The Dickinson press., 1896-08-29

two or three years, and will probably
survive to take the new medicine IL
abundance. But say that they admit
themselyes-any intelligent speaker upon
| that subject admits that the inevitable
| and irresistible tendency and result o1
the free coinage of silver in this coun'
try will be to drive out the gold. Now
It has always struck me that one Of
their most enlightened champions wal
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.
vention at st. Louis and by the bill
which he procured to be introduced in
Of the silver and Populist sentiment
there. they proposed to bridge over this
yawning: chasm which they themselves
admitted would open beneath their feet
Dy issuing interest-bearing treasury notes
OF the United States, secured by deposits
OF uncolned silver or gold bullion, or by
deposit of United States bonds to be is
sued of course for that purpose. Now le,
us look at this coolly and calmly and fig
tre upon it n little, like men of sense who
are infinitely interested in this matter
us one OF business concern and let lis
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 haye s62oooo!ooo of gold in the
a hs,,1v
disappear at once in the face of free
silver coinage, or even the certainty of
it. Let this election go Democratic
Popullst. 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
cdict into the form of law, the just finan-
clal 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. say it would
disappear ut 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
it out of hiding to exchange it for any
paper money whatever of the govern
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 value) was $216, ,S92, 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, ,OO0,-
the world will not melt down their
coined silver to deposit it in the United
States treasury and receive merely a
silver certificate.
Some of the Evils.
But the third alternative is one of
most malign 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
cr, artisan. manufacturer or producer
upon Gods heritage. l say. it is pro-
debt of the United States. Now, what
does this mean? 1t means an increase
of the bonded debt. People who 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
treasury to get treasury certificate.
And so the chasm 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 will 1Osf fhpoa vooro What
will take place meantime, in the very
face of the danger of it? We are in
the midst of commercial distress almost
unexampled in our history; panic such
as the world has seldom seen. 1t would
throw 3,OOO,0OO of men out of employ
ment. 1t would depress and starve the
wagc-earner, and it would deprive him
of being the best consumer and purchas-
er that the American farmer has, and
by that reflex action intiict unexampled
misery upon our agricultural population.
(Applause.)
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,
stunu now, UT " use un lIetleeIlaDle
paper money, perfectly limitless or il
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 emancipate
ourselves. Do you want that again? ?
(Crics of "No, no.")
But. my friends, to look. little deeper
into this subject. The misery goes fur
ther that would be inflicted. have been
talking heretofore about lawful money,
and mean by that, money issued hy the
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 95 per cent. of the transac.
tions between man and man in civilized
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-
tions. 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.
anccs in the same way.
Now. this is the greatest currency of
civilization. Numbers are inadequate to
express its infinite superiority in numeri.
cal relation to the lawful money of
which we have been talking. This is the
currency that no statutory fat can ex.
pand, although it can contract it. But ii
is a currency which will contract instan.
tancously to its very minimum bv the
operation of the Democratic and Popu.
listic theories as announced in their piat.
forms. Now what does that mean? II
means. simply that the merchants, the
manufacturers, the employer, the man OF
every kind who pays out money 70 his
fellow-men for labor: or for material will
cease so far as he is concerned to emit
that currency which rules all business
The lack of confidence will produce that
contraction in that currency. The clear.
ings in the United States last week were
$S11, 100000. In the clearing houses
alone, mind you, and not through the in.
fiuence of interposition of the banks
where there are no clearing houses. The
clearances of the city of St. Paul last
week were something over $4,000, 900
Does any man think that such amount