The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-16
SILVERITES IN THE SADDLE.
AN ADDRESS TO THE COUNTRY AND
PLAN OF ORGANIZATION.

Also "a Batch of Resolutions and
the plan for the Propagation of
16 to L Sentiment Throughout the
Rank and File of the National De-
mOcracy.-AdjOurnm Sine Die of
the Conference.
Washington, Aug. 15.-Senator Harris
called the silver conference together
promptly at 10 o'clock to-day. As soon
as the delegates were seated he stated
that the committee on resolutions. though
they had worked most of the night, was
not yet ready to report, but would be able
TO do so in about an hour. 1t was agreed
to devote the hour waiting for the COM
mittees report in speech making. The
conference was then held with open doors.
The conference was addressed by Col
Casey Young of Tennessee, ex-Represen-
tative Fithian of Illinois, Representative
Livingston of Georgia, Senator Cali Of
Florida, and Mr.. Hill of Missouri. When
the committee reports were announced as
complete shortly before noon, Senator
Jones took the chair and Gov. Stone CT
Missouri presented an address. He an
nounced that it was substantially the
same as that partially adopted by the
| Texas silver convention and adopted in
toto by the Mississippi convention.
Mr.. Hill of Missouri moved the adop-
tion of the address and resolutions, which
was agreed TO by a unanimous vote. The
address is as follows:
At a conference between a number of
| democrats from the different states, who
attended the non-partisan convention re-
Gently announced at Memphis, Tenn, for
the purpose of promoting the cause Of
free silver coinage (Which conference was
held after the adjournment thereof a
committee, consisting of Senators Jones
of Arkansas, Turpie of Indiana and Har-
ris of Tennessee, was appointed and au-
thorized to invite representative demo-
Gratis from the several states to meet
them at Washington for consultation,
with the view of securing cooperation
and concert of action among those demo-
Gratis throughout the union who believe
in adhering to the cardinal democratic
policy of silver and gold bimetallism, and
who are opposed to committing the party
to the plutocratic republican doctrine of
gold monometallism. The present confer
ence is the result of the action then
taken. This is purely a voluntary assem-
blage, and, therefore, does not assume to
speak with party authority, and disclaim
all right to bind any person by our ut
! terances, but profoundly conscious that
\ the bsm0cratice party to-day confronts q
crisis the most momentous in its history
and fraught with far reaching peril to
| the people and the country, we are as
| sembled as individual democrats to take
| counsel together and act for the undis-
| guised purpose of inaugurating and pro-
noting a thorough and systematic or
! ganization of the democratic masses so
that they may go forward as one man
! with a resolute purpose to rescue the old
party, founded by Thomas Jefferson,
| from plutocratic domination.
Therefore, with this object in view,
| this convention of American democrats,
composed of representatives from twen-
ty-two of the leading states of the
! union make the following declaration on
| the monetary question, which has been
forced into the leading place among the
/ issues of to-day:
The federal constitution names silver
| and gold together as the money metals
| of the United States. The first coinage law
| passed by congress under the constitution
| made the silver dollar the unit of value
and admitted gold to free coinage at
a ratio measured by the silver dollar
unit.
From the beginning of the government
/ following a policy regulated by Thomas
| Jefferson and firmly established by jack
son, the Democratic party has been the
| party of bimetallism favoring the free
/
national mints. and opposed to a farming
| out to banking corporations OF the gov
| ernment's sovereign power of issuing
and controlling the money of the people
The act of 1873, desnonetizing silver,
was surreptitiously passed without the
approval or knowledge of the American
| people and from the time when the eff
| feet of this act, in fastening upon this
country the single gold standard was un-
| derstood the Democrauc party has con-
sistently and persistently urged that
| the grievous wrong be righted.
Failure to accomplish this object has
resulted in the steady appreciation of
| gold and a corresponding fall in the
price of commodities produced by the
/ people, a heavy increase in the burden
! of all debts public and private; the en-
richment of the money lending class;
4 paralysis of industry and the impover-
| ishment of the people, and unexampled
! distress in all gold standard coun-
tries. 1t has been shown that while
under the single gold standard there
/ may be an occasional revival of business
activity, accompanied by enhanced prices
1 of a limited number of commodities,
/ such revival is due to artificial and tenn
porary causes, and cannot permanently
! alleviate the sufferings que to the fall
ing of prices brought about by the ap-
/ preciation of gold and the inadequate
supply of primary or redemption money.
The rights of the American people, the
interests of American labor and the pros
perity of American industry have a
| higher claim to the consideration of the
PEOPLES law makers than the greed of for
eign creditors, or the avaricious demands
made by idle holders Of idle capital"
The right 10 regulate its own monetary
system in the interests of its own people
! is a right which no free government can
barter. sell or surrender No creditor nor
claimant can set up right than can
take precedence over nations obliga-
tons to promote the welfare of the
masses of its people. This is a debt higher
and more binding than all other debts and
one that it is not only dishonest, but
| reasonable to ignore.
The land and its products are the basis
of all developments ana prosperity. The
productive capacity of a country must
be the basis of its credit. In opposing
the policy of contraction. which must
inevitably depreciate the value Of land
and its products. We are the supporters
of property right and sound credit and
stand between the homes and estates Of
the people and the red flag Of the auc-