The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-10-28
THE RIGHTS
OF DEBTORS

who advocate the free coinage of silver
as dishonest and knavcs, the Hon John
| Dewitt Warner breaks OUT Il know
| they talk u great deal about the man
| who contracted Il debt twenty years ago
| and who now finds that il takes more
| wheat or cotton to pay it. That is not
| the question The question is: What
has he (the debtor agreed to do; and then
whether, just because he finds it hard
| to keep his agreement, he shall be allow
| ell to break it:''
But in advocating the free coinage of
| silver. debtors do not ask to be allowed
! TO repudate their agreements. The
| agreements they have made they will not
| willingly break. So long as it lies with
| in their power they will fulfill all their
| contracts to the letter Where they have
agreed with their creditors to pay gold,
! they will do so and they do not ask that
Il breaking of contracts such as would
enable them to pay silver where they
have contracted to pay gold shall he
legalized. However honorous the pay
ment of q debt in gold may become, how
ever unjustly the creditor may have taken
| advantage of their necessities to force
them to write the word gold in their
promises to pay, they will strive to carry
out the agreements they have entered
into and from such agreements they do
not ask to be relieved.
In advocating the free coinage of silver
those debtors who have made debts pay
able in gold do not ask that they be en-
powered to tender silver dollars to their
creditors in payment of such debts
Where they have agreed to pay gold they
will pay gold, he the cost what it may,
unless indeed the cost is so great as to
exhaust their resources and drive them
into bankruptcy But while striving to
pay all our debts as we have agreed, and
paving gold when the contract calls for
such payment. we shall exercise our right
to cheaper gold.
III demanding the opening of oar minis
II silver we do not ask that we he permit
lei to repudiatc all our gold debts: we
ask simply that we be permitted 10 cx-
ercise our power to cheaper gold and
raise prices SO that the products of
labor will 20 further than now towards
paying debts. The cotcrie of money lend
crs who have by almost impcrccptible
steps secured control over the finances of
the world, have stcalthily used their in
tluence and the great power that money
confers to bring about such action levis.
lative and other, by the nations OF the
western world as has led To Il most mark
ed enhancement in the value of gold
Having successfully carried out their
world to silver and having brought
about systematic discrimination against
silver rs money and in favor of gold, in
fact relegating silver To place secondary
to gold, they have so increased the de
mand for gold while diminishing the de-
mand for silver rs 70 cause gold to rise
and silver to tall, thereby creating n
marked disturbance in the relative
values of the two metals
And the result of this skilfuly laid
plan has been to greatly lower the price
ut which our wheat and cotton will be
accepted by our foreign creditors in set
Element of our indebtedness In brief,
having forced down the gold price of the
silver which they have need to pay for
their excess of imports from silver using
countries, and the purchasing power OF
| this silver in silver using countries not
! having been disturbed By the violent and
constantly downward fluctuations in the
gold prize of silver, commencing with the
closing of the minis of the western world
TO free coinage, they have been enabled to
buy the wheat and cotton of silver using
countries for II smaller gold price Just as,
year after year, they have been enabled
to buy the silver they have need of To
send IN payment for IL smaller price in
gold. So just as silver has fallen. the
British trader has been enabled to fill his
wants in silver using countries at Il lower
and lower gold price. Consequently he
has turned more 10 such countries for
his supplies the demand for our products
rclativcly-to the increasing demand for
the products OF others has shown IL fall
ing of and our prices have of course all
EN- in proportionate degree with the fall
in the gold price of silver which has
cheapcned the gold cost of everything
bought from silver using countries.
SO we have been Obliged, by these sue
cessful efforts of Il cotcric of money-lend.
| ers in London and their allies in America.
to give more and more of our produce
year after year to meet the claims of our
| creditors, both ut home and abroad I'm
der this increasing burden our producing
classcs-for ii is the producing classes
who are the debtor classes-have strug.
Gled on from year TO year, with the load
becoming heavier just us they have strIIg-
gled EDWARDS, and the creditor classes.
bent on rcaping to the fullest extent the
fruits OF others labor have been success
full IN further enhancing the value of
gold.
But ut last our debtor classes are pre-
pairing to assert their rights and throw of
the burdens that grind them down. \
cotcric OF money-lcnders have for years
OF enhancing the value of gold with Il
view to building up their own fortunes
on the impCv crishment of those who toll.
But now our producing and debtor classes
turn round and assert their right to CHEAP
en- gold. Where others have caused its
enhancement by describing silver, they
propose TO cheaper it by rc>toring silver
TO its place rs money, rs of old, when il
will STARE, equally with gold, the money
functions
Thus We ,.emand the free coinage of sill.