The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-21
FREE-SILyER PESSIMISM.


The great English statistician. Mulhall.
in recent article on the power and
wealth of the United States. showed that
the absolute. effective force of the Ameri-
can people is now more than three times
what IL was in 1860. IT, he says. 1--WE
take a survey of mankind in ancient or
modern times as regards the physical,
mechanical and intellectual force of ma
tons, we find nothing TO compare with
the United States in this present year
of 1895. and that the United States pos
sess by far the greatest productive power
in the world 1t was longer ago, but
not many years, that Prince Bismarck
paid this country the tribute of saying
that it's success in material development
was the most illustrious of modern times.
1T has" said he, mot only successfully
borne and suppressed the most gigantic
and expensive war OF all history. but inn
mediately afterward disbanded its army
found employment for all its soldiers and
marines, paid off most of it's debt, and
given labor and homes to the unem-
ployed of Europe as fast as they could
arrive within it's territory"
1t is not often that statesmen and pub
licists pay such tributes as these to a
foreign country, and they are fully borne
out by the facts. President Harrison. in
his last annual message, saidc "A COM
parison of existing conditions with those
of the most favored period in the history
of the country will, I believe. show that
so high a degree of prosperity and so
general diffusion of the comforts Of life
were never before enjoyed by our peo-
pie" This statement was followed and
supported by an array of statistics start
ling in the magnitude of the figures and
the conclusive evidence they afforded of
the unparalleled prosperity which had
resulted in so vast an accumulation of
wealth.
OF this wonderful material develop
ment and progress which excites the adj
miration of intelligent foreigners. the
greater part has taken place since the
preparation OF what the advocates of
free silver coinage call 1.-The great crime
of 1873" by which is meant the restric-
ton of the coinage of silver dollars. The
greater. and, as a rule. more continuous
and uninterrupted prosperity than it has
enjoyed during the last twenty years, in
which free silver coinage has not existed.
Yet in this year of grace 1895 it has been
discovered that during all these years the
country has been going to ruin, and a
small and noisy faction in demanding a
return to free silver coinage as the only
means of saving it. 'Since demonetiza-
ton of silver" says the address of the
silver fanatics at Cleveland, 1.-The land
has been a prey to ever-growing distress
and the word tramp, instead of signify
ing isolated cases of individuals to whom
work is offered, but who are unwilling to
sustain the burden of existence placed
on them by the Creator. has come to rep
resent a vast army of native-born Ameri-
can citizens who are anxious to work
but are unable to secure employment"
The authors of this pessimistic address
should brush up their patriotism as we'll
as their history. They need to imbibe
something of the spirit of Americanism
from intelligent foreigners, and to re-
member that until within a short time
the country has known nothing but pros
perity since the so-called characterization
of silver