The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1896-05-22
MR.. FOWLER REPLIES
An Article Of Interest to the Pub.
Iic-Something for Mr. Ora
hams Perusal.
Editor Union Times:

JONESvILLE, May 1S.--Mr. Graham
Ut NewberTy has asked me through youl
paper to tell why / am in favor of free
silver. On account of sickness / could
not comply with his request earlier. Mr..
Graham says he has never heard any sill
yer advocate give or attempt to give any
reason for wanting silver restored to its
proper place and made equal with gold.
He also goes OH in favorable way to
Smith OF Georgia IA strong gold advo-
cate) and says he has given in his A tlan-
Ia or Georgia speeches the best argument
in favor of gold that he has heard.
Now IL Mr. Graham will 90 back to
w and '94 and see what ihis) Mr.. Smith
said in favor of silver when he was op-
posed to the gold standard. That is
before he changed In 1880 Smith ad-
vocated IN letter to an alliance man,
the issueing of currency E,sed on non
Srishable products, the free coinage of
silver ana legal tender currency to re-
Lire the bonds. Now WAS not that a
good argument for silver and was il not
Oetter argument against q gold or
single standard.
Let 1t be argument or not it does not
matter, but it shows clearly that Smith
saw the evil of the contraction that had
oeen caused by demonetizing silver.
Wuch was simply taking ike money
quality from silver and disregarding it at
nome. just here let me say that do
not believe I'D silver nor gold as a proper
oaslS Tor the currency of tie country: be-
cause tire supply Of gold and silver is
constantly changing and there is no way
OF telling or even approximating the
amount Of silver and gold ore that is in
the ground.
Now as to the amount of timber coal
or iron that is in a country YOU can make |
ini accurate estimate and tell how long |
lie supply will last. with an increasing |
population, but not so with silver and |
goid, and especially gold. You may find
Il rich deposit today and work it out to-
Orrow and maybe never find any morem-
the mine il exhausted. So you see that
IL Is not safe nor reliable and should not
be made "a basis for our currency. am
Il lree silver supporter because | would
ialLer nave silver and gold both than to
nave either one alone
Now back to Mr. Smith again. lie
lhen advocated the issuring of legal
tender currency to retire the bonds Now
he ccrahseJ.Tii 1857 IieSiw the Importance
of retiring the bOndS of which there IS
>,) much complaint. lie knew them and
knows now that there is no gold to retire
with or to pay them off with. lie saw
what trouble was caused by taking from
Silver its money power and reducing or
contracting the volume of the currency
by burning the paper money, etc: In
ttGlnL, Or some part of Georgia lately
he told them not To be afraid OF
1860. .OOO.OQO worth of bonds to be
paid in gold, What i wonderful change
has come over him since 1891. VIII MI.
Grulu,m tell me what he thinks caused
the change?
He also said that if silver was restored
and coined at III tn that it would drive
The gold out andwe would have only one
IA sllver) standard.
PRAY tell me why gold would leave |
home and what would it gain by leaving |
home? Mr. Smith knows that the govern
ment has no gold to leave or send OIL. alid
as for the gold spectators, thai has the
gold, their gold had lHtter leave than to
STAY here to buy up votes ;nd ana III the
bond swinlles that has been pricllced 10y
gold bugs Now have partly given my
argument in favor Of silver which IS ON
Mr. Smiths line when Ir was free
silver advocate. In 1894 he mhuic j.
silver speech in which he said that ne
,xeiiyed il single gold standard to m
dangerous and unwisc, and calculated To
contract iiu currency, check industry
and turn honest pn:h opt of places. That
IL the honest dollar as they call It: MIR.
Smiths views We're right then and has
been verified.
7 want tr SAY something about the
iase and wicked mOtiyrfOr demonctiZing
silver. In 1872 or 1873 Il London
rapitaliSt and Il large owner of American
bo,pls which we had the right to pay
DrinciIsil and interest in silver, was sent
over tO America to bribc or himbooZlc
Congress and have il dcmOnetized us it
had been in France, England and
Holland; with 500, 5000 bear hSeXpen-
s4s in the dirty job. Now wherc have our
Congressman ken that they did not
nnearth the shameful plot. Too many
Of them have been like Smith and Carlisle,
working to put the honest dollar in Il
y,,stals pocket. it may m intentional or
unintcntional. 1t matters not the work
has leen done and the result the same.
TO think that native born Americans are
Lslay sllonltler to shoulder with European
rapitaliStS in an attempt to rob honest
men who toll hard for a living of their
lalpr and put il into the pocket of bond
holders who never added one dollars
worth of wealth to any country iscnougl
TO make virtue and Justice shudder.
Earnest Sryd was sent from London
tn have the money qualify taken from
silver by congress, and why did he sue.
cs.sl - well? Simply because it wils t,
the interest of the American and Euro
Isan bond holders. Just the same
They made 10 per cent. "m the opera
ton. Now notice in England, umlc
the law III that time if nur silver wa
worth only 80 cents and these bonds ~
the United States that were held Inv III
capitalists could he paid in silver i,hn
is We had the right 10 -, ,".,'