Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-10-22
THE EVILS OF FREE SILVER.

I'M the gold standard, and that free silver
would work detrimentnlly to the wage
of the land. Having assembled |
some $20,000,000 of foreign capital here |
for connecting this metropolis of the re-
gion where our export surplus is pro-
duced, by nm air line, with deep water at |
Sabine Pass Through which ship draw
ing % feet of water sailed out recently, |
and having, through the outlay of this |
500 100000, given employment to 5000 |
men on the Kansas City, Pittsburg and
Gulf and other railroads hereabout, he |
ordered a holiday in shop and roundhouse
and Office, and invited the employees FROM
away down the line to come mp to n park
near Kansas City. to listen to his side of
the financial question, which he presented
with singular force and simplicity.
Below are given some of the points he
made, but which cold type cannot be
made to reproduce with the yividness of
the object lesson plan he invented to
make himself clearly understood-so clear
ly that the thickest headed man that
throws a switch or makes q coupling or
wipes IN engine could go away and re-
peat the argument.
Running through his talk, like the char
acteristic refrains that indiyidualize cer-
tain operas. was an argument and plea
in favor of doing to others as we would
be done by--kaleidoseopic reiteration of
the everlasting truth that honesty is the
best policy"
X The stage in the auditorium of this sub
urban park presented the appearance of
II financial kindergarten. On the right
was table piled up with imitation bricks:
nearby was sheet iron representation of
the United States mint, as well as one
/ of the treasury. In the centre of the stage
was a frame from which hung boards of
different lengths; corresponding TO the
relative size of the production of wheat,
oats, corn and cotton in 1870. and during
recent years. Then came a big board
showing the production of silver in 1895,
beside which was little one showing the
product in 1870. On each of these boards
was marked, not only the quantity pro-
duced, but the prices then and now. His
argument was that all these commodities,
including silver, had gone down in price
almost pari passu as production increased.
Look there" said he, lat the enormous
| increase in the production of cotton,
| 3,150,000 bales in 1870, and 9,900,000
| bales in 1895. The price of cotton went
down because of over-production, and not
as the result of the great crime of 49,
Look, this little board you see represents
| the wheat grown in 1870, amounting to
only 2SS,000,000 bushels; this big one the
| crop of 1904, 4T0,o00,o00 bushels" In
the same way he showed how oats in
creased from 2S3, 100000 bushels in 1870
to S25.000,000 bushels in 1893, and how
the production of corn in 1870 was $780,
000,000 bushels, while in 1893 it was
6OO,000,0O0 bushels. Here was more
than twice as much corn. while there was
grown more than three times as much
cotton. The silver boards showed 12,3OO,.
600 ounces in 1870. 46.000.000 ounces IN
1895. In the same way he showed how
prices during this period have cores
pended with supply and demand-smal
production, high prices big production
low prices.
Then he pulled down from roller .
large map, with a railroad running acros.
1t. "A few years ago." said he, ''thert
was no railroad in Kansas; inaccessibl,
lands were worth dollar or two an acre
People were clam0ring for railroads be
cause they could not get their products {,
market. So along came this English CAPT
tall that they curse so much, and pat thi
railroad across this strip of country an,
, made the land for many miles on eacl
side worth S12 an acre, which before tn
railroad came could not be sold for 50 al
acre. Why should we send the interes
on the money that built the roads an,
benefited us in debased currency? VIII
should We send curse in return for wha
= has been blessing?''s He continued:
IF We want prosperity, let us say /
: English capital and French capital an
e Holland and other foreign capital that j
= it is invested here the interest in full wi
surely 60 back"
To show how the silver dollar now, /
circulation is worth gold dollar, he poin
!. ed to the imitation objects on the stag,
u saying: "Here is the United States Min
here is the Treasury, over there is til
mine owners bullion. Now, let lis illu
y trate the methods of coming silver, whic
V gave us this silver dollar, which is goo
r for 100 cents worth of anything. We wi
IT suppose that the United States is going |
i coin $60,0O0,00O in silver"
Z MIR. Stilwell went to the United Stat,
e Treasury, took out two bags of coin repr
senting S60.000.OOO. He carried the
over and exchanged them for silver blu
&c lion worth that much; he deposited IL
!. silver bricks in the mint, and then opent
senting 120,000G0O silver dollars. Ha
u of this was returned to the United Stat
II, Treasury and the rest put in circulatio
~ and each Of the SiU,000,000 was wor
y 100 cents on the dollar, he said
~ You ask why is that silver dollar, wi
IN only fifty cents worth of silver in
III worth 100 cents. Because here in Il
" United States Treasury is the other fiji
IL cents of the dollar in another siIynr dali
just like it,
" Mr.. Stilwell took the position that, il
ne legislation or other artificial method, al
Vi commodity were forced up to an unnatul
basis, somebody would, soon or late, ha
10 tn pay for the difference between the
III trinsic and the artiically created yall
pc that is to say, if this government shall
w into the artificial value business the peol
NJ will, now or hereafter, have to make 20
w this difference out of their earnings.
Now, let us see how the free-coina
~ idea would work. Now, the United Stat
y is going to buy up all the silver product
~ in this country and Mexico. So here col
ne the Mexican, and says:
eu Mr.. United States, here l have S8
TN 0OO,000 worth of silver bullion: wot
81. like to have il coined into silver dollars.
I'm Mr.. Stilwell carried the 10000, 900
IN bullion over to the mint, and took c
MS 120,0O0,000 silver dollars, and put il o,
ey ON the bullion table. Then he pull
w down large map of the United Sta
70 and hung tin tags mp on different siv
MS producing STATES and Tarritnrine