The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-08-31

/ the preceding Democratic adminiStra-
| ton and against the imposition of more
! Onerous terms than at that time pre-
vailed? Why, sir, it was at Homestead
/ Pa, in the year of our Lord 1882, and
in the year of Benjamin Harrison ",
and it was in the protected iron fac
tories of Mr.. Carnegie, under the full
operation of the Mckinley tariff law,
months before the election of Grover
Cleveland as president. which oc-
Cured the succeeding fall, was dream
ed of as a possibility"
In regard to the financial question,
Mr.. Doster said:
In the discussion of the a1I-absorb-
ing matters of silver coinage and gold
recommendation, it is important to recall
some of the principal acts of legislation
which go to make up the financial poll
icy of the cOuntry-not merely for the
purpose of observing their effects, but
because they indicate the temper of
hostility which the Republican party
has always shown to the industrial in
terests of the masses of the people.
Prominent among these are the acts
authorizing the contraction of the pa
per currency of the country. And I
begin with this as a starting point. At
the close of the war we had in circula-
ton, in existance at least, in round
numbers, 81 600, 900, 900 of paper money.
Exactly stated it was $685., OOO, 600
This entire volume of money was
at the close of the war confined to the
states of the north.
The south was practically bank
rupt. Her confederate money was ut
terly worthless. Her gold and silver had
gone to defray the expenses of her re-
belliOn, and she did not have, compar-
atively speaking, a dollar of money
with which to begin again the struggle
of life. She needed money with which
to restore her broken fortunes and
build up her homes, made desolate by
the ravages of war. The only place
from which it could be obtained was
from the states of the north, or the
northeast as it may now more prop
erly be termed.
zone would naturally suppose that a
greater volume of money instead of a
lesser volume would be needed to ac-
cOmpIISh these miracles OF restoration
of business in one section of the cOun-
try and development of new business
in the other But the statesmen of the
Republican party seemed to think 9TH
erWise, because in the early spring of
1856 an act was passed authorizing the
retirement of the legal tender green
backs and the funding of other forms
of paper money into long time interest
bearing bonds. Under the operation of
this law, the paper currency shrank
from nearly billion of dollars to less
than 100000, 900 in the short space OF
two years, when such contraction was
partially checked by the repeal in
1868 of the law which authorized the
destruction of the greenback currency.
It is true that the place of this money
was partially taken by the issuance OF
national bank notes as the national
banking system became gradually de-
veloped and extended. But the volume
of paper money, national bank and all
other kinds, has never, believe, at any
time equaled the amount in existence
at the close of the war"
Mr.. Doster then referred to the acts
of so and TO- and continuing, said:
In 1871 Germany demOnetiZed silver.
It was the second nation OF all the civ
nized world to do so. England had done
so as far back as 1916, and although
the greatest commercial nation upon
the globe, her act seemed to have abso-
Tho sill Of
the country in popular estimation, or
cause it to be less regarded as a tit IN
strument for the discharge Of money
obligations.
ssThe occasion of Germany's action |
is said to have been a desire to compel
the payment in gold of the immense
war indemnity debt extorted from
France on account of the settlement OF
the war. between these two countries
the preceding year. That dept was IN
the neighbOrhOOd Of $1,000, OO0O0 ana
the German statesmen conceived that
its payment in gold, so far as possible,
would inure to the bene1t OF their coun-
try"
ter said: But you say you want a
dollar that is good in Europe and that !
our silver dollars are only good in Eur
ope at their commodity and not at their |
money value. l answer you py ask
ing you what use you have for dollar |
that is good in Europe? My dear sir, |
YOU are one of the plain, common, every |
day American Cll1EGI1S. ~ AACN~A WIZ /
be in Europe to use a dollar OF money
there Your widest dreams of future |
wealth and ease have never carried you |
across the briny deep to the shady sum- |
mer resorts of the Alpine mountains or |
the German watering spas. Neither |
do you have any exchanges with the |
people of Europe, nor are any erected |
by others in your interest.
You consume nothing that comes |
from Europe, and which, therefore, has !
to be paid in dollars that are good in !
Europe You wear the wool of Amer1- |
can sheep and the cotton OF the pIanIa-
lions of the south. You consume bread !
that is harvested and meat that IS rat
tened in this great missouri valley |
Your farming utensils and all the ma
chinery or appliances of whatsoever |
kind they may be, necessary to you IN /
your daily labor, are of American man |
ufacture and always will be- You nave |
no more use for a dollar that is good |
in Europe than has the man in the |
moon.
1T is estimated that of the entire
volume of commercial transactions /
carried on Toy the people of this country
more than 95 per cent are entirely !
among themselves, and less than per
cent with the people OF foreign nations.
Is it necessary, then, for you to adjust |
your financial system to suit the ca
price and humor the selhshness of the |
people with whom you transact only !
5 per cent of your business? make |
this assertion without the fear of being
contradicted by any merchant or other
business man who hears me, that of the
entire amount of goods exposed for re
tail sale in this city, and you may in /
cIude them all, clothing, hats, caps
boots and shoes, hardware, dry goods,
and wet goods too, groceries and drugs,
not per cent of them in value are of
foreign Importation. I will state the
proportion as even less than that If
there be on the shelves of the mer-
chants of this city other than the
wholesale merchants, million dollars
of goods-there may be more than that,
but I use those figures for the purpose
of the statement, not to exceed S25, 900 |