitting both gold and silver to
free coinage and making each a legal
tender at a certain relation in value to
the other, rs n of its cardinal princi-
Piles of faith.
2. The democratic party, both of
the nation and the state, have endorsed
bimetallism, the free and unlimited
coinage of both gold and silver, time
and time again in their platforms, and
in ~unmistakable words of English the
party Is committed to this policy. We
now repledge u loyalty to the tradi-
tions and platforms of the democratic
party, national and state, and to the
bimetallic record often made in con
gress by a very large majority Of its
representatives in both houses.
3. Congress has power, under the
constitution, 'sto coin money, regulate
the value thereof, and of foreign coins,
and fix the standard of weights and
measures" and s'no state shall coin
money or make anything but gold and
silver coin a tender in payment OF
debts" The power granted to con-
gress is the power to coin money-that
is, to coin gold and silver metal into
money and to regulate its value, not to
coin gold "or'' silver and regulate Its
value but gold sand" silver. Neither
metal is money under the constitution,
and neither can become money unless
coined as such by authority of congress
and both thereby become the legal
property. Both, when thus coined,
are inherently and honestly of the exact
value stamped upon their faces, its
legal tender power in all payments.
4. Therefore, it Is logically true
that no power is given congress to
regulate or fix the commercial value
of gold and silver as metals or to de-
clare that coins made OF them by con-
gressional authority, or of either OF
them, shall not be money, sound, hon.
est money, and no power Is granted to
congress to demonetize either gold OIL
silver.
s. The coinage history Of gold anG
silver from the first coinage act Of
1892 to the demonstration act Of
1873, illustrates the wisdom of the
policy of the first act mentioned, il
conformity to the authority granted to
congress by the constitution, and
shows beyond cavil OF dispute that the
legal ratio between the two coins Their
established, of about 16 to 1, was
successfully maintained for the entire
period of eighty-one years on substan'
tial equality, without friction, financial
disaster or loss to the people.
6. Nor q it be successfully denied
that the act of demonstration of 1873
characterized in 1873 by Mr.. Carlisle
as ''the most gigantic crime of this oil
any other age" disturbed and dislo'
Gated this ratio by increasing the com
merciai value of gold and l~essening tho
commercial value of silver the very
next year after the passage of the act
showing that the ratio of gold bullion
over silver rose l6, II and has con,
tinued to rise year after year, until i
has now reached the point Of 50 to l
This d~islocation Of the ratio promotes
and accomplished in the interest of thu
plutocrats Of Europe and America, tn,
creditor classes, has lessened the debt
paying power of silver money and the
|. prices Of property and labor to thu
financial embarrassment of the debtor
class. This depreciation of sllvel
money and shrinkage Of commodity
values and the appreciation OF the valp,
of gold is still going on, and II no
arrested by restoring silver to its con
! %stitutlonal right of coinage will finally
accomplish the complete pndoing o
the masses of people and TIL
further aggrandizement Of the favored
few at the expense Of the unprotected
many.
z. Conditions which compel +,
farmer debtor to confront such shrink
age of values and such correspondent,
shrinkage of ability to pay must nee
essarily make him poorer and menace
him with bankruptcy. To illustrate
Missouri produced 1866, 900 bushel
of wheat IN 1872, and the product wa
worth $40, 849, $50, the year before sill
yer was demOnetized. In 1890, W,
produced 80, il3, 1921 bushels which, a
the prices of 1862, would have brough
: S42, 460,ls7, but q sh~rinkage of value
of about forty-seven per sent ha,
interviewed, and our thirty odd million
: bushels were worth only about .S22,
? soc, 200, a loss of nearly $40, DOC, 90,
: in one state on a single crop.
8. No convention of the people
large or small, democratic, Republican
or populist, in any county of any state
asked for the passage of the demonetl
zatiop act Of 1878. Nor did the com
!. binstions and representatives of tn
money-grabbers who demOnetized sill
yer in 1873 seek or ask the advice
concurrence or Intervention Of foreig
nations, whatever may have been tn
fact in respect to the intervention q
= the millionsires in Lombard street, i
Q London. Nor would it be wise for tn
American people still further to com
o plicate and delay q successful solAtio
: of the silver coinage question by turtle
p dallying with the restoration Of silve
by waiting for the concurrence @
Q England or of the states of the Lati
union. We are strong enough and oil
enough and wise enough to attend t