The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1895-12-07
The Autocrat Blames Repub-
licans and Silver for
Financial Troubles.
REASONS FOR 4 GOLD STANDARD.
Grover Trys to Convince the
People that Bimetallism
Cannot be a Success.

C.eveland's Message was delivered
shortly after the assembling of the
54th congress. 1t is a lengthy doc
ument dealing, with all the leading
questions that have faced the admin
istration within the year. 1t closes
with the most assuring words for the
goldbugs, and handles the financial
question as follows:
1t is neither unfair nor unjust to
charge large share of our present
financial perple kites and dangers to
the operation of the laws of 1878 and
1890 compelling the purchase of sill
YER by the government, which not
only furnished u new treasury obli
CATION upon which its gold could be
withdrawn but so increased the fear
Of an overwhelming flood of silver
and a forced descent Of silver pay
ments that even the repeal Of these
laws did not entirely cure the evils
of their existence. While | have
endeavored to make a plain state
ment of the disordered conditions of
oul currency and the present dangers
menacing our prosperity and to sug
gest way which leads to a safer
financial system, have constantly
had in mind the fact that many of
my countrymen whose sincerity | do.
not doubt, insist that the cure for
the ills now threatening us may be
found in the single and simple reme-
dy of the free coinage of silver.
They contend that our mints shall be
at once thrown open to the free, un-
limited and independent coinage of
silver both gold and silver dollars of
full and legal tender quality regard
less Of the action of any other gov
ernment and in full view of the fact
that the ratio bet ween the two met
ais which they suggest calls for one
hundred cents worth of gold in the
gold dollar at the present standard
and only fifty cents in intrinsic worth
of silver in the silver dollar.
Were there infinitely stronger rea
sons than can be adduced for hop
ing that such action would secure for
us bimetallic currency moving on
the lines of parity an experiment SO
novel and hazardous as that proposed
it might we'll stagger those who be-
lieve that stability is an imperative
condition of sound money. No gov
ernment, no human contrivance or
set of legislation has ever been able
to hold the two metals together in
free coinage at ratio appreciably
different from that which is establish
ed in the markets of the world. Those
who believe that our independent
free coinage of silver at an artificial
ratio of l6 to l would restore the
parity between the metals and then
consequently between the coins, OPP
pose an unsupported aud improbable
theory to the general belief and prac-
tice of other nations, and to the teach
ings of the wisest statemen and econ
omists of the world, both in the past
and present, and what is far more
conclusive, they rtn counter to our
own actual experiences. Twice in
our earlier, our law makers, in at.
tempting to establish bimetalllc
currency, undertook free coinage
using a ratio which accidentally var.
led from the actual relative value oi
the two metals, to more than three
per cent. In both cases, notwith
standing greater difficulties and cos
of transportation than now exist, the
coins coinage intrinsic worth wal
undervalued in the ratio and gradual
ly and surely disappeared from ou
circulation and went to other coun
tries, where their real value was bet
ter recognized. Acts of congres
were impotent to create equalit,
where natural causes decreed sligh
inequality. Twice in our presen
history we have signally failed t
raise by Legislation the value of sill
yer. Under an act Of congress pas
sed in 1878 the government was re