Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1896-08-27
Bjaiae's Speech.

The follow;ng:extracts are fro" the
,,..ch OF James G.. Blaine, delivered
~ the Senate In 1878, and OF which
,".nv n,isin terpretations have been
made by the popocrat" press;
.1f we coin a silver dollar of full
lam, tender, obviously below the cur
.sn, value of the gold dollar, we are
simply opening our doors and inviting
Europe to take our gold. With our
,,old flowing from ia we shall be forced
r. the single silver standard, and our
relation, with legal commercial co''n-
tries Of the world will Ike not only .en'
bsrrassed, but crippled. At
cnrrent rat. : Of silver, the free coinage
If a dollar containing 4l2a grains,
worth in gold about 81 cents, gives an
,,li9itimate profit to the owner OF the
bullion, enabling him t" take " cents
worth of it to the mint and get it
damned al coin and force his neighbor
to take 1t for IL full dollar. This is An
unfair advantage which the govern
mon, has no right to the owner OF sill
yer bullion, aud which defrauds the
man who il forced to take the dollar.
I, assurediy follows that if we give
frt4. coinage to tins dollar of inferior
value and put 1t In circulation, we do
~ at the expense Of our better coinage
IN gold; aud unless we expect the i'll
variable experience Of other nations to
be In some mysterious way suspended
for our peculiar be nefit, we inevitably
lose our gold coin. 1t will flow out
from US with the certainty and with
the force Of the tides. Gold has, in
deed. remained with us IN consider
able amounts during the circulation OF
inferior currency Of the legal tender;
INT that was be ,ause there were two
great uses reserved by law for gold
The collection Of customs aud the pay.
n,ept of interest on the public debt.
But if the inferior silver coin Is also to
. he used for these reserve purposes, then
gold has no tie to bind it to Us. What
cain, therefore, should we make for
the circulating medium, if on opening
the gate for silver to flow in, we open
a still wider gate for gold to flow out'
If were to venture upon dictum on
the silver question, I should declare
that until Europe reu.onetizes silver
we cannot agori to coin dollar as
low ~ 4l24 grains. 4 :; Consider
further what injustice would he done
to every holder Of legal tender or IA
tiona. bank note. That large volume
If paper money is now worth between
gS and00 cents on the dollar In gold
coin. The holders Of it, who are, in
deed, our entire population from the
population from tn poorest 20 the
richest, have been promised from the
hour Of ITS issue that their paper money
would be one day as good AS gold. i"
pay silver for the green back is the full
compliance with this promise aud this
obligation, provided the silver is made
M ii always has been hithe.to, as good
IA gold coin even 3 per cent. less valu-
able than gold inflicts ut once loss OF
more than twenty millions of dollars
on the holders Of our payer money.
70 make silver dollar worth 81 cents
precipitates on the SAME class a loss OF
nearly sixty millions If dollars For
what ever of the silver dollar is, the
whole paper issue Of the country will
sink TO its standard when its coinage
Is authorized and its circulation be-
comes general In the channels OF trade.
That reconciliation will have
considerable effect in adva ncing the
value of the silver dollar is very proha-
HE, but not enough TO overcome the
difference now existing-a difteren &c
resulting from causes independent OF
our control,in the United States.
!. II We attempt the reconciliation on a
basis which IL obviously below the
fair standard If value as it now exists,
We Incur all the evil cons eQuences OF
failure at home, aud the certainty OF
successful opposition abroad. :,
The question Of beginn! " anew the
coinage Of silver dollars has aroused
much discussion IA to is effect on the
public credit. & = We have forty
thousand millions OF property in this
country, and . wise self interest will
not perm I US to overturn its relations
by seeking for an inferior dollar where
with to settle the honest demands OF
any creditor. The question might liz
different from merely selfish point Of
viewit, on paying the dollar to the
public creditor, u would disappear
after nrnfOrminC the function hui