The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1896-10-09

senate at the time and know whereof affirm,
and emphatioaliy pronounce all the stories
about the act of 1873 being passed surreptitious-
ly; about senators and members being some
how hypnotized. SO that 6hey did not know
what they were doing; about some English
man being on the ground with much money to
promote the characterization OF silver, and so
on, as wholly and unIualihetily false. wish
to bs scrupulously courteous to my opponents.
But as a conscientious student OF contempora-
neous history am bound to say that in the 40
years during which have been an attentive
observer of public affairs 1 have never wit
messed nor heard OF such unscrupulous, shame
less, persistent, audaclous, cumuiatlve glgan-
tic lying rs has been and is now done with re-
gard to the act of 1873, its origin, its nature
and its consequences.
What Would Follow Bryans Election.
Consider now what the immediate conse-
quenceS would be if Mr.. Bryan were elected
president with congress to match. Mr..
Bryan would of course be anxious to have
his free coinage law enacted. but that could
not be- even if he called extra session Of
congress, until some time in April or May,
five six months after the day of election.
But as soon the 4th of November as the re-
suit Of the election was announced every body
would know that the parity of gold and silver
would not be maintained.
1t having been made certain by Mr. Bryan's
election that the parity of gold and silver
rush upon the treasury for the gold in 1T by
persons holding greenbacks entitled to re-
demption, and the gold reserve would be ex-
hsusted in twinkling. Gold will instantly
disappear from circulation to be boarded or
exported. Why will it disappear? Because
every sensible person when making payment
will prefer to make it in the less valuable dol
lar and hold the more valuable gold dollar
back for more profitable use. Gold will there
fore quickly rise to a premium. and we shall
be ON the silver basis long before free coin
age law can be enacted. What does it mean to
be On the silver basis2 The word "coin," wher-
ever 1t appears in the law will no longer mean
gold. as to was SO far understood, but silver
alone. The greenback or treasury note re-
deembls in "coin" will no longer be redeemed
in geld as heretofore, but only in silver. The
United States bond payable in coin, no matter
whether gold was paid for it or wheth or it had
been sold fer the very purpose Of buying gold
for the treasury, will be paid, principal and
interest, in silver-repudiation as fragrant as
the world ever witnessed. Our daily trans
actions in buying and selling, in paying and
receiving wages. will no longer be carried on
upon the basis of the gold dollar worth 100
cents but Of the silver dollar worth 50 cents
or thereabout, for the government will no
longer hold up the silver dollar to the value of
the gold dollar. That is what the silver basis
means. You can study In Mexico how it
works.
The quantity Of gold vanishing from circula-
ton will amount to about 5000, 0O0 900, the dis
appearance OF which will make tremendous
hole In the volume OF our currency. Nearly
one-third of it will be gone, and what remains
will be reduced nearly one-half in purchasing
power. But. says the silver man, there will be
free silver coinage to fill the gap promptly
with coined silver or silver certificates. Oh,
no, my fellow sufferers. The disappearance of
goid Will happen promptly after the election
OF MI; Bryan. and there rev, will not possibly be
months, and it will require great many more
months to HI a gap of 5000, 000 900.
The Free Coinage Panic.
What will happen meanwhile2 The st. Louis
Globe Democrat reports Mr.. Bryan to have
said some time ago: 81 think it, - meaning the
victery Of the free coinage movement, twill
cause panic. But the country is in deplor-
able condition, and it will take extreme meas.
ures to restore it to a condition of prosperity"
Whereupon the St. Louis paper pointedly re-
marks. "Evidently Mr.. Bryan has heard of the
doctor who always threw his patient into fits
before administering any curative medicine"
Just so.
How, then, would Mr.. Bryan eft" work.
The sudden disappearance Of our gold from
circulation would produce the most stringent
contraction OF the currency on record. Bust
ness men who owe money and at the same
time have money due them will be forced to
collect that money by every means at their
disposal. Nobody will be inclined to lend out
any money except upon extraordinary secu-
rlty. The banks will naturally consider it their
duty to keep themselves strong, and there
fore to call in loans and to restrict their dis
counts and advances to business men with the
utmost caution. Business establishments,
manufactures mercantile houses, unable to
get the money for meeting their obligations,
will by the hundreds succumb to their embar-
easements and tumble down like a row of
bricks. Others will cautiously restrict their
operations to the narrowest possible limit, and
wage earners by the thousands will lose their
employment and be turned into the street.
No class of society will be spared the de-
structive consequences. Every frightened
creditor, pressed by his own creditors and ap-
prehensive Of a growing loss by every days
delay, will eagerly pounce upon his debtors.
The prompt settlement Of every account will
be pereinptorily demanded. Our farmers who
have mortgages on their property and who
have been told that free coinage will make
things exceedingly easy for them will have
some unexpected experiences. Every mortgage
debt that is due will be quickly called in. The
mortgageor who tries to have his bond extend
ed will find an unwilling ear. He who seeks
to borrow money in order to replace the old
mortgage with new one will be told that this
Is no time for loans, except, perhaps, upon ex-
orhitant conditions. The mortgageor may find,
too, that his bond is payable in gold coin, and
he will have to buy the gold at the premium
then ruling. Foreclosures will be the order Of
the day. The mortgageor who seeks shelter I'M
der the laws delay will at any rate further
burden his property with the cost of legal pro-
ceedlngs. everywhere anxiety, embarrass-
ment, sacrifice, loss and distress, even before
Mr.. Bryan could ascend the presidential chair.
Bryan's Bimetallism.
After five six months Of such deadly
rriC iC r. RruQ "a ovtro Of
would begin and give US free coinage. Then,
as Mr.. Bryan solemnly promised US in his
US bimetallisrn, bimetallism will give US an
Bimetallism? What is bimetaIlismp It Is a
monetary system in which the two metals cir
culate together for all the purposes of money
on parity with each other upon fixed legal
ratio, which in our case is 16 to i. Evidently
to have bimetallism gold must be oufhand
as we'll as silver.
How will Mr.. Bryan get the gold back from
the money powerP Evidently he must offer
an inducements What inducement? To be
sure the minis will be open to gold as we'll as
silver. But who will offer gold bullion to have
1t coined into dollars for circulation when he
can have silver dollars with the same legal
tender power at half the price2 Only an idiot
would do that. OF course, gold will be offered
only when the silver dollar is up again to the
gold standard. There Is the rub. But here
Mr.. Bryan steps in with a theory which is a
curiosity in craftsmanship. he said in his
New York speech: "Any purchaser who stands
ready to take the entire supply of any article
at certain price can prevent that article from
falling below that price. So the government