Birmingham age-herald., 1895-07-21
TWO AGAINST ONE.
BUT THE BlUE-EYtD BOY HELD HIS OWL
Messrs. Johnston, Stalings and Clarke Discuss the Financial Question at 0zark-They
 Were Extremely Courteous.

Montgomery, July 20.-A special to the Advertiser from Clayton, Ala, says:
 The free silver advocates had arranged a meeting at this place today to hear Hon. Joseph F. Johnston and Jesse F. Stallings. The friends of sound money asked for division of time, and it was conceded that Hon. Richard Clarke of Mobile should make a speech. Stallings and Johnston had the opening and clos ing respectively, with one hour each. Mir. Clark was given one hour and a half. The burden of Stallings' speech was to prove that it had been the settled policy of the democratic party to favor free coinage of silver. and that this country could carry out that policy without the assistance of any other country.
 MT. Clarke gave reasons for having changed his mind on the subject of free coinage by studying the question. He re- viewed the coinage legislation of this country and said that the financial con- test of 1S34-37 was really to restore gold to circulation and that the bill was signed by Andrew Jackson.
 That was the democratic law again in 1853. During Pierces administration the ways and means committee, George $. Houston, chairman, reported bill re ducing the amount of silver in half and quarter dollars and dimes and limiting their legal tender quality to S5; that few silver dollars had been coined since 1S06 tt which time Jefferson stopped the coin age of silver dollars; that this action dur ing Pierce's administration demonetized the only silver that was being coined and that the silver dollar of the daddies was myth. He showed that the dealings of southern farmers were entirely with gold countries and risks of trade under a de- preciated currency would be a burden falling always on the farmer. He power fully presented the way in which credi- tors would swoop down on debtors before free silver could be adopted; contrasted conditions here with Mexico and silver countries and showed how laborers re- ceived far more wages and comforts of life here than in silver countries.
 Capt. Joseph F. Johnston closed the de- bate. His remarks were in eulogy of sil- yer as a money, remarking that gold, in . trinsically, was worth no more than iron. He prayed for a shower of silver and had no fears of any deluge from it. He de- clared that in paying debts, as between 50-cent dollar, which some said the silver dollar was, and a 200-cent dollar, which he said gold was. he preferred the oO- cent money. He labored to show that the people were impoverished. There was no demand for what they made and he charged it all to the money power, which he said, was expressing the country. He said the country required now 2,000,O0 900 of silver dollars to pay taxes and or dinary debts, etc.
 The honors of the discussion were easily won by MT. Clarke Captain John stons speech was a positive disappoint- ment because of his calamity pictures and appeals to passion more than the reason of his hearers. The discussion was extremely courteous and nothing un- pleasant occurred. The people were urged by all three speakers to make their fights inside the democratic party and to abide by it's decisions.