The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-05-28

of the United States, I was willing to
make the experiment, but L was never
willing to make it by legislation pro-
viding for the free and unlimited coin
age of silver at that OF any other ratio.
The only speech I ever made IN Con-
gress on this subject was delivered IN
the House of Representatives more than
seventeen years ago, at a time when
the value Of the bullion contained IN a
silver dollarWas only about seven cents
less than the value of the bullion con
tanned in a gold dollar, and /, together
with many other opponents Of free
coinage, believing that a restoration of
silver to our minis would bring it to a
parity with gold supported a measure
providing for the limited coinage of
silver dollars on government account,
not on account of private individuals
and corporations as is now proposed.
Fifteen years experience, however.
demonstrated these Of US who believed
in 1878 that a larger g of silver by
the United States would enhance it's
price or value we're mistaken. Instead
of increasing the price of silver, it cor
tinued to fall with greater rapidity
than before, notwithstanding all the
efforts made by our government to up
hold it, until now the bullion contained
in a dollar is worth only about half as
much as the bullion contained in a
gold dollar. The conditions have en-
tirelY changed since 1878, and I do not
understand that even our free coinage
friends in Kentucky or elsewhere now
contend that any legislation by this
country alone could place silver on q
parity with gold at the ratio Of Is to 1
On the contrary, they insist that the
free and unlimited coinage of silver at
that ratio would give the people cheap
money, and l agree with them that it
would have that effect, but it would
not be cheap money If 1t were equal in
value to gold. The speech made by me
on the occasion referred to has been
garbled and twisted and perverted in
and out of Congress during the past two
years with a malicious ingenuity which
has scarcely ever been equalled in the
discussion of a public question, and yet
no one has ever ventured to make the
direct assertion that it contained q
single word in favor of the free coinage
of silver. 1t was, in fact, made in Op-
position to free coinage ana IN support
of the Senate substitute for a free coin
age bill, as can be seer by any one who
will take the trouble to read it. Ger
tain sentences, in which l denounced
in strong language the attempt to de
stroy" silver as a money metal, have
been separated from their context and
quoted again and again in Congress, on
the stump, and in newspapers by men
who never read the speech and who ap
pear wholly incapable of understand
ing the difference between the total dis
use of that metal as money and it's free
and unlimited coinage at the public
expense for the benefit of private indl
viduals and corporations I have 6
copy of the speech here, but will MOI
detain you by reading extracts from il
to show what my position was, because
any gentleman who desires to do spear
find it in full in the oppendix TO tn.
Congressi nal Record for the second
session of the Forty-fifth Congress
| Some of the opinions then expressed
have been modified and some Of then
have been changed altogether by sub
sequent events and by a more thorough
Investigation of the subjects to which
they related tut on the question o
free coinage my conviction S nave nevel
been shaken for a moment.
I thank you most sincerely for thu
patience with which you have listened
TO my remarks, and will detain you IL
longer.