The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1896-08-13
CHIEF JUSTICE BleELow's VIEWS.
Nevada's Great Jurlst Says Free Coinage
VIII Injure Silver Miners PENSIONERS
and All but n Few Debtors

VIII Injure Silver Miners. Pensioners
and All but n Few Debtors
Chief Justice II. r. Bigelow OF the
supreme court Of Nevada had a letter in
q recent issue Of the Reno New Ga
zottc which states some of the effects of
is 10 | free coinage very clearly. Here
is Il part of his letter:
II is not to be denied that tho Repub-
| licans Of this state are hard hit by the
action Of the st. Louis convention upon
the monetary question. The free coinage
| of silver is believed TO be SO much to
the advantage Of Nevada as a silver
producer. and we have for SO many
years heard nothing bat free coinage
"at 10 to /" arguments, that we have
almost come to the conclusion that no
one can think otherwise who is n o a
scoundrel bought with British gold.
But there is another side to the question
that is believed in sincerely by millions
of as pure patriots rs any who believe
in free coinage Of silver. Any man who
says that this country can alone double
tho value of all the silver Of the world
and bring it and gold to par is either
ignorant of the lessons of the past or he
willfully shuts his eyes to them. If the
free silvcritcs carry the election this fall
on their 16 to l platform, it will not
only paralyzc busincss-it will utterly
destroy it. There will be scarcely a
bank or business house in the land that
will not go down before the storm. 1t
will send gold to almost 100 per cent
premium, and, as measured with silver,
everything else will go up in value with
it, but as it will take twice as many
dollars as now to buy the same article
it will be Of no earthly advantage to
any Il except TO the MAI who owes
debts that he has not promised to pay
in gold. His silver dollars will pay such
q debt just as during the war green.
backs would pay one although worth
but 33 cents on tho dollar, but they
will only buy half as much -four Or
clothing or groceries as now.
But if he owes money to banks or
money Understand whOdocs not:-wLo
have all protected themselves by gold
contracts, he will have to take two Of
his silver dollars to buy one in gold, and
at the same time, owing TO the general
stagnation i'll business, they will be
harder to get hold Of than gold dollars
are now. 1t will be Of no advantage to
the silver states, because their silver will
be just us hard to get from the ground as
now, and n pound Of it will buy nc more
steel or powder CT any Of the Locessaries
CT life than now.
Bat ,~hc-laLCrire mar will he the one
whowil suffer- the most. Tho Comstock
minor viii still lcf 81 per day. the la
horcr So ana tie clerk $50 to So per
month, but il Will he III silver, and, as
il is now IL Mexico. il Will only buy
for his family or himself Cnc-half what
it will to-day. The Salrc VIII b. the
case with the crippled veterans, their
widows and orphans. who are now get
ting pensions. Its effect will be to scale
their pensions. Its effect Will be to scale
their pensions down onc-hulf.
There is not n Of the arguments Of
the silvcritcS that cannot lr completely
and successfully related. Free coinage
At Is 10 ! by this country alone cannot
possibly benefit any one. but it can bring
fearful distress upon all.