, 1896-09-15
Continued from Pa=" L.

The nations honor a been main,
tanned, the national pledges had been
redeemed, and the nation itself had tax
most enlightened n progressive ma
tions on the earth. Four years ago the
democratic party came into power and
the democratic doctors prescribed free
trade as the fixed and settled policy OF
this nation, and this policy was put in
to operation at once. What has been
the result? National distress, financial
and commercial ruin. 1t is unneces-
sary to dwell or this. You all have felt
and experienced the baneful effects of
this policy ever since it vas put into
operation. Mines have beer closed,
factories have been shut down, bust
ness concerns have beer forced to the
wall, workmen have been thrown out of
employment and want and misery
stalked through the land. Now these
same doctors come to you with a pre-
scription of free and unlimited coinage
of silver at the ratio of IS to |. and they
tell you that this is what the nation
needs. They tell us that this will cure
all our ills. Ladies' and gentlemen, they
told us that free trade would help us in
1892. Were these doctors right then?
Let the distress. want and financial
wreck and ruin throughout the land
make answe If they were wrong then.
car we believe them now? They dare
not come before you and claim that
their policy has beer a success in any
measure whatever? No, they cannot
do that, but they come with this pre-,
scription of free silver at the ratio OF
l6 to l. and they assure you hat this
remedy will work wonders for us. AMI
they ask you, ladies and gentlemen.
that they be given another lease of four
years in which to give this doctrine a
trial. But car We believe what they
say? They preach the gospel Of BIZ
we open our hints to the free and nm,
limited coinage of silver at the ratio OF
16 to l, that then we shall have bimetl,
lism. They also tell us that this will
increase the volume of our circulat-
ing medium. Neither of these things
are true. I will lay down a proposition
here, which l am sure annot be sue
~cessfully contradicted. 1t is impossi,
BILE for any government, no matter how
strong it may be. to regulate by law the
value Of Its coins. That is it's purchas,
ing power. All any government can
do Is to maintain by law its coins At a
fixed denomination, weight and purity.
Our government can say that the dollar
or unit of measure shall contain so
many grains Of silver, and it may fix its
%fineness. 1t may compel its own peo,
pie to accept them at their face value.
Beyond this it cannot go When it
comes to the markets of the world, the
coins will pass just for what they are
worth and no more. Silver is now
worth about 6S or 60 cents per ounce.
1t takes nearly 80 ounces of silver to
purchase one ounce of gold. Yet, not
withstanding this fact, our silver
friends insist that our government
shall declare that 16 ounces of silver
are worth one ounce Of gold. When we
talk about protection they tell us that
1t is paternalism. l suppose they mean
by this that the few are favored at the
expense of the many. But let me ask
what do they propose themselves but
the worst kind of favoritism. They
500 for SO cents of silver. People
that live in glass houses should not
throw stones"
Now II the government can make So
cents worth Of silver worth 81. why
can 1t not make 10 cents worth worth
81? II 1t can do one it can do the 9TH
er. 1t is just as reasonable to do the
latter as the former. But. ladies and
gentlemen. it cannot be done in one
case or the other. When our fathers
founded our coinage system they first
found out what the price of silver and
gold was in the markets of the world,
and then they fixed the ratio to corres-
pond to their commercial value or ra,
ito. They found that the commercial
value Of silver and gold was that Is
ounces Of silver were worth one unce
Of gold. This was proven to not be
correct. Then the ratio was changed
from Is to / to 16 to /. 1t was soon dis.
covered that this was not correct. Then
they began to look the matter up. And
this is what they found. They found
that all the governments that had tried
the double standard had met with the
same diculty that we had. They could
not keep the metals at a parity in the
markets of the world. And they found
out, too. just what every other govern
ment has found out that had a double
standard and that Is that the cheaper
always drives out the dearer. They
found out that every government could
have only one standard Of measure.
that no could have two at n and
the same time, differing in value In the
markets of the world. Whenever gold
was cheaper than silver. gold was used
by the people. and silver went out Of
circulation. When silver was cheaper
than gold, silver was used by the peo-
pie and gold went out Of circulation.
Sir Thomas Gresham. n of the most
distinguished men that England ever