The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-19
HOAHrS POLITICAL COLUMN
FREE COINAGE oATEcHIsM.
CHAPTER VII.

Q.-What attitude have the two great
meta,lism? I
A.-Both parties have expressed
themselves in their party platforms
as in favor of bimetallism
Q.-Why is it then that up to the
date of the national Democratic con-
vention at Chicago in July, 1896, no
steps had been taken TO restore silver
to its position as primary money and
return to the financial policy of BIZ
metalliSm?
Ain 1878, when silver was demone-
tized, the Republican party was in
power and continued to be the domi-
FAINT party until 1892. Though profess
sedly favoring bimetallism, the Re-
publican party always made it's re-
establishment TO depend on interna-
tional agreement. This International
agreement, being disadvantageous to
England, the great creditor nation of
the world, would not be permitted by
that nation 50 long as She could con-
troll the financial policy of the nations
who were in the position Of debtors to
her.
Q.-Is there any hope of a return to
bimetallism through the Republican
party?
A.-None whatever. The Republican
party is now hopelessly committed to
the gold standard. There is but one
money metal-gold-dnd Mckinley is
its prophet.
Q.-How does the Democratic party
stand on this question today?
A.-The Democratic party in its ma
tional platform adopted at Chicago in
July, 1896, denounces gold monometal-
llsm as anti-American, and demands
the free coinage of gold and silver at
a ratio of 16 to l, without the consent
of any other nation.
Q.-Is 1t practicable or possible for
the United States to carry out this
policy successfully without the con-
sent of any other nation?
A.-As it is only d question of
strength and capacity we believe that
the United States is abundant1y able
to arrange it's own financial system
and restore silver to its place under
the constitution as money metal
without the concurrence of one or
more European states.
Q.-What reason have we for the
belief that the United States can
maintain bimetallic standard alone?
Alt is only question of how
much of gold and silver country can
absorb and use after the wants of all
other countries are supplied. If one
country be large enough, popu1ous
enough, and have business enough to
take and use for monetary purposes
all of either or of both metals that
might be left after satisfying every
other demand, that would settle it.
The United States with a population
of nearly $4,000, 000-equal to the COM
bined population of Great Britain,
Spain, Belgium, Holland, Portugal and
Switzerland; with an aggregate of
wealth exceeding that of Great Britain
by more than one-third; with manufac-
more than one-third; with manufac-
lures three-fourths greater than those
of the United Kingdom; with agricul-
tural products more than three times
the value of those raised in Great
Britain; with transportation and car
rying trade equalling the combined
business of all the rest of the nations
of the world besides; and transacting
cne-third of the volume Of business in
the world; this great American re-
public, with all its resources of pro-
duction and its facilities for consump-
ton, ought to be able, and is perfectly
competent to inaugurate and carry
out successfully any financial policy
which will tend to bring prosperity to
it's own citizens, and set an example
for other nations to follow if they
wished to do SO. In the meantime,
let US be.up and doing. Let us be as
independent upon the question of
finance as we are in everything else,
and not allow the milestone of the gold
standard to drag us into the depths of
absolute ruin, while vainly begging
foreign nations that are pigmies by
comparison to come to our rescue.
ELLEN b. FERGUSON.