The Butler weekly times., 1896-07-23

ino usti1es 4He prices OF the pro-
ducts Of toll have fallen. Millions of
men are out of work. The farmers
OF America cannot get as much for
their crops or their stock as it takes
to grow them.
l know that is the fact On my own
farm. Go anywhere you please, and
you will find the same conditions.
Prices are low because the purchas-
ing power of gold has increased
Multiply the energies of the country
as you will and you simply add to
the wealth of the capitalists.
"The remedy is free silver. With
abundance of money prices will rise;
capital will seek investment in the
soil and in factories; every man who
wants to work will be employed, and
in the competition between employ
ers for employees wages will rise
''This is as true in New Yo,k as it
is out here in the Ozark country, or
in California, Florida or Ohio"
II understand your proposition,
Mr.. Bland 1 answered, "but how
will you prevent great panic which
will overwhe elm the nation if one half
the value Of our silver N oney is sud-
denly stricken down in the markets
of the world? We may call 80 cents
dollar IN the United States, but
our national fat ceases to have any
authority when it passes beyond our
own shores. 1t seems TO the World
that the disaster would be instant
and terrible >
The rugged old leader seemed to
be waiting for this. He drew him.
self up in his chair and gave himself
shake. His hazel eyes shone with
enthusiasm.
"There will be no panie," he said.
''Secretary Carlisle, in his Memphis
speech, said that if the country went
to free silver basis there would be
an immediate contraction of the cur
rency; S5oO,OOO,O0O in gold would
vanish and a terrific fall in prices
would follow the withdrawal of this
gold from circulation. But he ad'
mitted that this would be followed
eventually by rise of prices to q
higher level than the present, when
money became abundant.
Now, if people know that prices
are going to: rise in the end, they
will discount the immediate effect o1
free silver coinage at 16 to l, anO
prices will not fall very much at the
beginning. The moment we author
ize that coinage the value OF every
ounce of silver in the world will be
fixed.
s'The fact that we will coin all the
silver brought to our mints, without
limit and without regard to the mar
ket value of the metal, will immedi
ately fix the price of all silver bulliol
in China or Australia, as well as il
London or New York.
The suggestion that Germans O
Frenchmen or Engiishmen will senc
their silver here simply to have /
coined into American dollars is ab
surd. They will not send their coin
ed silver,for the stamp already upol
it makes it equal to gold in their owl
countries, and they will not sent
their silver bullion for the reason
that they can sell it just as we'll i
Europe at the market price fixed b
the American mints. Silver bullio
would be used as money IN ccm
= merce just as gold is used now.
:. The British Royal Commissio
:, of 1883, which was appointed to IL
s ouire into the recent changes IN th
relative values of the precious me-
ola raported that the fixed relatlO
between silver and gold was due t
the bimetallic law of the Lati
. Union. SO long as the mints {
h France were open to the unlimite
coinage of silver and gold at rati
= of l5l to /, that was the lowest sci
q ing price of silver in the markets
the world. A man in any other coul
=, try would not part with his silver |
q lower price than he would get Il