The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-08


MI Pleasant, and in 1862 entered and
served two years in the union army. Re
turning, he finished his university course,
studied law and settled down to practice
his profession in Mt. Pleasant. where he
has since resided. He has been successful
at the bar. and since has been elected to
the bench in district strongly republican,
largely because Of his personal popularity.
lie IS in demand as a lecturer. He is
widely known in Iowa through mis- work
in connection with the Methodist church.
Following is an extract from the speech
of Temporary Chairman French in open
ing the convention
Let US examine the free coinage Of sill
Yer at l6 to l and see what it means and
what its results would be. We have now
in circula tion about SGOO,000,O0O of l6 to 1
silver money, which we are able TO main
tain on parity with gold by its redemp-
tion in gold. Could we coin the S5,O00,OO0,-
600 and more of silver produced in the last
100 years into 16 10 l, 50-cent dollars, and
redeem them in 1OO-cent gold dollars? The
question answers itself The attempt
would mean bankruptcy. Free coinage at
16 to l means the end Of redemption of our
silver money the loss of half its value,
and hencefOrth silver mOnometallism, pure
and simple. Its advocates generally un-
derstand this and know that in no other
way could prices be apparently doubled,
debt
If free coinage were adopted gold would
instantly disappear from circulation. Men
will not pay out gold dollars worth 100
cents, when the law allows them 10 pay
JO-cent silver dollars instead. Gold would
be driven away by cheap silver just as dur
ing the war it was driven away by cheap
paper money. our silver money and our
paper money, which would then be re-
deemable in silver only. would have but
half their present purchasing power, and
thus only half the efficiency as a circulat-
ing medium. This would practically de-
prive us of two-thirds of our money and
pretty much all of our credit.
Our credit is worth vastly more than
our money. Ninety-five per cent. OF our
business we do by means of credit, and
only the remaining five through the use
of actual money. Webster said truly:
Credit has done more. thousand times,
to enrich nations than all the mines of the
world" The mere fear of going TO a de-
preciated silver basis brought on the panic
of 1893 The realization of that fear with
its attendant loss of circulation and of
credit would bring US another panic so
severe snd so horrible in its effects as to
make the past two years seem like good
times. Our credit and good name would
be gone both at home and abroad, and it
would take years to restore them. In the
midst of the business stagnatiOn and in
dustrial death caused by corrupting the
life blood of commerce and breaking the
nations faith, the poor debtor would find
neither free sale for his property, nor
opportunity to renew his loan. He must
expect the speedy collection of his debt
and the sacrifice Of his property at forced
sale, at the instance of d creditor too ap-
prehensive Of further loss to delay and too
indignant to be merciful.
To repair the injury TO our circulat-
ing medium, instantly caused by the adOp-
ton of free coinage al 16 to /, would re-
quire about $l,100 600 900 of silver. And
how would we get it? What would we
have to give for it? Even if the silver
Of the entire world should voluntarily seek
our mints, it would take months to reach
them. In the meantime the panic would
have swept the land. While business
stopped the mints could be running and
the presses busy turning off silver certifi-
Gates. With our circulation replenished,
and business painfully adjusted to the new
basis, with the weaker firms crushed out
of the ranks, the poor debtor stript of
what little he had and the rich debtor so
per cent. richer, how much better would
our condition be?
Labor being the source of wealth. upon
the shoulders of the laborer rest the well
fare of the people. How much better off
would he be? We ought to inquire be-
CduSb III every pldtlOIIl we promise TO
protect his interests. Our own experience
and the experience of other countries tell
us that his wages would remain the same
in dollars and cents. Unfortunately the
dollars and cents would be silver instead of
gold, and would buy for him but half wha t
they now do. The necessities of life would
cost no more than now in gold, but would
cost twice the amount in the deprecated
silver in which his wages would be paid
| The products of his labor would go up
while his wages stayed down. In reality
he would work for half his present pay.
In Mexico, China and other free silver
countries the 50 per cent. decline in the
value of silver during the last twenty
years has cut in two the purchasing power
of wages. While the pitiful wages paid
in those countries remain practically un-
changed the staple commodities have dou-
bled in price. When the currency of a
! country falls commodities at once rise
in the same proportion, while the price of
of labor goes up, very slowly, if
at all. We had striking il
! lustration of this during our
civil war. Labor was scarce, the demand
! for it is great, and with
a stable currency wages should
naturally have materially increased.
Unfortunately, we had a fuctuating cur
rency, our irredeemable greenbacks, and
! though commodities kept pace with the
premium on gold, going up as the curren-
cy sank, wages responded SO slowly, that,
while nominally increasing in amount,
! they shrank in reality. According to ia
| bles prepared by Carroll d. Wright, com
| missioner Of labor, for the Senate commit
! tee, wages, measured in gold, in 1860 fell
| over 81 per cent. below the standard of
1860.
DO we want to see wages cut worse even
| than during the war? If so, the silver
| nonometallists tell us how to do it. The
| ordinary wage worker would have plenty
| Of company in his misery, If that were
| any consolation. Railroad employees,
! clerks. public officials, in short every one
/ employed in the service of another and
receiving wages or salary, would suffer
with him. The old soldiers, who risked
| their own lives to save that of the ma
tion, the widows of those who fell would
have their seanty pensions reduced one
! half In the days Of peril the soldiers were
paid in cheap money; are they now in days
! of peace and plenty to be rewarded with
a cheap gratitude, and pensions 20 per
/ cent below par2
The great number of thrifty men and
women who have filed the savings banks
Of our country with their little savings