The record-union., 1896-07-30
Hon. Thomas B. Reed Addresses a Re-
publican Gathering at Alfred.
Speaks at Length on the Financial
and Tariff Questions.
Free Silver Coinage Without Inter-
national Agreement Would Only
Tend to Make the Conditions
Worse Than at Present-PrOteC-
tion What the Country Needs to
Bring About a Return of Pros
perity.

Bring About a Return of Pros
perity.
ALFRED CMe), July 29.-The Re
publican County Convention was held
here this afternoon. The occasion was
made interesting from the ct that the
County Committee secured the presence
of Hon. Thomas b. Reed and Curtis
Guild, Jr., of Boston, and the conven-
ton INDUCED in a ratification meeting.
Mr.. Reed and Mr.. Curtis addressed the
convention. The speakers were greeted
with great enthusiasm. Mr.. Reed spoke
as follows:
Two months ago no man of any
standing would have risked his reputa-
1ion as a prophet by limiting the slight
est doubt of Republican success. Now
there are those who tell us that all
things have changed. This may be So
but to me it does not seem probable It
would be unwise, unjust and senseless
20 confound the Democratic organiza-
tion with individual Democrats. When
Stephen A. Douglas declared after Sum-
ter was fired on, that 'thenceforth there
could be but two parties, patriots and
traitors he won the respect even of
foes and an imperishable place in his
tory. We shall certainly welcome all
such men to-day, not that they are TO be
Republicans for all time, but because
they are patriots. for that they
must be.
There are some political orators who
think if they draw rose-colored pic
Jure it ought to convert a continent.
What rosy picture we had painted for
Us in 1872. What millions we We're to
expect. We were to sell in the dearest
and buy in the cheapest market We
took their word for it, and here we are,
and not the least credible part of these
same gentlemen are smearing the cam
vas with another picture fer which they
want US to pay another four years, or
perhaps ten of this nations life Men
deceived once are human Men deceived
twice by the same men are fools.
| am bound to say thatsthe evil which
has come to US by an unwise revision of
the tariff has been greatly aggravated
by one of its OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES loss of
revenue. The constant decline Of the
deficit, continually confounded with the
redemption of gold. has so afflicted the
imagination of our people that conf
dence cannot commence to be restored
until our revenues equal our expenses.
Let us see what is proposed by these
gentlemen, who, within the last two
months. have discovered a cure for all
the ills that flesh is heir to- Their rem
edy is the coinage of silver at Is to l.
What does that mean? Heretofore.
whenever gold and silver have stood to-
goth II haS hapr a no arlra rol,
When we tried to make gold and silver
circulate together, we have always mar
ried them according to their market
value. To-day we find them, not is to
l, but 81 to l, and we are going, they
say, to lift silver to twice its value. not
by the universal sense of mankind,
which alone makes values, but by the
statute of the United States. single
handed against the civilized world.
Why should the United States try to do
this alone? If the decentralization OF
silver is a disease at all, it is a world
disease. How can It be reached except
by a world remedy? international -
metallism I can understand, but this
driving out of gold and the substitution
of silver is only silver monometallism
for the United States. 1t is shifting
I'm sOAd Ibit tAltN anu SOlIS over 10
silver and Mexico, Japan, India and
China
If we are going to have a dollar in
1eri0r to what we have to-day what will
be the effect of it? Higher prices. they
say. Not for everything. If you have
500 in the savings bank to-day you can
get 100 gold dollars from the bank. If
this wild project succeeds and you are
paid in silver, you will get 100 dollars,
but they will be less in value. If you
have a pension. that must be scaled
down. If you have a bond, that goes
down. too. What you buy Will go up
VIII wages go up. too? Wages during
greenback times. measured in gold, did
not go up as other things did. They
went part way. but not all the way up,
and were very slow about that.
What this country needs is capital
from abroad. In the United States are
millions of square miles and $4,000 900
of people and undeveloped riches with
out stint But there is not capital
enough TO keep 10000, 900 people at
work We are most prosperous when
the 100000 people are at work, and
when that happens we borrow from the
rest Of the world thousands of millions
OF dollars
Now, just as soon as this election is
over and the future position of the
United States is assured as to money
and the employment Of our people. cap
ital is ready to come TO us from abroad
and from our own people. and we shall
again be prosperous. We have been
through all this once before. The green
hackers of 1873 were not bad men, They
We're sincere. and had a better case than
the silver men of to-day. We must have
artificial imitation and cheaper money
they said, or blackest ruin awaited us
Prices went low and work was scarce
Taxes were high and debts hard 70 pay
but we persevered and resumed specie
payments.
From that moment the capital of the
world was at our disposal. We had a
good tariff, which makes US do all our
own work, and from 1879 to 1893 four
teen years Of prosperity was experienced
IN the United States If we do the like
+ring to-day like things viii follow
with revenues equal to our emergencies
undue export of gold will cease. With
the certainty that the dollar paid will be
equal to the dollar lent will come credit