The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-07-23
A POLITICAL BULL.

QlCtlOu III lHS NulSdSO pldliOllll
Two of its chief planks are as op
posed to each other as political
economy propositions can very
we'll be. Were it not for the fact
that the people would have to pay
dearly for the entertainment, it
would be worth while to elect
Bryan, and watch his contortions
in trying to reconcile the oppos-
ing demands of his platform.
BY implication the platform
processes to favor the maintaining
of our gold and silver at a parity,
and demands the free and un-
limited coinage of silver at the
ratio of 1o to I'D 1t is perhaps
possible for the government to
maintain the parity of the two
dollars awhile longer, even with
free and unlimited coinage. It
Nsill 5ee 5e a very expensive process,
but it can be done.
In the very next paragraph the
platform "opposes the policy and
practice of surrendering to the
holders of the obligations of the
United States the option reserved
by law to the government of re-
deerning such obligations in eth
er silver coin or gold coin," and
t'opposes the issuing of interest
bearing bonds in times of peace. "
It should be perfectly plain to
every thinking man that the on
1y way the government can main
tain a dollar worth in bullion only
s. cents, on an equality with a
dollar worth a dollar in bullion,
is to ''give the holders of the OBJ
legations of the United States the
option of redee1ning such obliga-
tons in either silver coin or gold
coin.'' The very moment the
government discriminates infavor
of itself by forcing the deprecia-
ted coin upon its creditors, the
ssfat'' in the silver dollar looses
its virtue, and silver money will
circulate at its bullion value.
The bonds that especially
invoked the "anti-bond" plank,
were sold, not to raise money,
but to secure gold. They were
issued not "to maintain the policy
of gold 1nono1netalisrn," !" but to
maintain the parity of silver.
Those bonds must be charged
against the silver dollar, not
against gold. What manner
of statesmen are these that declare
they are in favor of maintaining
the silver dollar at its present cir
culating value and also declare
against the only methods by
which this can be accomplished !?
The defenders of the Bryan
platform, fall back upon the the
oTy that free and unlimited coin
age of silver will create large
demand, and thus raise the bull
lion price to the present coin val
ne. This can hardly be called
new device. In 1873 silver was
worth about 6 cents less as bull
lion than as coin. To remedy
this the Bland bill was introduc-
ed and passed over president
Hayes veto, resulting in the
coinage of nearly $43o, 900, 900
full legal tender dollars in IS
years, coinage of silver unpre
cedented in the worlds history.
IF coinage creates demand. and
demand raises values, this inn
mense use of silver ought GER
tain1y to have increased the bull
lion the desired E cents. But the
theory failed to work in practice.
Silver continued to fall until to-
day silver dollar is intrinsically
worth but a little over so cents.
A plan that failed to bridge gap
of 6 cents cannot be recommend
ed to close one of so cents.
The Bland dollar has entailed
misfortune enough upon the
American people. We cannot
afford the immense loss and con-
fusion that would arise from the
populistic program, even for the
amusement of watching med
iocre politician like Bryan, hand
hing the bull of the Chicago plat
form.