The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-07-09

who in the senate of the United States
as friends of silver. have introduced
bills for the free and unlimited coinage
of silver at the ratio of 20 to /: | beg
to remind this convention that some of
your candidates proposed for nomination
are men whom ! respect and whose De
mocracy is admitted. who have voted
time and time again in congress for other
ratios than 16 to !, and yet you are pro-
posing to nominate Il man upon at plat
form that limits and restricts them to
one single raiO. With all due respect,
/ think it an unwise step. ] think it I'M
necessary and | think ii will return TO
plague in the future. | think we have
too many close business relations with
the other great nations of the world for
us TO ignore their attitude. Your pro-
posed platform says that the policy of
gold monomctallism is British policy.
Mr.. President they forget to tell the
people of this country that it is Il French
policy also; they forget to tell the people
of this country that il is German policy
also; they fail to tell you that it II Span
ish policy of the whole number Of gov
ernments represented i'll the Latin union.
Therefore, ! Think think it looks n
little-just trne like demagOgucry to
suggest that this policy is the policy OF
a single nation alone.
"Mr. President. | regret to see also
that your platform reads not II single
word in favor of international bimctall-
ism. not necessarily inconsistent with
this platform. and there is no dcclara-
ton whatever that it is the policy of this
government to attempt to bring 1t about.
The minority platform declares expressly
that it is the policy of this government
to attempt to bring it about. The mi
nority platform declares expressly that
~. 4 Ia. %,
make steady efforts to bring this about.
1t would be safer to do it; it would be
wiser TO do If.
I'VE can run no risk upon the great
question Of the finances of this country.
| do not intend in the brief time allotted
me to enter upon any elaborate argu-
ment upon this question. assume that
this convention desires. as the people of
this country desire, that every silver dol
lar coined shall be the equal Of every
other dollar coined. loud chccring.)
find no words in this platform in favor
of the maintenance of the parity of the
two metals. | find no suggestion as to
what is to be done in case the experiment
fails. | find no suggestion of how you
are to brace up this new deprecated cur
rency. Everything is risked upon the
mere fact that it shall be given free
coinage at the mintS. beg to call your
attention to this fact. that in my humble
opinion the very policy condemned by
this platform is the policy that has kept
your greenbacks, currency and your sill
yer dollar at II parity with gold during
the past years. We think that times
have changed. We think that you can
not ignore the fact of the great produc-
ton of silver in this country. We think
you can not safely ignore the fact in the
preparation of Il financial system, that
the cost of production of silver has great |
ly fallen. Why, il is the very pregnant
fact that confronts all the world in the
solving of this great question of the i'm
mense discovery of silver everywhere. |
The great fact confronts the world that |
the cost of silver productions has been
nearly reduced one-half. If the Ameri- |
can people were courageous. if they had |
the spirit of 1176 as their platform says, |
could they singly and alone make the |
copper the equal of gold? Could they |
make lead the equal Of gold? Must you |
not consider the cost of production the |
great factor, the lcssening of cost of |
production in the last fifteen years? |
(Applause) If bravery, if courage could |
produce these results, then you could |
make any metal, no matter what il might |
be, a money metal. But | tell you it is |
a question of economy and question of |
brains and enlightenment. 1t is not Il |
question of finance, it is Il question of |
resources, and upon that it is my judg-
mcnt that the safest course is to take
the first step in favor of international |
bmetallism and stop there. | know it
viii be said in some particulars this plat
form agrees with our Republican friends.
1t to me is neither any better nor any
worse for it. | call you attention to
the fact that your plank upon pen
Monroe doctrine; that your plank upon
Cuba; that your plank on territories;
that your plank upon Alaska: that your
plank even upon the civil service are cy-
actly like the Republican pIanks. There
fore, / do think that that criticism will
vetract from the value of the suggcs-
ton.
Mr.. President | said few moments
ago | thought the safest course for this
convention to pursue was simply to have
said that this government should enact
a statute in favor of silver and gold as
the currency of the country and stop
there. do not think, | said and will
repeat it, that it is wise to hazard every
thing upon II single number. | object
to various blanks of this platform and
| think if the wise. level, cool-headed,
far-sighted men. such as is the distin-
guishcd senator from Arkansas. who ad-
dressed yon, had prevailed. that the plat
form would have been different. zap
plaus). What was the necessity for
opening up the question of the greenback
what was the necessity for
putting in this platform an implied pledge
that this government might issue
greenback and make it legal tender?
The Democratic party is opposed to paper
lloney.
"Thc Democratic party from its ear
lest history has been in favor of hard
money. The Democratic party thinks
that the best way for us to do is to elm
mate United States notes and treasury
notes from our currency. They are Il
drag upon your metals. You have to
constantly keep supplied fund for their
redemption unless YOU propose to repudh
ate them. Therefore, when my friend
from Arkansas says this platform says
what il means and means what it says.
| would like to have some one who fol-
lows me tell me what this platform
means upon the subject of the issue of pa
per money hereafter. tApplauscD | am
not violating, | think, the secrets of the
committee room when | say that ii Was
the avowed intention that this govern
ment might desire to pursue this course
and this is an attempt ut this late day |
TO commit the Democratic party to the
suicidal policy of the issuing of paper |