The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1896-08-15
FREE SILVER FACTS.
d. K. Tenney. of Chicago. Speaks
at Madison. Wis.
Fsiiacies of the Cheap Money Men
Held Up to View IN a Conn
mon-sense Talk on the
Money Question.

oihef npcht " a. iaiBc kAtHfhiHks giving
many points of interest to the working
men OF America. Mr.. Tenney's subject
was "The Marriage of the Rocky Noun
tains 10 the Sunny South" in present.
ing which he said:
I'VE are now confronted with the propo-
sition that the sages OF the Rocky noun
tains who own silver mines. the poor white
trash or the cotton states, the popuists OF
Texas. Arkansas, Kansas. and elsewhere
and the Demosthenes OF Nebraska have
superior acnmen and are fountains OF ell
knowledge concerning the kinds OF money
best adapted for the United States, and
that the mature opinions OF the financiers
and business men OF this country and of
all the civilized world besides, are entitled
20 no consideration. My sole qualification
for addressing you on monetary questions
IL, that for 20 years my professional prac-
tice has brought me into close associa-
tion, as clients and otherwise, not only
with numerous men OF Intelligence engaged
In commercial and financial pursuits but
with all classes and conditions OF men sol
vent and insolvent, rich and poor In many
OF the states OF this union. Such q client
age. with the business involved. has made
a continual investigation OF financial qucs-
lions both natural and necessary. from the
point OF view OF integrity. and not OF pol
tiles. j was myself banker I'm a small
way before the war, and until the tax on
wildcats made them hunt their holes.
In those happy. bimetallic days now 90
much extolled. II man went 10 bed at
night with n dollar bin In his pocket A
was a matter OF doubt whether I'm the
morning II would be worth n dollar hair n
dollar. or nothing at all The democrats
were In power I'm this country then. That
was good democratic money. When Il
came the republicans turn, they Jumped
into that currency with both feet and
and furnished us with n substitute, still
maintained every dollar OF which has since
been ns good as every other dollar, and not
a dollar lost.
Why the south IL for silver.
"The reason that the money question Is
now so prominent Is not because the money
in use Is unsatisfactory 10 the people. nor
because the common people have any crit
zeal opinion on the subject. IL is simply
a question of practical politics. brought
20 the surface I'm the natural evolution Of
affairs. There has been a wedding OF the
Rocky mountains TO the sunny south. The
two hearts OF parity and politics b~at
as one. Senator Teller gave away the
bride. Patriotism and popocracy have
ceased to WOO About the time the repub-
llcans In congress undertook To enact the
so-cnlled force bill. sugar began 10 decline
in value and the free silver craze hove In
sight and began TO assume prominence
Southern business men, east OF the Missis-
sippi, though by nature conservative, felt
that any disaster or doctrine was better
than enforced negro suffrage. IL was
condition, not theory, which confron. ed
the southern politicians. and, diplomatic ms
OF old. the southern senator's proceeded 10
form an alliance, offensive and defensive.
with the silver states and the popul'sts
whereby the force hill should forever be de-
feated, and. as compensation. free coinage
of silver should be enacted.
1.-THE republican party, until lately. has
pursued course too antagonistic TO the
south on matters where that section IL re-
cnliarly sensitive. and which II should be
left I'm peace to work out and solve as II
inevitably must. according 10 Its own con-
science. BY the scare of enforced negro
suffrage the south has been driven In APP
parent self-dcfense to embrace the heresy
of free silver coinage Another powerful
factor has lately appeared. The labor III
the south is very largely performed by re-
groes. The wages paid these people are
not more than half what is paid I'm the
north I'm like employment. but still tho prin-
cipal crop of that region, cotton, com
peting as Il must with the whole world,
Is raised with little profit, and the planters
are, not so prosperous az OF old. The plant
ers ana the leaders i'm politics there are ia
millar with Mexico. it's free silver coin1ge
and the wages there prevailing. The
southern wise ones have concluded that The
Ignorance and stupidity OF their common
negro laborer IL fully as great as In Mex
leo. Tnnt In case OF Tree cOliitbt tolApn
can be sold for two silver dollars whore
now only one In gold Is obtained. out OF
this they can pay their laborers I'm silver
mt the present rate OF wages and thus re-
duce the labor expenses OF raising cotton
one-hnlf"
The Free Coinage Question.
Mr.. Tenney then took up the free coin
age question and considered II at con-
siderable length:
1--WE are told that the act OF congress In
1873 emitting the silver dollar from our su-
ture coinage, was the crime OF the century;
that Il Immediately struck down for All
time half the legitimate circulating me-
dunn in this country. that IL doubled the
value OF gold, cut prices OF products In two,
made n dollar twice as difficult 10 obtain.
and that II was the result OF deliberate
scheme OF the money sharks OF Wall street
20 impoverish the people. Now, I'm 1873 the
population OF this country was about o.
0CODcO IL n now about 5000 900. an In
creasc I'm 20 years OF about 81 per cent. the
entire currency I'm 1873 was greenbacks ana
national bank notes, and amounted TO
SOS, 225,O00. As remember. this currency
was at discount then OF about II per cent
with gold, 80 that its purchasing poYer
compared with our present money was only
about s519, 900. 200, or less than flb per capita
OF the population The coinage OF silver on
private account. the return TO which Is now
insisted upon, nNu Dceu dbolrHth W tlt
act OF 1864 IL was the democrats who did
that. After that silver was coined. n at all.
only on government account. So II was In
1853 and not In 1873 that free coinage was
suspended. Why did not the silver non
complain them Simply because their sil-
yer was worth more than gold. Why do
they complain now? Simply because u is
only worth half as much. Neither silver
nor gold had. I'm 1871 been In circulation
here for nearly 40 years, during all or which
time an American silver dollar was GU
riosity, and gold, being the cheaper metal
was the only American. coin In circula-
ton. our entire coinage OF silver dollars
up 10 1S7s, from the beginning OF the gov
eminent, had been only sS0OO,OV0 These
had either been melted up for use In the
arts or been exported and sold at their bull
lion value for gold. at handsome proht
They could not circulate here az money.
they were worth too much. Doing bust
ness as we did I'm 1873, without dollar OF
coin In sight or In prospect, and having but
sf5 pcr capita OF paper money at gold value.
A.. a.aIIn u 81