The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-07-09


awaited the incoming Democracy and Il
depleted treasury. More significant still,
the very authors of the ill-starred Shcr-
man law makeshift were already mt the
confessional upon the stool of penltencc
and were begging Democrats to help
them to put out the conilagration of dis
aStcr that they themselves had kindlcd.
$50 far as revenue to support the gov
eminent is concerned the Democratic
party, with but Il slender majority IN the
senate. was not long providing it and
had not the supreme court of the United
States reversed its selected doctrine of
100 years. the income tax Incorporated
in the tariff bill would long since have
abundantly supplied it. Respecting
finances, the Republicans, PopulistS and
Democrats. while differing upon almost
all other subjects, had united in lS92
in declaring for the restoration Of our
American system of bimetalism. BY
Republican and Democratic efforts alike
the sherman law was swept from the
statute books. The cagcrness to rid the
country of that Republican incubus was
so great that no prudent effort was made
TO provide n substitute. In the very act
by which the Sherman law was repealed
it was declared to be the policy of the
United States of America to continue the
use of both gold and silver rs standard
money and to coin them into dollars Of
equal intrinsic and cXchangeable value.
The Republican party has proclaimed IT.
self mt last. throwing away the DISCUSSES
of the British gold standard. We can
expect to succeed. my cOuntrymcn, after
a panic and long isolated period Of de-
preston. Don't ask us, then, to JOIN
them in any of their propositions. Least
of all do not ask MS to join them upon
the money question and fight sham
battle over the tariff question, for the
money question is the paramount issue
before the people and it involves true
Amcricanism more than any economic
issue that was ever presented to II peo-
pie at presidential election. No. we are
not upon n gold standard. but we have
discOrdcd and miscellaneous currency
of nine varieties. six of metal and three
of paper, the product for the most part
of Republican legislation, rendered
worse by the treasury practices
begun by Republican sccreta-
rics and unfortunately copied
by their Democratic Successors.
tApplausc) Then consider the facts,
gentlemen, the federal states and NUM-
cipal taxes in this country are assessed
and paid by the standard of the whole
mass of money in circulation. No au-
thorty has ever been conferred by con
grcss for the issue of any bonds payable
in gold, but such authority has been dis
tinctly refused. The specie resumption
act of 1873 gave the surplus revenue in
the treasury, not gold only, the money
of redemption. Provision made by the
Bland Allison act of 1873 added to the
circulation some three hundred and
nifty millions of standard of our money,
or paper based upon it, but that mass of
silver money is sustained ut parity with
gold by nothing whatever ON earth but
the silver in it, and the legal tender
functions impaired to it by law. zap
plausc) We have no outstanding obi
cations in the United States. except the
small sum of forty-four millions of gold
certificates which are specifically pay
able in gold and they, of course. should
he so paid. All of our specie obligations
are payable in coin, which means silver
or gold at the governments option or
in silver specifically and only. There is |
more silver paper based upon silver in
today than there is of gold |
or paper based on gold and that the gold |
dollar is not the unit of value is demon |
stratcd by the fact that no gold dollar
pieces can now under our laws. he |
minted. If we should 20 upon the gold |
standard we must change the existing hi |
metallic mode of payment of all public
,lebts, taxes and appropriations paying
alone those specifically payable in gold.
As we have twenty billions of public and
private debts, it would take more than
three times all the gold in this country
to pay even one years interest upon it, |
We should be compelled hereafter to |
contract the currency by paying off |
$500, 100000 of grccnbacks and Sherman
notes in gold, which would nearly cx-
hnust the entire American stock of gold |
and the people would require that $3.50 |
OOO,OOO of silver certificates should he
paid in gold also, rs forcshadowcd by
the present draft upon the country's
stock of gold. This means an increase
of the public debt by $500, 900, with
the prospect of S3ll, 100000 more. The
disastrous consequences of such Il policy
are appalling to contemplate and the
only alternate suggested is the free coin
ag" of silver at the ratio of IL to |
(cheers) and the complete restoration of
our hereditary and constitutional sys-
tenn of money.
I'VE pray You make no more make
shifts and straddlcs. NcX not the coun-
try with your phophccics of the smooth
things to come from the British-Republi
can propaganda. (Applausc.) The fact
that the European nations are going to
the gold standard renders it all the more
impracticablc that we should do so. for
1he limited stock of gold in the world
Sy0u!d have larger division and Il
smaller share for each nation. Previous
predictions have been punctually refuted
when prosperity was prophcsicd by the
country on the repeal of the Sherman
law. Instead of protecting the treasury.
an unprecedented raid was made upon
it and $260,00O,000 of borrowed gold
has been insufficient to guarantee its
security; instead of causing foreign cap
ital to flow to us it has stimulated the
flow of gold to Europe and grecnback
notes and the Sherman notes, which are
just as payable in silver as gold. have
been used to dip the gold out of the
treasury of the United States and store
it in the strong boxes of Europe. Instead
of revivng business the policy has fur
Their depressed it, instead of increasing
wages this policy has further decreased
them: instead of multiplying Opportuni-
ties for employment, this policy has null
iipliCd idlCncsS: instead of increasing the
prices of our product, this policy has low
cred them, it is estimated, about IL per
cent in three years: instead of rcviviug
confidence, this policy has banishcd con-
tdcnce: instead of bringing relief. it has
brought misery. and for this reason it
has contracted the currency of the United
States 81 n head for every man, woman
and child since November |, 1893. and
with this vast aggregate contraction the
price of land and the manufactured goods