The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-04-10
safe margin as their advances were

mines, the farms, all producing fac
tors, have fallen in like ratio, not from
scantproduction, but from diminished
prices He gives a loud warning to
the British creditors that there debtors
can bear no more Need I repeat his
warning to our money lords2 Need l
point to the continuous and rapid de-
cline IN farm values, to the 15,OOO
farms in the west taken In by mort
gage in one year, to the fact that
thousands of farms are now worth less
than even the most cautious loanlng
companies We're willing to advance on
them ten years ago, and that IN conse-
quence our farmers, once the most
conservative class in the world, are
now the most radical political inno-
vators: VIII western toilers submit to
pay 50 where they agreed to pay but 81.
FROM COIN TO GOLD.
\ brief bit of history is here in or
der. 1t is within the memory of all
men of my age that during our civil
war the government inflated the cur
rency at least $50 per cent; that IN
1S65-7O it was suddenly contracted by
the retirement of interest bearing
notes, by the drift of money to the
South and to the new West, and that
the people were confronted with the
task of paying public and private
debts IN a money worth at least 40 per
cent. more than that in which they
were contracted. The struggle was
long and doubtful. Even with all
their wonderful prestige from the sue
cess of war and emancipation the Re
publicans twice lost Ohio on that issue
and twice carried i less than 10000
plurality. We who advocated resump-
ton in coin-and trust l may with
out egotism mention my own expert
encc as a speaker and writer in the
cause-had flung at US daily the charge
that we We're helping the bondholder
and usurer to rob the producer. We
could make but one reply: 1t IS the
letter Of the contract; gold and silver
are the money of the constitution. It
is hard indeed to pay 81 where only
20 cents was promised, but the coun-
try awards it, and the law doth give
it. The people hesitated long, but
with sigh confessed that the letter of
the contract was against them, and
with sublime heroism voted to keep it.
Scarcely, however. had the verdict
for honest money been rendered
when we were confronted with the
claim that in place of the old specie
basis IN which the debt had been con-
tracted we must pay with one coin.
IL vain did we point to the written
contract. Our eastern friends, admit
ting that it was according to the letter
of the constitution, declared that the
spirit and understanding of it were
for payment in gold alone. As be-
tween greenbacks and coin we had
urged the letter. Now as between
gold and silver we were to observe the
spirit.
MoNOMETALLGsT ABsURDITIES.
The reasons advanced for monomet-
allism have been many and ingenious,
and new ones have been urged as the
old ones had to be thrown aside. The
first was that silver is too bulky, but
that is now obsolete. We do not carry
large sums of coin; we use paper.
Next it was urged that we should be
at a disadvantage in the exchange
with our foreign customers, but every
body knows that was no trouble when
our only money was deprecated pa
per, and that exchange must be cal
culated just the same so long as the
coins of different countries vary. Any
schoolboy can make the calculation on
any trade in one minute. The claim
that we should pay gold and be paid
in silver was too foolish to impose
long on any one. Our people certain
ly had sense enough to charge prices
that made up the difference in coin
and greenbacks, and will they be less
sensible with silver? Much has lately
been said to the effect that the most
progressive and highly civilized ma
tons are on the gold basis. 1t has also
been repeatedly proved that the same
nations consume by far the largest
amounts of Intoxicating liquors, and
Lue Ole 1aCL Is WOfCu DIS HluCu thS tue
other. Of all the goldbug absurdities,
however, | think the most absurd is
their paradox that free coinage will
raise the value of silver to the miners
and not to others. In adjacent col
umns of MANY a metropolitan paper
can he senn these statements.
First.-The silver kings want free
colnIe .f ~ .net Gu tSa @ oir4 ,J % at osn.1
Moi.h s ~ 80. s.i:ei w. tli0 sn tili' aiiu -. -
lGi % dsltIaI liz -, " ltn @ iiee ooinase a sne
S.tIl tS ~ ILa, o,S - 81 ouoe tbe W. om pat
VIZ ~ na 'nU 81 % IotI @ ;nd;gora1ti,. ; 0n
O. o ps,s ou: VII, TGtli fnoo ,,n
lln i5eJ ~, cotnae e., a.; s;lan oa
PaPei mloney Mo,.iu ST Ilop " Ine s siikIi ~
pasN' . tii. We siio1tiu nav ~ eeiit W.
lals.siiaI o -, siI.G - " oe WIZ III ~
nlore Is l1cnes lIail H. 81 - ~" d. JUL
ioT III N1i:teu III III teilns VI s1lu. sJ 49,,
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