Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-09-05


law prescribe gold and silver coinage
or any other coinage? In which does it
mention any coinage further than to au-
thorlze the general government to coin
money and regulate the value there
OFF, Acting under that authority Con
gress at first authorized coinage at 10 to
age of the CONSTITUTIONS If so, how
has 16 to 1 come to be the coinage of
the Constitution? Under the first ratio
silver was undervalued and refused to
circulate except in the form of worn and
abraded foreign coins Our own silver
coins, even the subsidiary pieces, were
were worth about per cent. more than
gold dollars. In all the period up to the
time of the great silver discoveries Con-
gress sought to make the coinage ratio
the same as the commercial ratio. 1t
never authorized coinage at any other.
Was that the coinage of the Constitu-
uonE If so, will it be return to it for
US now to establish free coinage at the
ratio of is to 1 when the commercial
ratio is about 81 to L?
4. VIII not free COMA ge at Is to I re-
duce the value of the dollar unit by about
one-balf?
>. VIII it not be in fact a reputation
of about one-half of all our debts, public
and private?
6. Is there not danger that it will
cause the return to of all the Ameri-
can securities held abroad-government,
railroad and Industrial stocks and bonds
thus precipitating panic of giant pro-
follow?
Z. Will not your election upon the Chi
cago platform cause the calling in, be-
tween November and March. of all col
lectable debts, all loans, all mortgages
that have expired? And will not this
produce such a distress as this country
mas never known, particularly in the
West and South, where caDital and
credit are most needed and depend upon
confidence their basis?
. VIII not free and unlimited coinage
drive all the five or six hundred millions
of gold and gold certificates out of use
as money or as bank reserves? Will it
not cause currency contra of the
most disastrous proportions. ina smuch
as the utmost capacity of the mints to
com SILVER cannot make good this with
drawal for several years to come?
D. VIII not free coinage place us at
9 9nSi, on nn financial level with Mexico,
go upon that level?
- Is there any country in the world
today which gives free and unlimited
India does not None of the Central or
South American States does. We know
of no country that does, of no example
that can be studied.
now on the silver basis which is as pros
porous as the United States even in this
which wages are so high as they are
here, or in which the dollar received in
wages will buy much? Is there any
silver-basis country that has large
a well-to-dO agricultural class? Is it
not a fact that in every silver-basis coun-
try in the world abject and hopeless pow
erty ON the part of the masses is the
rule?
II. Will you explain to us for our en-
lightenment and guidance how our coun-
try is to escape like conditions if we
go to silver basis, or how we are to
avoid the lapse to that basis if we adopt
free and unlimited coinage at 16 to L
when the commercial ratio between the
metals Is about twice that?
ID. And if you tell us, many free
coinage advocates do, that free coinage
to the coinage rate, will you explain to
us how in that case free coinage is to
make money cheaper or easier to get;
how it is to increase the price of wheat
or any other commodity?
H. You may be aware that there was
last year on deposit in the savings banks
of this state alone $643. S73.574. This
enormous sum belonged to 1,615,11S de-
positors, giving an average to each of
S39S.63. 1t represents mainly the small
savings of the thrifty poor. Nearly all
of it has been deposited since the pres
ent standard of value was adopted by
or just to impair by Al per cent or by
even 1 per cent. the value of the money
in which these deposits We're earned and
in which today they would be paid?
Is. There are in this state SS.119 pen
sioners. They drew from the govern
ment last year nearly $14.OO0,OOO. Con-
when justly due-can you look with ia
yor upon any policy that might result in
pa wing them in a deprecated currency?
16. There are in the country eS3S
building and loan association, of which
AS are in New York These associa-
tons have 1.145.125 shareholders-all of
the working and saving classes: Their
assets last year We're S450.661 .594, repre-
scented chiefly by mortgage loans to
honleseellers, of whom $4,000 are mem
bers of the associations. These associa-
tons have nearly all been organized with
in the last fifteen years under the exist
ing money standard. Can you think it
fair or beneficial to the working people
to reduce by AZ per cent. any lesser
sum- the value of these investments of
the thrifty poor?
IT. Is it not a fact worth consideration
in proposing. descent to the silver STAN
dard that the thirty-nine old-style life in
surance conpa MES alone doing business
in this state last year had in force here
nearly 100000 policies. insuring over
s.. DOC. G00,o 900. The assessment compa-,
MES and various benevolent orders have
injury and wrong to the beneficiaries
of these polices-the widows and /,
orphans. whom a provident love had |
sought to protect,to compel them to re-
IS. The rise in prices" which you
predict as result of free silver coinage
would, of course. mean an increase in the 1
cost of living to all the people-to wage |
salaried men, and the whole |
body of consumers Do you know of any |
case in which Il rise in wages sala- !
ries has been parallel with the rise in |
prices? Is there any way to render it \
or even probable. that the wage |
Farmers Will be compensated for the in
creased cost of living?
10. You attribute the decline in silver /
TO the decentralization of the silver dol |
lar in 1873. though that dollar was not |
then coined in any considerable numbers |
and was not in circulation at all. owing