Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-06-26

cratic party to free coinage of silver at
the ratio of Is to 1. or, as 1 understand
him, at any other ratio. dEz
| HE fayofS the existing standard OF
! gold for all time to come, unless a BIZ
metallic standard by International
agreement can hereafter be accomplish
| ed. In his only proposed remedy of in
ternational agreement no one in the
south or west who conscientiously de-
| sires a double standard has the least
confidence.
ITO them the sole question is. Shall
| we lie down, submit for all time to a gold
| standard, with its consequent effect of
ruinous prices upon the products of labor.
| its practical destruction of the great agri-
| cultural industries of the sections in
which we live, its certain perpetuation of
| an enormous national, corporate and in
| dividual Indebtedness that can never b
| paid in money SO greatly appreciated in
| purchasing power as our own has become
| through the demonstration Of silver, or
| shall we insist upon the restoration of
| silver to the place. of equality with gold.
| assigned 1t in the constitution, as money
| of final redemption. with its consequent
| reduction of the purchasing power of our
| standard of values. its better prices for
| the products of labor, its hopeful assur-
ance that we may some time pay our
debts and be relieved from a condition of
| financial serfdom which, under present
conditions, Is becoming absolutely intoler-
able?
NIT. w nlLney eVluenIly IallS 10 dppfc-
ciate the fact that all he fears will come
| bout by reason of the reconciliation of
silver (or as he would state it, the de-
basement of tha currency will bring
little or no real suffering to the class who
will be injuriously affected thereby for
they will still be abundantly supplied
with means to meet all the actual necss-
stiles of life, while the present standard,
with its consequent depreciation of the
market price of the products of labor,
&c frtl cl1 ino fIa 70 ns1t nf ho1.
class, vastly greater in number
1T is evident, too, from Mr.. Whitney's
statement, that he entirely overlooks the
fact that 1t is no new advantage or I'M
tried relief that the friends of silver are
demanding.
"All they ask is that the law shall be
made to restore to the people of this I'M
ion what the law has taken away from
them, and that, too, in violation of the
plain spirit of the constitution upon
which our government is based
Neither does he seem to give weight
to the fact that there Is no disposition
| upon the part of the friends of silver
to avoid scrupulous performance of
both the letter and spirit of every con-
tract that has heretofore been made,
whether national, state, corporate or in
dividual.
What they do object to, and rightfuliy,
| Is the proposition that these obligations
| shall be changed by law and made paya-
| bic in a currency that requires double
| the human effort to obtain that would
| be required to obtain the currency in
which, by their own express terms or by
| the terms of the law In force when they
were assumed, they are made payable.
| 81 do not believe that when the masses
| of the democratic party in the east are
made acquainted with the precise
grounds on which the friends of silver of
| the south and west demand its remoneti-
cation they will see in that demand a
cause for the disruption of their party
Instead of this l firmly believe the great
body of that party, the rank and file,
| whose interests are identical with the
| interests of their political brothers in the
| south and west, will join with the friends
| of silver in righting a wrong which, If
perpetuated, would prove as burdensome
| to one section as to the other. aefl
II regret that l am compelled to at
| tempt to answer in the most hurried
manner a statement upon this important
| question by one of the ablest American
citizens and statesmen, which bears upon
| its face unmistakable evidence of most
careful preparation" =.