The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-06-06

| to reduce the gold in a $40 piece. The
effect was to equalize the value between
gold and silver Afterwards silver IN
derwent a change. Ten half dollars
were worth more in London than 50
gold piece. We couldn't keep our balf
dollars, and Congress reduced its value,
and we retained them in use.
FREE SILVER A MISTAKE.
''The natural law governing these mat
ters are superior to Congress laws. The
| coin of country is rated in the worlds
markets according TO the metal con-
tanned therein. No power or government
can set this aside. For time they
| might be nulIifed; but in time natural
law will assert its supremacy and the
statute law be overruled. Those misled
by statute law will pay for their mis-
take. This is a fundamental principle.
Free silver is a mistake"
Mr. Trenholm, to illustrate this, said
that If anyone takes ten silver dollars
and melts them down the mass will only
be worth s. in silver coin. Did not the
mint mark count for something? 1.-THE
proof is, take that mass of bullion to the
mint and the director will tell you it is
only worth S.
EASY OBJECT LESSON.
"Our silver friends think that by some
alchemistic change the stamp of the
mint gives the bullion a value, although
they know it IS worth only s.. The
answer to that is, take ten American
silver dollars to Mexico and change
them into Mexican dollars. The people
there will only give you probably 91a
for them. Bring these nine and half
back to New York and you will get four
dollars and three-quarters. Your ten
dollars are thus brought to bullion
value. So there IS no real value at
tached to the dollar and they must be
kept up to the value of the gold dollar
or else the government will be guilty of
fraud" (Cheers.) Congress means to
keep it up to monetary value-25 $40
gold. The faith, honor and credit of
the country is pledged to maintain the
purity of the gold dollar. which is the
fundamental basis of value in the United
States' (Cheers.)
EVILS OF FREE COINAGE.
Mr. Trenholm then proceeded to point
out the evils attending the adoption of
free silver coinage, using the reductio
absurdum process of reasoning. .tIf it
were adopted America would be boarding
up silver The silver of the world
would be brought to the mint here. We
would have all the silver and the world
would say we are glad to get rid of it.
You may keep it, and we would be
bankrupt
.'The purchase of silver under the Sher
man BILL" the speaker said, was the
cause of the panic. If this country had
not bought silver, but exported 1t there
would have been no panic. That pur-
chase of silver didn't advance its price
one bit. But when the Government had
the courage to keep up the value of its
dollar the bankers of the world were
induced to say, You can have all the
gold you want the dollar advanced.
More than that, Germany, France and
England began to agitate, in fact Euro
pean financ.ers who had laid aside the
silver question suddenly woke up and
found that they must look after it.
1--WE can't have free coinage without
breaking the country and contracting the
currency, and it reminds of the China
mans description of the toboggan slide,
psf waIkee backee two miles Oaugh-
ter) If we have free coinage it will be
psf walkee backee twenty years. "
Roars of laughter, during which Col.
Trenholm resumed his seat.
President Heaney invited the club to
ask questions ON hazy points which the
ex-Comptroller would answer and Mr..
George L. Record gave the first poser
which was:-Could the concurrent action
of governments maintain silver at a ratio
of 1e to 1?
Mr.. Trenholm was obliged to admit he
could not answer this, but thought that
the government had nothing whatever to
do with international values.
Then Mr.. A. j. Corcoran said that the
worl1ingmen were being deluded into the
belief that if the free coinage of silver
was adopted they would get So per day
instead of $3.50, to which Mr.. Trenholm
replied that if these workmen care to get
five half dollars for two dollars and
half all right.
Mr. James P. Hall asked how it would
affect business men in their dealings with
the banks and cries for s'Mr. Young
were to answer this.
ssThe ground has been covered so well''
said Mr.. E. F. C. Young in response to
vigorous applause, "that think I have
absolutely nothing to say, but there is,
perhaps, one point which the Colonel did
not bring out which shows conelusively
think, the futility of this scheme. He
Sdlu t1dl there are 1oUV,VuVsUuU III ClTCuid-
ton and little less than thirty million
odd dollars coined in bar silver. AS
matter of fact there are only about $685.,
100000 in circulation, showing that the
people do not want silver dollars 1
would like to ask the Colonel What
should be the circulating medium? Should
the government or the banks furnish
it? -
"As a Democrat replied Mr.. Tren-
holm, 81 would say that the act of 1873
left the matter where it ought to stand.
Leave the people to work out their own
way and the country would be prosper
Gus and richer and richer and Demo-
Gratis and Republicans would not lie
awake nights to keep erring sheep from
silver thieves" Gaughter)
Mr. Charles C. Black asked what
remedy could the farmers have since
there was not enough money in circula-
tion for the trasaction of their business.
"That reminds me-" said Mr.. Tren-
holm that the farmer must go to the
bank and he can get all the money he
wants if he has collateral, and some far
mers think the. government should fur
nish the collateral. Even my friend there
docking at Mr.. Young would. I am
afraid demand the same collateral if any
one went to the bank to borrow money"
daughter.)
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