The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-10-15
the world is rank injustice.

never thought of making the legal
value of coin higher than the CONNER
cial value of the metal of which the
coins were made.
Therefore, with the passage of
free silver coinage we shall have a
currency rejected at its nominal value
from the markets of the world,
unstable and fluctuating in real value.
Business cannot prosper with such a
currency.
The first condition of the life of
business is stability of the currency
None will invest money of a certain
value today in commerce and industry
if by the time the raw material has
been turned into marketable wares
the currency is likely to have
changed in value. Business in all
branches would become speculation,
Il gamble, and conservative capital
would keep out of sight. No loans
would be made.
1t is nonsense to say that capital
must put itself into the American
market, whether the capital be Ameri-
can or European. We should not be
deluded by words We may clamor in
vain for capitol. 1t will not come to
MS unless there be security for it. 1t
will remain in the vaults of safety or
- Iapr .,,.fss 10 L
reward is small but certain. And
without capital there will be no en-
tcrprises and no work for the people.
Il am absolutely convinced that
the labOring classes will suffer the
most of all from free silver coinage.
And yet the laboring classes are those
that are the most urgently appealed
to in this free-silver movement. A
man who talks against free silver is
put down at once as an enemy OF the
common people Well, for my part
| am willing to be called an enemy of
the working classes of the common
people, if | am in reality advising
them for there good and serving their
true interests. Those above all others
in the land who should to day be on
their guard against the silve move
ment are the laborers of America.
But will not the farmers be bene-
fitted? Will they not receive a higher
price for there products? May be a
higher price, but not higher value
OF what use is it to have dollar in
stead of a half dollar if the dollars can
purchase no more than the half dol
lars? And will farmers receive even
nominally much higher price than
they do now? The best market of
the farmers product is his own cOun-
try, and if his own country is impov-
erished, if factories are closed, if la
bOrers in cities are penniless, the
farmer will receive but little for his
harvests.
Men on salaries will scarcely hope
to have their salaries doubled, even
nominal, and then their salaries, such
as they my be, will have only half
the purchasing power they have to-
day.
"Those who owe debts payable
principal or interest-in gold will re-
ceive the same salaries as today, and
their salaries will have but half the
debt-paying power which they have
today.
"But-and here is the popular ar
gument favor of free silver coinage
we have had hard times under the
gold STANDARD. That is true and what
is also true is that under the silver
standard we shall have much harder
times.
1T is the great fallacy of the day to
be attributing our hard times to the
gold standard The craze for free sill
yer as a cure for hard times is expli-
cable on the same theory that a man
who has been a long time sick despite
the attentive care of expert physicians
will call for any quack who advertised
to cure all the ills of humanity.
Hard times have come through the
sever and resistless working of econo-
mic law which go their way in spite
of legal enactments of parliaments and
congresses. Good times may be ex-
pected to come back surely even if
only gradually. The over production
that glutted our markets has been
used up, capital is anxious to do some
thing with its money if it can be in
vested safely, our wOndrous natural
resources invite investments to de-
veiop them, and confidence restored
the outlook is bright. But the essen
tial thing is confidence.
Il may, of course be mistaken. But
| have come to look upon the present
agitation as the great test of universal
suffrage and popular sovereignty
Can the people defend public honor
and the institutions of the country at
the polls, as they have done on the
field OF battle?