Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1896-09-08
0vpLy TO GEO. H. WILLIAMS.
A Silver Republican Dissects His Opera
House Speech.

A Silver Republican blsSe~'S AAiS SPNiN
House Speech.
EnmoR JoURNAL:-Hon. Geo. III.
Williams probably gave us on Septem-
~, ,st the best gold standard argu-
mont to which we shall have the
,,oosure of listening during this
comnaipn, even though his address
h.d all that inherent weakness which
is lnseparahle from goldite pleadings.
Some of his arguments were good and
souud, but, curiously enough, they
bappened to be those which favor the
free coinage of silver as much as that
Of gold. The old gentleman's first
"break" was decidedly amusing. when
YOU come to think Of it. He said that
in case of breaking banks, failing
crops. or civil wars, "the best pre-
yeutive and the most reliable and
ready means of recovery is a sound
and stable currency" Let any man
try to,tgure out how long, under the
present system, our dollars would stay
at par in case of any serious disturb
ance. like war, civil or foreign.
Eleven hundred millions Of credit
currency resting on reserve of one
hundred millions Of redemption
money-that is -"sound and stable
currency" isn't it? Oh yes, of course
"the credit of the country" is behind
our currency, too, but that would also
be behind any other system which we
Shonld see fit to adopt: so that is no
argument in this case.
The speaker said: "Let the Bryan
policy of free silver be adopted and
the people of the United States would
have to pay in gold for everything
they bought in Europe, exclusive OF
barter, and the people of Europe
could pay for everything they bought
in the United States in silver" Coco
Lordy! We can almost see the ship'
starting out, with gold for ballast
after cargo of European merchan
disc, and meeting on the way othe
ships which are on their way here
empty except for hold half full o
silver, TO buy cargo Of our wheat
Doesn't every school-boy know that i
is only the balances that are settleC
by the shipment of bullion, and tina
this bullion is mostly in bars and goe
at its market price, whether it II
silver or gold? If balances wer
against US, as now, we should have Il
send bullion in payment; while il
balances were in our favor, as the,
would be under free coinage, the bul
lion would come to us, and that's al
there is to that.
He thinks that we should wait pa
tlently for some fairy to bring us in
ternational bimetallism wrapped VI
IN a napkin, 4" for what appears in
practicable now may be practicabl
within a year or two." How that ap
peals to a people in our condition
DOESN'T it9 He says: " l doubi
whether any determined effort ha
Oeen made by the United States t
orlng about international bimeta
hsm." Well may he doubtl an
That isoneof the strongest argument
In the world against again entrustin
TINS affair to the hand of the part
winch has been for 20 years declarin
IN FAVOR OF international bimetallisn
making not the slightest real effol
TO bring it tabOut. "With Mckinley
president and congress pledged to
promotion think the Uni ted Stat
could very soon make it desira BILE 4
england to agree to an information
ratio between gold and silver"
that is true, then how much mo
Likelihood OF success with Bryan
president anda congress, not "pledgec
against its win, but in dead, seriOI