Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1895-06-06

than the cost Of production. This is our
only chance for the payment Of this debt.
submit II TO you not as hnsnciers, not AS
specialists, but NJ men Of good, hard com
mon sense, and tell me, my countrymen, If
the world Itself does not produce enough
gold each year 10 pay the interest on your
debt II you had II all, and you are not even
the bret gold-producing nation Of the earth
but II we had all the gold, and that is
not enough " pay the interest ON the debt
abroad, how Ia Gods nsIse can we ever
pay tue principal Of the debt IN that IL to
De paid Ia gold slonel You can not do it;
II is Impossible.
They tell W of the dire cala1sities that
are to befall the American people if we
pass AL unlimited free coinage law. Az
have ALREADY told you, We have heard those
threats before. They never were fulfilled.
Everything happened under the act Of 1875
that Sherman never predicted would come,
and not blessed tnIng ever old happen
that he told u was coming. But they tell
US that dire calsmities are ~ befall US If we
pass the law restoring silver money to the
system Of this country. | do not believe
IL. But suppose for the sake of argument, |
that it IL tr.e. | answer and say to the |
Secretary and 10 all the other advocates of |
gold who think with him, more trouble has
already come, more suffering has already
been imposed, more poverty has already
been endured, ms the result Of the Sherman
law Of 1873, than even you claim can be
brought upon the American people by the
passage of silver bill. We have gone
through more of it than even the gold
advocates predict the passage of the silver
act could ever bring to the people Of this
land.
1 beg you TO remember, my friends, that
more than seven hundred million Of the
civilized people of the world to-day stand
upon silver and not upon gold. IL is true
Europe is upon the gold basis. England
demonetized silver in 1916 and tried but
never got but one nation to follow her ex.
ample until 1873. She did induce the
Kingdom of Portugal TO demonetize silver
in 1873 but Portugal was more just and
honest than the American tinanclers who
demonetized silver in 1878. When Portu-
gal struck down silver in 1919, by the same
| law that demonetized il she arbitrarily re-
dueed every debt in the Portuguese realm
70 per cent. from its face value. The same
law in Portugal that struck down silver re-
duced every debt owing IN that country
and provided, whether evidenced by mort
gage, bond or note, there should be- stricken
from the debt 20 per cent. Of its value. That
law declared that the decentralization Of sill
yer was such an outrage ON the debtor class
that in fairness It was no more than right
where n man owed thousand dollars two
hundred dollars should be stricken from the
face OF his obligation. England never per-
suaded anybody but Portugal to follow her
example and demonetize silver until 1873,
whes we did it in February Of that year
Germany followed later in tue fall Of the
same year, and the five nations constituting
the Latin Union followed in 1916 our bad
example And here is the result for which
we are mainly responsible.
But some of these gentlemen tell US
" Hold still, keep to the financial system
you have until Europe, and especially I'm
gland, should grant you permission 10 pu
silver back" No, no. The issue ID pre-
sented plain and fair. Shall we, my coun
trymel, have n foreign system shall WI
have an English system, or All American
system, n system of our own. When thi
country had only four millions Of people il
it you whipped Great Britain and esAb
lished your own system. What sort Of SON
of honored sres disgraes hls S.rs no
undertake TO maintain n system Of theil
own. What would your forefsthers hay,
said If the proposition had been made Il
them when, flushed with victory over the
British armies, the proposition WAS made t.
them TO tsmely hold out their wrists and
have the shackles of financial servitude
riveted anew
My countrymen, this is the issue. Ii can
not be gotten around. You have TO meet
1t in this campaign and the presidential
contest next year. The issue is in front
you, you can not flank it, you can not
bridge over ii, you can not tunnel under it,
you have 10 meet it. Meet it like men,
and settle it like men. Judge between
these systems, contrast the present condi-
ton of the American laborer with what
IT was At the end OF eighty years of trial
under the Jefferson system, and tell me,
not rs Democrats, not Ne party men, but
Ms patriots, tell me ms American citizens
which system was the best for the promo
ton of your interests. Was it the system
founded by the immortal leader OF De.
mocrscy, the builder Of free government
among the people; was it the Democratic,
the Jetiersonian system Of olden times, or
is it the Senator Sherman system OF mod
ern timesl Was it the double standard Of
gold and silver Ms the time-honorsd metals
of free people OF was ii the single gold
standard that has never found its way into
circulation among the massee2 10 it the
money Of war OF the money of peace that
stands as your stesdfsst friend
But he has made one more discovery,
and with that | believe he finishes He
tells us in his recent speeches that which
will be glad tidings Of great Joy to the
toiling millions of the country. He says
there is no distinct debtor class among our
people, but Ms far us the debtor class can be
located or described it is not the masses
of American people that are m debt but il
is the railroads, the insurance companies.
the banks, the savings and trust com.
panies-that these are the principal debt
ors of this land. The masses are the cred
itors and the railroads and banks are the |
debtors. Joyful tidingsto the thousands Of
sons of toll Happy news TO the farmer
whose farm is plastered over by mort |
gage held by the bank Glad, indeed, is
he TO know that he has been lsboring under
a delusion; he does not owe the bank at
Nj, but the bank owes him he is the cred
tor and the bank and the railroad company
are the debtors. There is but one merciful
mission LEFT for the bearer Of these tidings.
Let him make one more speech. l plead
In the name Of the toiling millions OF my
countrymen, in the name of mercy, In the
name of heaven, make one more speech and
tell that farmer and the laborer how 70
proceed to collect that debt. (Applause.)
Then we shall all be happy.
It is Painful to Criticise the Admins
tration of His Own Party, but
the Truth Must be Told.
1t is no plessursble duty for me to eriti-
else. TO ind fault with or 10 censure the
financial policy, OF sny other policy that Is
adopted and pursued by my own party l
am party man. am partisan, no. am
ba,estIv, earnestly and religiously believe
,hs, the hest Interests Of my country OF
svsry section Of it, of all its people are TO
bs nIomoted and served by the triumph OF
the principles of my party l am the he. iai =
l.in AS 1 have done IN