Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1896-09-02
HoNEsr HONEY.
SHARON, Kas., August "a, 1896.

10 be a strong and stirring sentiment
on the financial question from the Rev
John P. Newman, Methodist bishop OF
San francisco. This distinguished in
dividual makes a pathetic appeal to his
people and especially to the ministry to
talk and work for ''honest money" as
he calls it. He paints in glowing col
ors the GREAT SIN of voting for sys-
tenn which allows the people to pay
their honest" debts in 50-cent dollars.
His utterances imply that those who
advocate free and unlimited coinage of
silver are low partisans, dema-
gogues, regulators or traitors and is
almost ready to shed crocodile tears
when he thinks of their appalling dis
honesty.
Now this man occupies a very high
and influential position and it is very
Important that the advice he gives be
correct. If he allows himself to be BIZ
ased by partisan influences and then
tells the people how the situation looks
to him from this partisan standpoint
he commits grleYous wrong. If he,
intelligent man that he is and enjoying
the opportunities which he does for
study and investigation, fails to weigh
carefully the arguments on the "other
side," largely ignores what the silver
men have to say in support of their
cause, makes up his mind from this
one sided information, and then advis.
es his people accordingly, he commits a
SIN as great as that which he so strong.
ly deplores in the silver men.
Now, considering this matter calmly,
L would like to ask the reverend gen.
tleman who brands free coinage as dis.
honest if he considers our present gold
standard honest while it causes the val
lie of all commodities, except gold, con-
stantly to decline and adds year by year
to the purchasing power of dollar by
robbing the owners of all other proper
ty of part of the value of that prop
erty? Is it an honest system which re-
quires more products speaking gener-
ally to pay debt in 1896 than you
could possibly have bought with the
money you borrowed when you created
said debt in 'SS go '92? Was it honest
in 1878, after silver had for many years
enjoyed equal rights with gold, to re-
fuse it free entrance to our mlnts and
by that act strike down the value
not only of silver but of all other CON-
modities at single blow? Honesty,
indeed! Was it not robblng every own
or OF silver bullion, to say nothing of
the fall in prices of every other kind of
property except gold?
1t is an undisputed fact that the GEN
eral run of prices has tended downward
gradually, but none the less surely
ever since silver was demonetiZed in
1873. All parties admit this, but the
gold men say the decline was not due
to this cause. However, it seems to
me every fair-minded man who has
honestly studied the question must be
forced to the conclusion that legislation
against silver has been in some meas
ure responsible for low prices or in
other words it has taken away the mon
ey value of all commodities. Just how
much of this shrinkage has been due to
no man knows, for a
number OF causes have made prices de-
cline; but if only minor portion of
the decline is chargeable to demoneti-
zation it was crime to that extent and
a GREAT SIN and the Cody man above
referred to should not stand up for
such a crime, but when he sees a mis-
take has been made and a great wrong
committed he should use his best efforts
to have had wrong righted by restor-
ing silver to the place it formerly occu-
pied in our money system.
Further, 1t is admitted by all that
free coinage would enable the debtor to
discharge his obligation to the creditor
much easier than now by raising the
price of all commodities, while the
present gold standard insures general
low prices and this enables the monied
class to live we'll by comparatively
small outlay to the laboring class; in
other words it causes a relation some
thing like master and slave to exist be-
tween the capitalist and the laborer.
Does Mr.. Newman believe that slavery
is morally right? Does his bible teach
him that we should legislate for the
rich at the expense of the poor? Does
1t not rather teach that help should be
rendered to him who needs it? Do not
common humanity and common sense
also teach this? While l believe that
the rich have as many rights as the
poor and it would be wrong to take any
of their rights away. yet statesmen Of
all ages have held that the proper pol
icy of any good government is to legis-
late In the interest of the poor becaus,
they are the ones who especially neet
favors. The poet had the correct ide,
when he said: Happy must be tina
state whose ruler heedeth more tn,
murlnurs of the poor than batteries O
the great" And further: iii fare
the land to fastening ills prey, wher
wealth accumulates and men decay.
And so we see there are two sides O
this question to consider when we tr,
to determine what is our moral respon
sibility as voters. Happy the man VIII
Is not blinded by prejudice.
j. 0. HAHN.