The record-union., 1896-09-21
AN IRON PROPOSITION.

AN IRON PROPOSITION.
A new candidate is in the field. Judge
Swinnerton wants to go to Congress,
and he proposes to run on the platform
Of free coinage Of pig-iron at the ratio
Of 16 to / Of gold. He insists that ac-
cordtng to the creed and doctrine Of Mr..
Bryan, the stamp Of the Government
and the legal tender quality given it by
liable as gold, because the new demand
will be greater than the limited supply,
and therefore the bullion price will rise
to the level of the coin face.
Being asked if this will not be the re-
suit, namely, that the mints will be
overorowded with pig-iron, he replies
nay, because the price of the iron hav-
ing been raised to the level of gold by
ment, no one would care to carry it to
the mints when in the market it would
have bullion value equal to its mint
value.
would be driven out of circulation by
his scheme, just as gold has been
driven out Of every free silver country
in the world. The Judge replies nay,
that is a mere assumption and dogmatic
assertion of the money sharks. But
suppose they really do go out of circula-
ton he is asked, and he answers, what
of it, will there not be enough Of pig
iron to take the place of the towards,
and thus furnish the people with all the
money they want?
AS to wages. they must rise, since no
man would work for 81 who could make
a thousand in a day by collecting old
iron and having 1t minted into money
to buy what he wants and with which
to pay his debts. Iron was demonetized
1000 years ago, says the Judge. and
Lycurgus' old act was buried by q new
tangled one that recognized silver.
China is to-day the only country on
earth that has the honesty to adhere to
iron as a coin Of money. There the
toiler can carry home his days wages in
a wheelbarrow. The Judge might have
added that when the two daring bicy-
clists crossed China from the Russian
line to the Yellow Sea three years ago.
they found that the coin of the realm
they had to carry was heavier than
their wheels and baggage. and they had
to store it in the hollow frames of their
wheels. and then they ran short of
change.
By the characterization of iron, Hull of
Atlanta calculates, says the Judge, that
the world has lost twenty-one octillions
Of dollars, and he trembles to think
what will happen when the people find 1t
out. The Judge adds that when all the
Governments agree to take iron and
gold as their metals Of coinage unlim-
tied demand will be created while the
supply will be limited, so that there will
be nothing to stop the rise of the price of
the two metals except the Governments
orders fixing the price at which they
shall circulate for money
Iron at 81 for 3T1A grains and 81 for
% 2-10 grains of gold will be the re-
sponse to the unlimited demand. These
will be stamped respectively into dol
lars. While an unlimited demand has
been established, the point at which the
supply can take advantage Of the de-
mand is fixed. and the demand pulls
them both plump up to that point. (See
Coins Financial School," p. 27.)
But suppose that creditors will not ao-
cept the iron money and make their
contracts payable in gold? To this the
Judge replies that then he will insist
upon the enforcement Of that plank In
the Democratic platform which de-
clares 'in favor Of legislation that will
prevent for the future the demonetiza-
ton Of any kind of legal tender money
by private contract"
Governor Mckinley expressed the
need of the country and for which the
Republican party stands to apply the
remedy when he said: Our duties