The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-14

States adopted the ratio of 16 to l. And
lieyed to be the real relative value or
nearly so. between the two metals at that
time; and they. seemed not tc have been
but determined the ratio upon the then
values of the two metals in the markets
of the world. tCries of That's rightly
Mr. jefferson favored the use Of both
gold and silver, and yet while he was Presi-
dent of the United States, on his own mo-
ton and without the authority of Congress-
ordered the minis TO discontinue the coin
age of silver dollars. Why did he do it?
Because he believed that he could keep
gold in the country and make it circulate
at a ratio of Is to by suspending the
coinage of silver dollars. He thought if no
silver was coined the gold aItho9gb ,,o re
valuable would flow into the channels of
trade. The fact was that gold did not not
Withstanding the suspension of the coinage
of the silver dollar.
WOULD HAVE LESS MONEY.
There We're no silver dollars coined in the
United State from 1906 to 1894 Then Con-
gress changed the ratio between the two
metals from fifteen ounces of silver to one
ounce of gold, to sixteen ounces or silver
to one of gold, and whole history has
demonstrated that whenever, under any
ratio, the one metal was more valuable than
the other, the more valuable went out of
circulation and the less valuable remained
in. (Cries of That's right.) The cheaper
metal drove the better metal out (Cries
of That's right tooO That is the irrever-
sible law of trade That is the unvarying
law of business, and it is an indisputable
fact that where you have two standards
the one less valuable than the other the
most valuable goes out: and if we had free
coinage at Is to l, while the commercial
value of silver in it's relation to gold is ~
to /, gold would go out and silver would be
the only money with which we would do
our business-for a hundred-cent dollar will
not keep company with fifty-two-cent
'Hurrah for Mckinley. and instead of
our having more money we would have less
of the country. Great applause and cries
of That's righti) So that we would Sc
cure by this Mexican system great laugh
Great applause and cries of That's
right:o That we do not want and that we
and cries of We won have ito
In 1873 when the free coinage of silver
was stopped, were not using either gold
We did not use a dollar of silver then. We
now have five hundred and fifty millions,
of which four hundred and thirteen mil
lions are full legal tender standard silver
dollars. and behind every one of them is
Great cheering The lack Of silver sureiv
could not have deprecated prices since
1873. for we have sixty times more of it now
than had then.
THE depression in the price of wheat
about which much is now said, must be
accounted for in some other way The
chief of the United States Bureau of Sta
tistics states that the consumption of wheat
per capita in 1895 was % per cent less than
be a more reasonable accounting for some
of the depreciation in the price of wheat
than to charge ii to the monetary legisla-
ton of twenty-three years ago? (Cries of
'Yesr 'Yes!D 1t was the decrease of con-
sumption and the increase of competitors
not the suspension of the free coinage of
silver that accounts in part for the low
price of wheat to-day. We cannot make
prices, but we can provide that all prices
shall be paid in full dollars worth one
hundred cents. (CreS of That's right!'
and great cheering) We cannot reverse the
laws of trade and will not reverse the
and cries of 'Goodi) Our interests in the
United States mutual and interdepen-
dent. and it is the plain duty of patriotism
to protect all of them-from undue COMPETE
ton abroad and from ruinous financial
schemes at home. Great applause and cries
He's all rightiD That is our business this
year, gentlemen, and what will your ballot
in November be? (Cries of We will cast
our ballots for Mckinley and for protec-
ton and great cheering.)
My fellow-citiZenS, / cannot overstate
my feeling of gratitude and thankfulness
for the honor of this call. You cannot, /
am sure, appreciate yourselves what it
means to have thousand Democratic COM
mercial men, who have all their lives been
Democrats, to come to the home of the
pledge TO him their earnest support. (Tre-
mendous cheering and cries of You'll have
it, Major!D 1 thank you from the bottom
of my heart Cloud cries of We need no
thanks!D, and believe me, it will give me
sincere pleasure to meet and greet each one
of you personally" Tremendous cheer
ing) ~ -'.S