Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-09-03
SENATOR SHERMAN ON THE
MONEY QUESTION.

A speech from John Sherman on
any public question always commands
attention. The speech in Columbus
on the 18th sets the senator out IN
his true light. For years he has been
wobhling round as a blmetalist; at
one time he wanted a dollar coined,
as he stated, ''that should be worth a
dollar" dollar that should have a
dollars worth of silver in it. These
were his catchwords. They were tax
en- up by gang of his followers,
spoken and printed, and out of them
came those others catchwords for po-
litical purposes, II am for free coin
age, but | want an honest dollar, one
that has a dollars worth of silver in
it." At one time after Mr.. Sherman
had preached this doctrine there was
some prospect of changing the ratio
and entering upon free coinage on a
ratio of 20 to l, or thereabouts, but
it is doubtful If Mr.. Sherman ever
wanted free coinage of silver at any
ratio, so he took another tack. He
commenced preaching the doctrine of
international bi-metalism; be advo-
Gated this with all his well known
ability and shrewdness, knowing as
he did then, and as he now knows,
that 1t was absolutely impossible; he
never expected international bimetal.
ism. From the time he put through
congress the demonstration act of
1873, he has been in favor of a gold
standard. There has never been any
doubt IN the minds of thousands who
know him all through. His purpose
and intent was to overthrow the sill
yer standard, to drive silver out of
our currency except as subsidiary
coin. His speech now is a bolder
utterance than he has ever made in
favor of the gold standard. We do
not believe that as a political move
Senator Sherman was anxious to have
the word "gold" in the Republican
platform. If his opinions had pre-
vailed the word "gold" would have
been left out Of the platform and the
Ohio idea, which was nothing else
than the Sherman idea of talking BIZ
metalism, while in reality he meant
the gold standard, would have pre-
vailed.
Very adriotly the senator alludes
to the fact that at the time of the de.
monetizatlon of silver in 1873 neith-
er silver nor gold was in circulation;
but does he show in any place where
the people by petition, or any state by
resolution, asked for the demonetiza-
ton of silver? For what purpose,
then, was silver demonetized when
il was not in use? In whose interest
was it demonetlzed and the gold stand.
ard set up? Plainly and solely in the
interest of the bond holding classes
of Europe. II anybody asked for his
gold standard in 1873 it was the
great houses that deal in bonds and
other securities in Europe, and the
holders of the bonds of the United
States acting through Senator Sher-
man, who was true to his clients.
Anyone who will recall his efforts at
the time of resumption to secure
the payment of our bonds in gold,
and she fact that he was defeated
and the word "coin" substituted,
will see how perfectly consistent the
senator has been, and is to-day, in
his advocacy of the gold standard.
Does the Senator, while he alludes
so adroitly to the fact that gold was
paid for our bonds, deny that many
of those bonds were purchased from
SO to so per cent. Of their face value2