The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-20
CARLISLE ON SILVER.

Secretary Carlisle is in a bad box
He has evidently changed his views in
reference to the coinage question.
There would be no harm in that If he
had the courage of his convictions and
the force to face the inconsistency be-
tween his past and present views on
that important and living question.
To change an opinion is no necces-
sary mark of weakness. Often it is
token of strength and growth. when
I was a child" said wise man, Il
spoke as a child, I thought as a child.
But when became d man put away
childish things But where a man
changes his mind through growth, he
does not usually attempt to deny it or
seek to dodge the issue. We fear
that is what Secretary Carlisle is do
ing in reference to his utterances on
the silver question.
When the Bland-Alison bill was I'M
der discussion in the House Of Repre-
sentatives in 1873, Mr.. Carlisle was
numbered among the friends of silver;
that is, its unlimited coinage. Today
he shares the views of Cleveland. We
do not regard him as what is popular
" called a cuckoo" Carlisle has a
mind of his own and it is no ordinary
mind. He has gained experience as
Secretary of the Treasury which may
have contributed to his change of opin-
ion on that question. If so he ought
to say so, and not attempt as he has
attempted recently, to convince the
Of mind at all.
He denies that he has ever written
OF spoken in favor of the free coinage
of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1 or at
any other ratio. Against this asser-
ton the New York Sun springs upon
him quotations from his speeches in
favor of the equal coinage Of silver
and gold, when the Bland-Allison bill
was pending: The Sun declares that
his words were unequivocal. He was
against the free coinage of silver only
In the sense that he was against the
free coinage Of either gold or silver.
holding that the government should be
Ddlu LOT UllIblll4S III liz CoioC VI CAbASA
metal And while in that restricted
sense he was against the free coinage
of silver, he was in favor Of the un-
limited coinage of silver. Here are
his exact words in February, 1878:
ST am opposed to the free coinage of
either gold or silver, but in favor of
unlimited coinage of both metals on
terms of exact equality. No discrimin-
alton should be made in favor of one
metal and against the other; nor
should any discrimination be made in
favor of the holders of either gold or
silver bullion, and against the great
body of the people who own other
kinds of property"
A little further on in the same speech
he said:
81 do not wish to be understood as
taking the position that the Secretary
of the Treasury may not acquire and
use silver coin for the purpose of re-
Stunning specie payments in case the
resumption law shall not be repealed,
for 1 maintain no such proposition"
That Carlisle was then a silver adj
vocate is very clear from other re-
marks made in reference to
that bill, which sound like arguments
used in the Salt Lake Silver Confer
ence and which have appeared for
years in the silver papers of the West.
He said:
During a period of ia years, from
1860 to the close of 1874, there never
was a single year, except one, when
one ounce of pure gold would purchase
Il. 98 ounces of pure silver; and yet that
was the ratio fixed by the law of this
country in 1887, and is the ratio fixed
by this bill.
I shall not. now enter into an exarni-
nation of the causes which have COM
bined to depreciate the relative value
of silver and to appreciate the value of
gold since 1873, but l am one of those
who believe that they are transient
and temporary in their nature, and
that when they have passed away or
been removed by the separate or unit
ed action OF the nations most deeply
interested in the subject, the OLD
ratio of actual and relative value
the old ratio of actual and relative
will be re-established on a firmer
foundation than ever. According to
my view of the subject, the conspiracy
which seems to have been formed here
and in Europe TO destroy by legislation
and otherwise from three-sevenths to
OF Inc metallic money Oh the
world is the most gigantic crime of this
Or any other age.
The contamination Of such scheme
would ultimately entail more misery
upon the human race than all the wars.
pestilences, and famines that ever oc-
cured in the history of the world. The
absolute and instantaneous destruction.
Of half the entire movable property oS
The world, including houses, ships, rail-
roads. and all other appliances for
carrying ON commerce. while it would
be felt more sensibly at the moment. |
would not produce anything like the
prolonged distress and disqualification
Of society that musbfnevftably result |
from the permanent annihilation OF