The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-09-03
themselves tsgoldbugs', by legislative

themselves .tgoldbugs'' by legislative
enactment
Therefore, if the gold standard was
adopted in 1858, or if it was not adopted
until 1873, the fact remains that five
times as much silver has been coined
under the gold standard as was coined
before; and if the amount of silver
coined depends on the standard in use,
and if the gold standard has produced
so times more standard silver dollars in
20 years than the so-called double stand
ard did in 80 years, and more especially
since the later fathers declared in favor
of the gold standard, and since all
free coinage countries have debased
silver coins and contracted currency
by reason of the consequent expulsion
of gold, there remains nothing for the
sincere friend of silver to do, but to sing
praises to the gold standard and shout
in the fervency of his joy: 'tOh, gold
bug where is thy sting; oh, 'silverbug'
where is thy victory?
There is something positively amusing
about the pertinacity with which the
popocrats contend for the ratio of I6 to I,
under any and all conditions. Nobody
else has ever done so in this country, or
in any other. Even the fathers prop
er established the ratio of IS to 1, and
made mistake, as our later fathers did,
when they made it 16 to L.
No ratio has ever been regarded as of
sacred origin until our latter day saints
came under the influence OF the 10 to I
geniI, and they now generally noid that
the hrst chapter OF Genesis snouid read
In the beginning God created the neav-
ems, the ratio OF 70 to I, and then the
earth"
There might be some excuse Tor favor-
ing the free coinage OF silver at the ratio
of I6 to I if the poor reason could De
given that it would be an experiment, but
it would not be even that. That our gold
would at once disappear IS as certain as
that there is now no go!d IN any Tree
coinage country IN the worio: 1nls Is SO
because the cheaper money always drives
business itself, and this IS SO because II
you. yourself, my free-silver friend. had a
note falling due the hrst day OF next Janu-
airy, by the terms OF which you agreed
to pay John Smith on that day lone
horse" and if, when that day came, you
had in your possession a $40 cayuse and a
$1,000 stallion say under such cond1-
tions you would pay the debt with the
$40 cayuse because 1t hiieo the con-
tract-1t was "one horse.
l cannot make II palmer tnan tnls, ana
only want to ada TO tnis pnase OF tns
suDJect tnat no law scou.u ever pe Passeu
that would enable a nation 10 escape from
the tact that the TWO metals cannot pe
coined at an arbitrary bullion ratio ana
both remain IN Circulation.
The immediate effect, then, OF the pas
sage OF law provlaing LOT 1he IIee.coin-
age OF silver at the ratlo OF 10 10 !,
would be to contract our currency -Dy tue
amount OF our gold, and 10 reouce tne
purchasing power OF the remainder TO
the bullion value OF silver, or to SO cents
on the dollar. -.
Every workingman VINO Hkes tnls
prospect should vote Tor the Tree coinage
OF silver:
Ih1s charge that silver mas Deeh un-
fairly treated by our government IS
the most demagogical appeal TO 1gnor-
ance and prejudice ever known IN Amer1-
can politics. There IS no reason Tor
every school boy not knowing that even
though something wrong on TINS question
was done in 1873, It was all nghted hye
years later, and after every other great
commercial nation had exciuded silver
from its m1nts, our government Degan
coming P2sooc, 900 per montn, wnicn II
continued to do for I2 years, when II was
superseded by the Sherman law that fur.
nished market for silver bullion to the
amount of $4,000, 900 ounces per annun,
or about equal to the entire product OF
the American silver mines. This law
remained In force for three years, and
during all these years the other great
nations of the earth stood by in amaze
ment and said: "In the name of heaven
how long can the United States hold sill
yer up by her own unaided efforts? But
the end came in 1893, and while we were
in the very midst OF furnishing the
greatest market for silver 1t ever had, 1t
fell IN value the fastest and furthest.
Now 1t IS only necessay to say that II
our government could not keep the pr1ce
of silver up when it was up, how in the
name OF common sense can we be ex-
peceed to put II up wnen II IS down
II we could only be reasonable ABOUT
TINS question, ABOUT tWo7tnirds OF TINS
Dosn we near ABOUT Iree,siiVer coinage
would De abandoned long before the NO
election.
But there is one proposition made Dy