The record-union., 1896-11-02
The Democratic Wheel Horse Opposed to
Free Silver.
Mr.. Stephens Expresses Himself in
Very Emphatic
Tanner.


reasons for withholding his support
from the Chicago platform, Of which
free silver is the leading plank.
Mr.. Stephens has in truth been one Of
the Wheel-hOrSeS to the Democratic
chariot for upward of thirty years in
this county and has probably given
more time and money to promote the
interests of that party than any other
one man. He is business man, not a
professional one, and his opinions on all
questions are known to be of the prac-
tical kind. Therefore his views on the
silver issue, on which the Populists and
Democrats are making their campaign,
should be of interest, especially to
Democrats who have worked in the
same traces with him. Mr.. Stephens
said:
What does the free and unlimited
coinage of silver mean? Does it mean
that the faith of the Government is in any
way pledged to redeem it? Not by any
means. In fact, in no sense is it Gov
ernment money, only so far as the citi-
zens Of this country will be compelled
to receive it in payment of services of
all nature and character that may be
rendered after it becomes the law of the
land. 1t means that the owner of silver
bullion, whether or not he be a citizen
of this country, can deliver it to any
mint in the United States, where it will
be coined free of charge to him, and will
be returned to the owner to do with it
as he pleases.
IF anyone has any doubt as to the eff
feet that the free and unlimited coinage
Of silver would have upon this country,
let him look on the condition in which
the great mass of people find themselves
in any silver country to-day. In them
all one finds extreme poverty, and the
natural sequence to poverty-ignor-
apce.
RELATIVE VALUES OF SILVER
AND WHEAT.
THE contention ON the part of the ad-
vccates of free coinage-the one that
has carried more weight than any other
that the value of silver and wheat
have marched side by side; that as the
value Of silver bullion became lower so
cid the value of wheat is not only
proven to be false by the records of
years past, but also by more recent
events, which establishes the fact that
values are regulated to-day, as they
ever have been since men have been in
telligent enough to record facts and
write history, by the law of supply and
demand.
FIAT MONEY.
1T is Gle lined by the advocates of the
free and unlimited coinage Of silver that
this Government possesses the power to
mo alya oh
value to an ounce of silver bullion that
the stamp Of the United States would
give to the coined ounce. There. would
be more reason for them to claim that
the United States could. through phys
ical force, subdue all those countries,
for were this possible the citizens of
those countries, under all civilized rule,
would still have the right to value their
property, and therefore those who pos
sessed gold would have the right to say
upon what terms they would part with
it.
MIR. BRYAN MAKES THE LAW.
From party standpoint Mr. Bryan
has no claim to the votes of Democrats,
fol it is charged tand to my knowledge
has never been denied) that he did not
in 1892, but, on the contrary, voted for
the Populist electoral ticket. And,
again, on the Sth day of September last,
at Lincoln, Neb., in his speech accept
ing the nomination of the Silver party,
he stated that "a year prior to the as
sembling Of the National Democratic
Convention he had declared he would
not support the Democratic nominee for
President If he were a gold standard
man; In other words, If he were opposed
to the free and unlimited coinage Of sill
yer at IL to l.
Thus Mr.. Bryan makes the law that
IL Is right for him to bolt as often and
whenever he pleases, and yet his friends
claim that no Democrat should vote
against him.
COMPETING WITH PAUPER La
BOR.
One of the arguments used by the
advocates of free silver-one upon
which great stress is laid, and one that
Is claimed to be sufficient in itself to
make converts of all to their policy-is
that our present gold-standard policy
is forcing the people of silver countries
to seek other markets than ours in
which to buy their supplies of manu-
factured articles, because the discount
on their drafts of exchange is at pres
ent about % per cent in consequence of
the deprecated value of their currency;
ana the result is that they have gone
.hto the manufacturing business them
selves, and therefore we are the losers;
but that II we would adopt free coinage
We would regain a large proportion of
this trade.
Now, what are the natural and rea-
sonable deductions to make from these
arguments? Do they not virtually tell
US that if we would depreciate the value
OF the materials that are used to make
those articles about 80 per cent, and
also reduce the wages of those who
would be employed in manufacturing
them TO the level of those in the silver
countries, then we could successfully
compete with the pauper labor of those
countries?
PROSPERITY CERTAIN TO COME.
That the people of this country are
about to enter upon a period Of pros
per1ty there can be but little doubt. Not
even the election of Mr. Bryan can pre-
vent it, but it may materially interfere
with and circumscribe its magnitude for
the reason that it will disturb and revo-
lutionize our financial system, which
viii necessarily be demoralizing to the
business interests of this country. and
therefore the interests of all will be
more or less impaired"
Resent the Vileness.
Grove l.. johnson has been the target
at which the vilest and foulest of Bry-
ante malice has been aimed. His enc
mics hope to make q last Destructive