Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1896-09-12
REPUBLICANS HOLD A BIG MEETING
AND LISTEN TO SPEECHES.
BY CANDIDATES FOR CONGRESS
ALL ARRANGEMENTS MADE FOR
THE PRIMARIES TODAY.
Seventh Ward Republican Clubs Hold
a Union Meetins-The Bryan and
stephens Silver Club of the
Tenth Ward Adopts
Resolutions.

A splendid audience assembled in Upper
Turner hall last night to listen to ad-
dresses by the candidates for the Repub-
lican nomination for congress from the
Fifth district. The hall was crowded to
its utmost capacity, and many unable to
obtain seats, stood up in the aisles and
abe-t the doorways. The meeting was
under the auspices of the Eighth Ward Re-
publican Club. 1t was presided over by
Attorney T. A. F. Jones. The principal
s-eaker was John Wellborn, of Lexington,
Lafayette county. He was followed by Joe
Mccoy, of Independence, and j. H. Neff.
of Kansas City. All the speakers were ia
vorably received, and the meeting was en-
thusiaStic throughout. Every reference to
Mckinley was the signal for burst of ap-
plaLse
dressed the meeting, but he was compelled
to leave the hall before his turn upon the
programme in order TO catch a late train
home. MIR. Van Horn arrived at the hall
durin. the speech of Mr.. Wellborn, and
vas conducted to the platform by ]. c.
Reynolds. president of the Eighth Ward
amounting to an ovation greeted the VEN
cradle coionel AT the conclusion of Mr..
Wellborns remarks there was general de-
mani for a speech from Mr.. Van Horn,
but the chairman refused to alter the order
OF his programme
Ex-Mayor Davis, who had dropped in
signed to Mr.. Van Horn, but he declined
to speak.
The evenings progrs'2me was opened
with the address of Candidate John Well
born. His speech was an able digest of
the money question and bristled with fig
mreS Referring to the crime of '73" Mr..
Wellborn said:
More silver has been coined by the
United States government since the So
called crime of 1873 than before that time.
Up to and including 1873 only sS,03O,2 ,23S in
m
s43o, ,OOo,O 900 have passed through the mints.
This controverts the statement of the
Democratic ensa party that Republican rule has
What is money!" resumed Mr.. .Wellborn,
"Il is a standard for the measurement of
value How was that standard deter
mined? Did the government establish it
arbitrarily as it did the yard measure?
Did it say that so many grains of gold
shall be worth dollar? No. 1t was fixed
the world the government ascertained how
many grains of gold were worth dollar
and that number was fixed as the stand
ard:
THE Republican party authorized the
use of gold and silver as money, but not
at the ratio of 16 to /. Why did it author
ize the use of gold? Because it is the one
article known whose value remains sta
tionary. The price and the value of every
other commodity fiuctuate. What would
six inches in length to-day and thirty-fve
or thirty-seven inches tomorrow? Yet,
that is the kind of a standard of value
which the Democrats are advocating.
Now we come to the question of how
much money We need. We need just enough
money to conduct the business of the coun-
try. The Democratic idea that the amount
of money of country should equal the
value of the property of that country is
the rankest fallacy.
''Supposing we should have free coinage
the result? A mine owner of Colorado
would take his silver bullion to the mints
and have it coined into dollars. The dol
lars would be worth SO cents. Every bro
ker and banker who understands his busi-
ness would accept them as an equivalent
of So cents and no more.
1.-The Colorado mine owner would give
them to his employees as 1O0-cent dollars.
The men would have to accept them as
such because there is between them and
their employer the relation of debtor and
of being able to say what kind of money
he will pay his men in and the men have
takes his silver dollar to the .store.keeper
and attempts to purchase goods with 1t he
finds himself again at the mercy of die
he has heard from New York and he knows
the value of the silver dollar. He will take
them as Scent dollars or not at all. This
will be the result of free silver coinage
wherever the relation of debtor and
creditor exists.
tell me that you will accept your pay next
choose. When that time comes / find that
apples are worth S5 S1 cents ;o bIshe while
will you get your pay in? Potatoes, of
course. The cheaper money viii drive out
Silver would be the prevailing circulating
medium of the country and gold would go
off and hide, just as the apples would go
off and hide and the potatoes would pay
the debt
.'In a recent speech in Illinois Senator
Teller said that gold is increasing in value.
u>a nnron fip ia n 10
signed to mislead the thoughtless, The
value of gold has remained unchanged
throughout the ages. 1t is the commodity
certain vegetables bring a high price be-
cause they are scarce. The demand for
them exceeds the supply. Later In the
year they are cheaper. With the Same
amount Of money you can buy more veg
| etables. but has the value Of your money
decreased? No. The price of the COM
modify has fallen In dss gOu paid $50 for
| for half the price. 1t isn't because your
| money has increased in purchasing power.
| but because self-binders are cheaper.
'I have this to say in conclusion. that
| if free silver carries, the panic which pre-.
vailed during Clevelands administration
| will be but a murmur compared with the
| tumut this country will see."
| Mr.. Wellborn concluded his remarks with
a good word for the state and county tick.
| cts and elected generous applause by pre-
| dieting victory all along the line.
style was vigorous and he held the close
| attention of the audience throughout. His
| reference to McKinley's utterance, "The
! Republican party stands for an honest dol
| lar and a chance to earn it," evoked hearty
| applause.
| programme. He spoke from the stand
| point of a business man and his reasoning
| was clear and logical. He went into the
| history of coinage in the United States
and called attention to the prosperity OF
! the country under Republican rule. He
| attributed the recent panics to the trouble
| experienced by the government in main.
| tanning the "shaky 53-cent dollar" at a
| parity with gold. and predicted much more
| serious instability should the number Of
| those coins be materially increased.
| GrowingRa pidly.
The Democratic Sound Money Club, with