The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1896-08-07

any fair prosperity. we are not fighting for
a 5O-cent dollar, but we are fighting against
the two-dollar dollar of Wall street and
Lombard street. lApplause.l
"A bout 1873 Germany demonetized silver.
and the years preceding 1873 were he years
of Germany's greatest glory AMI her great
est power. Following upon tina. France
demonetized 1t: following upon that some
other European nation. and then America,
demonetized 1t in turn. Why was X done?
Were the people of this country ever an
pealed to to strike down the silver money:
Was 1t because of the producer. the owner
of the factory, the tiler of the soil. the
laborer In the shop? No. II was done in
obedience to that same power which un-
dermined the foundations Of home. which
has destroyed every civilization OF the
past, which is seeking to destroy this
civilization for its own personal end-that
power which knows no law, no religion, no
politics, no policy excepting to accumulate
the dollars. 1t was done by the great
creditor classes OF the world. who had
gained control of all the older nations of
the earth and saw in this .cheme a way to
obtain two dollars worth for every dol
lars worth of Indebtedness that the toll
ing masses of the earth were bound to
pay. IApplausel
Law of 1873 Discussed.
Following close upon the legislation of
tion of America-not legislation ever sub
mitted to the American people, not a Jaw
which was provided In the open light of
day, not law that silver should not be
taken, but an act of some go or 10 sections,
in which was hidden away provision that
hereafter gold was to be the legal money
of the United States. But 1t was not strick-
en- down then alone. 1t was a long time
before the American people lAew it: and
In 1878 republican congress and senate
alike passed by a ma jority and then passed
by a two-thirds ma jority over the presi-
dents veto, an act providing that from
100000 to s4,0O0,O00 per month should be
coined. Neither was that the end. In 1890
another act was passed which provided
that silver should be taken and silver GER
titicates issued in their place.
Fluctuation in Values.
I'm one breath Senator Thurston told
you that the reconciliation of silver would
not raise the price of wheat and in the
next that it would make so cents a dollar.
and l do not see how the two statements
can go together. Let look at those
two statements together as a matter of
philosophy. 1t has been presumed over
and over again that a dollar means gold
dollar. This is not true. dollar has
meant a gold dollar q silver dollar alike.
1t is claimed that dollar should be worth
only a dollar; that you cannot measure
everything in dollar, but should measure
1t in a gold and silver dollar. They assume
that gold has fluctuated. and that there
fore the silver dollar is worth only SO cents
to-day. Now let us see. How will you de-
termne whether gold fiuctuates or not?
If you say % grains of gold Is dollar then
1t does not fluctuate. But you can tell
whether % grains of gold fiuctuates by
measuring that % grains of gold in wheat.
in oats in cheese. in labor. in land. in sill
yer or in other commodities of the earth.
That Is the only way in which to tell
whether 1t fuctuates or not.
1.-The history of the world, not only dur
Ing the last ten years. but during the last
hundred years, shows that silver has fuc-
tuated as little and probably less in value
than gold The production of gold in the
last 20 years has been as much or more
than the production of silver. in dollars
measured at sixteen to one, all over the
world The production of silver in the past
has never outrun the production of gold.
and when silver was stricken down and
when one-half the worlds money was
bound to do all the worlds work, there
could be no other result than that one
half should greatly increase in value. and
that is what 1t did In striking down sill
yer and compelling gold to do the WORK
alone you nearly doubled the purchasing
power of gold. and you provided by an I'M
righteous and unholy contract. conceived
by men with interested motives, you con-
tracted that every man who owes dollars
worth of debts bring two dollars to pay
them with.
I'VE are not here asking you to repudiate.
We say to you that the dollars in which
the obligations were made are good enough
for the creditor to take. We say to you
that at this price these bonds and mort
Cages and debts were purchased; we will
paw that price. You may take your pound
of flesh, but in the name of American In
dependence and manhood you must not
shed a drop of blood
Mexican Dollars Worth.
a oil 30 . he
dollar The Mexican dollar is worth less
than the American dollar and II does con-
tain more silver and that is the iniquity Of
It. Now let meet this thing just ex-
actly as 1t is. The value of thing depends
ON it's use If corn were fixed quantity
like silver, and the people would resolve
not to feed corn to horses, but only to cat
tie. It would be worth less because the
market would be less. Money being fixed
quantity, silver being fixed quantity, when
the nations of the earth conspire TO debase
II II could not help being worth less and
is worth less than gold to-day But the
difference has come about in two ways;
by the depreciation of silver and the appre-
citation of gold both alike. our silver dol
lars to-day are payable in gold, and that is
the reason they are worth 40 cents. Jap
plause cheers and laughter The blindest
nereon Is he who sees half II truth or one
side of it. LLaughter.l. That IS all you peo-
ple have seen on that question.
Now l will say it again. and l will not
say it, but / will explain IL In a kindergarten
way, If l can. Laughter and applause
The reason an American silver dollar is
worth a dollar in gold is because it is re-
deemable in gold. Now the silver man who
knows his business admits that the same
as a gold man. But that is not all he knows;
that is the difference. The reason Next
can silver dollar is not worth much
an American gold dollar is because ii Is
redeemable in gold. The decentralization