The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-07-18

tney cannot do this IL all the sound
money speeches and literature are to
be issued from Republican sources,
then the number of Democrats who
are to-day sound upon the money
question. but will in the last event
yield their convictions rather than go
into the Republican camp, will be
very largely augmented. AS a matter
of conscience. rof principle and of po-
litical expediency regular Democratic
nomination on a sound money plat
form is much to be desired.
EXTRAORDINARY STATEMENTS.
The free silver cause is blessed or
cursed, as the case may be, with SUI
perabundance of 'eloquence. That was
the distinctive feature of the Chicago
convention and. characterized, also,
the free silver meeting held at Mime
apolis on Thursday. In both cases
there were men just bubbling over with
the sparkling wine of rhetoric, and
tropes and metaphors fell from their
lips like tabled pearls from the mouth
of beauty. Now, eloquence is an excel
lent thing in its way. 1t is, when
Joined with sincerity and truth, one
OF the most powerful forces to move
men known to the world. Moreover,
we believe that there is in the breasts
of many of these men a depth of earn
estness which finds expression in an
unusual fervidness of speech. They
are touched, as every man with heart
in his breast must be touched, by the
hardships of the people and the suf-
ferings that have fallen to the lot of
this nation. Unconscious of the fulfil
ity of their remedy, unable to see that
they are urging the exchange of pass
i've disaster for an active catastrophe,
they do feel the moving pulse of SYM
pathy and the brotherhood of man.
Nevertheless, we are unable, for the
life Of us, to see why these STRINGS
of the finer feelings and these bursts
of impassioned speech should make
men forgetful of the reverence due to
facts If their cause is a just one, as
they seem to think 1t is, it can suffer
only impairment by stating things
which are. not true, no matter how
exquisite the flowers of oratory in
which they are set forth. We hold it
without excuse that a man should ut
ter from the platform the assertions
that were cheered to the echo in Min
neapolis. Oratory offers no excuse
for deliberate departure from fact
For instance, in Mr.. Nye's really brill
liant address we find this conclusion
drawn from the various acts relating
to coinage, and particularly the So
called decentralization of 1873
But the general result has been to drop out
OF the worlds money nearly one-half its vol
ume and to place an almost double strain and
burden upon gold to perform the money fune-
lions OF trade and commerce among mankind.
We hold it just as objectionable for
man of his ability and standing to
make this statement as if he had said
that the debt of the state of Mime
sofa to-day is $1,000 900, 600 From 1893
to 1877 there had been coined by the
United States a total of 1929, 585 1921 of
silver. OF this nearly $4,000 600 con-
sisted of trade dollars, and only a lit
tie more than $S,0OO,o 900 were silver dol
lars; the rest being subsidiary coinage.
From 1878 to 1896 there were coined BY
the United States $471, 1927, 729, of which
the vast amount of $429, 289, 916 were
standard silver dollars, legal tender
in the payment of debts, and on an
writ
accessible to everybody. When, there
fore, mnn states that you have cut
the volume Of money in two during
period in which statistics show that
the silver volume has increased
by more than, 200 per cent. he
is doing something morally
great deal more reprehensible
than talking nonsense With some
$700,000,0o0 of silver now in free circu-
lation in this country, on a par with
gold, as against a total Of $222, OOO, 900
of all kinds, and only IS, 900 900 of
silver dollars at the time when the
crime Of 1872 was perpetrated.
how can man. who respects himself
ee-ih oDouI Lie NCuCliHS III Two OIL the
volume of money? once more Mr. Nye
says:
BY law as natural as silent and as DO
tent as the law Of sgravitation,. 1t has raised
the purchasing power of the worlds dollar un-
til 1t requires nearly twice the labor and the
fruits of labor to obtain dollar than it did
before this disastrous, suicidal era began.
This Is an even more unblushing
and unqualified denial of the truth.
Mr.. Nye must know that statistical
investigation ofithe highest authority
show that the wages Of labor have
risen while other prices were falling.
and there never was time in the his
tory OF the world when a days labor
would purchase so many Of the neces-
saries of life as it will to-day. Who
ever else has suffered by the fall of
prices, the laboring man has prof1ted
most. Whoever would gain from a rise
of prices that might be brought about
by debased currency, the laboring
man must gain least This was
proved by his experience during the
paper money period Of the rebellion.
The senate investigation showed that
there has been no period in our his
tory when the rate Of wages fell SO
rapidly or so low, measured by their
purchasing power, as in the years be-
tween 1861 and 1865.
Finally, one of the most important
points insisted upon at this Minneap-
oils meeting was the alleged bon11s