The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-09-03

of value that the world recognizes You will
havs sufficient money to DO the business oa
anywhere else, because If you have GOT
crops to move and you have necessity 1of
money, the world will come to your aio az
once, but II when you have oepreclateo
currency that drives an the resi- ous, .nIi .a1ii
prevents your using gold. then you WIN
have these same difficulties. II
Won adopted the universal measure OF
yalue-gold-as your basis, then your cur
culation would be flexible. and It Wouio DC
much harder to make corner on cns
eoid In this country, ON the circulation OF
the country, which would distribute atsen
according to the laws OF trade throughout
the country.-January 2s. 1874, congress
sional Record, page 866.
we hesitate whether we will give the
laborins man a dollar which has purcnas-.
ing power enough to support him. we hes-
itate whether we will stop the specuia-
ton in gold in New YORK. we nes-a
itate whether we will take out Oh tne
hands of middle-men the capacity to eat
M the wealth of the country. we nesi-
tate whether the profits of this Land snaH
ali concentrate in the commercial centers'
where money il the object OF traoe' WAete
organizations are formed fer the PURPOSE
of getting rich on your depreclateo cur
rency and robbing the producer. we nesl-
tate whether we shall be honest and falr;
the senate hesitates; and the senators ap
peal to the people in speeches ana eau
upon them to throttle the banks, 10 thtotlis
the monopoly, to bring down the rate "
interest This proposition is the very thlng
that throttles dishonesty. and it Is the very
thing we want-February 20, 1874. Con-
gressional Record. page lS77.
we have resources abundant to get the
gold. Forty million people can furnish an
the money that Is necessary. They WiA
get II. when gold is invited to q country
like this, with such an industrious people
as we have, with our industry ana our re-
sources, I say there will be no dithcuity
about getting sufficient gold.
Why. sir. everything we nave soe rs ..s
measured by gold. Your greenbacks are
measured by gold. But your contraVahce
is SO uncertain that the middleman reaps
all the reward, while the producer -
robbed continuously. II you are going to
have gold in this country, you must maAe
a demand for gold by using 1t. In
every country where gold has been treated
unkindly, where the government mas
favored a deprecated currency, goio mas
left the country. Gold left france AZ lne
time she undertook this same experiment.
Gold left England when she allowed IRE
deemable paper to be circulated. and sne
had to go back to the regular standard pc
fore she could get 1t back. Gold left Hol-
land in the same way. You have
iegislated gold out of your country. In,
vite it back. and forty million peop.s a WV
get you all the gold you want. 4eu
will have all the gold You need as regu.
lator, as basis for your currency. ana II
will come very shortly. Then we SHAH
have prosperity based upon certainly
February 20. 1874. Congressional RECORD
page 1878.
These quotations prove that Senator
Stewart not only thought the gold stand
ard the best, but that he believed its adop-
ton to be absolutely necessary ior the
prosperity Of our people, especially the
farmer and working man.
There Is one thing which we should per-
haps consider here, and that is that silver
which was worth $1.32S an ounce in lSio
was, though falling steadily, still worth
$1.27S In 1874. the year In which these re-
marks were made, Senator Stewarts sec
ond term expired as above stated, March
8, 1876 In 1887 silver had fallen to 0:S7S2S
an ounce, and it Is not uncnaritaole 70
suppose that those haYing commerclal
interest in it felt that they must do every
thing in their power to improve the mar
ket for 1t.
The interests involved were -maoh greater
than most people suppose, and Neyana
was deeply concerned. A few facts VIII
show this better than anything else could
do. From 1873 to 1878 the Bonanza mines
shipped $100, Oh, ,085 05 of bullion, and from
that sum paid dividends (profits) Of $50. :
10000, or within fraction of 20 per cent
of the entire products OF the mines. The
Consolidated Virginia began paying dayi- Nv
dends May 1874 and in 1ST had paid 1885,
$4,000. The California mine began paying
dividends May. 1876, and to December, 1877.
inclusive, paid 81. SOC. 900. Twenty Com
stock mines in Nevada, other than the
Consolidated Virginia, paid $4.223,000 up
over SAC, ,OOO, 900 of 1t. Nearly all of this vast
sum was taken from the Comstock lode,
spot of ground less than 800 feet long and
from 60 to 800 feet wide.
But this was not all of the money made
out of these mines; they increased their
stock from 2S4, 800 shares In 1870 to 3.4s1, :
200 in 1877, and the profit made by the sale
of these shares and by speculating In them
was enormous. Silver mining Is the great
est millionaire mill ever known.
Please bear in mind that 1t was to Senator
Stewards efforts that the permanent set
tlement of the titles of nearly all of the
great mines of the Comstock lode was due,
and that he acquired fortune In mining
and mining litigation. 1t Is not unreason-
able to suppose that those interested
would naturally turn to the attorney whose
remarkable ability, great energy and thor
ough knowledge of mining had been so
serviceable to them.
In 1887 Mr.. Stewart was again elected a
United States senator, and has since been
one of the most resolute, persistent and
successful advocates of the free and un-
limited coinage of silver at the ratio of 16
to 1, and its unrestricted use as 1egal-ten-
der money, which would undoubtedly result
In silver monometalism and depreciation OF
our currency to about one-half Of its pres
ent value. In 1893 silver had fallen to Is
cents an ounce, or a ratio of about 26A to
gold, while its production had increased
from So, 900 coinage value in 1873 tc
$196, 200 in 1892. And, which was almost
as alarming to the silver mineowners, the
production of gold had increased from
500, ,750, 900 in 1874 (the year in which the
above extracts from his speeches prove
that Senator Stewart insists that it is the
only safe standard Of value) to $130, SIG, COZ
in 1892. These conditions stimulated the
owners Of silver mines to still greater
efforts to improve the market for theil
product, and there being no other advo.
cate Of their interests as able as Senator
Stewart, he was, in 1893, again elected g
United States senator.
Indeed II Was Unfortunate.