The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-01-31

bling sort of way on the free coinage
of silver, and referred to the various
objections which are urged against it,
chief of which was that the silver
dollar does not contain dollars
worth of silver. This he attempted
to meet by saying that the metal in
gold dollar costs but eight cents to
mine. The gold-bugs, he said, had
better get some better excuse. The
two metals should be put on the same
level 1t is urged that money must
contain an intrinsic value. This is an
exploded idea, which the best eco
nomic writer's do not now adhere to.
The supreme court has decided that
the greenback is money, but it has no
intrinsic value. If you were ship
wrecked on an island and had nothing
but gold, what good would it's intrinsic
value be to you? The argument of
the gold bug is that if $40 gold piece
is melted it is still worth $40. The
same might be argued of cook stove
melted up, if the government agree d
to buy it at full value. 1t is agreed
that there is $50 millions of gold in
the world, and that three millions is
annually used in the arts. DemonetiZe
gold, and you would have an hand a
supply that would last for sixty years.
What would wheat be worth if you
had sixty years supply on band? A
dollar does not need commodity
value. Demand is what makes it's
value. He did not want dollar that
would circulate abroad. What con-
Germs us is to get one that will circu-
late at home. One of our great troubles
is, that our present dollars are too
liable to go abroad. This talk about
an international currency is all bosh.
Another objection to free coinage
was that it would flood this country
with silver from foreign lands. He
did not believe it, Where would it
come from? France would not send
it here, because her ratio is 154 to |
and she would lose money by it. In
dia would not, for her people would
no sooner melt up their idols made
from silver than our churches their
communion sets. But supposing we
were flooded with foreign silver 1t
would have to be coined here, and in
vested here, and we would to that ex-
tent be the gamers thereby. He
failed, however, to state that the
spectators who would handle this
silver, would take gold back in return
for it.
He scored the capitalists to con-
siderable extent for the present con-
dition Of affairs, and said it was the
result of various legislation in their
interests. That both of the old
parties were to blame for this, the
Republican party to greater extent
than the Democratic, as they had
been in power most of the time. He
would say nothing of the Democrats,
as his mother advised him when he
left home to make his own way in the
world, never to speak disrespectful of
the dead, and he would not.
The latter portion of his remarks
were devoted to the government
ownership of railways and the nation
alization of land. These two things
must be brought about, he said, if we
are to escape from the grip that
monopoly has upon US. The people
must arise from their legarthy and
revolutionize things, but he presumed
they would not for the present at
least, and that the next campaign
would find them following some toot-
ing brass band, shouting for Nc
Kinley, Reed or some other representa-
tive of the present condition of affairs.