Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1895-05-16

machinery necessary for carrying on the
note-lssuing business, noautomatic way
OF getting information as to how much
money is needed in trade, no possible way
OF getting that money out when needed,
and no way OF getting it back, if by
clumsy chance some gets out.
Like the man with too many notes out
as long as things are prosperous and the
revenue is heavy, the notes float, but the
moment there is turn and prospect oi
insufficient revenue, every one wants his
notes cashed. The revenue condition
then is merely an incident, not the cause
of trouble.
We must depend upon legislation to get
us out of this condition, because the mis-
takes of our law makers through many
years have brought us where we are.
You are well acquainted with the history
OF these mistakes. | need only touch
upon them.
If there was any experiment in finances,
no matter how many times it had ex-
ploded in history, the United States was
| ready to take it up. Some French writer,
referring to this, has said that God is
good to little. children, drunken men and
the people of the United States, and that
any other country in the world, under
like: experiments, would have gone to
eternal destruction long ago.
Unlike other great nations, when the
peril of war confronted the United States,
it had no great financial institution to
fn md 6onp in a
banking way was upon the thousands OF
small institutions OF the country. 1t
turned then in its extremity to the fatal
expedient OF issuing its own notes, and
the seductive poison has never been
eradicated. Through misery and de-
struction we slowly emerged from the
greenback era after the heresy had swept
more wildly over the western plains
than the silver heresy is sweeping to-day,
after it had taken possession OF legisla-
ton more wholly than has that to-day.
The glory Of resumption OF specie pay
ments was dimmed by the malarial fogs
Of Bland silver legislation in 1878, and by
the stoppage OF cancellation OF the green
back, and the spirit OF compromise with
wrong completed its second fatal treaty
in the Sherman law OF 1890.
Every person in the United States to-
day is suffering more or less from this
cancerous blight OF fiat money.
THE SILVER HEREsY.
At this juncture, when the struggle Of
obligations in gold, nearly failing, has
through the ssgacity and magnificent
courage OF President Cleveland been
turned over to the strongest bankers in
the world, who are demonstrating daily
that the government should retire from
banking-at this time, we are confronted
once more in organized masses by the
silver heresy / cannot but feel that this
is the last desperate onslaught and that
these wild delusionists are making their
last fierce fight before it is too late, feel
ing that the great American people,
quick scholars as they have always
proven, have become educated by the
stirring events of the past three years to
see things as they are.
On this silver question the American
people are beginning to discard the old
delusion that law can regulate the value
of coin or OF anything else; that law,
covered with some vague power, can
decree that twice one are one, whether
it be standard metals, base balls, or
grains of wheat.
WHAT is THE STANDARD?
They have asked themselves what must
be he standard Of value, and they have
wrought out this answer:
1t must be the thing that the largest
number OF most intelligent people in the
community interested, decide that they
would rather have for such part of their
possessions as they do not wish, Temporal
rily to put into the form of food, clot hes,
real estate and like ownings.
1t is, in other words
What everybody would rather have
than anything else.
Put the question to thousand average
people:
"W hat material thing would you rather
have than anything else?"
Answer. Money"
Question. what kind of money,
silver or gold?"
Answer Gold"
"Why gold? Why not silver?
because silver is in dispute. Silver is
in doubt. There is no doubt about gold
gold is the best"
Do you think you can change that
opinion by law?
Suppose thousand intelligent, educat
ed people in the United States decide
that gold is the best and that they want
their money i'll gold. Are you going to
change that opinion by law? Will an
act of congress do it? VIII the com
bined command of all the nations of the
earth do it? And yet that is what the
information bmetallists propose to do:
To change intelligent public opinion, the
positive conclusion of vast army of
peonle skilled in commerce to change