The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1896-10-01
observation !, that he is entirely wrong in

his facts.
'.The fact Is that the worlds wheat crop
has remained substantially the same for six
teGl years. In 1880 1t was 2.2SO.OOO,OOO
bushels. In 1885 it was 21OS.OW,OOO bush
els, and that was the lowest crop OF num-
Der of years. In 1895 the crop was very
| large and amounted to 2.553 900, 600 bushels.
| This year the worlds production Is 10000
600 less than last year, and the total produc-
tion of the world Is smaller than ii has been
for six years, yet wheat Is lower than ever
before.
ResuIt of Opening the Mints.
1--WE say that opening the mints to silver
| will add to the stock of primary or legal
| tender money. and this will again be loaded
| with credits which will make possible an in
| crease of business twenty times as great as
the increase In money. We sometimes hear
1t asked. How will you get that money into
| circulation? Or what good will this Increase
| In money do you If you have not anything to
| get it with, IL you have no property or any
! collateraY That question is purely Anieri-
| can and shows that in some things at least
| we are yet new
| 'It needs but n moments reflection to see
| that the additional money will get into circu-
| lation just as the money that Is In circula-
| tion got there. and that when men again
| coin silver bullion into dollars or get GER
| tifcates for it. which are legal tender. which
| can be used in paying taxes, which can be
| used In paying duties at the custom house,
which can be used in paying debts. they are
| not going to let money lie idle because IL
| will not make it profitable any longer to have
| 1t so. Money VIII cease Ippreclallng III VIII
ne then and they will go to building houses,
| building shops, building railroads, manufac-
| turing and doing business; they will start
| activity In a thousand channels and thou
| sand fields That will be the result. There
| will be an Immediate demand for brains and
muscle. There will be an immediate demand
| for engineers. for skilled men, for clerks,
| for mechanics and for day laborers.
| "But perhaps the strangest part of Mr.
| SchurZ' speech is that which emphatically
indorses and commends the bond-issuing pol
| ity of the present administration. During
times of profound peace in less than four
| years the national debt of this country has
| been increased S260,O00.000. 1t was done for
| the sole purpose of maintaining the gold
| standard by the government and of paying
| gold on obligations which on their face were
payable not In gold but in coin. which meant
that they could be paid in other metal which
the debtor, that Is. the government, might
select. This has been the law and the prac-
tice for centuries, and the governments OF
Europe always act upon it. Mr.. Schurz sug-
gests no change of policy and he offers no
remedy; therefore. the existing conditions
are to be continued. and If it was necessary
to issue S260,0 100000 of bonds In the last
three years. we are warranted in assuming
that 1t will be necessary to issue similar
amount In the next three years. and that this
Will continue to go on.
The Nations Honor.
"AIr. Schurz and Mr.. Cochran wiring their
hands in horror over what they call the pros
pect Of sullying the national honor and pay
obligations in anything else than gold, and
they point to the fact that In 1890 Congress
declared practically that 1t was the policy OF
this government to keep everything gold
basis; that the world had accepted this and
for us to disregard that declaration would
place us in the light of repudiators and dis
honest men before the world. Just see how
little substance 1t takes to enable rhetoriz
clan to fill the air with ghosts. When was our
great debt created? Long before 1890. And
what kind of money did we get for the bonds
fRr and frsxI.I
and silver for the remainder. Neither Mr.
Schurz nor any other mortal has been able
to point out wherein you wrong creditor
when you pay him in exactly the same money
that he gave you.
II will agree with Mr.. Schurz that a credi-
tor should not be paid In money the pur-
chasing power of which is much less than
was that of the money that he gave to the
debtor, but If 1t is dishonest to pay creditor
in money that is cheaper than the money
he gave the debtor 1 ask you and ask the
American people whether Ii Is not dishonest
to compel a debtor to pay creditor in money
that has twice the purchasing power as had
the money which he got from the creditor.
"From Jan. /, 1879, to JAM 1, 1891, only a
little over S34. 900, 900 of greenbacks were
presented for redemption, or an average of
little over So. 100000 a year.
''At that time Mr. Foster and the Harri-
son administration yielded to the influence
Of the Eastern bankers and ordered treas
ury notes to be redeemed in gold alone. and
the Cleveland administration did the same
has happened since then: During the four
years following that date 1851 ,000,O 600 Of
greenbacks and treasury notes were present
ed for redemption and redeemed. and to
carry out this policy of redeeming these notes
in gold President Cleveland issued the $780,
900 of bonds.
"Maj. Mckinley recently told some gentle-
men that he thought it was more important
to this country that should open the mills
to the laborer than to open the mints to the
mine owners. This is an artful statement.
calculated to deceive. Suppose he is taken
at his word and every mill owner in America
opens up his mills, how long will they run;
and If they are obliged to shut down why
will they be? Because there is no market for
the things they make, and say to Maj Nc
Kiney that the only key that will open the
mills and keep them open Is an increase In
the volume of money in this country.
"But. says some one. il you add silver to
the volume of money will you not be injur-
ing our own local creditors who have money
loaned out? l say no; emphatically no. NO
creditor. be he banker or private Individual,
can possibly benefit profit by having uni
versal bankruptcy all around him. Every
creditor, be he banker or merchant or pri-
vate individual, does profit by having gen.
eral activity around.
The Masses and the Classes.
''In all ages and in all countries the men
who are in the wrong deprecate discussion
In no country have dishonest policies sought
the sum- and no organization of highmaymen
has as yet petitioned for electric light The
man VINO mas no argument series Tue Hedresl
epithet and hurls 1t. These observations are
singularly applicable to this gold standard
movement. 1t is the hyena that has sucked
the blood of commerce and left the prostrate
form of labor by the roadside. lt has rem
dered this nation helpless. and when the
people try to learn the cause of this distress,
when an effort is made to diagnose the pa
tient then there is fierce howl The gold
standard people find that the acts are against
them They are obliged to resort to decep-
tion and sophistry to prevent the people
from putting an end to this policy; therefore,
they decrecate discussion. Unwilling to con-
fess the truth, they talk about rousing the
masses, etc. The fight is as old as human
greed; as old as human selhshness. For
twenty years prior to 1861 the slave power
deprecated discussion, even in the North,
where there were no slaves, and they put
their objection on the ground that 1t pre1u-
diced the masses against the classes. There
never yet was a great wrong or great abuse
but what objected to investigation and dis
cussion.
1T is a sad sight to see this grand century
draw to a close and give such unmistakable
evidence Of degeneration of American man
hood as we have recently seen. In 1716 less
than 100000 men, who were poor and
even despised by the world. declared that
they were not only free. but that they
independent of every other nation on the
globe. In 1896 when we have 10,OOO,OOO OF
people and are admittedly the richest and
most powerful nation on the globe. when we
are admittedly the most enterprising people
on the globe. one of the greatest political
parties of the nation In Its convention at
ST Louis declared to the world in substance
that while we might be free. were de-
pendent; that while a particular financial
policy would be beneficial to this nation we
could not have it until Europe consented to
give 1t TO us. Mark Hanna is raising millions
of dollars with which to debauch and degrade
the American voter-with which to debauch
and degrade the American citiZen-in order
that he shall approve of this degenerate pol
icy.
Republic in Peril.
''If the gold standard is to be maintained.
if prices are not only to remain low. but to
go on falling while the interest on our enor-
nous debts has to be met, then the producing
power of this nation will in time be exhaust
ed in the mere effort to meet the fixed
charges. Our farmers, our mechanics, ana
our laboring men will cease 10 be high-spir'
tedn, free men who are proud of their citi-
zenship, and they will sink to a lower status.
They will sink to the status of the men who
till the fields of Europe or the valley OF the
Nile; they will not be able to educate their
families; we will no longer have that pa.
triotic yeomanry which has been the support
IF this nation in every crisis If this gold
standard is to be maintained, then these con
ltions are near at hand. and when they
come. then the days Of the republic will be
over.
..In 1861. when the drum beats called you
were n Republican Democrat. you were
not asked whether you were Wing or an
independent; you were only asked whether
~. L.