The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-02-20
FOR FREE SILVER.

senator Jones, of Arkansas, Points tho
Way to National Prosperity.
When the free coinage substite to
the house bond bill came up in the sem
ate Mr.. Jones, of Arkansas, spoke for
two hours in favor Of it. Among other
things he said:
IAN issue of bonds is doubtless a
boom to that small class of persons
who have large incomes which they
have not the knowledge, industry or
courage to use pr1ftably, who long for
investments in which they may draw
interest without any greater labor
than clipping coupons; but TO no other
class is an issue of bonds desirable
ut is true that the government is
not collecting as much revenue just at
this time as is needed, and some steps
should be taken to provide for the de-
ficiency. The secretary of the treas
ury, however, in his official report,
shows that this deficiency will be tenn
porary, and not continue beyond few
months.
''The amendment proposed by the
committee, if enacted into Law, will
amply provide for this, for the issue of
about $50, OOO, 900 of silver certificates
against the seignorage now held in
bars in the treasury is one of its fea-
lures, while the deficiency estimated
by Mr.. Carlisle is far below that sum.
There must be something radically
wrong if the richest and freest nation
on the globe is in such condition of
absolute helplessness and dependence
as the president seems to consider us
now.
"The conditions of distress, not only
in this country, but in England, Ger
many and France, the great nations of
the world, will not be denied by any
one. How does it happen that in a
time of profound peace all over the
world, with abundant harvests, with
no pestilence or other such calamity,
such condition of things can existP
No local cause can account for it, for
1t embraces all the greatest nations in
the world. There must be some cause
operating in all these countries to
cause such widespread distress, uni
form in character. That cause seems
clearly to be the falling in prices,
which has cursed and blasted this
country for 30 years
"Of course, every fall of prices is not
an evil. A fall which results from inn
proved methods of production, or from
improved and cheapened transporta-
tion, is a blessing, and brings prosper
ity to producers, while it showers
blessings upon consumers. There is,
however, one commodity which, when
affected in its values, necessarily af-
fects all other things in the world, in
all countries and among all civilized
people, to-wit, money. Suppose money
to be doubled in value, suddenly-it
would take then just one-halt as much
OF it to buy any given article as it
would have taken before the rise in its
value. This rise in the value Of money
then would find its expression, its vis-
ible manifestation, in fall Of general
prices to so per cent. of their former
scale, while money would remain nom
lnally just as it was before; and the
superficial observer might think, and
modern gold-bug would be sure to
think, that this change in prices had
resulted from overproduction and i'm
provements in methods of production
and transportation, and not IN the
change in the value of money.
The volume of money lessening, not
absolutely, but in proportion to the
volume of trade, has of necessity con
tinually increased the value Of money
and this hidden, unseen and covert