The San Francisco call., 1896-09-24
Oil What Difference in One Short YearI

assemblage of Indianans upon the selection OF
their spokesman, who has delivered before me
so able and eloquent and telling a speech.
[Applause.] He has said that ''it is understood
I am an American" That is altog ether true.
[Applause.l I believe in America for Ameri-
cans-native born and naturalized. ICries of
''Good."l l believe in the American payroll
laughter and applause[, and do not believe
in diminishing that payroll by giving work to
ybody else under another flag while we
have got an idle man under our flag. Tire
mendous applause.l
Four years ago the laborer was agitating the
ques ton of shorter hours we then had so much
to do. I have heard no discussion of that kind
for four years; laughter and applause1 but
believe have never heard of the laboring
man discussing the desirability of having
short dollars. [Applause.l The complaint
the chief complaint of our opponents is, first,
that we have not enough money, and, second
that our money is too good daughter and
applause.l
To the first complaint answer that the per
capita of circulating medium in this country
has been greater since the so-called crime of
1873 than it ever was before [applause], and
that it has been greater in the last five years
than IL ever vas in al our AIstory. We have
not only got the best money in the world, but
we have got more of it per capita than most of
the nations of the world. 1Applause.l We
have got more money per capita than the
United Kingdom, than Italy, than Switzer-
land, Greece, Spain, Roumania, Seryia, Aus
tria, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
Russia, Mexico and the Central and South
American States, and more than Japan or
China per capita. TGreat applause.l So that
some reason rather than the lack of volume
OF money must be found to account for the
present condition of the country.
To the second complaint that our money is
too good, it would seem to be enough to say
to say that the money of any country cannot
be too good, and that no nation ever suffers
from having its medium of exchange of the
highest and best quality, [Great applause.l
It has been poor money, not good money,
that has been the cause of so much loss and
ruin in the past, both TO the individuals and
to nations. [Applause] The oloer men of
this audience viii remember that before the
war we did business with an uncertain and
f1uctuating currency known as State bank
money. Many of these banks and their notes
were absolutely sound, but for the most part
they were subject to discounts The total
number of banks in 1860, exclusive of State
branch banks, was 1870. OF this number ssthe
counterfeit detector," then in use, reported
832 as broken, closed, failed, fraudulent and
worthless" The notes of these banks were in
circulation among the people, and had been
received by them for their good labor and
their good products They were absolutely
| worthless, and of no more value than the paper
on which they were printed.
Upon whom did this loss fall, my fellow-eiti.
zens? There is scarcely an old gentleman in
this audience who will not recall that it fell
| upon the laboring man and the farmers of tie
| United States. [Cries of ''That's rightP and
/ a1ls m nj 70 hox fIa,
those who suffer most from poor money are the
| least able to bear the loss. 1t is the story oi
| mankind, that the least valuable the money
| which will pass current is the money that al
| last finds its resting place among the poorer
| people, and when the crash comes the loss
must be borne by them. You will remember
that from 1862 TO 1879 we did business with
paper money yexclusively-we had neither gold
nor silver; and you win remember that gold
was constantly at a premium, ranging from 4C
to 100 per cent Then when man wanted tc
borrow money he had to pay higher rate OF
| interest than he has had to pay since 1870 on
a gold basis. IApplause.l
When we were doing business with depre
| c1ated paper money interest was very much
| higher 10 the borrower and to the debtor than
tits now. can recall when here in Ohio the
ruling rate OF interest for that paper money
! was 10 per cent annually, and often per cent
| q @-SANA VI IL PSi Scub year. Lie AhAlhe
rate here in Ohio for what some people are
pleased to call 200-cent dollar is or pei
cent to-day. 1t may run as high as 8, and pos
sibly that has been the ruling rate during the
last two or three years, but that is because dis
trust has fallen upon the country aud mer
who have money will not part with it and
! take chances without a higher rate of In
terest. Money to-day is idle because il cannot
| De prohtably and safely invested by those
| who have 1t. 1t is neither lack of volume oi
our money nor the quality of the money that
is our trouble, but lack of confidence in the
steadiness and stability Of business.
The threat OF free silver is driving our money
into hiding to-day. The way to bring il out is
to restore confidence, and how will YOU restore
confidence There is only one way. "a voice;
"Vote for Mckinley" Applause and laugh
teri The way to restore confidence is 10 defeat
through the ballot the party that DESTROYED
confidence. [Cries of "Good."] We cannot re.
store the business Of the country so long as VIC
do so much of our business abroad. lCries Of
"Good" and That's right."1 Let US bring ii
back home again for our own people and our
own labor. TContinuous eheering.T
Among the delegations for Thursday
will be one from Oil City, Pa. which will
be companied by large number Of
| women.
Major Mckinley to-day received dis
| patch from Harrisonburg, w. Va, inform
ing him that 1000 ex-Confederate so oldiers
of the Shenandoah would like to call or