The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-10-10
SOUND ARGUMENT.
A Leading Railway Mans Talk for Honest
Money.

CIOhhtu W thC hOOio Ou TIC evening
of Saturday, the Goth, by an enthusi-
astic audience which assembled to hear
Melville Il. ingalls, talk on the motley
question. After being duly introduce q
and warmly received by the railway
men present Mr.. ingalls, said:
There are many questions involved In
this campaign, but the one burning question
IS this Shall this government of ours, re-
Gardless of any other government estab-
lish the free coinage of silver at the ratio
OF sixteen TO one, which means that six
teen ounces OF silver shall be made equal
to one ounce OF gold. 80 far as the gov
eminent can make It, and II means that the
owner of silver bullion, whether II has
been dug out of the mines of Colorado or
in the dark retreats of Siberia or in South
America, or, perhaps, may have been
bought In the markets of New York or Lon
don, shall have the right to take the sill
yer bullion, which he can purchase for SO
cents on the dollar. or which costs him
that to produce, to the minis of the United
States and receive thcrefrom silver dol
lars which shall be stamped as good for
100 cents on the dollar in the payment OF
all dues to the United States and in the
settlement Of all debts between you and
me?
when Mr.. Bryan first started on his
canvass he undertook to say that free
coinage would raise the price of silver from
IS cents an ounce, It's present price, to
sl29. or from SO cents on the dollar to 100
cents on the dollar That was his Madison
Square speech. but as he began to go west
and catch the populist brother he soon left
that and dropped down to his 53-cent dol
lar. He might just as well, because there
Is no more chance of raising silver to 100
cents by the establishment OF free coinage
In this country than there Is in turning
the hand back on the dial What Is coin
age? | am going into some OF these ele-
mentary truths tonight TO get the ideas
all before you In consecutive thought.
1.-The question of making coin legal ten
der has no effect outside of the country
where the law was enacted. When people
talk about raising the price to nar. they for
get about the immense production of sill
YER Ii has grown in 20 years from CO :
100000 ounces TO l75O00.0o0 ounces. and at
The same time the use Of il for commercial
transactions has decreased; ana this in
crease of .000 ounces has gone on
On spite OF this low price. and will any Of
YOU gentlemen who are familiar with bust
ness methods tell me what would be the
production IL, instead of selling AZ g cents
an ounce, it sold at sl.29 an ounce?
.For the last hundred years IN the coin
age of Europe the ratio II silver and gold
was about one TO fifteen ami onc-half, that
IS that one ounce Of gold should equal
fifteen and oro-half ounces OF silver in
value 1t rarely was less than one 10
fourteen, never greater than one 10 six
teen; ard the demands of silver and gold
for commerce work were so great that
their commercial values were kept NJ about
that price. There never was government
In the last two centuries who attempted
20 coin silver and gold ut a ratio different
from their commercial ratio, The first at
tempt at the experiment Is the ono Mr..
BRYAN wants us to make in this country.
"Othcr civilized nations OF Europe. fol-
lowing Englands example, adopted the
gold standard. but continued to coin sill
yer until 1871, when Germany after the war
with France concluded she could take the
large subsidiary she had received. nut the
country on gold. and establish her COM
mercial integrity with the gold standard.
This produced so much silver for sale that
The Latin union found themselves being
flooded with silver, and gold bei2g driven
out. In 1871 the Latin union, which was
stronger than the American nation OF
to-day, found themselves being flooded
with silver, which was driving out gold.
although silver was then Il triie under
The value OF gold. The mints of France
were so full of silver that they couldn't
coin IL in two years. and the result OF II
was in 1873 they limited the coinage OF
five franc pieces, and In 1876 the Latin
union entirely suspended the free coinage
OF silver.
This statement is so important that I
beg your attention while I repeat II. The
Bryan populists claim that II this nation
OF 20, 000. 600 people establish the free COIN
age of silver at sixteen to one. II Will have
the effect at once of raising It's price TO
par regardless OF the fact that Its COM
mcroiai ratio is thirty-two to one. There
is no better way OF disproving an as
sertion OF this kind than by pointing out an
exact instance OF the kind In the past.
and fortunately in this case we have II.
In 1872 and 1873 the Latin union was friend
iy to silver. and was anxious to maintain Its
free and unlimited coinage with gold at
the ratio OF fifteen and one-half to one.
.'In the Latin union were France, Swift
xeriand Italy and Belgium-nations con-
tanning about 100000 OF people. or more
than our present population. The CONNER
ctal value Of silver at that time was about
seventeen TO one. compared with gold. and
yet, with this small difference. and with
the friendly feeling OF these great nations.
with this immense population behind them.
they found their minis clogged with Sill
YER gold leaving their countries. and they
were forced in 1873 to limit the free coinage
of the -fve-franc pieces.
Does anyone know Of anything that has
transp!red since 1873 that would render
successful any attempt to do now what
failed then. especially when we consider
further that II failed In 1873 with the COM
mercial value of silver at about seventeen
TO one, and now II Is thirty-two to one!
The production OF gold has increased so
much since the discovery In California,
the growth OF credits has been so great
that the need of money is not so great as
Il was. and the commercial world mas
found that the great transactions and cx-
changes have to be conducted with gold.
with silver as n subsidiary coin. Such Is
the history OF the use of silver in Europe.
which country to-day has gold as stand
ard, but still uses silver In large quantities
for domestic transactions. but without free
coinage. AMI with It's legal tender quail
ties limited. In other words. the standard
of value of Europe is the same as that OF
the United States.
Now, consider this: Alexander Hamil- |
ton overvalued silver at three per cent
Thomas II Benton overvalued gold at about
four per cent, and yet so unerring was
the law Of trade that in the first place II
drove oft gold. and In the next place II
drove out silver. Can you tell me by
what process our populist friendr think
they will keep their gold and silver In
circulation side by side, after they estab- |
lish the free coinage of silver at sixteen |
20 one, when the commercial ratio Is thir-
ty-two or thirty-three to one?
Probably one per cent would turn the
tide, and the result Is that IL you estab- |
llsh the free coinage Of silver to day at
sixteen to one you will drive out the $780, |
100000 of gold you have In the country.