The Penn's Grove record., 1896-07-31

use of both gold and silver as standard
money, with such restrictions and un.
der such provisions, to be determined
by legislation, al will secure the main
tenance of the party of values Of the
two metals, so that the purchasing and
debt.payiDg power of the dollar, wheth-
er of silver, gold or paper, shall be at
all times equal. The interests of the
producers of the country, its farmers
and its workingmeD, demand that every
dollar, paper or coin, issued by the
Government shall be as good as any
other. We commend the wise and pa.
triotic steps already taken by u Gov.
eminent to ecu an International con.
ference to adopt such measures as will
insure a parity of value between gold
and silver for use as money throughout
The wOrld.'
The first sentence is true. The Gov
eminent gave free coinage to both gold
and silver from 1892 to 1873, when sill
yer was demonitized, that is, it was not
allowed to be coined or used to redeem
paper money in. 1t is only token money
now with an intrinsic value, not real
money. Since 1878, when the Govern.
ment resumed specie payment, it has
been on a single gold standard, called
gold monometallism in practice, but not
in law. Those in charge have made it
d gold monometalie standard.
The Republican financial plank this
wear is as follows:
NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS PLANK.
''The Republican party is unreserved
for sound money. 1t caused the en-
actment of the law providing for the
resumption of specie payment in 1879,
since then every dollar has been as good
as gold. We are ~unalterabiy opposed
to every measure calculated to debase
our currency or impair the credit of our
country. We are therefore opposed to
the free coinage of silver except by in
ternational agreement with the leading
commercial nations of the world, which
we pledge ourselves to promote, and un-
til such agreement can be obtained, the
existing gold standard must be preserv-
ed. AL our silver and paper currency
mast be maintained at party with gold,
and we favor all measures designed to
maintain inviolable the obligations of
all our money, whether coin or paper,
at the present standard, the standard of
the most enlightened nations Of the
earth"
The above platform repudiates the
time honored %bimetalligm proclaimed in
the platform of 1892 and does not re-
eognize the use of silver as real money
unless foreign nations will agree to it.
This nation did not ask any foreign
nation a hundred years ago what it
should have for money and the Demo.
cratic platform does not think we need
to now. 1t is not likely that the credi.
tor nations of Europe will ever agree to
bimettalism when it is to their advan
tage not to do so, when they can make
us sell bonds for their gold and then
get the gold back, having both bonds,
interest and gold, and by 80 doing make
the dollar value of both princi pal and
interest a dear dollar.
The British Royal Commission, ap-
pointed in 1887 to inquire IS to the
changes in the relative values of the
precious metals, states the British mo-
tive clearly of why Great Britain will
never come TO the free coinage of silver
unless forced to do so. They said, SIT
must he rem em5ered that this country
is largely a creditor country of debts
payable in gold, and any change which
entailed a rise in the price of commodi'
ties generally, that is a diminution Of
the purchasing power of gold-would
be to our disadvantage"
Mr.. Gladstone said in the House Of
Commons England is the great credi'
tor of the creditor countries of the
world. Two thousand millions, OF
something even more than that, is very
likely to be nearer the mark. l think
under the circumstances it is rather
serious matter to ask this country 10
consider whether we are going to per-
form this supreme act of self.sacrilice.'
A. j. Balfour, the great English BIZ
mettalist, said in 1892, ''by the admis'
sion of gold monometallists themsel'
yes the gold standard has appreciated
in some fifteen years no less than 30 tc
50 per cent, and of whose appreciation
no living mar under the existing sys-
tenn can prophesy the limits"
just as much as the gold dollar ill.,
creases in purchasing power by their
being a greater demand for it by ex'
Guiding the use of silver as final de.
demption, or real, genuine, basic mon
ey, SO mnch does the price of commodi.
ties decrease in price. The producers,
the farmers principally, get that much
less price for their produce. By reduc'
ing the price one third to one half theiI
profits Of production is swept away and
they become bankrupt and slaves to the
money power, the gold trust. And
while that is going on just that much is
the value of their mortgage, taxes and
interest increased, even though they
are expressed in the same number o.
dollars. That is the cause of the hard
times in our country and nothing under
Gods heaven will change it but the free
coinage of silver.
Jas. G. Blaine, in 1878 said: "On the
much yexed and long mooted question
as TO a bimetallic or monometallie
standard, my own views are sufficiently
indicated in the remarks l have made.
| believe the struggle now going on in
this country and in other countries, fol
a single gold standard would, if sue
cessrul, produce widespread disaster in
and throughout the commercial world.
The destruction of silver as money and
establishing gold as the sole unit OF
value must have a ruinous effect on all
- ronarfy aSppDt those invest