The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-09-12

that parity between our silver and gold
COINS which the law declares is the
poncy OF the government, and because
ne mas the courage To execute the pow
ers given to him by the resumption act
TO carry out that declaration of public
law. l undertake, therefore, to say
that If Mr.. Bryan. or man holding his
views, were in the presidential chair,
without any legislation by Congress, we
should be on silver basis in weeks
time. (Applause).
The silver qucstion-what is il? Do
you want silver because you want more
money, a larger circulating medium? /
have not heard anybody say So Mr..
Bryan is not urging it upon that basis.
III anybody were TO seek to give that as
a reason FOR wanting free silver he would
be very soon COMPOUNDED by the state
ment that free silver would put more
gold out of circulation than minis of the
United States could possibly bring in in
years of silver, and that instead of hav-
ing more money we would have less. CAP
plause.) With our six hundred and odd
million of gold driven out of circulation
we will reduce our per capita money of
TINS country between eight and nine dol
lars. So il is not for more money. We
have an abundant supply of circulating
medium-god, silver, national bank
greenbacks, treasury notes, fractional sill
yer: We have something like S23 per
capita of our population What is il.
then. that creates this demand for silver?
IL is openly avOwcd. Ii is not more dol
lars, but cheaper dollars that are wanted.
Ii is lower standard of value that they
are demanding. They say gold has gone
up until ii has ceased to he proper
standard of value, and they want silver.
But how do they want il.
Now, my friends, there is a great
# fal oh ,..ll a a.
double standard and great deal of con-
fusion in the use of those terms. BIZ
metallism is the use of the two metals
as money where they are both used
BY double standard they mean that
we shall have gold dollar and silver
dollar which will be unit of value.
by which all property and all wages
and everything is to be measured. Now,
our fathers thought that when they used
these two metals in coinage they must
determine the intrinsic relative value of
the two, so that comparison of the
markets of the world would show lust
what relation one ounce of silver bore
to one ounce of gold how many ounces
of silver it took to be equal to one ounce
of gold in the markets of the world
where gold and silver were used, and
they carefully went about ascertaining
that. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
the determination of that question, and
they collected the market reports and
they studied with all their power that
question, and when they found what
appeared TO be the general and average
relative value of these two metals they
fixed upon a ratio between them. Now,
what was the object of all that? Why
did they lump il all? Because they fully
understood that unless these dollars were
of the same intrinsic value that both of
them could not be standards of value,
and both could not circulate. Cap
plause.)
"As things are now the silver dollars
that we have are supported by the gov
eminent, and the government that sup
ports this silver bullion has issued these
dollars on its own account-not fors the
mine owncr-and it has pledged its sa-
cred honor it would make every one of
these dollars as good as a gold dollar.
Great applause.) And that is a power
full support. Our Populistic friends pro-
pose that the man who digs silver out of
the mine may bring it TO the mint and
have il stamped and handed back to him
as a dollar, the government having no
responsibility about it. These men
would reject with contempt the PROPOSE
ton that free coinage was to come with
n pledge on behalf of the government
-
(Applause) But this feeling is well
adapted to touch the prevailing American
bumptiousness and well adapted TO
touch that prejudice against England
which many have. but can we do this
thing ourselves? Is il question wheth-
err we will do it, or ask anybody's con-
sent whether we may, or ask the coop
Grafton of Somebody Not Mt all. l
tell YOU what this government can do
alone. 1t can fix its money unit. IL
can declare by law what shall be the
relative value of an ounce of gold and
an ounce of silver, but it cannot make
that last declaration good. (Applause.)
II is unduestionably fully within the
mower of this government to bring this
country TO a silver basis by coming silver
dollars and making them legel tender.
They can do that.
"This government might say you shall
take one of these dollars, but it cannot
saw md enforce its dCcrec-if you should
cali ont the regular army or navy and
muster our great modern ships and the
militia. and put William j. Bryan in
command Of them--it cannot enforce the
decree that one ounce oil gold is the
eoniyalent of sixteen ounces of silver.
| 0!reat applause and cheers.) Not only
that. not France and England and Ger
MANY can do that unless the markets
resnond. (Applause.) We can of our
solves. of our own wisdom, declare the
unit of value. We can coin silver free
| Iv. hut we cannot make sixteen ounces
Of silver equal TO one ounce OF goid un.
| loss IL is (Applause) And II is not
nnless the merchants take 1t at that
rate.
what il the next suggestion. it Is.
my friends. i'm the case OF free silver,
what Is the financial and moral equiva-