Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-09-12

| that parity between our silver and gold
COINS which the law declares is the
policy of the government. and because
he has the courage to execute the pow
ers given to him by the resumption act
to carry out that declaration of public
law. | undertake, therefore, to say
taat if Mr.. Bryan. or Il man holding his
views, We're in the presidential chair,
without any legislation by Congress, we
should be on a silver basis in a week 5
time. (Applause).
THE silver question-what is it? Do
you want silver because you want more
money. Il larger circulating medium? l
have not heard anybody say so. Mr..
Bryan is not urging it upon that basis
If anybody were to seek to give that as
n reason for wanting free silver he would
be very soon COMPOUNDED by the state
ment that free silver would put more
gold out of circulation than minis of the
years of silver, and that instead of hav-
ing more money we would have less. CAP
plause.) With our six hundred and odd
million of gold driven out of circula ton
we VIII reduce our per capita money of
this country between eight and nine dol
lars. So it is not for more money. We
have an abundant supply of circulating
medium-gold, silver, national bank
greenbacks. treasury notes, fractional sill
yer: We have something like SOB per
capita of our population. What is it.
then, that ties this demand for silver?
II Is openly ayowed. 1t is not more dol
lars. but cheaper dollars that are wanted
1t is lower standard of value that they
are demanding. They say gold has gone
up until 1T has ceased to be a proper
standard of value, and they want silver
But how do they want it
Now, my friends, there is a great
deal of talk about bimetallism and the
double standard and Il great deal of con-
fusion in the use of those terms BIZ
metallism is the of the two metals
as money where they are both used
BY Il double standard they mean that
we shall have Il gold dollar and a silver
dollar which will be a unit of value.
by which all property and all wages
and everything is to be measured Now
our fathers thought that when they used
these two metals in coinage they must
determine the intrinsic relative value of
the two, that Il compa rison of the
markets of the world would show Just
what relation one ounce of silver bore
to one ounce of gold; how many ounces
OF silver 1T took to be equal to one ounce
of god in the markets of the world
where gold and silver were used and
they carefully went about ascertaininp
that. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton gave their great powers to
the determination of that Question. and
they collected the market reports and
they studied with all their power that
question, and when they found what
appeared to be the general and average
relative value of these two metals they
fixed upon n ratio between them Now.
what was the object of all that? WHY
did they lump it all? Because they fully
understood that unless these dollars were
OF the same intrinsic value that both of
them could not be standards of value.
and both could not circulate zap
piause.)
As things are now the silver dollars
that we have are supported by the gov
eminent. and the government that SIM
ports this silver bullion has issued these
dollars on ITS own account-not for the
mine owner-and it has pledged its so
cred honor it would make every one of
these dollars as good as a gold dollar
(Great applause) And that is a power
ful support Our Populistic friends pro-
pose that the man who digs silver out of
the mine may bring it to the mint and
have it stamped and handed back to him
as dollar. the government having no
would reject with contempt the PROPOSE
ton that free coinage was to come with |
a pledge on behalf of the government |
(Applause.) But this feeling is we'll |
adapted to touch the prevailing American |
and well adapted to |
touch that prejudice against England |
thing ourselves? Is it a question wheth- |
er we will do it. ask anybody's con- |
sent whether we may; or ask the coop |
era ton of somebody? Not ut all
tell you what this government can do |
alone 1t can fix its money unit 1t |
can declare by law what shall be the |
relative value of an ounce of gold and |
an ounce of silver, but it cannot make |
that last declaration good (Applause.) |
1t is unquestionably fully within the |
power of this government to bring this |
to silver basis by coming silver |
dollars and making them legel tender |
They can do that
This government might say you shall |
take one of these dollars. but it cannot |
say and enforce its decree-if you should |
call ont the regular army or navy and |
muster our great modern ships and the |
militia. and put William J. Bryan in /
of them-it cannot enforce the /
decree that one ounce of gold Is tho
equivalent of sixteen ounces of silver
Great applause and cheers.) Not only /
that. not France and England and Ger
many can do that unless the markets /
(Applause.) We can of our
selves. of our own wisdom declare the |
anti of value We can coin silver free
Y. but we cannot make sixteen ounces |
IF silver equal to one ounce of gold I'M
ess it is (Applause) And it is not |
lnless the merchants take it at that |
ate.
What is the next suggestion. 1t is,
ny friends, in the case of free silver.
what is the financial and moral equiva-