The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-09-11

.er--and 1t has pledged it's sacred honor IL
would make every one of these silver dol
lars rs good as gold dollar. And that Is
powerful support.
Without it disparity between these metals
would Mt once show itself in the markets,
and there would be some sense in the talk
which our Populistic friends indulge in
when they speak of the power of this gov
eminent II they propose to put this power
behind their free coinage. But they do not.
They propose that the man who digs silver
out of the mines may bring it to the mint
and have IL stamped and handed back TO
him as dollar, the government having no
responsibility about it. These men would
reject with contempt the proposition that
FREQ coinage was to come with n pledge on
behalf of the government to maintain the
parity of the two dollars. But this feeling
Us well adapted to touch the prevailing
American bumptiousness and we'll adapted
to touch that prejudice against England
which many people have.
Power of the Government.
But can we do this thing ourselves9 Is
1t question whether we will do it or ask
somebody's consent whether we may, or
ask the cooperation of somebody's Not at
can do alone. 1t can fix its money unit.
1t can declare by law what shall be the rela-
tive value of an ounce of gold and an ounce
of silver, but it cannot make that last dec
laration good. 1t is unquestionably fully
within the power of this government to
bring this country to silver basis by coin
ing silver dollars and making them legal
tender They can do that. This govern
ment shall say you, shall take one of those
dollars in discharge of any debt owing to
you for dollar notwithstanding you may
have loaned gold dollars. But it cannot
say and enforce it's decree If you should
call out the regular army and navy and
muster all our great modern ships and add
the militia and put William j. Bryan in
command of them-it cannot enforce the
decree that 1 ounce of gold is the equiva-
lent of 10 ounces of silver.
Not only that Not France and England
and Germany can do that unless the mar
kets respond. Why? You make me take o
silver dollar for debt, but IL I have
bought my goods at gold prices you cannot
make me give rs many yards of cloth for a
silver dollar as have been In the habit Of
giving for gold one. If 1 have gold dol
lar in this hand and silver one in that,
and you declare they are equal and 1 can
take that gold dollar to q bullion broker
and get SO for 1t, know it is a lie. If I
have nothing but gold dollar and sugar
is'20 pounds for 81, will not give that
gold dollar for 20 pounds of sugar. L will
take 1t around to broker and get two sill
yer dollars for it and get the 90 pounds of
sugar and havo one silver dollar left. So
1t is my friends We can of ourselves, of
our own wisdom, declare tho unit of value.
We can coin silver freely, but we cannot
make 16 ounces of silver equal to ounce
of gold unless 1t is. And it is not unless
the merchants take 1t at that rate.
What Free Silver Means.
That Is where all this thing comes In.
It Is trade, it Is the merchant Ii Is the
man who exchanges and deals In these
things, that fixes their relative value, and
If you do not take the value he fixes the
gold dollar will go back to the gold vault,
and the gold will go out of circulation.
What is another consequence In this
connection these gentlemen say "Why,
didn't we win the battle at Bunker HIP
Didn't we whip the British at York
town. And do you mean to say we can't
do 1t again?" The logic of these gentle
men-if I may use such term in connec-
ton with such balderdash-is that ma
ton that can do these great things and
establish it's political Independence can also
be financially and commercially free 1t
cannot be free of the laws of trade. They
can say that ten muskrat skins are equal
to one beaver skin, but that don't make 1t
80. The fur trader fixes that question.
What Is the next suggestionp
1t is, my friends, In the case of free sill
yer, what Is the financial and moral equiva-
lent of q declaration that 80 cent pieces are
dollars. They might just as well pass
law that so cents Is dollar. That would
not make 1t so, would it9 But it would be
a legal dollar; but it would not buy dol
lars worth of anything. What is the effect
of that2 The merchant would take care of
himself. A man keeps store down here
on Broadway, and the law Is going into
operation tonight. He summons all his
clerks and buys % cents worth of pencils,
and before he opens his store in the morn
ing he has marked up his goods to the new
scale. He can do all that. But there are
great numbers of people, numberless peo-
pie, who enlist our interest, and some of
whom enkindle our sympathies, who can
not use the pencil Take the workingman.
He cannot go to the pay roll with pencil
huu ultTk III up. No uthS you 10 COuSulU
somebody He has to enter into an argu-
ment He has got to get some other mans
consent before he can mark up his wages
Then there Is the pensioner, those that are
receiving pensions from this government
forsgallant deeds done in the war, and 9TH
ersfor the loss Of beloved ones. We cannot
take his pension certificate and when 1t
reads 50 make it read SIG. He must wait
for an appeal to congress, and congress
that Is Populistic In character would be
unsympathetic.
Always Truthful to WorIxingmen.
He must make an appeal to congress to
have his pension raised to twice what 1t
was before he Is mndc equal. What can the
depositors In our savings banlls-this great
company Of widows and orphans, the peo-
pie of small means. whoar putting by
few pennies against u hard time in life
what can they do when this change comes9
Can they take their bank passboolSs, and
WHO'RE It says e10 write $50? Not at all.
Take the men who have life insurance. A
man who has providently taken out pol
Icy that his widow and children might
not come to want when the breadwinning
hand was Stricken In death-can they,
where the policy reads IS, 600, make IL &c.
600? No. Can the managers of these in