Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-05-22
discussed IN any Campaign. -and i, was no.

known to the people for over two years
afterward. The editors and newspaper re-
porters did not know 1t. It was done sur
reptitiously. have not time to dwell upon
this dark page OF our history and cover
what else want to in this speech. will
dispose of 1t in this way: Silver was demone-
tized February IL, 1873. I now offer a re-
ward OF 500 to any man or woman who
will find q word about 1t in any newspaper.
published in the month of February, 1873,
You will find the newspapers of that year
In your public libraries. All you will find
is a simple news telegram of five lines, that
tho amended mint bill had passed. The mint
and coinage bill that has been on our statute
books since 1892 and amended frequently,
ia more than Is pages long, embracing
everything from the cent pieces to the
naming of the various officers of the mint.
and fixing of their salaries 1t has FIRE.
quently been amended In many respects.
as to duties and salaries of officials alloy
in the metals. or the size and form of our
copper and nickel token pieces. A tele-
gram announcing tho amendment of the
mint bill conveyed no information to the
people that indicated that the mints had
been closed to silver, its legal tender char
acter taken from 1t, or any other Informa-
ton that would indicate that silver had
been demonetized. Hence. the people were
in ignorance of what had been done by that
congress, famous In history as the salary.
grab congress.
Let no man claim that the act was hon
estly and openly passed. till he can claim
tho reward offer. If the type settlers re-.
porters and editors of the papers did not
know 1t. the voters did not know 1t.
The Decline of Values.
With all the principles of bimetallism de-
stroyed. with silver thereafter used as
token Or credit money. like our paper
money, all resting on gold, silver began to
decline in value as measured In gold, ths
only primary money, and in 22 years it has
declined 30 per cent, or, rather. gold, under
the demand for it, has appreciated. For
200 years prior to 1873. under bimetallism,
thcy had not parted more than three per
cent; in % years. under monometallism,
the metal in the two dollars had separated
80 Per cent.
All property not supported by trust
causes, or increased demand. fell with sill
yer as expressed in dollars. AS measured
by exchangeable value with each other
or with silver, they had not declined.
They have only declined as measured in
dollars. And these dollars mean gold dol.
lara or their equivalent. What IL meant
by equivalent Is our other forms Of money.
copper, nickel, SILVER and paper, which ~
the new law, are all redeemable In gold.
When O thing Is rcdeemable in another
thing, the former is made as good as the
latter, so long as it can be had to redeem
with.
What is meant by this is that gold is now
our primary money. and all other forms
OF money are credit money. Credit money
Is representative money, representing pri-
mary money, Our credit money Is tied to
gold like the tail of kite is tied to kite.
ihe tail has gone up following the kite:
gold has gone up and is our only primary
money whereas before, gold and silver
poth were primary money, neither redeem
able IN the other; other forms of money
We're credit money. By the change in the
law. silver was added to the credit money,
and the quantity of primary money was cut
in two.
The simple law Of bimetallism has been
oSerthFown ana 4 selfish and powerful
moneyed interest has sought since to MAIN
tain the gold standard. AS was to be ex-
pected, 1t has resulted in great strain on
gold, the only basis of our monetary sys-
tenn AS the demand for gold increased, Its
value rose as compared with other prop
erty. While nominally fixed by being
called dollar, the gold in dollar was ris-
Ing in value. This is one of the things il
has been the hardest for the people to UNI
dcrstand AS the demand is piled on gold.
Inc gold In the bullion rises In value as COM
pared with other property. And the gold
dollar rises with 1t, and likewise oil forms
OIL money that are redeemable In gold.
1t wheat grows scarce, or the demand for
1t increases, 1t rises in value. II gold
grows scarce. or the demand for 1t in
creases, it rises in value. But IL the de-
mand for gold should increase till 1t, rela-
lively with other property. was ten times
as valuable as 1t Is now, the quantity OF Il
in dollar would still be worth dollar as
expressed in ITSELF
1t does not rise as compared with itself,
but rises as compared with other property.
There was time in the history of the
fI,4rv - IA.
the earth stood still and the sun went round
1t: It appears to us now to do so, though
NE know better. In like manner, the peo-
pie have been led to believe that the gold
dollar is standing still and that the silpef
in a silver dollar has declined 50 per cent
Gold. under the demand for it, has adj
vanced. and we call 1t the fall of prices.
What the Result Has Been.
With falling prices the people have been
impoverished Taxes have not been re-
duced. The farmer must now give up twice
as much of what he produces. to pay his
taxes, as he gave up in 1878. official salaries
have not been reduced; some have been In
creased. 1t now takes 100000 bushels Of
wheat to pay the presidents salary of ss0,s
his salary of $4,000 in 1873 Official favorit-
ism and neglect of the producers and toll
ers has begun in this country.
With broken merchants and manufa ctur-
ers all over the nation. with prices contfnu-
ing to fall, with tens of thousands of tramp4
In the land, with panic following panic, with
mortgage foreclosures the order of the
Gay, with the owners OF farms Decreasing
and tenants increasing, with the simplicity
OF the republic disappearing, with suicides
insane asylums. penitentiary and Jail con-
victS increasing t an alarming rate, dispro-
portionate to the increase in population.
portending the breaking down of civiliza-
ton. what do those who have brought us
to this condition say?
Say II Is Not True.
They first say the condition have de-
scribed Is not true, that we are expert.
encins a great eta of prosperity and en-
joying high state of civilization. ! want
to say in reply to that, that there are two
classes OF men who are danger to repub-
lie. One is the calamity bowler. He may
unjustly excite the nervous, but under
prosperity he will be swept aside as drift
wood in the current of a strong stream, and
Is comparatively harmless. The other class
that is dangerous Is composed of those who
deceive The people. or WHO are themselves
deceived. as to our true condition. Those
who hang out false lights and lure the ship
of state on to rocks. are the worst enemies
of = republic. The damage they do is ire
parable. Vain boasting and pride as to
pation's condition. like In individuals. goes
before u fall. 1t is this vain bcasting that
has aided in the overthrow Of all renubiies
Its use now will result in the overthrow OF
this present government OF the United
States. Be warned In time that the down
fall of all past republics was preceded by
refusal to recognize existing evils.
They Say Silver Will Run Gold Out.
They say that to remonetize silver will
run gold out of the country. Gold Is not
In circulation now. 1t Is cornered. The
merit Of bimetaliism is to recognize the fact
that from time to time one or the other of
these metals will leave us. and the fact that
we have the other with us is what would
save our financial system; If there are