Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-13

| token money. z9s
2. A sufficient supply of money in the
aggregate to transact readily and easily
the business of the country.
8. A money that will circulate freely,
to be always on hand to measure the val
ue and buy the products of capital and
| labor.
T. A money that neither greatly appre-
ciates nor depreciates in its purchasing
power. except as determined by the sup
ply and demand of commodities.
5. A money controlled by the govern
ment and not by private associations or
| corporations.
| He quoted figures to show the indebt-
edness of the world, the United States
| in detail, to show that there was not
sufficient gold for the standard of values.
The money he advocated was the free
and unlimited coinage of gold and silver
at the ratio of 16 to l.
Mr.. Porter's Speech.
| Mr. Grady introduced Mr. Porter in a
well timed speech, in which he said that
| he hoped Mr. Porter would give some
| thing outside of the financial question;
| that there are other and equally inn
| portant questions confronting the voters;
| that Mr.. Porter had represented his coun-
| ty ably in the legislature and 1t was we'll
remembered that when a nomination in
| Jefferson county was equal to an cleo
| ton that Mr.. Porter stepped down and
| out because he would not vote on the
then ruling question of taking the con-
victs from the public roads and putting
| them back into the mines.
| Mr.. Porter said that the office of sena-
| tor belonged to the people and not to
| any one man. You gave it to Major Mil
| ner for eight years and he stepped down
| and out. He became a servant to do
| your will 1t Is an office of honor and
| not of money, and 1t Is your duty to
| select the very best man for the place. l
| seek this office as a place of honor at
| your hands. l expect to be candid and
| fair, and want no votes under false pre-
| lenses, and want to tell you now that l
will never cast vote as state senator or
in any other office my people might see
| fit to honor me with under promise of
acting another way.
The state senator holds his Office for
| four years and there are a great many
questions of vital Importance to jefferson
county and the state that will come up
before that body. While the money
question, 1 acknowledge, Is leading is
sue just now, your sena tors duty will not
be completed when he casts his vote for
United States senator. Ninety days
of his service is yet at your command
and duties to be performed in which you
are directly Interested. For four years
your senator will sit without a colleague
confronted with many important and in
trlcate legal questions; among them the
constitutional question and a thousand
Ought not the man who acts for you to
| know what the law really means? These
are things for your consideration. The
most important matters are sometimes
| not sprung during a canvass. but come
afterwards. And, everything else being
equal, choose the man to represent you
there, and not simply to vote for
United States senator.
| 1t is true that my sympathies were
with Captain Johnston at the beginning
OF his campaign, not that I agreed with
him in his financial views, but because /
| thought in his leadership harmony might
be restored In party ranks. l do not
want any mans vote who thinks I am
one thing today, another tomorrow. 1
did not want to enter the race for SEN
ator, Notwithstanding 1 was pressed to
| do so by my friends, and never yielded
| from my determination until assured that
| Colonel Miner would not stand for re-
| election. DR.. Cunningham stated public
| ly that he would not be candidate for
any office just two days prior to my an
nouncement, and within three days
| thereafter he comes to the front as my
opponent on a well defined free silver
| platform. He made the challenge and l
accepted 1t.
The issue was made and the lines were
drawn, and when Mr.. Clarke came out
and defined his platform I agreed with
his principles. l endeavored to persuade
Mr.. Clarke from coming to Jefferson
| county, and when he did come then said
| let the two fight 1t out. was for John
ston for harmony, but was always
against him In his money principles, but
was willing, as I said, to lay aside my
financial views in order to secure what /
thought would bring about party har-
mony; that when DR.. Cunningham en-
tered the race for senator on the fat side
OF the money question he could not con-
troll his pent up convictions and declared
openly for Mr.. Clarke. (
Mr.. Porter did not resort to figures in
the discussion Of the silver issue. He
said that this financial question had its
origin in the appointment of Mr. Gres-
ham, which created hatred against Mr.
Cleveland; that he had never met Mr.
Cleveland but has been told on good au-
thorlty that there was not better DEM
ocrat in the cabinet. DR.. Cunningham
who now favored so much Of the pulling
down of the party fences, drew up the
pledge in the race for congress between
Mr.. Bankhead and Mr.. Lowe, drawing
strongly the party lines in prohibiting
any one voting In the primaries who
would not first indorse this pledge to vote
for the nominee He is more liberal now
than then. He, Is candidate himself
now, and while he boasts of his democ-
racy never let's an opportunity pass to
strike Mr. Cleveland a blow. Nobody has
. a right to abuse Mr.. Cleveland because
he is not In favor OF fiat money Flat
money had its origin with the populists,
and to them II now belongs.
God alone can make something cut of
nothing. The Confederate. States
stamped paper and called it p $5 bill; IL
| 1t had been gold 1t would oe worth as
much today as when coined. The south
ern people say you corid not get nobler
people to make money-they backed II
! with their credit. Where is 1t today and
what Is IL worth?
7 silver dollar today is only worth
intrinsically so cents. You take 1t for
dollar because you know the govern
ment has gold dollar to redeem It, The
Mexican dollar has more silver In 1t than
the American dollar and the American
dollar will buy two Mexican dollars
When you put more silver In dollar
than 1t is intrinsically worth the silver
disappears; when you put more gold than
it's intrinsic value the gold disappears
also. This is taken from the very his
tory of the two metals. The doctor says
the law makes money. I challenge him
to point out such a law. 1 believe If
free silver coinage is adopted that this
country will be financially ruined, and I
am just as honest as DIR. Cunningham
And / believe our next democratic par