The herald., 1895-07-24
His First Georgia Address on
the Financial Issue
SILVER'S DECLINE REVIEWED
Unlimited Coinage Would Be Ruin for
Everyone
Granted Years Free Discussion the Silver
Party Must Be Overwhelmingly De.
.sasi feated at Last
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
GAINESVILLE, Ca, July 23.-Secre.
tary Hoke Smith delivered here today the
first OF series of three addresses in
Georgia on the financial issue. A tre.
mendous crowd assembled to hear the
speech and he was oheered to the echo.
He was introduced by Judge Perry, who
paid glowing tribute to President Oleve.
land. Mr. Smith spoke as follows:
The claim that gold has apprecia ted,
thereby depreciating the value of pro.
ducts, said he, is based upon the theory
that the decrease in the value of silver
and in the value of producus has been
contemporaneous A careful examination
OF the facts shows this not to be true.
The average decrease of comm odities
since 1873 has been about 90 per cent.
The heaviest decline has been In the line
of those things which the masses OF peo.
pie buy. All these reductions in price are
partly attributable to lessened cost of
production and partly to the recent
panic. While commodities have fallen 20
The bullion in a silver dollar is only
worth 50 cents and 25.S grains of standard
gold are worth 100 cents.
To lift the value of 412 grains OF silver
in the United States from so to 100 cents,
il woLld be necessary to lift the value OF
all the silver in the world to the same ex-
tent, less the cost of transporting it to
the United States
In addition to this if the silver mine
can afford to continue increasing their
production, IS they have from $81. 900, 90
in 1873 to SID, 481 200 in 1894, on a market
which has fallen 80 per cent. what would
,, they produce on market which has risen
100 per cent?
THE INN ediate effect of the election
of president committed to such policy
would be the separation of the gold and
silver dollar, the gold dollar going to a
premium of about two for one, and we
would lose at once $67S. 600, 600 OF gold
now in circulation and in the treasury" !"
Banks would be Iaided by their deposit
tors. Indebtedness not payable in gold
would be collected at once or the prop
| erty owned by debtors taken from them.
| Merchants would fail, manufactures
close. workmen be idle, farm products
without a market and poverty and dis
tress be found on all sides.
| Concluding he said: 1.-The picture i,
not overdrawn. When l contemplate there
| Is but one soucre of comfort-it is an
| abiding confidence that with twelve
| months of full, free discussion. the Amer
lean people can be relied upon, to over.
whelmingly defeat any party which pro.
poses to bring such distress upon us.
1T is source of qualification to Demo
Gratis to know the troubles vf 1898 were
brought upon the county by the unwise
legislation of the previous administra
ton. Young representatives at Washing.
ton were confronted with many Difficult.
ties. No civil crisis has been serious.
Let the return of prosperity. let the daily
news that factories are again at work and
| that three million wage earners have had
their wages increased; let the rise in
value of farm products, tell how they
have succeeded.
THE Mckinley bill has been repealed
the credit OF the government has been
preserved. Money has been kept sound
and we will go to the country IN 1896
with the Democratic party fighting
further high tariff legislation, opposing
bad money and assured of success