Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-08-27


In foreign universities, not one of these
economists whose name and fame are
worid-wide, and not one OF those great
nnanciers who have given days and years
OF thought 10 this subject. not one, ana
nobody except the leaders of the modern
democracy and Populism. has ventured
10 ADVISE his own country In Europe 10
undertake that task alone. tApplauseJ
The question is this. and nothing more;
Shall the United States, alone, under
take the free and unlimited coinage OF sil-
yer AT ratio of 16 TO /? "a few cries
OF yes and no" and repeated cries OF
no. Now, see you gentlemen over
there who called Eyes" and you gentle
men here who called mo" shows the
diherence of opinion upon this subject
llaughterl, and 10 YOU over there VINO
come 10 listen 10 me, you viii listen dls-
passionately, you will digest my argu-
ments, and / hope finally that by the
time you have done so thoroughly that
you will be inclined 10 shout no with
the gentlemen who responded when you
responded. Cheering and applause.)
Now, lei us be entirely good-natured
ABOUT this. / am going TO try To give
you the facts. and | repeat it, the issue
Is whether the United States shall at
tempt TO do that thing alone, in the
face of the controlling fact that every
OF the earth, except the Central Amer
lean and South American states. years
ago and before we did abandoned II ut
terly. And If | shall succeed in con-
v'ncing any of our friends that we are
not in position 10 do il without intiicting
upon the country and upon us all injuries
which il will take generation 10 re-
PAIR. l shall he more than rewarded
for the pains that | have taken, the OBJ
hof | ha
l have gone through and the reflections
which have brought me to my present
convictions. tApplause.)
Shall We Go backward or Forward'
Shall we, for our own interests stand
along with those nations with which we
have classed ourselves and who are lead
ing the march of h Imanity, or shall we
go with Mexico, South America, China
and Japan. the rearward half of the
great army of human progress, and join
those imperfect and rudimentary ciyiliza-
tions, which are an occular demonstra-
ton that no nation ever undertook alone
the coinage of free silver that did not de-
prive itself of gold entirely. applause
And you have hut TO glance upon the
map of your school boy or school girl.
your little son or daughter, to see the
fact recorded there for the education OF
youth, TO know that every one of those
nations stands upon a lower scale OF
progress than the nations which have
declared the policy upon which the Unit
ed States row stands.
My fellow citizens the warnings of his
tory are all against it, The present ex-
amples Of nations who singly are endeav-
oriEg to sustain themselves under a single
standard forbid us 10 enter upon "A voy-
age upon, | was going to say, untried
waters, but no. upon "A voyage which we
.l..,. Il
at the present time. where we can plain
ly view rocks of distress. the shoals and
quicksands of their course from the Sc
cure mainland upon which the American
people now stand, and from which our
opponents are attempting to lure them
by false lights and false alarms. Gap
plause)
Now we have got TO take facts exactly
"a they are. We are not dealing with
glittering and glowing generalities. We
are administering society and human con-
Germs: society, being perfectly concrete.
infinitely practicable somewhat selfish.
and ! am going TO appeal TO the selfish
ness of this audience to know whether
they will assist in bringing about that
which think | can prove will result
from the arts of the gentlemen who are
attempting to mislead them.
Now, my friends the world is divided.
Just as sharply as il is by oceans and
mountain chains. between the gold coun-
tries. who employ concurrently with gold
more silver money than all the silver
countries contain or circulate (Ap-
plause.) I say that the gold countries
of this world. including the United States
land | call them gold countries for the
purpose not of definition. hut Of clear
ness of expressionl employ and circula to
more silver than all the silver countries
of the world employ, contain or circulate.
make another proposition. | appeal
TO history and TO contemporary facts
which no man can dispute. that every
free coinage country is on silver basis.
Isn't that so? Cries Of "Ycs"0 I make
another statement for YOU to think of.
for | am not going to elaborate it am
going to Get into the figures pretty soon
every gold country uses silver and gold
lions. Isn't that so? Cries Of eyes y
Isn't that so in the United States ?
Cries OF "YcsD In France? Voices
"Yps."0 | make another statement for
your calm and cool reflection. that no sill
yer standard country has any gold mon
ey whatever. CApplause.l Don't take
my word for IT, Go and investigat 70 this
subject. ! say that no silver country has
any gold money whatever. and YOU can
search from Mexico TO Cape Horn and
find that this statement is correct.
Another statement-and ] make II IN
on q sense of my responsibility aftpr an
exhaustive animation of statistics in
vesfiCaton and records-that in every
silver standard country wages are pressed
down ia the very minimum Of wretchcd
Subsistence II rs so in Mexico, il is So
in JanaI. II IL so in South America.
say that in every silver country wnges
are pressed down 70 the very minimum
of wretched subsistence.
-r-to Ra...u.
Now II II ia true II will not 60 into
the reasons for it, hut If il il true as a
concrete. absolute fact. that no silver
country. no country which has adonted
the silver standard has any gold circula
ton whatever. say that II follows that
the only practicable bimetallism ON tho
planet il by the nations with which tho
United States has classcd itself. and II
il this himetallsm in the United States
which the new Democracy and Popu-
ism are endcavoring 10 destroy by sub-
shutting silver monumetalism. IAN
plausel The himetallsm which this
country and the nations Of which I have
spoken enjoy il the bimetallism of fact
and actual enjoyment extending 10 that
full extent which human judgment. bu.
man experience. human apprehension
call IL what Won will--tcach is tho nro
portion in which the metals can be ON
ployed in degree that one will not do.
stroy or drive out the other and that
both can co-exist together. (Apnl,use
4. foIICxy