The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-08-17
FOR HONEST MONEY.


Sound Common Sense in the speec h of the
L Veteran Senator,
Mr.. Chairman and Fellow Citizens:
| A citizen nf Ohio has been selected by
the Republican national convention as
| their candidate for President of the
United States and We are here to ratify
and support his nomination. We take
pride in William Nc kinley, not only for
| the honor conferred upon Ohio by the
convention, but because We know him to
lie fitted for that great office. During all
ms active life ne has been faithful and
able Republican.
At the coming Presidential election
there will be submitted to your Judgment
TWO questions, one OF which is whether
any holder of silver bullion may deposit
1T at the mints of the United States, and
have 1t coined for his benefit and with
out cost to him into silver dollars each of
| the weight of 4l213 grains of standard
silver, nlne-tvnths fine, and may tender
| them for any debt. public or private.
The other question is whether in ieyying
duties or taxes on imported goods Wa
shoulI only consider the revenue re-
CURED, or whether while raising ths need
cd revenues we should seek also TO pro-
| tect and encourage domestic Industries;
the one is called revenue tariff and she
| other protective tariff. Both the silver
and tariff are vital questions of domestic
policy OF equal Importance, bEt propose
on this occasion to oOntine my remarks
| mainly to what is known as the free
coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen
parts of silver to one of gold. This issue
is thrust upon US by the Democratic
party, or rather by the Populistic branch
of the Democratic party. Gold and sill
yer coins are recognized by all CONNER
cial nations of the world as the best
standards of value as the measure Of every
| article of desire, of everything that is
bought or sold. These two metals not
| measure each other. Their relative value
constantly changes. Twehty-thrae
years ago sixteen ounces of silver were
worth more than one ounce of gold. Now
thlrty-One onces OF silver can be bought
by one ounce of gold. This huctuation
of value cannot be prevented by law. 1t
is beyond the reach OF legislation. 1t is
| caused by the changing demands for and
the increasing supply of these metals
from the mines. Both are necessary as
money, silver to supply the daily wants of
life and gold to measure the larger trans
actions of business, especially in ex-
changes with foreign nations. How to
maintain the parity of the two meals at
fixed ratio has been. is, and always
will be, difficult problem, not only in
the United States, but in the civilized
world
In 1899 silver and gold were made the
common standards Of value in the Unit
ed States at the ratio of 10 to l, but this
was because that then the actual market
value of 10 ounces of silver was equal to
the market value OF one ounce OF gold
The greatest care was taken to ascer-
ain his ratio by Thomas Jetfer son, then
Secretary of State and Alexander Ham,
ilton, then Secretary of the Treasury. G
A rjanr
sued 1t was found that tie abraded and
worn coins of other countries filled the
channels of circulation and the new and
bright dollars of the United States were
exported. This led to the discontinue
ance, in 1896. by President Jefferson of the
coinage of the silver dollar and after that
date none were coined for more than 30
years. This order of Jefferson, / sun
pose, would be called by our Populistic
friends, ''the crime of 1906" In the
meantime France and other countries
adopted the ratio of 1515 ounces of silver
as the equivalent Of one ounce of gold
10 avoid these embarrassing changes
England, in 1878. adopted gold as the
single standard 10 that country aud silver
as subsidiary coin.
In 1884, during the administration of
President jackson, and under the
leadership Of Daniel Webster and Thomas
H. Benton, Congress adopted the ratio
of 1t OF silver to Of gold, by reducing
the number of grains in the gold coin.
AS silver was thus slightly undsryalued,
it was not largely coined
Silver could be coined in France at
the ratio of 1515 TO I, and the owner of
silvor bullion could send it to France
ana havo it converted into coin at that
ratio. thus resolving about three per cent
more for his bullion than if COINED in
America. Gold became the only Ameri
can coin in circulation and the avowed
purpose OF the passage Of the law Of 1884