The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-09-03
HON. JOHN P. TOWNSHEND
A Prominent Democrat of New York
City Delivers a Ringing Sound
Money Speech.

0iiN 1ONA - LII iIOOOl " -hI' oOlih
?. Townshend, a prominent Demo
crat of New York City:
The people of this country, partlc-
uIarly those in the west and south,
have been brought to abhor the
name of Wall Street without really
comprehending what the name in
dlcates,
Wall Street to the United States
is what Thread Needle Street, Lon
don, is to the Kingdom of Great
Britain, the money centre Of the
country. The bulk of the eX-
changes Of our people both in their
home and foreign trade are settled
in Wall Street. Every large bank
and banking firm IN the country
keeps a balance on deposit there
which deposits aggregate say eight
hundred million dollars which be-
long not only to the people of the
east, but to the merchants, manu-
facturers, railroads, farmers and
individuals in all branches Of bust
ness as well as to the banks and
bankers themselves, which are To-
Gated in all the chief cities Of our
country, such as Baltimore, Wheel
ing, Kansas City, Chicago, San Fran
cisco, st. Louis, Philadelphia, At
lanta, Mobile, Louisville, New Or
leans, Charleston, Savannah, etc.
Every great commercial nation
has financial centre where the
balances of trade are settled which
may be either for or against that
nation and New York or Wall
Street is that financial centre for
this entire country. 1t is a mis-
taken idea that if Wall street should
be crippled it would be disastrous
only to it or the east, for if you will
bear in mind what have stated you
will see at once that it would affect
the whole country, east, west, north
and south. You we'll know that
when you go shopping you prefer
the place where you can find the
largest assortment and stock of
goods, and where the merchants
congregate together you can always
make better bargains and get the
newest things-the same rule holds
good for money and this is why we
have financial centres. From Of
fetal sources we are informed that
the money in circulation among the
people of the United States is about
one thousand five hundred and ten
million dollars and in the treasury
SIX hundred and eightY-four million
dollars additional, making a total Of
more than two thousand one hun
bred million dollars which is about
thirty dollars for each man, woman
and child in the United States.
This money consists of gold, silver
and paper, which have been main
tanned by the government at par
with gold and they circulate all
over this country without any d.
mlnishing OF their purchasing
power. If you receive a dollar
here and have to pay a dollar in
Baltimore or New York you know
that the same dollar will discharge
the debt at present, but if by legal
enactment SO cents worth of silver
is called dollar You will find that
when you come to spend it or buy
anything with it, it will only be
worth its bullion value, that is to
say the price of the commodity will
be put up to meet the deprecated
value of the new dollar, whilst your
wages and salaries will advance but
little. In the times of paper infa-
ton during the late Gnpleasantness
between the North and South, the
prices of all commodities including
manufactured goods and the ne
cessities of life advanced on the
average 175 per cent. while the
average advance in wages and sal
aries was only 43 per cent. The
people have been told that under
free coinage of silver money will be
more abundant and that somehow
or other those who now have little
or nothing will get some of the sur
plus. If you increase the number
of coins and not their quality you
decrease their value or purchasing
power. If every dollar you each
now hold in your pocket could by
some hocus pocus be nominally
doubled in amount without increas-
ing its quality 1t would be Of no
more value than that which you
now have, therefore you woGld re-
ceive no benefit if two dollars were
given you for one. If it should be
decreed by act of Congress that Is
inches should hereafter be a yard
instead of sc inches would you not
have to buy twice as much cloth as
now to make a suit of clothes? The
idea, that because the owners of
silver bullion can take SO cents
worth of it to the mint and haye 1t
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