The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-11-19
FREE COINAGE OF SILVER.

metallism-The Bond Policy of the
Administration Opposed-Epgland
Dictated the Gold POlicy--Ihe
United States Had Power to
Change It.
ATLANTA, Ga Nov. 10 -Ex-Speaker
Chas. +. Crisp spoke before a JOINT SEES
SION OF the Senate and House of the
Georgia legislature to night. He had
been invited to address the legislature
on the political issues of the day, but
confined himself almost exclusively TO
the silver question, coming out en-
pnaGlcally for the free coinage of both
COLO and silver at the present ratio, end
arguing that the United States. with
her seventy millions of people, was
sum5lentIy powerful &c establish bi-
metalilam the world over. HIS speech
was received with the greatest enthusi-
asm.
Mr.. Crisp began by stating that of
course 1t was understood he spoke as a
Democrat. The Democratic party was
porn with the gOverument-economy
IN puollc affairs, equal rights to all and
speclal privileges to none; land in my
luogmenG' sald he, 1T has always stood
Tor OIL metalIlsm and upon that subject
L INTEND to speak. Anything short of
the equality of the two metals at the |
mint Is not bi-metallism. Mr.. Crisp
then went into the history of the coin
age laws. He said in 1873 when silver
vas demOnetlz9d the bullion value OF
the silver dollar was three cents more
than the bullion value of a gold dollar.
The law OF '73 was passed without the
knowledge of the people or their repre-
sentatives. He quoted from Thurman,
Allison of Iowa, Garfield, Blaine, Beck
and others to show that the full char
acter of the bull was not knOwn-that
it was not known at the time that the
bill demonetlzed silver. He followed
this with an announcement that from
that day to this the majority of the
Democratic party had been working to
rehabilitate silver. The single gold
standard was a Republican measure,
He analysed every vote on the silver
question taken in Congress since 1873
and showed that a great majority of
Democrats had voted every time for
the free coinage of silver, except ia
1894 when the proposition to repealthe
Sherman law was up and at that time
they expected to have an opportunity
to vote subsequently for a substitute
measure. And even then there was
but two Democratic majority.
The single gold standard has never
met with the approval of the ma )rity
Of Democrats of this country, he as
serted.
There was no advantage in having
silver as a money, he said, unless it
stood upon its own feet.
He stated be did not intend to say
that a man who favored the single gold
standard was not q Democrat, but he
did mean to say that the vast meiority
of the Democratic party had always
been in favor of the blmetallic standard.
He exhibited a small piece of silver
bullion, which he explained could not
be needed as money in any way. IL
could not be used to purchase commodi
ties, but if there was a law allowing it
to be taken to a mint and coined than
| everybody would want it. He argued
that the value of a silver dollar should
be a dollar. The way to establish the
commercial value of silver was to re
store it by legislation to a money status
to rehabilitate it..
Coin it at the ratio of 16 to 1. That
would re establish It's commercial value.
TGrest applause He illustrated by
showing that when the Senate passed a
free coinage bill several years ago, the
bullion value OF silver rose % cents an
ounce in the London market,
1Ou HSSU uOb 10 d"ppESh0uSlF0 VI
any flood OF silver" he announced.
There was no country in the world that
would ship it's silver here to exchange
it for gold. We had gained gold under
the expressions of the 'Bland-Allison
law" and under the Sherman law.
He believed that the United States
was sufficiently powerful to establish a
ratio between gold and silver. Gold,
he held, was too valuable. He claimed
gold had apprec iated and argued his
claim by Comparing its purchasing
power in commodities now and before
the demonstration Of silver.
Our people should be the pioneers
in restoring a money metal which has
been used for ali time, but recently
stricken down.
The stamp upon q silver dollar does
not make it more valuable in another
country, but the right Of the silver to
be so stamped increases it's bullion
value"
In speaking of the value of cotton,
he said that, though the cotton crop
appreciated so per cent in the decade
before the war, the price incres sed A.
per cent, the crop increased up & 1873
the price also increased, but alter 1873
the price of cotton deprecated because
of the ~apprecia5ing value of gold.
He read from the November report
| of the treasury to show thai there was
SIS .0CO 900 less money IN circulation
now than one year ago. All things be-
ing equal, the price of commodities is
regulated by the amount Of money in
the world. He argued against paper
money because legislative bodies might
b tempted at times to initiate the
~Icurrency. In speaking of the final
result Of the fight for free coin
age. he said that he remem
bered when forty Democrats had
$1,000 I'D in CONGRESS ana voted against