St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-21


now suffer, 1 am convinced that it
will do more and go further in that
direction than any one piece of Iegis-
lation that has been suggested. 1
have an abiding faith in the capacity
of this metal to work out and main
tain its permanent parity with gold
provided the oppressive hand of the
law is removed and the mintS of the
country thrown open to its coinage.
1 believe and
ALWAYS DID BELIEVE
that the act of 1873 was an uncon-
stitutional measure. I believe that
the act of 1873 would have been so
held by the supreme court of the
United States, had not a partisan
spirit dominated the action of that
tribunal This conviction 1 have
stated in debate upon the floor Of the
senate as broadly as I put it here
Il agree with Daniel Webster, who
in his day and even to this day, was
and is still held to be something of
an authority as a constitutional law
yer. He declared that the constitu-
ton Of the United States made gold
and silver the redemption money of
this country, and that neither con-
gress nor any state had any right
full power to substitute any other, nor
to destroy either the one or the other
of these metals. If congress had the
power to demonetize silver, it must
be conceded that it had the same
power to demonetize gold. 1t had
seen fit to exercise this assumed
power as to one of these metals.
Had it exercised the same power
over the other, the anomalous and
somewhat embarrassing condition
would have obtained of no money at
all. If they could strike down half
they could strike down all. I am in
favor of the restora ton of the sill
yer metal at the
RATIO OF 16 TO 1,
believing in the light of an ex-
ratio will establish and maintain
permanently the parity between the
two metals. l believe that we should
take this action at the earliest day
possible, independent of the policies
or views of other nations. / have as
abiding faith in the ability of my
country to establish and maintain its
own monetary system as that which
1 cherish in it's ability. to defend its
own soil from invasion or it's institu-
tions from assault. - ..H. .s
"In my judgment we are as indie
pendent of foreign dictation or dom
ination in the one as in the other.
In August, 1893, when the bill propos-
ing to repeal the purchasing clause of
what was known as the Sherman
act was before the senate, / said in
speech, then and there delivered,
that wanted the right of coinage for
the silver men and that without
limitation; that if seigniorage was
what my opponents demanded l was
willing, not as a matter of fairness,
but in spirit of compromise, that the
government should take 10 per cent,
or Is per cent, or 20 per cent, or even
25 per cent of the silver bullion pre-
sented for coinage, or that if the
question of ratio was what was
troubling, 1 was willing, not as a
matter of justice, but in spirit of
compromise if 16 was not acceptable,
to take II, IS, 19 or even ratio of
20 to /, but the opponents of this
metal were not to be pleased by any
concessions either on the line of in
creased seigniorage or advanced
ratio. They had
DESTROYED THE METAL
by a process that has never been, in
my opinion, successfully justified,
and from the hour of it's taking off
until now they have never been
willing that it should be reinstated.
Let those who will seek to distort and
pervert the issue pending, the eff
fort will fail. The American people
are not to be hoodwinked or de-
ceived further They are at last
thinking, and the result of their in
Vestigation will vindicate the right.
No employment of catch phrases
will determine the positive verdict.
The people are rapidly coming to
know that the issue before them is
not gold monometallism upon the
one side and silver monometallism
on the other, but it is rather a con-
test between the advocates of d sin
gle gold standard upon the one
hand, and those who demand the
use of both gold and silver upon the
other.
Il trust that 1 have succeeded in
this, an honest effort to make my
position upon this. issue so plain
that that he who runs may read
If in this I have succeeded /
may now indulge the hope that you
journalistic gentlemen of Louisville
will now direct your energies and
your efforts to obtain equally plain
and frank statements of position
from the gentlemen who have an
nounced themselves, or who are
known to be candidates for the Unit
ed States senate. I apprehend that
the Democracy of Kentucky would
like to hear from us on this over
Shadowing important question. I am
sure that I would, and 1 trust that
the people, through your efforts,
will be furnished with these replies
and that they will be explicit.
For one to claim that he is a be-
metallist, coupled with the condi-
ton that bimetallism is to be
brought about only as a result of
INTERNATIONAL CONFER
ENCE
is mere evasion of the situation.
That is simply the work of the law