Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-07-07
GOVERNOR ALTGeLD's ERRORS.
Tried to Bolster Up the Silver Cause With
 Unfounded Assumptions.

AEica to Bolster Up the Silver Cause With
 Unfounded Assumptions.
 Governor John P. Altgeld of Illinois recently delivered at the Auditorium in Chicago long and carefully prepared address, i'll which he endeavored to bolster up the failing silver cause with bold assertions and unfounded assump- tions. Starting out with the statement that the civilized world is suffering from bankruptcy, ruin and misery, he claimed that the cne cause of this state of affairs Is 'sthe great reduction in the volume of money ill the world incident to destroying silver as money metal. , The rest Of his two hours speech was devoted to all attempt to show that free silver would be a sufficient remedy for all business and industrial ills
 There is only one objection to the as- sertion that the volume of money in the world has been greatly reduced by de- stroying silver as a money metal It is not true, and Governor Altgeld is very ignorant of the question on which he assumes to teach the people of Illinois if he does not know that it is not true. The official figures show that not only has the actual value of money greatly increased during the past 20 years, but , the per capita circulation also has in- creased. England, France, Germany, Austria and Russia, the leading com mercial nations of Europe, have added over $500, ,000, 000 to their stock of money during that period The United States has increased it's volume of specie and bullion by over $1,000, 900, 900 i'll the same time. Even the silver using countries of Asia and South America, as well as Mexico, have now far more money than i'll 1873 The worlds pro duction of gold and silver is now more than $500, 900, ,000 per year. Of this great amount it is estimated that less than one half is used in the arts so that over $150, 900, GOO is available for money. Of this at least $100, 000, 900 is gold, of which the natural increase in ten years alone will be $1, 900, GOO, 000
 The alleged evil which Governor Alt geld wishes to cure by free coinage hay ing thus been proved to have no exist ence, it follows that his remedy is equally imaginary. The grounds on which he argues for the silver standard are only echoes of Coins Financial School, which is even outdone in some respects Thus he says, "'For some years during and after the war we were on paper basis, and our paper dollar was worth only 40 cents in gold, but our people prospered. If this prosper iJy was the result of cheap paper money, why Goes not Governor Altgeld advocate a return to fiat 40 cent or no cent paper dollars, instead of stopping half way with 51 cent silver dollars?
 In closing his address Governor Alt geld asserted that the question of free coinage meant an issue between the gold standard and bimetallism This is an- other error of fact. Free silver at Is to 1, or 1515 to l, which Governor Altgeld thinks may be the best ratio, would not be bimetallism, but silver monometal- hsm. This has been proved so often that it IS no longer question for discussion. No reasonable man believes that gold would be used as money if silver worth 50 cents were made legal tender for dollar, for 1t is certain that free coinage would drive gold out of circulation and put the country on the silver basis The issue is therefore between silver mono metallism and the gold standard No believer in all honest dollar should be deceived by the false pretense of "bi- metallism. '-Whidden Graham.