The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-30
Tor him your cordial support. Cloud ap-

mercial nations OF the civilized world, there
has been worldwide afHiction Of misery
and distress upon the common people. Let me
call your attention to<one. fact which, in my
Judgment, nullifes and 9ontradcts entirely
States of America, WITH its seventy mil
lions of people, containing more in
tellectual. physical and potential power than
and two nations in the civilized world, that
this great aggregate of humanity is the only
civilized commercial 'hationA upon the planet
today in any distress whatever. Last year
ENGLAND HAD A SURPLUS
of twenty millions from her revenue. You
hear no complaints from France; you hear
no complaint from Germany. l say that we
must look for special cause for our present
troubles and discomfort For 1t cannot be-
if the other gold nations are prospecting, It
cannot be that the demonstration of silver
affects us alone and not be acting in reverse
proportion to our OWN prosperity. There are,
In my opinion, two causes for this. One Of
which l will discuss somewhat at length, and
the other merely refer to. In my opinion, al
though the issue has strangely disappeared
from the popular mind. the present distress
of the country was the repeal Of the Mckinley
act of 1890; the son-Gorman bill, the strk-
ing out the provisions of our reciprocity,
whereby, the foreign trade was being vastly
enlarged the lowering OF protective duties.
The next cause in my opinion for the pres
ent discomfort and distrust Is the proposition
for the free and unlimited coinage of silver
which has paralyzed our business at home al
most destroyed our credit abroad. Before dis
cussing that it is very important to arrive
particularly at what is the controversy.
MED or refused on the other? The proDosition
Of our opponents is this: That the United
States. singly and alone. without waiting for
or receiving the cooperation of any foreign
nation whatever, shall undertake the free
and unlimited coinage of silver at the RAJ
Ito OF is to 1. Shall undertake not only
the coinage OF the American product, but shall
undertake the coinage Of all the silver of the
world, which may be Offered at it's minis
when may exist or be produced hereafter
They confidently assert that the United
States of America is great enough and power
ful enough to thus coin all of the silver Of the
world that may be offered on private account.
ana raise 1t from 65 cents an ounce to s1.29
an ounce.
No fiat whatever Of money. whether by
statute, treaty or agreement, can add one
single particle, capacity, length, breadth or
value to that which pre-existed You cannot
leglslate that yard can be "a inches, instead
OF 81 inches without destroying conditions.
They say that this government is great and
powerful enough to do that. 1t is great
and powerful country, but there are some
things We cannot do. and we cannot make
value where value cannot exist
In the law OF past history et us see for
Few moments what the effect has been CT this
eHort or national power in regard to The free
and unlimited coinage of silver Go to ibs
boundary line of Mexico and you look south
over more than one-half Of the Western
hemisphere. During the colonial time and
throughout the entire period Of their political
independence, there has been the free and
unlimited coinage Of silver by an aggregate
or nations comprising nearly sixty millions
OF people. Go to India, a population of two
hundred and fifty millions of psople which
has enjoyed the free and unlimited coinage
OF silver up to 1893. India has never lad a
circulation of gold. Go to China, a silver using
state which has used the Mexican dollar in
preference to the silver coin of any ether
nation. Then let us cross The ocean to the
other hemisphere. Take the Latin union It
was formed by France in 1866, in anticipation
OF Keeping the metals at parity. 1t was
composed of Belgium, France Germany Italy
and Switzerland. Germany demonoriZ I'd her
silver between 1873 and 1876 and France snd
the entire Latin union ceased the coinage Of
silver. Have we any reason 10 expect lave
We any reason to hope that where that ur,on
failed, that rtre
WE ALONE COULD SUCCEED?
Let us come right downtto our own times
the history of our own country the history
OF the generation in which we are living
They say silver was demonetized in 1873 Call
It It what you will. but in 1878 the Bland-Al-
iison act was passed In response to an act
Tor the use of silver. 1t provided for the
purchase of bullion from two million to four
millions month. but more than two
millions month were ever coined. Three
hundred and fifty millions were coined, and
Notwithstanding that, the price of silver bull
lion steadily went down in the market. In
1880 they asked US to coin the American
product, and you will see the parity restored
Congress legislated that there should be but
hfty-four millions Of ounces issued. Silver
IueH WENT 10 a SNORT premium. IL rose In
few weeks to $1.19, but it fell in three and
q fractional years to a price of silver at 70
cents an ounce. In other words, this gov
eminent, in a. vain attempt to coin the
American product, lost thirty four millions
Of silver. In the light OF silver, in the light
of what other nations have attempted to do,
and failed. in the light of the failure of
France and the Latin Union, in the state
ment that we can carry off the silver of the
world and make 1t worth $1.29 an ounce
there is another queer thing about this whole
business. 1t Is remarkable fact that the
silver nations-in other words. the nations
which have the free and unlimited coinage
OF silver-it is a remarkable fact that none
of these nations have gold currency what
ever. | make that statement without qualif-
cation, that none of them have any gold cur
rency whatever. 1t does not exist in Mexico,
South America, and it never existed in In
dia. The so-called gold nations are the only
nations upon the face of the planet that en-
ploy both gold and silver concurrently. They
employ them in nearly equal amounts, so
that these nations which are acclaimed
against are the only bimetallic nations what
ever.
That is practically bimetallism. The only
bimetallism enjoyed by the people of the
earth is by the people Of the so-called gold
nations. Let call iyeur attention to an
other thing: The condition Of the laboring
man in the free coinage ef4silver action is ex-
ceedingly distressive. / say, without fear
of contradiction, that in the free coinage of
silver nations on the face of the earth that
wages are pressed down to the very
fact. That in those SAND nations, namely,
those where tie free and Unlimited coinage of
silver is held, the agricultural interests are
in the very poorest condition: And why? Be-
cause the laboring man OF these countries Is
no customer to the agricultural producer of
this country. / maintain that the best Gus
toner for the farmers is the American wage
garner in Minneapolis and st. Paul and other
places. -
Let US see how 1t is going to operate in this
country. Have we any reason to suppose that
the process Of history win not be repeated
in our case? We are not a particularly pro-
tective nation, except by, our own ability.
Whatever has happened In other nations will
happen to US. 1t is an inyariable law. You
have heard 1t so often, that it is not neces-
sary for me to discuss it that where there
are too many elements side by side the one,
less esteemed will invariably drive out the
better money. Have not shown to you that
that has been the effect in all the free coinage
states of the world? Don't you old soldiers
recollect it during the war? I claim with my
limited knowledge of history that history
and causes going to act with us as they
have acted with other nations say now that
the free and unlimited coinage of silver will
produce in the United States the
MOST DISASTROUS COINAGE
the world has ever seem We have six hun
dred and twenty millions Of gold In the
United States: we hold more gold than any
other nation in the world except France and
Germany. If causes act with us as with
other nations, gold will disappear immedi-
ately. How is 1t going to be filled? The
free and unlimited coinage of silver can't
next thing that will be called upon to be
performed would be to carry out the pro-
visions of the Omaha platform, and the Pop
ulist platform at St. Louis to fill that gap
with fiat money. Another great shrinkage,
another issue of fiat until we would be in
the same position we occupied at the close
of the war, a nation without bimetallic
money
There is another thing about this matter,