The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-30
THAT CRIME OF '73
Continued From First Page.

Resumption Act for coinage of fifty millions
OF fractional silver, and In 1873. under the
AND-ALLISON ACT
and / have some hesitation about mentioning
my own name In connection with It'll also
md however when anybody wants to criti-
cize the act, they call it the Bland-Allison
act but when they want to extoll 1t, they
call 1t the Bland act, and don't know that
| am very sorry about that lApplause) I'm
der that act up to 1890 we had coined four
hundred and twenty-one millions in round
Numbers, OF dollars, as l remember. | will
not be 80 clear as to the exact amount, so
that the reporters will have 1t as the exact
amount. II may have been 377 900, hut
whatever 1t was, we put these silver coins Of
4l21a grains into circulation, every dollar of
which has been from that time or from the
time of its coinage to now, legal tender in
the payment Of all debts. public and private.
and 1t Is therefore in our country as much
redemption money as gold Is redemption
money. Applause.) In $780, by the Sherman
law-so-called-we changed our policy by Iur-
chasing an increased quantity of silver, and
by storing 1t, and issuing treasury notes for
the value of it, the cost of 1t, the treasury
notes being full legal tender in he Day
ment Of all debts, public and private, so that
by these acts which have named the United
States alone has absorbed in the world $642,-
OOc. COO OF silver, or more than one-flfth of
all the silver that has been taken out of the
mines of the world since 1873. (Applause)
So that when we are charged with having in
any sense been responsible for the diminution
of the Value of silver respects gold, or
for the variation or divergence in the market
value of silver as compared with gold, it is
stated without single fact upon which the
statements should be based. But now, what
has happened to gold since 1873? What has
become Of the gold of the world? We have
now, since 1873, taken from the mines of
gold twenty-eight hundred millions Of
gold. in addition to the silver that has been
produced, that gold has gone into circulation
except the amount used in the arts, estimated
to be less than one-half of the total rroduc-
ton, that we have added at fair estimate
fifteen hundred millions of gold coins to the
money of the world and two thousand mill
ions of silver to the coins of the world. or
more than three-ffths of all the metallic
money of the world, between 1873 and 1885,
So that these indutiabie facts must show you
that 1t cannot be truthfully stated that there
has not been added to the circulating metal
lie money more of gold and silver than was
added to 1t during the present century of our
existence, and more than was added TO 1t
during any period of history In the
history of the world during a like period.
Now 1t seems to me, in brief that this ought
to dispose of the whole question as regards
the appreciation of gold. But they say gold
has appreciated
BECAUSE PRICES HAVE FALLEN.
Prices have fallen-that is, some prices
have fallen; prices Of manufactured articles
especially have fallen but you may take the
great products Of Iowa. and the products of
Minnesota, the agricultural products, and
they didn't fall materially until after 1892,
In this country: you may take the history
of prices in our country, of agricultural
prices as shown in many ways, and you Will
see that the reports all disclose the fact that,
as respects agricultural prices, there was no
great decline except in wheat and cotton I'M
til 1892. The prices of 1892 and for three
years prior to that time were higher for all
the great agricultural products in that state
of mine, except wheat, than they were the
period following 1893. 1 don't ask you to
take my testimony for that; l ask you to
take the testimony of your own commissioner
of labor who is an able and intelligent in
vestigator of these subjects, l.. G. Powers
(applause) who has for two years examined
this great question of agricultural prices in
these, our Western, states, and who shows
conclusively that up to 1893 the prices OF ag-
ricutural products in these ten Northw estern
states were greater in 1891, 1892 and 1898
than they were for the periods Of seven years
after 1873 or for four years prior to 1873. But
it certainly is not a calamity or misfortune;
1t seems to me that prices should be lowered
or reduced If they are reduced in the ordinary
progress of civilization. What is it that con-
trolls prices chiefly? 1t is the cost OF pro-
duction and the cost of TRANSPORTATION. from
the place Of production to the place OF con-
sumption. 1t Is also the supply and demand
for particular articles that regulates the
price. Now, If you reduce the cost of
production Of particular article or series
of articles, then, as matter OF fact, the re-
duction of the price ought to follow for the
benefit of the consumer. Look at the price
of manufactured products, and you Will see
that they have generally receded or dlmin,
ished since 1867 and 1869. Could it be said
that they have diminished because of the d.
minishing quantity Of metallic money! Inat
cannot be so, because labor which enters into
the cost Of the production Of all useful ar
ticles is the chief element of cost; labor
itself has constantly and materially increased
in value not only since 1873, but since 1861,
year by year. so that a given amount of Ia
bor would buy more of gold as we'll as
more of the conveniences Of life, in 1892 than
it would in 1873. Applause) And
WHAT TEST is THERE.
what better test Is there as respects
the appreciation or depreciation of metallic
money, assuming all the time that the aggre-
gate of metallic money controls pr-ces, what
better test is there of the depreciation OF
money or its appreciation than the question
of whether labor has declined or advanced
during the period? AS is shown by senate
committee by a report in which Democrats
or Republicans and free silver men alike
united it has been shown that, compared with
1873 one dollar would buy as many grains OF
gold or one hundred dollars would buy as
many grains of gold as one hundred and forty
eight dollars would have bought in 1873, or as
one hundred and sixty dollars would have
bought in 1860, so that the great element In
the cost of production Of the articles which
have been cheapened shows that there has
been some other influence at play or at work
in cheapening these articles of production,
rather than the money standard, or rather
than the standard of labor. Adam Smith,
writer upon the subjects of political economy,
especially
of gold compared with the commodities, stated
in his chapter upon that subject that labor
was the best test Of ALL as to whether
metallic money had appreciated or deprecated:
but because he could not find statistics of
labor covering a long period of time suf-
fciently accurate to make an estimate, he
made his estimate upon the basis Of coin be-
cause there was accurate data OF the prices
of coin for long centuries of time, prior to
the date at which he was writing.
So, now, do not believe there is better
test as respects the question Of the reduc-
ton of prices connected with the appreciation
of gold than the fact that every laborer in the
United States in 1892 was receiving higher
wages by from 40 to so per cent than he was
receiving in 1873
1 want to say -one thing, and that Is that
the way to restore prosperity is to secure or
to give opportunity for employment to the
people Of the United States in order that
1t is only the product of labor or the product
of machinery of hand or BRAIN that will
produce or create wealth. Money is the
mere instrument between producers and con-
sumers.
l am content that the people Of Minnesota
shall give their answer to there fallacies on
the Sd day of November next Qong and con-
tinued applause.)
OUR OWN SENATOR DAVIS
At the conclusion Of Senator Allison's
address the Masonic quartette sang sew
eral campaign selections, and Senator
Washburn introduced Our Own Sen
ator Davis The latter, before taking
up the main thread of his discussion,
paid a high compliment to Congress-
man Fletcher, whose reelection he
urged He spoke as follows:
Mr.. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Eel
low Citizens: We are at the close of mo-
mentous political campaign. In my judg-
ment it has not been exceeded in importance
by any political controversy in our history
1t has been conducted with great 2erson
feeling. with great ability, and by all Of the