The San Francisco call., 1896-06-24
REPLIES TO WHITNEY.
Wharton Barker Says the Ex-Sec-
retary's Statement Is Misleading
and FallaCiouS.

retary's Statement Is Misleading
and Fallacious.
NEW YORK, n. Y, June 23.-Wharton
Barker has written a reply to the state
ment of the Hon. William c. Whitney
which was published Monday. Mr.. Bar
ker claims that:
Mr.. Whitneys statements are so mis-
leading and fallacIous that they really
should not go unchallenged. 1t is fortu-
nate that be represents so few of the
members of the Democratic party who en-
tertain the belief to which he gives ex-
preston. The people have been misled
and deceived too long. They have be-
lieved, hoped and doubted, the condition
growing gradually from bad to worse,
until the conviction has settled upon them
that they have been used by such men as
Mr.. Whitney, not in the advancement of
the interests of the people at large, but
merely as a part of a great piece of ma
chinery to further their own selfish ends.
His appeal will be of no avail. Cleveland
could not stem the tide with all the power
OF Office at his command; Whitney cannot
do it, even though backed by the com bined
wealth OF England.
"Mr. Whitney declares that we must re-
main subservient to Great Britain; that
we must not think of restoring bimetal-
lism until the British Government, con-
trolled by the creditor classes, expresses a
willingness to cooperate with us tc that
end. No steps must be taken to restore
bimetallism until we have the consent and
approval of those who, prompted by self
5gh nd hIy+ ha Of iab
ment and self-agganGisement at the ex-
pense of the producing classes, have
advocated the gold standard with the
avowed purpose of doubling the burden of
all debts"
Continuing, Mr.. Barker says:
Surely it Is folly TO wait for those who
benefit from an appreciating dollar to CO.
operate with US in restoring bimetallism.
1t is true that in the long run the i'm
moral is often the expedient, and that
gold monometallism, if persisted in, will
end in the inability of debtors to pay
either interest or principal. But the
creditor classes Of Great Britain will never
advocate bimetallism until they have sue
ceeded in confscating the property OF, all
their debtors. Then, as owners of prop
erty, their interests will be in restoring
bimetallism and raising prices, but not
before.
"If we wait upon Great Britain we will
wait until the property of our industria
classes has been confscated by foreign
money lenders, until our producing
classes have become bankrupt and reduced
to poverty, misery and despair and until
the foreign bondholders who lay tribute
upon them have given place to foreign
landlords ready to lay tribute upon US in
a new role.
'Mr. Whitney tells US that any move on
our part TO lit the yoke of vassalage to
Great Britain ana free our producing
classes from the owner Tribute that now
rests upon them must end in disaster;
that any attempt on our part to do away
with the 200 cent dollar that is sapping our
vitality must end in disaster.
1.-The truth IS disaster can only be
averted by doing away with this 200 cent
dollar. The alternative that confronts US is
not sound money or disaster, but free coin
age or bankruptcy. Unless we open our
mints to silver, check the appreciation oi
gold and free our producing classes
from the owners tribute to the creditor
classes of Great Britain which the appre-
ciating gold standard lays upon them,
bankruptcy is inevitable
1--WE pay the interest on our foreign
debt to our British creditors by exports oi
commodities sold in England. The higher
the prices we get the lighter will be the
burdens OF our Indebtedness, and the open
ing Of our minrs to silver will enable our
producers to get higher prices. How ?
Simply because the increased demand for
silver caused by opening our mints TO sill
yer and the decreased demand for gold,
due to the throwing upon silver equally
with gold the burden o. effecting our ex-
changes and supporting our credit fabric,
would cause the gold price of silver to rise
until the parity between gold and silver at
the old ratio would be restored, And just
as silver rose, the cost to all goId-using
peoples buying in silver-using countries,
and paying with silver, would rise with
the gold price in silver or silver exchange,
which they have to buy and send in settle
ment for purchases made in said coun-
tries.
$50, just as silver rose, the British
trader would turn to US to make the pur-
chases of cotton and wheat and other
produce he has bought in ever-enlarging
volume since the decentralization of silver
from countries in which gold is at pre-
MUM as measured in their currencies
Consequently, the price our producers
could demand for their products would
increase, and just as the prices received
for our exports rose, the burden OF oul