Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1896-02-27
THE EXAMPLE OF FRANCE.
Extract From Congressman hartman's Able
Address on Free Coinage.

The United States and France
both have gold and silver money.
but i'm France gold and silver are
standard money. while i'm the United
States, under the administration of
n law declaratory Of IA bimetallic
standard, gold Is standard money
and silver is token money. Gentle
men tell us that they are trying To
do justice to both metals-to do
Justice between them. AS well might
a father undertake Ito do Justice
between two SONS in this way: He
might say to William, II will give
$50 900 and you shall have IA store on
this side of the street." and then he
might say tn John, II will give you
$50 900, and you shall have n store
on the other side of the street" So
far the action of that father would
seem to he equal and exact justice
between the sons: but if, after hav-
ing made this equal division, he
should march up and down the
street and say to the people who
came to buy: "Do not go near
Johns store; he sells bad goods; he
will cheat you; he will not give you
your moneys worth; if you want to
buy anything go to William store.
If that father, protesting to do
equal and exact justice between his
sons should act in this manner, he
would be acting as the government
of the United States acts with
reference to gold and silver as money
metals. Processing to treat them
with equal justice, ii practically says
to the people and tn the world:
1--WE coin gold and silver as money,
but take care to- have nothing to do
with our silver; it is bad money: ii
is worthless; it is n fraud"
Let the administration OF the law
governing our gold and silver cur
rcncy be carried into effect upon the
same lines and upon the same theory
which obtains in the French govern
ment, and the statement Of the gen
tleman from Maine and those who
act with him will he correct. Let
the United States government, the
government of nation of 1000. .OW
of people and G.. .OO0, 900. 900 Of wealth,
follow the example OF the great Bank
of France and use the option which
1t possesses under the law to pay
the demands against 1t In gold and
silver. and the United States govern
ment will stand ON a par in its credit
with the great French Republic
Who has heard of any assaults upon
the credit of France? Who has
heard that her ability to pay any
portion of her six billions of indebted
ness has ever been questioned oil
doubted for a moment? What
Frenchman has ever been compelled
to read i'm the public prints charges
that the money of his country, ol
any of it, was cheap or worthless
money?
France has y, 900. 900 people, owes
debt of $6.OOO. 900. 900, and main
tains 500. 1000, 900. of silver at PAL
with her gold. The United States
has 70, ,O00. 900 people. owes debt o
,, S47 ,361 800, and had July /, 1e93
$500, 2i3 .653 of silver coin. And We
Ii we are told that with our superior
y ity of resources, with almost doubl'
her population, and less than one
, seventh of her debt, we cannot ali
! sorb and maintain ut parity TIN
, annual product of the silver whicl
would come to- our mints- Tn
total product of the world of goi'
and silver for the year 1884. at il
coinage value. was only $2l6, ,S92, ,OOt
OF this amount. $ll3.095,0O0 was sil
y yer. at it's coinage value. OF thi
amount the United States produce'
only 20, ,0b. .000-less than 81 fo
I levery man, woman and child within
. the limits of our country. Does any
a one contend that, with the popula
: tion of the United States increasing
z to the currency which would b
3 oecasioned by adding less than 3
e per capita of silver would in an
! way imperil the parity of the tw
I metals, IL the United States woul
e exercise it's option and maintain TIL
lparity by redeeming it's obligation