The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1896-09-24

two or three years, and will probably
survive to take the new medicine in
abundance. But | say that they admit
themselyes-any intelligent speaker upon
that subject admits that the inevitable
and irresistible tendency and result of
the free coinage of silver in this coun-
try will to drive out the gold. Now
let us see how they propose to obviate it.
1t has always struck me that one of
their most enlightened champions was
Mr.. st. John of New York. He has been
largely and copiously quoted by them
he was president of national bank and
was president of the recent silver con-
ventlOn at st. Louis and by the bill
which he procured to be introduced i'll
Congress and which had the endorsement
of the silver and Populist sentiment
there. they proposed to bridge over this
yawning chasm which they themselves
admitted would open beneath their feet
by issuing Understanding treasury notes
of the United States. secured by deposits
of uncoined silver or gold bullion. or by
deposit of United States bonds to be is
sued of course for that purpose Now let
us look at this coolly and calmly and fig
ure upon it little, like men of sense who
are INFINITELY interested in this matter
as one of business concern and let us
see how this project would work; wheth-
er 1t would not merely
Skin and film the ulcerous sore,
whist rank corruption mining all beneath
lnfects unseen.
We have $620.0000O0 of gold in the
United States. | think more. 1t would
disappear at once i'll the face of free
silver coinage, or even the certainty of
1T. Let this election go Democratic
POpulist, let the American people record
their will that the coinage of silver shall
be free and unlimited. long before Mr.
Bryan and his cohorts could place the
edlct into the form of law. the just finan-
cial fears of mankind, of people here
IN this audience and of people every
where, at home and abroad would draw
that gold from every vault wherein it
lies protected and it would sink into the
earth as the waters which came down
from heaven last night I say it would
disappear at once. This bill Of Mr. st.
John so admits and that disappearance
is the very ailment which he proposes
to remedy. But in this universal alb
sconding of gold there would be no gold
bullion to deposit. people would not take
1t out of hiding to exchange it for any
paper money whatever of the govern
ment which proposed to make all these
obligations payable in silver. (Applause.)
This remedy is counteracted SO far by
the assumption and admission that gold
will disappear.
Now as to deposits of silver bullion.
The worlds product of silver in 1894
commercial valued was $216,S 500 200.
If we could get the worlds entire pro-
duct (as we could nOt. it would take
three years to fill the void of $500. 600
900 of vanished gold. The nations of
the world will not melt down their
coined silver to deposit it in the United
States treasury and receive merely Il
silver certificate.
Some of the Evils.
But the third alternative is one of
most maign portent. 1t is proposed to
use the Understanding bonded debt of
the United States in order that the miner
or owner of silver may take his bullion
to the mint meanwhile and get evidences
of public debt two for one--a privilege
not granted to or claimed by any farm
err artisan. manufacturer or producer
upon Gods heritage. | say it is pro-
posed to use the interest bearing bonded
debt of the United States. Now. what
does this mean? 1t means an increase
of the bonded debt. People VINO have
got their bonds as investments to get
their living from in the way of their an
nual income, or anyone else, are not
going to put their bonds on deposit in the
And so the chosm could not be filled
in that way. neither by gold. by silver
or by the illimitable issue of bonds.
so this chasm could not be filled. They
admit it will last three years. What
will take place meantime. III the very
face of the danger of it? We are in
the midst of commercial distress almost
uneXampled IL our history: panic such
as the world has seldom seen. 1t would
throw 100000 of men out of employ
ment. 1t would depress and starve the
wage-earner. and it would deprive him
of being the best consumer and purchase
pr that the American farmer has. and
by that reflex action inflict unexampled
misery upon our agricultural population.
tApplause.)
In that state of things the abyss must
be filled No nation could stand such
a contraction. The most radical remedy
would be absolutely necessary to re
store it. and there would only be two
one is to get back to the honest solid
standard on which all the commercial
nations. including the United States.
stand now. or to use an irredeema BILE
paper money. perfectly limtless or IL
lmitable in its amount. And when that
comes to pass silver will vanish in the
face of paper as gold vanished in the
face of silver. (Applause) And then
YOU would have another chasm. another
issue of money. The wreck is complete.
and the United States stands entirely
on an irredeemable paper money basis.
precisely the place we occupied before
the war. and from which we struggled
with so much passion of honesty and
love of national honor TO emanclpate
ourselves. Do you want that again:
(Cries of mo. no.
But. my friends. to look Il little deeper
into this subject. The misery goes fur
Their that would be inflicted. | have been
talking heretofore about lawful money.
and | mean by that. money issued by the
governments of the world the United
States included But did you ever think
how little of the business of this world
or of any community like St Paul and
Minneapolis is done on what is called
lawful money? Statistics would seem TO
show that % per cent. of the traaSac-
tons between man and man i'll civilized
nations. especially in the United States,
is by way of checks. In cities they are
balanced against each other IN the clear
ing house. and a few thousand dollars
balanced money closes the days tranSac-
tons. Where clearing houses do not eX-
ist- | mean in towns and villages--the
depositing Of the checks in the banks, and
the collections of the banks adjust bal
ances in the same way.
Now. this is the greatest currency Of
civilization. Numbers are inadequate TO
express its infinite superiority in numer-
cal relation to the lawful money of
which we have been talking. This is the