Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-03-14
TIE COUNTRY IS SAFE.
There Ia No Danger OF Free Silver Sem
.m. i. ~. ntora Winning.

Thero Is NO DnnRor OF Eroo buver sem
,e4 b. y,--ators Winning.
Thee free coinage movement will
come UP again and again in speeches, in
resolutions, and in newspaper articles,
but prnct' cally the country has appar-
emily. little to fear. The silver party
will continue to exist for a time, and it
may be that the politicians who will
control the coming presidential conven-
tions, even some of those who have just
voted against free coinage, will sue
ceed in inserting in the platforms
double dealing and dishonest currency
planks. Such pIanks, however, will
be taken by the people at their real
value. One thing is certain, neither
party will dare, in the face of this vote,
to nominate n presidential candidate
who would not veto n free coinage
measure. 1t may be that the candi-
dates will be men of doubtful ante
cedents; nevertheless, the man who
will be president after the 4th of March,
1897, is not likely to sign free coin
age bill. Whoever he may be, or
whatever his record on this question
may be, he knows now that the people
who control the presidency and the
house of representatives are against
this particular humbug. The business
interests of the country, and the hold E
ers of American securities at home
and abroad, may rest assured that it
is as certain as any future event can he
that for the coming four years the
white house will be as strong n bulwar,1
against this form of unsound money
as it has been and is during the pres
| ent four years.
This much has been accomplished by
| the thorough discussion which the
question received during the time
which elapsed from the strenuous days
of the panic in 1898 to the end of the
campaign of 1894. For nearly 20 years
the country has been at the mercy of
the spectators Of the mining camps
because of the cowardice or ignorance
of our politicians. 1t was in 1876 that
the movement for free coinage began,
and in 1877 Mr.. Bland secured the pas
sage of his free coinage act by the house
of representatives by a vote of 163 TO
"a. 1t wos a great victory, but Mr.. AL
lison in the senate secured the amend
mert of the bill so that it became our
first silver purchasing act. In this
form it was passed by both houses in
1878. From that time to this the agi.
tation has gone on. The free coinage
congressman have never been able to
enact their theory into law, but they
have disturbed business, ruined hun
dreds of merchants, discredited the
country, cost the taxpayers many mil.
lions of dollars, and burdened the treas.
ury with tons of useless bullion. In
the end they inflicted n panic upon the
country, and increased the public debt
by an amount exceeding $250O0O,OO0
1t was only when the people actually re;
allied that the strength of the silver
sentiment in congress was sending
home the bonds and other securities
that had been sold in Europe; and that
by reason of the same bad influence
business was brought to a standstill
the banks were boarding their funds
merchants were failing, factories were
closing, and workingmen were idle
while the government was again, as il
had been in the early days of the war
half-suspected borrower in the money
marllet-it was only after all this hat
dawned upon their minds that Tho
people began to think upon the sub
ject, with the result indicated by tn,
recent vot" in the house of representa-
tives.-Harper's Weekly.