Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-07-01
Silver at Chicago.
Article No. s.

(Article No 81
The New York resolution having
modified the situation, some papers pre-
pared for the Register are laid ASIDE 10
make room for the vital question I'M
me1fately before our party. Inc Vlldi
question is. to frame a ti1anclal PRANK
to express correctly the true Democratic
doctrine.
The present Republican leaders cal
culate that the Eastern money PONei
viii bulldoze some, hOOdwinh many
and l,-ibe n Sufficient number OF others
10 carry the election If Mckinley Is
elected the country will be forced to
gold basis. This means ten, and prob
ably twenty years OF greater business
GeDressiOn than We now experience
But worse yet. it means establishing a
monied oligarchy strong enough TO de-
stroy labor organizations and keep tn@
people in subsection. The encourage
ing feature is that the popular JudS-
ment remains mistaken, although al
most the entire metropolitan press has
been against silver.
Many gold advocates are frightened
by a de,usion that restoring silver VIII
result in a deprecated dollar The
truth is. bimetaMists like BOies, Daniel
Teller. and st. John, the silver banker
on Wall street. would be the first to in
sist on the coinage ratio being the same
as the commercial ratio. 1t is absurd to
suggest that the ablest statesmen in
the West and South would tolerate two
i f,,fof inr hftf
one less valuable than the other. They
would be the first to oppose bimetallism
if such a result would follow. The Chi
cago plank, Whatever be its Language,
win mean this:
To suddenly enforce a gol1 Standard
would reduce all values except debts.
This wcu,d rob the class least able to
sustain loss.
Silver must be restored, but the coin,
age ratio will be changed whenever he
| commercial ratio changes. Dollars
mu95 be equal They will De equal if
Congress puts into gold coin as many
grains as are worth 81 grains OF silver.
If silver be restored to where il was be-
fore 1873, then the word dollar" viii
be returned to its original meaning, to-
wit: 81 grains of silver.
The Democracy stands pledged 10 re-
store silver and coin all of both metals
at whatever ratio will keep the Ameri-
| can money unit, called dollar" Of the
same commercial value when expressed
in gold IS when expressed in silver.
Gold monOman ocs say that it will
be expensive and troublesome 20 recon
Z -o1d - pnf IN 10 q r-n
Our reply is that to enlarge the mlnts
will not be as expensive as reducing
/ all property except debts, and viii not
be as troublesome 10 the BODY Of the
people, as selling 800 Of rrQpgty 10
pay $50 of debt.
It is amusing how much nonsense j.
! talked by sO-C4Ied financial men, who
are frightened by shallow sOphistriea
no thoughtful man heeds
Many profound thinkers believe that
reopening our minis will Immediately
so appreciate silver that % grains Of
gold will be worth less than 81 grains
of silver. But those most insistent on
this proposition are the very ones most
insiatent that the coinage ratio shall
be adjusted to the commercial ratio.
We may present the point TO be decided
AK Chicago. by a conversation between
the man Who wants to insert sixteen TO
one" in our financial plank, and the
man who, like the writer, wants to
leave it out.
Advocate OF sixteen to one-"Oren-
ing the mint to silver will advance its
value. The present commercial is 80
to 1, but III will be less than sixteen
when we open the minis. OF course, il
silver does not advance to the point at
which 81 grains are worth % of gold,
we will charge the ratio We should
restore silver as a money metal be-
fore we estimate its commercial ratio.
The commercial ratio of demOne,Zed
silver does not indicate what will be
the ratio Of restored silver. We should
pledge the party to put silver back to
where it was. If doing this does not
restore the old commercial ratio, then,
OF course, Congress will adjust the
coinage ratio to its market value"
Advocate Of open ratio:-'I see The
force of what you say. Opening the
miLts viii undoubtedly advance silver.
But in business circles we have leisure
10 thlnE accurately. Business circles
are under delusion that we propose to
coin at sixteen, although the CONNER
ci2l ratio is So This groundless Gclu-
sion will be removed if we do nj men
tjon any rate Of coinage"
Sixteen to Nobody, to whom
people listen, is such a fool as 10 sup
pose that Congress will adopt ratio
Cess than the commercial ratio"
Open ratio-"Hannas calculation is
to brighten the country with Just such
nonsense. Any absurdi;y, if promulga-
ted under the auspices Of the moneyei
power, if accepted by financial men, too
busy to think, and finds many blind
followers. The real issue is. shall this
country suddenly adopt the single gold
standard, and thereby reduce all values
except debts? Let our platform pre-
sent this naked question"
J. NJ MASON.
Charles Town, w Va, June y.
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