The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1896-07-23
SUCKER srArE sllvERrrEs.
Impudent Claim Of sixtess 60 One Shout
era It Peoria.


Impudent Claim of sixtsea 10 One Shout
ers 1t Peoria.
The Illinois democratic state conven.
ton added hypocrisy and double deah
ing to the silverite doctrine Of repudia-
ton and dishonest dollars when 1t de-
clared in its platform: I'VE favor the
soundest and safest money known to
man. We demand the repeal of
that republican and plutocratic legisla-
ton which demonetized silver and re-
duced it to the level of token money,
destroying by one-half the stock of real
money. We demand the inn
mediate restoration of the free and
unlimited coinage of both gold and sill
yer as standard money at the rate of
sixteen ounces of silver to one OF gold
of equal fineness, with full legal tender
power to each metal" This declaration
of free silver was termed the "bimet-
allism which was made the basis of our
monetary system by Hamilton and JEFF
ferson."
OF all kinds Of fraud 'he canting
humbug is the worst. rne sincere but
mistaken silverite, who admits that
free coinage at sixteen to one would
put this country on the silver basis, arc
deserving of far more respect than the
hen who have the impudence to'talk
Of "sound and safe money" in connec-
ton with their 50-cent-dollar scheme.
Every man who is old enough to vote
knows that free silver, with the bullion
value of the two metals at a ratio Of
thirty to one, means silver monometal-
ism pure and simple. This is the
standard of Mexico, China and India,
where its frequent and violent fuctua-
tlons and decreasing purchasing power
testify to it's "soundness and safety"
Is that the kind of money the American
people want?
II will be somewhat difficult to secure
the repeal of "the legislation which de-
monetized silver and reduced it to the
basis of token money" since there is
no such legislation on the statute
books. What the Sucker state finan-
ciers referred to was probably the legis-
lation which since 1873 has given us
$550,0O0,0OO of full legal tender silver
money, not one dollar of which is token
money, and $75OOO0O0 of subsidiary
coinage. AS there was not $4,000 600
of silver money of all kinds in the coun-
try in 1878 and less than $s,00000O full
legal tender silver coins, it is hard to see
how "the stock of real money has been
] DESTROYED one-half." Since an increase
! Of $5400OO,000 is considered a contrac-
ton of the currency, it is easy to under
stand how the cross-eyed silverites car
believe that forcing $685., 100000 in gold
out of circulation would give us moro
money.
1.-THE bimetallism of Hamilton and
Jefferson" was the coinage of gold and
silver at ratio which was as nearly a,
! possible the commercial ratio between
the values of the two metals. In ex
perience it was found that whenever
one of the metals was overvalued il
disappeared from circulation, ths
cheaper money only being used, so thai
the country was always on either thu
gold or the silver standard. Undel
present conditions, with the bullioi
value of silver 30 times that of gold, i
would be impossible to keep gold il
circulation, and the country would e
at once to a silver basis. American
who favor real bimetallism, unde
which an almost equal value OF golc
and silver money is now kept in circu
lation, must work and vote against fire.,
| silver recommendation.