The record-union., 1896-07-12
BRYAN IS NOT A STRANGER.
He Spoke Here on Silver in September
Last Year.
The Address He Delivered at That
Time to the Citizens Of
Sacramento.

fore, captured the Democratic National
Convention the other day, and almost
| without effort and most Unexpectedly
| secured the nomination for President,
is not entirely stranger to Sacramento.
| On September 18th, last year, he ad-
| dressed a large assembly in this city
ana proved himself an able speaker
upon the silver question and displayed
the same magnetic quality that stam-
peded the National Convention for him.
! In order that people may understand
his position the following report of his
address, published in the Record
| Union of the succeeding day, is re-
printed:
| He said the question on which he was
to speak was the greatest one that had
ever occupied the American people in
| time of peace. He was glad to see the
movement, which was bringing together
/ the advocates of binetallism and in
| ducing them to organize Their oppo-
nents were already organized, and he
quoted from the speech of Mr. Cornwen
at the bankers meeting at Chicago, in
which he said that had the bankers
been organized in 1873 as they are now
| the greenback would have been eXtin-
| guished and the silver lunacy would
| have been sent to the asylums, where
it belonged.
He should use the word goldbug in
| his remarks not in an offensive sense,
but as a distinguishing term, as the
monometallists call the silverites luna
tics. If there were any of them here, he
| wanted to convince them that it was
for their interest to help bimetallism.
He believed bimetallism to be in the
interest of the whole people, and that
the people would eventually find out
where their interests lie In fact, the
interests of people all over the world lie
in bimetallisn.
| People will vote in the way their inter-
ests lie, and only need to find out what
that way is What is needed is a metal
that will stand on a par with gold and
assist it in carrying on the commerce Of
| the world
There is much misapprehension as to
what bimetallism is and many people
do not understand what it really is. 1t
is simply the coinage Of two metals on
fixed ratio to each other, which will
stand ON an equality at all times and
be received on equal terms in payment
Of all obligations.
He gave some amusing illustrations
Of the conception many people have
of both bimetallism and free coinage.
Free coinage simply means to put back
the coinage of the silver dollar to the
same basis of equality that it origin
ally occupied. It means the gratuitous
coinage of both gold and silver as Of
fered. The coinage of money is func-
ton Of Government. and should there
fore be done at the public cost, just as
much as police protection and similar
things are given. If there is a charge
for coinage there can be no money that
is worth as much when coined as it is IN
bullion, whether it be gold or silver, and
/ therefore the definition of sound
money" that the coin and bullion should
be worth the same amount. If it costs
five cents to coin a gold dollar, the dol
lar must be worth only ninety live
cents. as compared with bullion. Gold
is worth as much as bullion, because
there is a fixed price for mintage, and
the bullion can be recoined, while sill
yer bullion cannot be recoined. If a
man could take silver bullion to the
mint, and have it coined into dollars at
will would he sell it for less than the
dollars it is coined into?
By unlimited coinage of silver is
meant that silver, no mater whence it
comes, when taken to the mint can be
coined It is not restricted to our own
production. When there is unlimited
coinage Of silver, there will not be an
ounce of silver in the world that cannot
find its way to our mint, and in that
way it will be prevented from dragging
down the value Of our silver coin.
The advocates Of bimetallism believe
that as there is a limited supply of gold
and silver and practically unlimited
demand for money. there can never be
so much overproduction that the par
ity between them cannot be maintained.
} The advocates of independent bimetal-
lism believe that this country is able to
maintain that parity independent Of
international agreement. Just so long
as there is an unlimited demand for
both metals, too, the relative production
of the two metals will not be factor in
maintaining their parity
The question is often asked, said he,
How is free coinage going to help
me?"
1t will help those who produce things
, to sell, because those who want to buy
will have money to buy with, and if
1
can be no sale for productions. We all
want money, and is it not better to
have it come out of our own mines than
to wait for someone over in Europe TO
let us have money to use? The fruit
we raise will rot on the vines and trees
unless other people have money to buy
it with. They tell us we are suffering
from production, but it is not so;
ton.
Those who advocate the gold stand
ard preach the doctrine of despair, he
said, and the only remedy they offer is
that the people must accustom them
selves to closer economy. He read an
extract from an Oregon paper, which
he designated as one of the worst of
gold-bug papers, which advocated
closer economy in the people, and
which, he said, was written in one of
the finest marble buildings in the coun-
, try.
In bimetallism, he said, there was one
; advantage-the debtor always has the
option of the two metals. He would
naturally try to get the cheaper metal,
. and the struggle to get it will keep up
the price and lessen the demand for the
. dearer Give the debtor the option and it
will hold the metals together in value
Give the option to the creditor and he
will make the dearer metal dearer still
France has the option of paying gold
, or silver for its notes, and has no trouble
, in maintaining the parity Of the metals
and this country is rich enough and
, powerful enough to do the same.
In the late bond issues millions of gold