The Dickinson press., 1896-09-12
that parity between our silver and gold
coins which tho Inv declares is fleI

that parity between our silver and gold
policy of the government, and because
he has the courage to execute the pow
ers given to him by the resumption act
to carry out that declaration of public
law. undertake, therefore. to say
that if Mr.. Bryan. or a man holding his
without any legislation by. Congress. we
should be on a silver basis in a weeks
time. (Applause).
The silver question-what is it! DO
you want silver because you want more
money, n larger circulating medium? I
have not heard anybody say. so. Mr..
Bryan is not urging it upon that basis.
a reason for wanting free silver he would
be very soon c%onfounded by the state
ment that free silver would put more
gold out of circulation than mints of the
United States could possibly bring in in
years Of silver, and that instead of hav-
ing more money we would have less. ZAP,
plause.) With our six hundred and odd
million of gold driven of circulation
we will reduce our per capita money of
this country between eight and nine dol
lars. So it is not for more money. We
nave an abundant supply of circulating
mediqm,,gold, silver. national bank
green9acks; treasury notes, fractional sill
- wv NAVY oOAASlAllu6 AlAC go lCk
capita of our population. What is it,
then. that creates this demand for silver?
1t is openly avowed. 1t is not more dol
lars. but cheaper dollars that are wanted.
1t IS a lower standard of value that they
are demanding. They say gold has gone
up until it has ceased to be a proper
standard of value, and they want silver.
But how do they want it.
Nov, my friends, there is a great
dea! of talk about bimetallism and the
double standard and a great deal of con-
fusion in the use of those terms. BIZ
metallism is the use of the two metals
as money where they are both used.
BY a double standard they mean that
we shall have a gold dollar and a silver
by which all property and all wages
and everything is to be measured. Now,
u fathers thought that when they used
these two metals in coinage they must
determine the intrinsic relative value of
the two, so that a comparison of the
markets of the world would show just
what relation n ounce of silver bore
of silver it took to be equal to one ounce
of gold in the markets of the world
where gold and silver were used, and
they carefully went about ascertaining
that. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander
Hamilton gave their great powers to
the determination of that question, and
they collected the market reports and
question. and when they found what
appeared to be the general and average
relative value of these two metals they
fixed upon a ratio between them. Now,
what was the object of all that? Why
did they lump it all? Because they fully
understood that unless these dollars were
of the same intrinsic value that both of
| fhnYn 0n11Id mt hn Cfo rlouIc ~ ~Hl,,1
and both could not circulate. ZAP.
plause.)
"As things are now the silver dollars
that we have are supported by the gov
eminent. and the government that sup
ports this silver bullion has issued these
dollars on its own Accountant for the
mine owner-and it has pledged it's SO.
cred honor it would make every one Of
these dollars as good as a gold dollar.
full support. Our Populistic friends pro.
pose that the mar who digs silver out of
the mine may bring it to the mint and
have it stamped and handed back to him
as a dollar, the government having no
responsibility about it. These men
would reject with contempt the PROPOSE
ton that free coinage was to come with
a pledge on behalf of the government
(Applause.) But this feeling is we'll
adapted to touch the prevailing American
bumptiousness and well adapted to
touch that prejudice against England
which many have, but can we do this
thing ourselves? Is it a question wheth.
er we will do it, or ask %anybody's con.
sent whether We may, or ask the coop.
Grafton of somebody? Not at all. ]
tell you what this government can dc
alone. 1t can fix its money unit. II
can declare by law what shall be the
relative value of III ounce of gold and
an ounce of silver. but it cannot make
that last declaration good. Applause.
1t is unqucstionably fully within thu
power of this government to bring thi.
country to a silver basis by coming silver
dollars md making them legel tender
They can do that.
"This government might say you shall
take one of these dollars, but it canno
say and enforce its decree-if you shoul'
call out the regular army Or navy, an
militia, and put William J.. Bryan il
command of them-it cannot enforce tn
decree that one ounce of gold is tn
{ equivalent of sixteen ounces of silver
Great applause n cheers.) Not onl
{ that, not France and England and Gel
, many can do that unless the market
!. respond. (Applause.). We can of on,
selves. of our own wisdom, declare tn
unit Of value. We can coin silver free
, ~, but we cannot make sixteen ounce
5 less it is. (Applause.) And It is ne
. unless the merchants take it at tha
. rate.
what il the next suggestion. It i
my friends, in the case of free silvel
what 10 the financial and moral eQuivs