The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1896-09-19
THE DESIRE FOR "A CHANGE"

Many persons who cannot or will not
take the trouble to examine and weigh
the arguments for and against free coinage
favor it because it will bring a change.
They argue, if their mental processes may
be dignifed with that term, that things
are bad now and free coinage will bring
change. But they forget that there are
changes and changes. There is the proven
bal change from the frying pan to the
fire. A change may be for the worse as
we'll as for the better. To this class belongs
the change to free silver.
An era of depression has followed the
| financial panic of 1893. The best judg-
ment Of the soundest financiers is that free
coinage will bring another panic, thus
aggravating and perpetuating the evils
from which we suffer Of all the evils
that can at1lict commercial or industrial
community an unsettled currency is one
of the worst. England has become the
clearing house of the world by maintaining
since 1916, a fixed gold basis for her cur
rency, and is now enjoying remarkable
period of commercial prosperity and no
uncomfortable element of this is due to the
absence of any uncertainty in the future
arising from any contemplated or possible
change in her money.
The change for the better we now want
must possess this element before it will
come. In the manufacturing industries
consumption has, during the depression,
been devouring the surplus of overpro-
duction. The shock to confidence and
collapse of credit arising from the panic
have been allayed, ard enterprise stands
ready for new ventures. But these are
entirely impossible with the threatened
depreciation of money. We read in the
newspapers and hear almost every day of
contractors refusing to bid on public or
other works and of people refusing to ad-
venture on enterprises because of the I'M
certainty. Pancs and their shocks and
the aftermath of depression are not new
things. Very low prices, even of farm
products, are not new things During the
colonial period the depression was at times
so great in the United States that legs-
lative attempts were made to limit pro-
| ductiOn and commissions were sent around
to dig up portions OF corps. In 1865
there was most acute agricultural dt-
preston in the United States. In time
there is an inevitable reaction from these
depressions. There was such reaction in
1S19-e0 from the panic of 1873 and subse-
quent depression. In England there is a
complete reaction from the panic of 1898.
Why do the United States still wallow in
the slough of hard times? More than any
thing else, the silver agitation is responsible
for it. Remove this incubus, confidence
will be restored, the wheels of industry
will begin to turn and enterprise will awake.
Then will come change and one to be
desired.
Let the people work for this change on
intelligent lines by scotching the iniqui-
tous attempt to disturb the currency and
not call for change for the sake of change
and in the blind hope that it will be for
better. If industry and enterprise revive
there will be purchasers and market for
farm products, and the revival of prosperity
will then as it has in the past. reach the
farmer. Baltimore Sun.