The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-07-23
the advancement of the great cause
which means so much to humanity.

the advancement of the great caus
| which means so much to humanity.
FIFTY-CENT DOLLARS.
'Tt is not intended to pay debts wit
| fifty-cent dollars, or drive away gold
or TO debase our currency. Our purpos
simply is by increasing the coinage AM
use of silver and by giving 1t equal priv
ilege with gold to raise its value an
by diminishing the strain on gold which
gold monometallists have caused, t
take away its unjust appreciation ant
thus, by pulling up the value of silve
and pulling down the value of gold, t,
restore the old ratio. so that sixteei
ounces of silver wiz be worth in bullion
as well as in coin one ounce of gold
Thus the old unit Of value---the dollar
based on both metals instead of one
will be restored, and we shall have {
gold dollar worth one hundred cents il
silver and a silver dollar worth ont
hundred cents in gold.
WHY THIS RATIO.
eff we are asked why this ratio Is de
ter,nined upon, our answer is not only
that that has been the customary ratio
for years, but also, that the total stock
Of silver coin in the world is four thou
sand and million dollars: that the total
stock of gold is approximate ly the same
and that If the total stocks of silver and
gold were each melted into solid mass
the silver mass would be about sixteen
times as great in weight as the gold
mass. We also answer that today the
relative production of the two metals
is in approximately the same proportion
We must establish by law some relation
Of value between the two metals. And
we propose to value silver as it will
stand after the restoration to equality
of privilege with gold, and not while ii
is diScredited by unequal laws.
INCREASED VOLUME
THE advantages of the restoration OF
bimetallism are apparent. 1t will not
only give the world an increasing vol
ume of currency proportional to the in
crease of population and to theextension
Of business, commerce anr enterprise,
but it will do away with the disloca-
ton of the exchanges that have existed
between gold standard and silver stand
ard countries--a disloca ton which has
immensely stimulated the production
Of silver.
"England's wealth consists of gold.
Our wealth consist in property and pro-
ducts. England is a creditor nation.
The United States is debtor nation.
England is interested in having money
dearer and products cheap. We rely
upon good prices for our products in or
der to pay our foreign debts. England
proposes to pursue policy which wild
increase tine value of the gold she owns.
Ought not we to pursue a policy which
will increase the value Of the property
that We own and Of the products that
we export? Do the imitators of English
policy in this country realize that there
is a difference in interests between the
buyer and the seller; between the credi-
tor nation and the creditor or produc-
ing nation? What should our policy
be?
TO RESTORE OLD PARITY.
why, to increase the use of silver and
IN that way increase its value, SO as to
restore its old parity with gold. We find
that the dislocation between gold and
silver has given the advantage in pro-
duction to countries that are not on a
gold basis, that their foreign products,
whose prices are stable in silver al
though reduced in gold, are competing
with ours in foreign markets 10 our
great disadvantage, and that their man.
ufactured products, produced at la
Dor cost stable in silver, but reduced in
gold, offer a menance to our home man.
protected though they be by
tariff laws. We have at stake the In
terests of the greatest debtor nation In
the world; of the grea test silver produc-
ing nation Of the world; of a nation
yielding the greatest amount of farm
products in the world---farm products
on which We rely for the payment of our
foreign debts, and the prices of which
have been driven down in gold as silver
has fallen.
NO GREAT TASK.
Our opponents, gentlemen. exagger-
ate the difficulties of the task before us.
In order to restore silver 1t Is only nee
essary to absorb the current product
OF the mines. The accumulated stock is
IN the shape of coin, bearing the sta,np
of various governments. and 1t is absurd
to presume that the owners of such coin
VIII send IL here simply to receive the
American stamp. Silver coin it is and
silver coin it would remain. There is no
surplus anywhere in the shape OF bull
ion; for the bullion in the treasury
vaults ia constructively coined. and is
represented by silver certificates and
treasury notes now in circulation. The
current product of the mines is now all
absorbed in current useS---fn the arts
n the coinage and for other PURPOSES
Any demand that We create would ba
a new demand and would have a ten
lency to increase the value OF the chr
rent product But we are told that in
,rease or value viii increase produc-
lion- of course no man can for;eIi
What the product of silver Will be. but
The best test OF the limitation Of the fu-
-ure is The limitation of the past. and
We all know that all the silver in the
'vorld--the result Of the operations of
silver mining for ages--can be pu, in
20 a cube OF siN;y-six feet. The world
has never produced enough of metallic
eoin. The fact that today over one
-ourth OF the money of the world is IN
covered paper money proves this.
LIMIT THE PRODUCTION.
But suppse the fears Of our aIarnnist
trends are realized and that nature.
instead OF exposing her silver trea sur,
rs she has done IN the past. gradually
ana progressively. 70 NEE, the wants OF
he works. money. should expose il IN
arge abundance, is not this a matter
u easy control? The mines OF th. f1-
.ure are In the granted mineral lands Of
his country and in Mexico. for. reman-
Der that Mexico and the United States
produce two-thir1s Of the silver Of he
world. VIII IL not De necessary 70 lin
I those grants either by exacting roy
llty or by total Withdrawals that ne
'ilver stores OF the future may not be
induly drawn upon fer he present. and
hat the calm and equal production OF
liver commensurate with lis use may
- established and secured?
We clam that the free coinage %
liver at the ratio Of Is 20 l. BY this
ountry. is practicable; that il VIII re-
tore the old relative value os silver and
odd: impair the competitive efIicisacy