Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-08-27


abundance. But i say that they admit
themseiyes-any intelligent speaker upon
mat subject admits that The inevitable
ana Irresistible tendency and result OF
me free coinage Of silver In this coun-
Try will be TO drive out the gold. Now
let us see how they propose TO obviate IL:
~ has always struck me that one Of
,neir most enlightened champions was
Mr. ~. John Of New York. He has been
largely and copiously quoted by them
ne was president Of n national bank and
was president of the recent silver con-
Sentlon at st. Louis and by the bill
which he procured TO be introduced in
Congress and which had the endorsement
OF the silver and Populist sentiment
there, they proposed to bridge over this
yawning chasm which they themselSes
admitted would open beneath their feet
Dy issuing interest bearing treasury notes
VI lhe United States, secured by deposits
OF unconed silver or gold bullion, or by
deposit of United States bonds to be is
sued OF course for that purpose. Now let
us look at this coolly and calmly and fig
ure upon il little. like men of sense who
are Infinitely interested in this matter
as one OF business concern and let us
see now this project would work; whcth-
er II would not merely
SKIN and film the ulcerous sore
"uist rank corruption mining all beneath
inIects unseen.
We have $500. 600. 900 Of gold In the
United States. think more 1t would
disappear at once in the face of free
SILVER coinage, or even the certainty of
II. Let this election go Democra tic
iopulist. let the American people record
thelr will that the coinage of silver shall
ne Tree and unlimited. long before Mr..
Bryan and his cohorts could place the
edlct INTO the form of law, the just tinan-
clal fears Of mankind, of people here
IN this audience and of people every
where, al home and abroad. would draw
mat gold from every vault wherein 1t
Hes protected and il would sink into the
earth as the waters which came down
from heaven last night. | say il would
disappear at once. This bill of Mr.. St.
John so admits. and that disappearance
Is the very alment which he proposes
10 remedy. But in this universal alb
sconding of gold there would be no gold
bullion to deposit people would not take
1t out of hiding to exchange it for any
paper money whatever of the govern
ment which proposed to make all these
obligations payable in silver. (Applause.)
This remedy is counteracted so far by
the assumption and admission that gold
Will disappear
Now as to deposits of silver bullion.
The worlds product of silver in 1894
commercial value) was S216. So, 200.
If we could get the worlds entire pro-
duet (as we could noD. il would take
three years to fill the void of $500, 0OO,-
600 of vanished gold. The nations of
the world will not melt down their
coined silver to deposit it in the United
States treasury and receive merely a
silver certificate.
Some of the Evils.
But the third alternative is one of
most malign portent. Ii is proposed 10
use the Understanding bonded debt of
the United States in order that the miner
or owner Of silver may take his bullion
to the mint meanwhile and get evidences
of public debt two for one-a privilege
not granted TO or claimed by any farm
er, artisan, manufacturer or producer
upon Gods heritage. l say ii is pro-
posed TO use the interest bearing bonded
deLt of the United States. Now, what
does this m,sn? 1t means an increase
of the bonded debt. People who have
got their bonds as inN.C. ~ents to get
their living from in the way of their an
nual income. or anyone else. are not
going to put their bonds on deposit in the
treasury TO get a treasury certificate.
And so the chasm could not be filled
in that way, neither by gold, by silver
SO thi5 chasm could not be filed. They
admit it will last three years. What
will take place meantime, in the very
face of the danger of it? We are in
the midst of commercial distress almost
unexampled in our history: panic such
as the world has seldom seen. Ii would
throw 100000 of men out of employ
ment. 1t would depress and starve the
wage-earner. and il would deprive him
NJ ba n nhuo
er that the American farmer has, and
by that reflex action inflict unexampled
misery upon our agricultural population
(Applause)
In that state Of things the abyss must
be filed. No nation could stand such
a contra ction. The most radical remedy
would be absolutely necessary TO re-
store il, and there would only be two
one is to get back 10 the honest, solid
standard on which all the commercial
nations including the United States,
stand now. or to use an irredcema BILE
paper money, perfectly limitleSs or H.
limitable in it's amount. And when that
comes to pass silver will vanish in the
face of paper as gold vanished in the
face of silver. (Applause.) And then
YOU would have another chasm, another
issue of money. The wreck is complete.
and the United States stands entirely
on an irredeemable paper money basis.
precisely the place we occupied before
the war, and from which we struggled
with so much passion of honesty and
love of national honor TO emancipate
ourselves. Do you want that again
Cries of mo. no.)
But, my friends, 10 look little deeper
into this subject. The misery goes fur
ther that would be inflicted. have been
talking heretofore about lawful money,
and mean by that, money issued 10y the
governments of the world. the United
States included. But did you ever think
how little of the business Of this world
or of any community like st. Paul and
Minneapolis is done on what il called
lawful money? Statistics would seem 20
show that % per cent. of the transac-
tions between man and man in civilized
nations, especially in the United States.
is by way of checks. In cities they are
balanced against each other in the clear
ing house. and a few thousand dollars
balanced money closes the days transac-
tons. Where clearing houses do not ex-
ist- mean in towns and villnges-the
depositing of the checks in the banks. and
the collections of the banks adjust bal
ances in the same way.
Now. this is the greatest currency of
civilization. Numbers are inadeuua.e 70
express its infinite superiority in numeri-
cyl relation 90 the lawful money Of
lAich we have been talking. This is the
currency that no statutory fiat can ex-
pand. although il can contract il. But II
is n currency which will contract instan-
taneously 10 its very minimum hv rho