The Portland daily press., 1896-09-28

tho hAuo2h uo ~ 10 COlucu. IudU IL bIlt
only definition you have heard given by
an advocate of sound money within the
last three years. I want to show you
how absurd that il, how more than
childish 1t is. Our opponents assume to
possess all knowledge ON the financial
question. Do you say that an honest
dollar is dollar which loses nothing by
melting? Then q Mexican dollar is an
honest dollar because it does not lose a
cent by melting. (Applause.) J. The Mex
lean dollar is worth. the same as the bull
lion and the bullion is worth the same
as the dollar in Mexico or anywhere else
in the world. So
THE MEXICAN DOLLAR
is an honest dollar according to the only
definition of honest money that the adj
yocates of the gold standard will give
you. tApplause.) But this definition
of an honest dollar overlooks the most
important characteristic of dollar. Sup
pose all the nations of the world agreed
upon gold as the standard and upon our
dollar as the unit. Then suppose the
next day they should get together and
agree to gather up and destroy ninety
nine one hundredths of all the gold
money Of the world. What would be the
result? You would have one dollar in
circulation where you now have one
hundred. But il would be honest, &C.
cording to the gold standard definition,
because if you melted dollar it would
not lose anything. Uaugh ter.) If you
would be one hunded times as hard to
get the money to pay the debt, but you
would be paying your debt in honest dol
lars.
Let us take another view of this hon.
est dollar definition. Instead of suppos-
ing ninety-nine one hundredths of all
the gold destroyed suppose some one
should
FIND A GOLD NINE
SO rich that you could take from 1t
enough gold to make one hundred times
as many dollars as there are in the world
today. What would the result? Where
you have one dollar now you would have
one hundred then. 1t would be honest
money because If you melted dollar it
would not lose anything daughter J
But if you owed a debt of a thousand
dollars and paid that debt it would take
about one hundred times as much to buy
the same amount of othe- things as it
used to and you never could convince
your creditor that you had paid him in
honest dollars. The dollar may buy twice
as MUCH or one hundred times az much
would be honest money according to the
gold standard definition. Whyp Be-
cause, just SO long as you pick out the
metal as your standard and give it free
and unlimited coinage there can be no
difference between the bullion value and
the coinage value. (Applause.)
Our opponents assume this character
istic to be divine quality which exists
in the metal independent of human
agency OF influence. But it is nothing
but law bestowed characteristic. 1t is
nothing but
THE EFFECT OF LAW.
suppose the law says any man having
certain amount of gold can have it con-
verified into dollar by paying five cents
for the cost of coinage. What would be
the RESULT 1t would be that the bullion
could never be worth over ninety. five
cents, because nobody who had bullion
would pay five cents to have that bull
lion converted into dollar If he could
sell it for more than ninety five cents
without converting it into dollar,
Therefore the very moment you make a
charge for mintage that moment you
make difference between the bullion
and coinage value.
call attention to this because our op-
ponents base their whole case upon the
fact that you can melt dollar and it
loses nothing If it is gold dollar. "a
voice: II you buy silver at the present
price how much can you get it made
iuto money for under free coinaeea'')
Under the present Law you couldn't have
it coined at all. (Applause.) "a voice:
ANSWER THE QUESTION:,
81 am going to. Under tho present law
you couldn't have it coined at all, but
under the free coinage of silver you can't
find 3 man fool enough to sell you the
silver at les than its coinage value.
{ Applause.)
(Another voice: "Now you better keen
still.")
81 do not want you to attempt to en-
barass anybody who asks questions.
That question was asked in good faith
and I am glad to have 1T asked beoarse
want that man to understand the
difference between buying silver now.
" hen the minis are not open to it. and
buying silver after the mints are open
when every man can do with silver lust
what he can with gold. Then nobody
would DO fool enough to throw the money
away. (Applause.) Now let me ask.
my friend, it under free coinage YOU
have that much silver and take 1t to
the mint yourself and have it converted
into money at dollar and twenty nine
c 4