Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1896-09-18

he is opposed to- foreign do
that parity between our silver and gold
coins which the law declares is the
he has the courage to execute the pow
ers given to him by the resumption act
| to carry out that declaration of plblic
law. | undertake, therefore. to say
that if MIR. Bryan. or man holding his
views, were in the presidential chair,
without any legislation by Congress. we
should be on silver basis in weeks
time. (Applause).
1.-The silver question-what is it? Do
you want silver because you want more
money, u larger circulating medium:
have not heard anybody say. So. Mr..
If anybody were to seek to give that as
a reason for wanting free silver he would
be very soon confounded by the state
ment that free silver would put more
gold out of circulation than mints of the
United States could possibly bring in in
years of silver, and that instead of hav-
ing more money we would have less. Cap
plause.) With our six hundred and odd
million of gold driven out of circulation
we will reduce our per capita money of
this country between eight and nine dol
lars. So it is not for more money. We
have an abundant supply of circulating
mcdium-god. silver, national bank
greenlGlcks. treasury notes. fractional sill
yer. We. have something like SD per
capita of our population. What is it.
1t is openly avowed. 1t is not more dol
lars. but cheaper dollars that are wanted.
1t is Il lower standard of value that they
are demanding. They say gold has gone
up until it has ceased to be a proper
standard of value, and they want silver.
But how do they want If
"Now. my friends, there is great
dcn! of talk about himctallism and the
double standard and great deal of con-
fusion i'll the use of those terms. BIZ
mctallsm is the use of the two metals
as money where they are both used.
we shall have Il gold dollar and silver
dollar which will be unit of value.
by which all property and all wages
and everything is to be measured. Now.
our fathers thought that when they used
these two metals in coinage they must
determine the intrinsic relative value of
the two, SO that 81 comparison of the
markets of the world would show Just
what relation one ounce of silver bore
to one ounce OF gold: how many ounces
OF silver 1t took to he equaf to one ounce
of gold in the markets of the world
where gold and silver. were used. and
they carefully went about asccrtaining
that. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton gave their great powers To
the determination of that question, and
they collected the market reports and
they studied with all their power that
question. and when they found what
appeared to be the general and average
relative value of these two metals they
fixed upon a ratio between them. Now,
what was the object of all that? Why
did they lump it all? Because they fully
understood that unless these dollars were
of the same intrinsic value that both of
them could not he standards of value.
and both could not circulate. Cap
plause.)
"As things are now the silver dollars
that we have are supported by the gov
ernment. and the government that SIM
ports this silver bullion has issued these
dollars on its own account-not for the
mine owner-and II has pledged its s.l-
cred honor it would make every one of
these dollars as good as Il gold dollar.
Great applause.) And that is Il power
full support. Our Populistic friends pro.
pose that the man who digs silver ont of
the mine may bring it to the mint and
have it stamped and handed back to him
as dollar. the government having no
responsibility about it. These men
would reject with contempt the PROPOSE
ton that free coinage was to come with
} IL pledge on behalf of the government
to. maintain the parity of the two dollars.
Applause.) But this feeling is we'll
adapted to touch the prevailing American
bumptiousness and well adapted to
. touch that prejudice against England
which many have. but can we do this
thing ourselves? Is it Il question whcth-
: or we will do it. or ask anybody's con-
sent whether we may, or ask the coop
Grafton of somebody? Not ut all. 1
tell yo4 what this government can do
alone. 1t can fix its money unit. 1t
can declare by law what shall be the
relative value of an ounce of gold and
an ounce OF silver. but il eanfi0t mako
, that last declaration good. (Applausc y
, 1t is unQuestionably fully within the
power of this government to bring this
country to silver basis by coming silver
r dollars and making them legel tender.
l They can do that.
"This government might say you shall
, take one of these dollars. but it cannot
} say and enforce its decree-if you should
l cali out the resiilar army or navy and
p|h,s;tsr p|,;.ar enr ana grsaf MGa'era sps and the
: command Of thrm-it cannot enforce the
2 decree that one ounce of gold is the
{ equivalent of sixteen ounces of silver.
= Great applause and cheers.) Not only
{ that. not France and England and Ger
! many cun do that unless the markets
e respond. (Applause.) We can of our
selves, of our own wisdom, declare the
. unit of value. We can coin silver free
ly. but we cannot make sixteen ounces
) less It is. (App!ause) And it is not
3 rate.
t What IL the next suggestion. 1t is,
, my friends, In the case Of free silver,
Z what n the financial and moral onuivn,