The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1896-10-03
GOVERNOR ALTGELD.
He Explains Why We Can "Go 1t Alone"
The Facts Concerning Mexico.


The Facts Concerning Mexico.
We say restore silver to where it was.
Coin it free as you do gold. Restore to
it its legal tender qualities, and just as
voon as this is done, just as soon as sill
,er can be used at the custom house,
used to pay taxes and to pay notes at
the bank, just as soon as it can be used
tC dc the same work that gold does, just
that soon the importance of gold will be
lowered, its purchasing power will be
lowered, the Importance of silver will
Z be raised, its purchasing power will be
raised, until the two metals again cir
culate at par, just as they did for 900
years before silver was demonetized
But, says some one, the idea Of bi-
metallism is all right, but we cannot go
it alone. We must have Europe to help
us; otherwise gold will go to a pre-
MUM. Examine this moment. Every
body admits that if all the European
states would act together they could go
it alone. They could absorb the silver
that is annually produced, and i'll fact a
great deal more, without having gold go
to premium. Now, gentlemen, the in
ternal trade of the United States under
normal conditions is greater than that
of all Europe put together, for while
some of the European countries have
large populations they are SO extremely
poor that they possess very little pur-
oh 81, nnncpnnant1u tf Eurnvo
could go it alone the United States
could still more easily do so. We could
absorb more than double the amount of
all the silver that would be brought to
our country. and it would be like put
ting new blood into the body. The pa
tient is now too weak to travel. We say
restore his blood to it's normal condition
and then he will again be active.
1t is said that Mexican dollar, which
is as heavy as ours, is worth only so
cents in gold, and we are asked, IT this
SO, how will we make our silver dollars
circulate side by side with gold? l say
we will do it by giving our silver dol
lars field sufficiently large to absorb
all and in which they can do the same
work that gold does. The business Of
Mexico is so small that it does not fur
nish sufficiently large field to absorb
all of the silver dollars. Tho business
of Mexico is less than that of some of
our states.
Multiply the trade Of Mexico by 40
and it would absorb twice the amount
of silver that could be furnished any
one year. When the large import duties
paid at our custom houses and the linn
itless sums of taxes paid i'll our country
are considered, it becomes at once appar-
ent that this country could absorb 200
times as much silver money as Mexico
could, independently of all the other
| nations of the earth. Mexico is on sill
yer basis, and NJ. Romero, the Mexican
minister at Washington, year ago
published an article in The North
American Review describing the condi-
tions of his country, and he showed that
Mexico is more prosperous now than it
ever was before in its history. Her
farmers are prospering, her business
men are prospering, her manufactures
are all busy, and new ones are being
erected, and there is scarcely an idle
laborer in Mexico.
But if all of the talk about gold 60
ing to premium We're true it would
not meet the question. The question is,
| Shall republican institutions be main
/ tanned in this country? If our farmers,
our mechanics, and our laborers are re-
! duced to the condition Of mere tribute
paying serfs, then the doom of this re-
public is sealed. If they are to be re-
duced to the impoverished condition of
the toilers of Europe then high and
intelligent order Of citizenship in this
country is impossible. Men who have
/ little to eat and little to wear cannot
educate their families, men who have
to give up all Of their strength and all
of their thoughts to what is practically
unrequited toll are not calculated to act
the role of independent freemen. John
P. Altgeld.