The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-24

GAINESVILLE, Ca, July 2S.-Secre-
tary Hoke Smith. of the interior depart
ment, delivered here today the first OF
q series of three addresses in Georgia
on the financial issue. \ tremendous
crowd assembled to hear the speech and
he was cheered to the echo. He was
introduced by Judge Perry, who paid
a glowing tribute to President Cleveland.
Nj Smith spoke in part as follows:
AT Chicago, in 1892, the Democratic
party, by it's representatives for the en-
tire union. voted down Overwhelmingly
the proposition of a delegate from Col
OradO to insert in the platform the word
free" which would have made the plat
form declare for free coinage Of silver.
THE free silver advocates claim, first,
that the act of 1873 was Surrepdtiously
passed and robbed the people OF one-half
the money of final payment; second. that
for this reason there Is not sufficient
money of final payment and the appre-
citation of gold has deprecated everything
else. Upon these two propositions their
entire arguments are based"
As to Silver Mines.
The secretary met the propositions by
claiming first. that the alleged contrac-
ton OF money of final payment had not
taken place; a second, that the proposed
remedy would in reality drive one-half
the money now in use out of circulation
and produce contraction ruinous in its
results.
Inc CldlEU lUdL SO1u ldS dppTeCldJests
thereby depreclatlng the value of pro-
ducts" said he, - is based upon the
theory that the decrease in the value Of
silver and IN the value of products has
been cOntemporaneOuS- 4 careful exam
iDation of the facts shows this not TO
be true. The average decrease of COM
modities since 1873 has been about % per
cent. Inc heaviest decline has been
in the line OF those things which the
masses Of the people buy. All those re-
auctions IN price are partly attributable
to a leSSened cost of production and
partly to the recent panic. While com
mOditieS have fallen % per cent. silver
has fallen 80 per cent The bullion in q.
silver dollar is only worth - cents: . g
grains of standard gold are worth 100
cents.
TO lift the value Of 4121s grains of sill
yer in the United States from % to 100
cents, 1t would be necessary to lift the
value of all the silver in the world 10
the same extent. less the cost of tran
sporting it 10 the United States.
ROlze's Claims.
In addition to this. if the silver
mines can afford to continue increasing
their production as they have from $S1.-
02,0Q0 in 1873 TO $e14. 4S1O Geo in 1894, on a
market which has fallen 90 per cent
what would they produce on a market
Wnlcn mas risen one hundred per cent?
The immediate effect of the election
OF president committed to such a pol
icy would be the separation of the gold
ana silver dollar, the gold dollar going
we would lose at once S57S, 600 900 of gold
now IN circulation and in the treasury
! ne greenbacks and treasury notes. S375.-
u'hUOu or winch would still remain out
standing, would be boarded in the hone
that free silver bill if passed at all
would be soon repealed. This would take
pace llli;I,lsalately after the election of
4 president IN November. 1896
and probably even after the nomination
by either OF the great parties of a free
SILVER candidate. The new president could
TT.TI.r rcd TrTn~f -oI, A
During the six months or more before
1t would be possible to pass free silver
the contraction of the cur
rency just described would precipitate
the most serious consequences. Those
owning gold obligations would put a most
serious strain upon the remaining silver
and the bank notes to buy gold
to meet their gold obligations The cur
rency, consisting of checks and bills of
exchange, amounting 20 20 per cent of
our entire currency, would go out of use
in consequence of loss of confidence and
credit, and the result would be the with
drawal of 81 per cent of our entire cur
would Immediately follow Banks would
be raided by their depositors. Indebted
ness not payable in gold would be col
iected at once or the property owned by
debtors taken from then. Merchants
would fail; manufactures close. workmen
be idle, farm products without a market
and poverty and distress be found on all
S des.''
Concluding, he said: The picture is not
overdrawn. When I contemplate it.
there is but one source of cOmfort-it IS
an abiding confidence that with twelve
months of full. free discussion. the
American people can be relied upon to
overwhelmingly defeat any party which
proposes to bring such disasters upon US
1T is a source of qualification to DEM
ocrats to know the troubles or 1898 were
brought upon the country by the unwise
legislation of the previous administration.
confronted with many difficulties. No
civil crisis has been more serious. Let
the return of prosperity, let the daily
news that factories are again at work
and that 100000 wage-earners have had
their wages increased. let the rise in
value of farm products tell how they
have succeeded.
''The Mckinley bill has been repealed:
the credit of the government has been
preserved: money has been kept sound.
and we viii go TO the country in 1896
with the Democratic party fighting fur
Their high tariff legislation, opposing bad
money and assured Of success