The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-08-26
As to Gold and Silver and Voting.

Silver dollars may not be directly ex-
changeable for gold. Indirectly, they
are. The government has undertaken
to maintain every dollar of the national
currency at parity with gold. Every
doller of the United States, whether of
paper or silver, is as good as gold
dollar. The gold dollar is the standard,
and all the power and credit of the
government is pledged to keep every
other dollar as good as the dollar of
gold. For this purpose the govern
ment undertakes to maintain in the
treasury at Washington a gold reserve
of 100000; to restore this reserve
when it had dropped below 100000
000 the government has in recent years
bought nearly $500, 900, 900 in the yell
low metal.
This policy the populistic democracy
propose to change. They propose to
open the minis of the United States to
every and any possessor of silver
bullion who may wish to have it coined
into standard silver dollars. Every
possessor of foreign silver coin-the
Englishman, the Frenchman, the Ger
man, the East Indian, the Mexican,
the American, or any other-may take
it to the mint, have it melted and re-
coined into standard silver dollars of
the United States. The minis will be
open to persons of any nationality to
bring uncoined silver or foreign silver
coins and have them converted into
United States standard silver dollars.
AT the present price of silver, this
bullion, or these foreign coins, are
worth SO cents for every 3714 grains,
the amount of fine silver in United
States dollar. The populists, the democ-
racy, propose to put the stamp of the
United States on this weight of silver,
worth SO cents, and to make it legal
tender for 100 cents in the payment of
all debts, public or private. The
owner of the bullion, or foreign coins,
puts the United States coins he receives
therefor into general circulation. With
them he buys coat, or pays his rent
or taxes, or cancels his debt to the
butcher, the baker, or the candlestick.
maker. The man of business deposits
them, or their paper representatives, in
the banks, and the banks pay them out
on discounts or exchange. They be-
come the currency of the country.
A man has hundred dollars in gold.
He owes 500. He invests his gold in
silver bullion, puts the latter through
the mint and receives in return 200
standard silver dollars. With these he
may pay the debt of 800 he had con-
tracted, and to pay which he had accu-
mulated the gold, and have 500 left.
That is the lure Mr. Bryan holds out to
the debtor. 1t is the game of the
buncc-steerer and the confidence man.
1t is scheme to cheat the creditor out
of half his due by paying him in money
worth only half as much as the money
that was loaned.
But Mr.. Bryan says that the market
price of silver will advance to its coin
age price of 1929 an ounce, through
out the world, on the adoption of free
coinage by the United States. That is
the price that brings silver to parity
with gold. If this will be the effect of
free and independent coinage OF silver
by the United States, then where is the
debtor to reap the advantage which
Mr.. Bryan is using as decoy for the
greedy and dishonest debtor? If sill
yer should advance to a parity with
gold in all the markets of the world,
the keystone of the populist arch of
finance and dishonor would be dis
placed and the populistic democracy
would have no disciples. What is the
likelihood of the realization of Mr..
Bryan's assumption, unsupported by
single fact and irrational as the widest
declaration of a lunatic2 If Il. w.
Bailey & Co. should advertise to the
farmers of the country around Mont
pelier that their mill would henceforth
be opened to the free grinding of corn,
and farmers far and near should bring
their corn and take away their meal,
would the price Of corn be thereby
advanced at all? The answer TO this
question answers Mr.. Bryan's unwar-
rantable assumption.
Under free coinage, silver would be