Kansas City daily journal., 1896-10-29
FALSE FRIENDs OF SILVER.

Another Populist candidate for congress
in Kansas has thrown OF his free silver
mask and declared himself for fiat money.
We refer to w. D. Vincent, Popocrat
nominee in the Sixth district. Commencing
cautiously, Mr.. Vincent has gradually en-
larGed the scope of his speeches until now
he advocates an irredeemable greenback
currency and only refers to the free coin
age of silver a step in the direction of
absolute fiatism. He is particularly vicious
in his treatment of gold. Gold" he says,
sis splendid thing from which to manu-
facture heather gods for fools to wor-
ship, but it is not fit for money" Pro-
ceeding further into the discussion OF
money metals, he declares that but one
conclusion can be drawn from the existing
fact that so cents worth of silver now
passes as dollar, and that is that intrin-
sic values are not necessary in the con-
struction of money. IF 80 cents can be
added to the value of the stuff out Of which
money is, made" says this financier. then
81 worth of value can be added"
Mr.. Vincent is sound and rational in this
conclusion, and right here 1t might pront-
ably be remarked that of all the opponents
of the gold standard, the only consistent
ones are the fiat greenbackers. 1t Is un-
questionably true that If the government
can make good dollar out OF % cents
worth of metal by simply stamping II
dollar. it also can make dollar out OF
40 or 30 or 1 cents worth, and the man VINO
can believe in the existence OF any nat
power whatever ought to be able to be-
10
to the exclusion of all other money.
But what do the disbelievers in nat out
in Mr.. Vincent's district think of his ut
terances on this question? We speak 10
the free silver Republicans who are sup
porting Mr.. Vincent because OF his sup
posed friendIness to the white metal. Can
they secure any comfort out OF the re-
Election that If he Is elected he VIII enter
the halls of congress with the avowed IN
tention of destroying both gold and silver!
Presuming that these free silver Repupllc-
ans are in favor of intrinsic value in money
and are supporting free silver simply be-
cause thew believe it would enlarge the
currency without in any manner impairins
its soundness, what system of reasoning
can they bring to bear to justify their ac-
onN of their own beloved silver, but also of
every other kind of honest money? In
other words, which would nationally appear
to be the truer friend of silver. Mr.. Vim
cent, who declares that he does not be-
lieve in silver as money at all and is only
willing to support it the quickest way to
work its destruction, or Congressman Cal
derhead, who believes in the greatest possi-
BILE use of silver as money, now and for
ever? .--
It is well known that every Popocrat
candidate for congress in Kansas is in
favor of irredeemable greenbacks. Mr..
Vincent of the Sixth district, Mr.. Ridgely
of the Third district and Mr.. Simpson of
the Seventh district have been daring
enough to declare themselves so in this
campaign. They are but representing the
opinions of their undivided party in this.
If there is a Populst in Kansas who does
not believe in pure and unadulterated fiat
money he ought to be caught and placed
in some collection of curiosities. There is
only one reason why the Populist platforms
Of Kansas have not declared for fiat and
that is because the party is flirting with
free silver Republicans and sound money
Democrats, and could not afford to frighten
either of them away. Whether this flirta-
ton will result in an unhappy marriage
it remains for the Srd Of November to tell