Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-01-24
THE BANNER DOWNED.
A NASHVILLE PAPER TAUGHT A
LESSON.
Tried to Ridicuis The National BimetaI-
list at "a Distance and Gets Cutting
Answer--A Long Eared Editor-Throw
Hot shot.

II. f. Bartne in the National BIZ
metallis,: >. re Nashville Banner seems
to have been badly hurt by the article
which appeared in this journal on the
goth day of November under the cap
ton of "A Wise Paper" In its issue
OF Nov. 2S it says:
There is a screaming organ of the
silver propaganda published in Chicago
called the National Bimetallist. 1t is
one OF those penny pamphlet concerns
/ that deal in lowgrade demagogy
bordering on socialism, prints scare
crow pictures showing the oppressed
! laborer under the heels of the ogre
capitalists and urges, as means of
! leve ing up matters, the bringing of the
| daily toiler and the multi-mllionaire
, to the same plane and making every
/ body rich and happy by the free and
/ unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio
of IL to :"
! The foregoing is reproduced for the
purpose of enabling the readers Of the
/ National Bimetallist TO make a mental
estimate of the all-peryading dignity.
| delicacy and accuracy of expression
which mark the great campaign in thu
interest of sound" money.
If one word has crept into the col
umns of this paper even remotely sug-
costing that the restoration of silver
would bring the ti-millionaire and
the daily toler TO the same plane, or
make everybody rich and happy, it has
entirely escaped the notice of the edi-
torial management The National BIZ
metallist knows fully as well as the
Banner, that under any system OF
finance there will be rich people and
poor people. But differing from that
advanced CD and progressive CD jour
nal ii is not able to perceive the mer-
its OF a system which is constantly
widening the gulf-which is converting
the millionaire into a illionaire
and the daily toiler into pauper.
There is so much Of "demagogy" in
this paper that it can see no merit in a.
monetary system by which the value,
that is the purchasing power, OF the
dollar" Is all the time increasing,
thus swelling the wealth of those who
own and control the money of the world
at the expense of the toilers, producers
and debtors. We plead guilty to just
that kind Of -demagogy."
In the article which brings a wall
of distress from the Banner attention
was directed to its claim that under
free coinage our currency would be re-
duced in volume and at the same time
only be worth so cents on the dollar.
The particular language used by the
Banner and criticised by this paper was
the following:
under free coinage the $500, 600, 900
In silver now extant would shrink to
half that sum in power to purchase, and
there would be no other money in the
country but silver"
After reproducing a portion Of our
article the Banner proceeds to defend
itself, which it does in the following
genteel, intelligent % and satisfactory
way:
THE statement quoted from the Ban
ner is not In any sense new. The prime
arguments against free coinage are that
IL would drive gold from the country
and cause reputation Of debts. That
is all that is said in this extract from
a Banner editorial. Under the silver
standard a silver dollar would be worth
only its weight in silver, as a gold
dollar is now worth its weight in gold;
and that is only half the present value
of the silver dollar.
THE Banner did not say that there
would be no other money in the country
but the silver now extant The state
ment is there would be no other money
in the country but silver which is
very different.
Secretary Herbert is also miserably
misrepresented in the Bimetallist's ar
ticle. He used confederate money to
illustrate the futilty of a large per
capita circulation if the currency were
unsound.
There is no country on the globe
where silver is coined free that has a
per capita circulation OF $40, and it is
not probable that the same system OF
finance would increase the circulation
In the United States. 1t would keep the
minis grinding at their full capacity for
several years to turn out an amount
Of silver coin equal to the gold that
would inevitably disappear.
But this article from the Chicago
publication Is reproduced not so much
for the purpose of refuting it's absurd
assertions as to show what kind of
literature is still being circulated in be-
half of the free coinage cause"
The editor of the Banner may rest
his gentle and scholarly soul in pa
tiehce This paper never suspected him
of advancing a new" idea; nor for
that matter Of having any ideas at all
that extend below the surface of the
question.
The extract was merely published
and commented upon for the purpose OF
showing the ridiculous and contradict
-.