Evening journal., 1896-10-02

who think it their duty to support
those candidates.
But ] must again remind them that
the burden is on them to show why we
should abandon the old Democratic
party, to make these strange alliances
with silver Republicans, and the vo-
ciferous ignorance Of the Populists
party.
It may be that Mr.. Bryan is right.
and that | am wrong. II may be that
free and independent coinage of silver
at 16 to / will cure all the evils and
relieve all the hardship and distress,
real and imaginary, with which the
body polite is afflicted. If so, we are
interested to know It, II it be true, it
is our duty to help bring it about, we
will share in the happiness and we'll
being to be produced, and no one can
prevent our participation in the bless
ing OF the silver millennium. CAP
plause.)
QUESTION OF RAISING THE Bull
LION VALUE.
When we ask in the name of the
great creditor class Of the country, if
we must have classes at ALL mean
the great army who work for wages or
.
the mines and on the great highways
of transportation by water or rail, who
are each day or week or month the
creditors for the money they have
earned--I say, when we ask in their
name for some reasonable assurance
that the dollar that is to reward their
toll will not be robbed of a large part
of its purchasing power by this great
change proposed in the monetary
standard, what satisfaction do we get?
None except what is given by the un-
supported assertion that the free coin
age of silver at the fixed ratio of l6 to
! will by reason of an increased de-
mand for silver bridge the chasm be-
tween its present commercial value
and that of gold. (Applause.)
That 10 to /, being the ratio estab-
lished by law, will become the exact
market ratio-not a fraction more or
less. But let us give Mr.. Bryan the
benefit OF his own carefully prepared
and written statement.
We quote again from his Madison
Square Garden speech. He says: I'VE
contend that free and unlimited coin
age by the United States alone will
raise the bullion value of silver to its
coinage value and thus make silver bull
lion worth S1.29 per ounce i'm gold
throughout the world. This proposition
is in keeping with natural laws, not in
defiance of them. The best-known law
of commerce is the law of supply and
demand We recognize the law and
build our argument upon it. We apply
this law to money when we say that a
reduction in the volume of money will
raise the purchasing power Of the dol
lars we also apply the law of supply
and demand to silver when we say that
new demand for silver created by law
will raise the price of silver bullion"
Then further he says:
Because gold and silver are limited
both in quantity now In hand and in
annual production, it follows that legis-
lation can fix the ratio between them.
(Cheers.)
LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
If he rely on the law OF supply and
demand to raise the price OF silver bull
lion under free coinage, how can he un-
dertake to fix the exact point to which
it will be raised, S1.29 in gold per
ounce The law of supply and demand
does not work in leading strings of that
sort. He must have experience before
he could possibly state the price at
which silver bullion would sell under
tho free working Of that law, if it could
I apply at all.
But evidently the law Of supply and
! demand fails to meet the exigence of
! his argument, because after an interval
I he falls back on the fiat power of leg
islation in the language just quoted
that on account OF their limited produc-
/ fn1u nv "a l.n
tween the two metals. If legislation
can for any reason fix the ratio, why
talk about the law Of supply and de-
mand?
FIXING THE RATIO.
If by law we can fix the ratio why
contlne it to 16 to /? There is nothing
magical about those figures. They arc
| the reminiscence of a former market
ratio, which long since has disappeared
Why not elk" the ratio at to /, or
! to L? That will make money more
abundant still.
IL is true that Jefferson and Hamil
ton, and the wise men of their day
after carefully and anxiously ascertain
ing the market or commercial ratio
founded the legal ratio on that.
Mr.. Jefferson said, in regard to thu
ratio to be adopted:
Just principles will lead us TO dis
regard legal proportions altogether t
inquire into the market price OF gol'
in the several countries with which W
shall be principally connected in com
merce and take an average iron
them"
Actually Mr.. jefferson so far forgo
{ the Declaration of Independence. whicl
his own hand had drafted, as to recon
Z mend that in fixing the ratio we shOul
= inquire into the market ratio in IN
J several countries with which we wer
, principally connected in commerce
b (Applause.)
Z STABILITY OF THE GOLD STAND
ARD.
. Recollect that by our present none
tary standard, all our currency, silyei
paper and gold is of equal purchasin
, power and is good the world over a
/ its face value. Upon the stability Of thi
= standard. hundreds of thousands {
contracts to be futurely performed al
| FananHfnm A etrlTar, ~. -as.forrl. Ohio ., q