The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1896-09-12
scHURz SPEAKS.
Chan s,ions ''sound Money Cause and
Denouncos Free silver.

New York, spoke for the American
Honest Money league on the money
question. His address was long and
full of vigor and pith throughout. The
following Is condensation of the
speech:
Fellow Citizens: have come from the
east TO the west 10 speak 20 you for hon
est money shall discuss the question or
the day. l shall not deal I'm financial phil
osophy. but In hard and dry facts
There are farmers who complain OF the
low prices OF agricultural products: labor
] ing men complaining OF lack OF remunera-
tive employment; men IN all sorts OF pur-
suits complaining OF a general business stag
nation and scarcity OF money. In some
parts OF the country, especially the south
and west. there are many people complain
ing OF n want OF capital and too high rate
OF interest. The cry for more money Is the
favorite cry. These are the principal and
the most definite complaints. Beyond
them. however. an impression has been
spread by agitators that an organized con-
spiracy OF moneyed men. mainly great
bankers In America and Europe, backed
by the monarchs and nristocracy OF the
old world, IS seeking the establishment OF
the gold standard OF value 10 monopolize
or corner the worlds money 10 the gem
eral dctrlment. All this has found definite
expression In the declaration OF the Chi
cago platform.
Are these complaints well founded Look
at facts which nobody disputes. That there
has been n considerable fall In the prices OF
many articles since 1873 Is certainly true.
But was this fall caused by the so-called
demouetixation OF silver through the act OF
1892 Now. not 20 speak OF other periods of
our history such as the period OF 1916 TO
1851. everybody knows that there was a
considerable fall OF prices. not only as 10
agricultural products-coiton. for Instance.
dropped from one dollar n pound in 1864 10
IL cents I'm lS7i-but IN many kinds OF In
dustrial products, before 1873 What hap
pened before 1873 cannot have been caused
by what happened In 1873.
whenever a change In the prices OF COM
modities is caused by change I'm supply
or demand, or both. then Il may affect diff
ferent articles differently Thus wheat
may rise In price. the supply being pro-
portionately short, while az the same time
cotton may decline IN price. the supply
being proportionately abundant But
when change OF prices takes place I'm con-
sequence OF a great change IN the purchas-
ing power OF the money OF the country. es-
pccially when the change Is sudden then
the effect must be equal. or approximate
ly so, as TO all articles that are bought or
sold by that money. II by the so-called de-
monctlzaton or silver i'm 1873 the gold doll
lar, or the dollar on the gold basis. because
200-cent dollar at ALL then Il became
2O0-ccnt dollar at once and for everything.
II viii admit the possible plea that. ms
they say, the act OF 1873 having been passed
I'm secret, people did not know anything
about II. and prices remained meosurably
rteady. in ignorance OF what dreadful
thing had happened IN so, then II would
appeur that. II the knowing ones had only
kept sim about IL. the gold dollar would
have modestly remained n l00-cent dol
lar, and nobody would have been hurt.
But, seriously speaking. II may be said that
when the act OF 1878 was passed we We're
neither gold nor silver was In circulation.
and that therefore tho demonetization
would be felt. Very wen. But then IN
1879 specie payments were resumed. Me-
tallc money circulated again. And, more
than that. the cry about the crime or
1873 resounded In congress and In the
country. Then NJ last the 200-ccnt dollar
had it's opportunity. Prices would no
longer plead ignorance. What happened2
In 1850 wheat rose above the price OF 1879.
likewise corn. cotton and oats In 1851
wheat rose again. also corn, oats and cot
ton. In 1852 wheat and cotton declined,
while corn and oats rose.
''lhcsc facts prove conclusively to every
sane mind that for nine years after the act
OF lS73-siX years before and three years
after the resumption OF specie payments
the prices OF the agricultural staples mem
toned. being I'm most instances consider
ably above 1850. show absolutely no trace
or any such effect as would have been
den change In the purchasing power OF
money IN the country taken place; that II
would be childish 10 pretend that. for the
act OF 1873 those prices would be 100. or
25. or 20 per cent. higher, and that there
fore, all this talk about the gold dollar
having become 200-cent dollar is-pardon
the eXprcssOn-arrant nonsense.
"How did Il happen that the act OF 1873
did not attract more popular attention nj
the timer Simply because the dropping OF
sNI Nlt..f
was regarded by everybody taking an in
tcrcst Ia such matters as the mere record
Ing OF an accomplished fact. as matter
OF course, just as much as law would
have been providing that the old fintlock
should no longer be used In the army. Ard
how aid Il happen that few years after
ward such an uproar arose about III The
reason for that, too. was very simple In
1873 the market value OF silver. although
already yielding. was stu high, The sill
yer I'm the silver dollar was worth $l.c2.
The silver mine owner did not care 10 take
sl02 TO the mint and get only one dollar
back FOR a. lie was then enthusiastic for
gold. But few years later silver had de-
cined In market value considerably, and
when the silver mine owner might have
taken 90 cents worth OF silver 10 the mint
and got for II one dollar, he was enthusl-
nstic for silver. and he grew more and more
enthusiastic the more silver declined I'm the
market and the more profit free coinage
OF 1873 in his way. he discovered that act
90 have been a hoinous crime. not against
the mining mlllionaircs. but against the
common people.
but what Is 80. then. that has caused tho
decline or prices2 appeal TO your common
sense. DO you think that when one man,
aided by machinery. does as much produce
tive work as formerly ten or more did,
md when our modern means OF trans
portation carry the product from the pro-
Queer 10 the consumer with i've times the
speed. at onc-nfth the cost, do you think
that then tho product OF human labor
should not In due proportion become cheap
Crg II 10 ala not. then modern civilization
would. IA one OF It's most important and be-
Inefficient functions. be fiat failure
THE new economic conditions somewhat
suddenly created In our time by the vast
improvements In the means and methods
OF production and transportation have sur
prised. puzzled aud perplexed the minds
OF many wcll-meaning people They be-
came alarmed al the naturally and neces-
sariiy following decline of the prices OF
agricultural as well as Industrial porducts.