Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-11-03
Official Paper of County.
An Ap6eal to the Electors.

An Appeal to the Electors.
The end of one of the greatest pc.
.litical campaigns this country has
ever seen is near, and we take the
liberty to call your attention to some
very important facts relating to the
great questions now before us.
First, that both old parties have
been promising to restore silver as a
standard money, and have been try.
Ing to get an agreement with foreign
nations for at least the last 10 years
democrats and republicans alike have
been united in demanding that silver
be restored as standard money
equal with gold. With what result,
NONE. Silver is today no better
than paper money; both have to be
who purchased his bonds for so cents
on the dollar gets gold, whereas he
agreed to take his pay in paper cur
rency when he bought the bonds, and
later the government made them pay
able in coin, either silver or gold.
The government now has the right
to pay in either, and yet Grover Gle
veland has been increasing our bond
ed Indebtedness, putting burden on
future generations in order to please
the bond holder and pay in gold.
The Republican party this year de-
clares that the financial policy of
Cleveland's administration (the pres
ent gold standard) must be kept up
until such time as foreign nations will
agree to let us have what we want.
The gold demo cratic party felt very
sorrowful because the party a Chi
cago declared for both gold and sill
yer without waiting any longer for
the aid or consent of any foreign ma
ton. Then those same fellows. who
thought we had ruined the chances
OF international agreement went
down to Indianapolis and adopted a
gold platform and forgot all about
international agreement. Shame on
such consistency! And we dare say
that if the element who succ eeded in
getting the gold plank in the Repub-
lican platform would have dared to,
they would have left out the promise
to get an international, agreement,
the success of which the Chicago
Tribune says lis weak and remote"
Will the people vote for something
when the chances are weak and re-
mote? Will they vote for promises
that have not been kept for twelve
or more long years? Mr.. Blaine said
In 1878:
II believe the struggle now going
on in this country and in other coun-
tries for single gold standard would,
If successful, produce wide spread
disaster throughout the COM
mercial world. The destruction of
silver as standard money and estab-
fishing gold as the sole unit of value
rp1i off oil
forms of property except those with
fixed incomes" who already have
plenty of money. Gold is the stand
ard of value today. We must keep
up the existing gold standard until
other nations say we may remonetize
silver says the Republican platform.
Was Blaine an honest man, and did
he not speak the truth when he said
the above? Carlisle, now secretary
of the treasury said about the same
as Blaine. Does this not explain our
present condition? Twice have the
two old parties tried to make us be-
ieve that they were friends of silver,
and in 1878, by demand of the people,
they restored the legal tender of sill
yer and passed the Bland Allison act
putting in circulation 100000 a
month. But at the foot of this bill
they put gold contract clause. The
bill said that silver was legal ten
made it null, for the rich man could
make his notes payable in gold. Is
the rich man ANY better than the
poor? What has he done that he de-
serves pay in gold while the poor
man has to take other money? Ever
since that gold clause silver has been
going down. The gold party today
want you to vote for the present
money system-the payment of gold
to the rich man if we have to issue
bonds to do it. The tariff would
have done us no good in supplying
gold to pay these vipers, because
tariff is not payable in gold. Will
you vote for q proposition to place
the common people as inferior to,the
rich man? Will you vote to let other
nations say when we shall have silver
restored equal with gold, or are you
an independent American citizen?
Now notice when the Bland-AIlison
law was passed, putting $4,000, 900 ST.
yer a month in circulation. The
oats and corn doubled in value, yet
we heard nothing of the 5O-cent dol
lars for that is what they mean by a
50.cent dollar that wont purchase so
much as it does today. Ny friend,
doesn't the dollars purchase too
much of your products today? In
other words, aren't the dollars dear
when it takes SO much of your pro-
duce to pay for them with the present
low prices2 Do you intend to vote
for the present gold standard low
prices and dear dollars. or would you
prefer to have cheaper dollars and
higher prices?
The manufactured goods you buy
haven't gone down much because
they are all governed by trusts and
tariff to keep them up; therefore in
1878 and 1890, after the Sherman law,
putting $4,500,000 month in circula
tioh, in both cases prices came right
up on all farm produce. Manufac-
tured goods will not raise in compari.
son, because they did not in either of
the periods above mentioned.
Harrison said in his letter to con-
gress i'm 1891 i'that the increased
amount of money in circulation under
the Sherman law has had beneficial
influence on prices must be very clear
to everyone" Now my friend, they
tell Us that tariff is the only thing to
bring prosperity: whereas. as n mat.