The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-18
EX-COMPTROLLER TURNER
DEFENSE. or SILVER.

iur VIII IVA! "S hiu IN produce VI tne SOIL
or of human la'.or to-day as when that
silver was W urth 100 cents. And when
we max, this comparison, we then realize
the great appreciaticn of gold since 1878,
Tor the gold that is in II gold dollar will
buy twice rs much produce .of the soil
and of human labor now as it would
when silver was demonetized
Here is where the bankers, trusts,
combines, corporations and money lend
ers have reaped 3 rich harvest. While
the producers income has been lessened,
until now il is not more than one half
what it was formerly; although the
amount of produce annually grown has
not more than kept pace with and in
many Instances fallen short of the in
crease in population, yet the income
which the moneyed classes receive, in
many instances, remains the same, and
they are paid in money that possesses
purchasing power nearly double that
which it possessed when silver was de-
monetized. ,ai,-.,,ss
This condition the Democratic party is
in nowise responsible for. a majority of
its leading statesmen have labored for
years to correct the evil, and it was not
until such men as Teller and his associate
Senator's, Republicans from the Western
States raised the banner of revolt and
placing patriotism, love of country and
the prosperity and happiness of the Amer
lean people above politics, that there
dawncd upon the people of this land any
hope OF securing the correction of this
great wrong.
Those whose fortunes yielded fixed in
come, such rs ground rents, mortgages,
preferred stocks yielding fixed dividends,
United States bonds, State and municipal
bonds, never saw such good times in this
country as we are now enjoying. These
are the men who have reaI,cd and are now
reaping Il rich harvest all through, and
by according to the testimony of some of
the best and purest men of the natom n
gigantic fraud
But the men who owed money, the men
who started in business OH borrowed cap
ital, the men who purchased farms on
time and the great mass of plain, every
day people, the bone and sincw of our re
public, and whose brawny arms have up
held the honor and independence of the
nation, and the liberty of the citizen,
have never seen such times of depression
and deepening poverty as now stalks
abroad in our land. And yet in the face
OF these facts of history, which cannot be
refuted or successfully denied, the bene-
fciaries under this act of CONGRESSMAN
act which violates every fair and Just in
depreciation of the constitution, as re-
statesmen of the century-an act which
was passed under such circumstances as
have made the men whose votes gave il
solidity, repudiatc it and declare it to be
fraud-now come before the people of
the country and tell them that it would
not he honest to restore silver, and by an
pealing to the inherent honesty of man,
of which the great mass of people stand
possessed, to Il marked degree, they hone
to prevent the correction of one of the
greatest wrongs ever inflicted upon IL free
people. But, when the people come to
UNDERSTANDINGS they will before this can
vass is ended-their rights, and how those
rights have been taken from them as by
thief in the night, or rs Senator Dan
lei puts it, when speaking of how the bill
demonetizing silver went through Con-
gress, like the silent tread of n cat. "thev
VIII readily see upon which side of this
question lies honor, truth and ripht. and
they Will vote for the restoration of sill.
ver and for the return OF better and more
prosperous times for the producing
classes of our people.
j. FRANK TI-PNER