The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-10-02

attributed to the legal tender paper.
Twill endsAvor to show you hereafter what
| effect this deprecated currency had upon the
wages of labor and upon the prices of com.
| modities which the laborers were compelled 10
purchase with their wages my purpose at the
present moment being simply TO prove. by our
| own experience. that II Is impossible TO retain
| In circulation at the same time legal tender
gold and silver coins OF the same denomina.
ton at any ratio which does not correspond
with the actual commercial values of the two
metals In the markets OF the world, and that.
therefore. the free and unlimited coinage of
legal tender silver by the United States alone
| at the ratio of 10 to l. when the true CONNER.
cial ratio Is about 81 to l, would instantly con-
| tract the currency by the expulsion Of all the
i gold now In the country. d..
II the generalization of silver TO the amount
| or q little over per cent In the coinage law Of
| 1902 expelled gold and established silver mono
metallism, and II the generalization of gold to
the extent Of less than per centin the acts of
| 1884 and 1887 expelled silver from circulation
| and established gold recommendation, is not the
| conclusion Irresistible that the free and un.
| limited coinage Of legal tender silver at the
present time. at an generalization of nearly
| 100 per cent. would at once place the country
| upon monometallic silver basis2 This cues
| ton does not seem to me to be open to serious
argument, and when 1t Is proposed that the
| United States shall, in defiance Of our own ex-
perience during period Of SO years and In do
harce of the experience Of other nations dur
ing many centuries. authorize the free coinage
of legal tender silver at such ratio, Ii Is the
duty Of the people and especially the duty Of the
aboring people to pause before 1t Is too late and
carefully consider whether they will deter.
mine to overthrow their existing monetary
system and substitute In it's place the depre-
ctated silver monometallism of Asia and Mex
leo and the small states and republics Of Cen
trial and South America, with their low rates
OF wages and their high rates OF exchange
Under the coinage act Of 1892 we had silver,
but NO gold and under the acts of 1884 and
1887, with free coinage of both metals. we had
gold, but no silver except the token subsidiary
coins after 1858. while now. with gold as the
standard and limited coinage Of silver, we have
both gold and silver as full legal tender money
In larger amounts than ever before In our his
tory, and the coins of the two metals are kept
equal In purchasing power by the credit and
resources Of the government. Notwithstanding
the difference in their intrinsic value cd .
Real Question Shall We Have Silver
80" Recommendations? D..
We have now about $500 900 in gold and
SAILS. 100000 in full legal tender silver, besides
$7S, 2l6,6T In subsidiary silver coins, which
are legal tender In payments not exceeding
Sf0 and the real question for the people to de-
eide Is whether they will continue to use the
coins of both metals or adopt a monetary sys-
tenn which always has and always will drive
therefore. this evening to advocate the exclu-
sive use Of gold coin as money, or to oppose
conservative and safe use OF silver coin as
money along with gold and at a parity with
gold, but I am here to insist that we shall not
abandon the present legal standard of value,
expel all the gold from the country and adopt
silver recommendation, with free coinage OF a
nominal dollar worth intrinsically only 81 or
81 cents am here to insist that the mints Of
the United States, which were constructed
and are maintained and operated at the ex-
pense of all the people. shall not be used for
the exclusive benefit Of the owners of silver
bullion under law giving them the right to
have 81 or SO cents worth Of their silver coined
free Of charge and stamped as dollar and
compelling you and all others to receive IL
from them as dollar. r"r
All the mints Of the United States. operated
to their full capacity and doing no other work.
could not coin into standard silver dollars two.
thirds of the annual production of silver in
our own country, but. Notwithstanding this, It
Is seriously proposed to offer free coinage to
all the silver In the world at legal valuation
almost double it's commercial value In the
markets Of the foreign countries where 10 Is
produced. The annual production of silver In
the world Is about sale, 100000 at our coinage
rate. and the annual capacity Of our mints to
coin standard silver dollars Is only about S40,-
100000. Last year we coined S43 988, AIS In gold
and 50, 069 $50 In silver, so that IL our mints
were devoted -eHeluksively 10 the frco coinage
OF standard silver dollars the addition to our
stock of metallic money would be about $l5.-
100000 hess every year than IL Is now. and 1t
would not be good money after it was coined.
More than 10 years would elapse before we
could at this rate coin enough appreciated sill
yer dollars to supply the place of the good
gold dollars expelled from the country, and In
the meantime complete revolution would
have TO be effected In our commercial rela-
lions with other nations and In all our domes-
tic business affairs. including readjustment
Of the wages of labor. the price Of commodities,
the rates Of municipal, state and federal taxa
Aon. charges for transportation and every
other matter involving the use Of money or
credit. We should descend by single step
from the highest standard Of value to silver
Ihonometallism. with contracted and ct the
Same time deprecated currency, financial
experiment which has no precedent In the
monetary interest OF the world.
Fortunately when changes have heretofore
been made In the circulation by the substitu.
ton Of the coins of one metal for the coins OF
the other, the difference In their value has
been very small and the process of substitu-
ton has been gradual and created no great
financial disturbance. Under the act of l792
the difference in value between the coins and
the legal ratio was only little over per
cent, and yet. within less than one year after
the enactment Of that statute, congress was
compelled to re-enforce our stock of money by
making certain foreign coins legal tender In
the payment Of debts. and on the same day Of
the passage Of the act Of 1884, which put the
country on gold basis by undertaking sill
yer about per cent, congress passed another
statute making the gold coins of Great Britain.
Portugal Brazil, France, Mexico and Colon
bia legal tender by weight In the payment Of
debts, thus providing as far possible against
q contraction Of the currency on account OF
the expulsion Of silver from the circulation.
During the war, when gold was leaving the
country. legal tender treasury notes were
rapidly issued under authority Of congress, to
take its place, and instead Of contraction Of
tho currency we had an expansion. After the
war. whom II was determined to change the
character of our currency again by the re.
sumption OF specie payments, the law was en-
acted four years In advance Of the time when
&c was to take effect In order that ample op.
portunity might DO afforded to adjust tho bust.
ness of the people to the altered conditions.
Now, however. all the conservative and pru-
Dental considerations TINT have usually con-
troIled in the settlement Of great financial
questions seem to be utterly disregarded. and
we are confronted by an organized and ag-
gressive movement to destroy by single blow
the measures Of value upon which all existing
contracts are based and thus subvert the very
foundations Of our monetary system, without
alloxyfnc Gin ole day to t,ref,a FIR "a har