The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-08

w. Baker, who asked number of prom
inent silverites to take seats on the plat
form. Convincing speeches in favor OF
free coinage were the feature of the even
ing. Mr.. Baker in his Introductory speech
said:
1--WE have assembled here tonight to lis
ten to speeches on the silver question by
prominent statesmen who have come all
the way from the other side of the Rocky
Mountains. The money question is to-day
the most important question that confronts
the American people. General A. j. War
ner of Ohio is one of the great Americans
who have made history. He will address
you tonight. His name is a household
VOID from the Pacific Ocean to Boston
Harbor.
"He once made a stirring appeal in Con-
gress to drive Chinese from these shores.
He is as dear to California as he is to his
own State. 1t was in answer to General
Warner that Grover Cleveland wrote his
celebrated anti silver letter. General
Warner will tell you more about that.
1.-THE other noted speaker is Hon.
Joseph G. Sibley of Pennsylvania, who
will be the next President of the United
States"
Mr.. Sibley was then introduced. He
spoke IN part as follows:
In 1896 there will be only two political
parties in the United States-the gold
monometallists and the free silver and gold
coinage bimetallists. / will say, by way OF
preliminary that no man should be eligible
to the Presidency of the United States who
has not been at least so far west as the
Missouri River. Mr.. Cleveland, believe,
has never been SO far west as that. His
idea of going West is confined to going from
lou or TO oil
For two years we have had gold monomet-
allism. There are few who have largely ben
Gifted thereby. But there are unnumbered
thousands who have been impoverished, driven
out of business and prosperity into idleness,
poverty and despair The friends and rela-
tives of nine thousand men who have COM
mitted suicide during the last two years can
tell a sad story.
There Is going to be a division in politics on
the silver question. No less distinguished
citizen than Hon. William Mckinley has said
through the columns of the Associated Press
that he would not accept nomination for the
Presidency on free silver platform; that il
the Republican party should place free coin
age plank in It's platform he would be CON-
PEELED to leave the party.
The total volume of money of ultimate re-
demption has been estimated at So ,00O, O00,-
000-$4 900 ,000,0 900 silver and 81 900, 000,-
600 in gold. On this all the credits of the
world rest. Now let us assume that we take
away all the silver. What would be the result
The remaining gold would control just twice
fore. The American farmer last year sold his
wheat in the East for so cents in gold per
bushel. That so cents was all he had. But the
farmer in East India or in Russia, who also
sold his wheat for so cents in gold, had some
thing more. His SO cents in gold was convert
ible into 100 cents in silver in his own land.
In other words, he had debt-paying power OF
100 cents with his SO cents in gold. But not so
the American farmer.
The President says we are in danger of slip
ping to a silver basis Well, what would hap
pen if we should so slip? Would it be a calam-
ity? think not. What difference does it make
to US whether England or France or Germany
or any other foreign country likes our money
or not? They must buy our wheat, our corn
and our cotton. We are a creditor nation. We
have no reason to care whether they like our
silver dollars or not If our imports from those
countries cease our favorable balance of trade
would soon be swelled from 5000 700 900 to
$500, 900 900. The American furnaces and
machine shops and looms would soon be run
ming in full blast.
If we go on a silver basis, it would not be
long before the nations embracing $50 600, 900
of people who are now on gold basis would
come to US as supplicants for bimetallic con