Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-09-18


ests be held the greatest contempt.
'.Rothschild, the great fiuancier,
in closing his address to the none
tarv conference" continued Mr..
Hurst. warned the delegates that II
they adjourned without taking action
looking to a more general use OF Sill
yer as currency there would be 8
depreciation in the thousands OF mil
lions of silver in the world such as
would result in a panic and a period
of depression which was fearful to
contemplate.
While it might be true in this
campaign that the property interests
are largely on the side OF the gold
standard cause, free silver would
triumph if the common people stud
led the question and earnestly sup
ported 1t. No great reform has
ever been brought about in the his
tory Of the world except through
the efforts of the common people.
Let the laboring people turn to the
pages of Eoglish history and take en-
enlargement from the chartist move
ment IN England where the people
merely asked the right of suffrage
and the right of the working classes
to be represented in parliament. but
when they assembled the militia
vas called out to dispense the meet
ing: their leaders were Imprisoned,
and they were told that they should
be glad to have government con-
trolled by the intelligence of that
country. While they were defeated
for the time. today every principle
which they advocated is embodied in
the English constitution; and the
representatives of the laboring
class sit side by side in parliament
with the nobility and aristocracy,
molding a mighty states decree and
shaping the whisper Of throne"
Mr.. Hurst's remarks were fire.
quent y interrupted by applause and
when he finished he was loudly
cheered.
Cheers for Prentiss.
When Hon. William Prentiss
stepped to the front of the stage
after he had been introduced BY
Chairman Hurst he was greeted with
| an enthusiastic ovation. He said
that it was his first visit to Rock
Island in eight years-the last occa-
| sion being when he was candidate
| for otiice-but this time he came only
as an American citizen; not as man
| seeking office; not as mine owner,
| but as one with the interest OF the
common people at heart. I'm this
| campaign there a'e many unusual
conditions" continued the speaker.
Men who have fought for democ-
racy from their first vote have gon g
to the other side; old line republi-
cans have Joined hands in our cause
The American people have come
to the conclusion after several years
of experience that their salvation
does not lie in the tariff question :,
yet the republican party at it's St.
Louis convention put forth that as
the principal issue of their cam
paign. They selected Mckinley as
their leader. although he has always
been simply a high protection man
He did not know where he was on
the silver question until his party
put him at the head Of the ticket and
told him what was what.
| Never in the history Of the
world since gold and silver was
used as money has there been enough
of it in circulation to answer tn C
peoples wants. Prior to the Declar-
alton of Independence we had no coin
age of our own. What was in circu-
lation among the colonies was the
coins of foreign nations. Thomas
Jefferson said that the silver coin
should continue as the unit of value
in the United States. He so r.
ported to congress. Hamilton re-
ported the resolution which Jeffer-
son had prepared to congress when
he was in power.
1--WE had the free and unlimited
coinage of both gold and silver prior
to the characterization of the latter
coin in 1873. Even then we did not
have enough money. Yet we find
that in the year 1873 silver was de-
stroyed. Who asked that it be done ?
There was not a political party
asked for it. Yet it was done
| AhSAS A1o UetD CLASS Dl
men who sought to flourish aud
prosper at the expense of the COM
mon people. This is the saddest
part Of our history. What occurred
in England after the close of the
Napoleonic war took pie, in
America at the conclusion Of her
war. The English tiaanciers figured
that the destruction of half Of til g.
money wouid naturally increase the
price of that which would be allowed
TO CIRCULATE. And so half of the
money was destroyed. History will
bear out my statement. that the con-
sequence was that Is per cent of that
country's population was reduced to
a state of beggarv. Mills closed
down: there were strikes and lock
outs; want and suffering was aprar
ent on all sides. People who owned
property lost it. The same crime
was committed in America in 1878.
l need not tell you what the conse.
quences were. They exist TODAY.
| sherman Knows All
| 10 n