The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-09-04
GROWING FAST.
The Mckinley Sound Money Club
Numbers Nearly 1000.
The Money Question Discussed by
Prof. Harter Thursday Night.


The meeting of the Mckinley Sound
Money Club was well attended Thurs
day evening. The Mckinley Glee Club
rendered some campaign songs in
good shape and were handsomely ap-
plauded by the audience. In intro
ducing the speaker for the evening.
President Young of the club, stated
what has been done in the way of
organizing the county, and said that
calls were coming in from all direc-
tions for the organization of clubs,
and especially spoke of Madison Lake,
as place that no one thought there
were enough Republicans in it to
maintain club, yet, call signed by
fifty voters had been received asking
that club be organized there. He
stated that the club in this city had
started out with the intention of hav-
ing 1000 members before election day.
That day is now over two months
away, and the membership is over 900,
and no systematic canvass has been
made. He predicted club member
ship of 1900 or over by election day.
Republican enthusiasm is growing,
and he thought the outlook most
promising one for election day.
He then introduced Prof. III. 1.
Harter, of Minneapolis, who addressed
the club on the political issues of the
day, combining his remarks chiefly to
the money question. He stated that
the first intimation he had had that
there was anything wrong with the
money of the country was four years
ago, and that intimation came from
the Populists. But he had noticed
that they took all they could get of
it, no matter whether it was gold, sill
yer or paper, and asked no questions.
He then entered upon discussion of
the money question, showing why free
coinage would not be the success that
it's advocates claimed for it. He
severely scored the Popocrats for
their misquoting and misrepresent-
ing Blaine and Grant, ana asked why
they did not pay attention to the liv-
ing; they could find enough to employ
their attention in the remarks that
Senators Stewart and Jones made
back in 1874, without misquoting
men who are in their graves. He also
quoted from some of the leading ad-
Vocates of silver in Europe, showing
wherein, in their opiniont free and
unlimited coinage would be a bad
thing for this country, but would
work for the advantage of Europe.
He discussed the question Of bimetal-
lism at some length, showing by the
experience Of the past the utter i'm
possibility of keeping the two metals
at parity under free and unlimited
coinage of silver. Said the Popocrats
were always referring to the prosper
ity of France and how it maintained
a great silver circulation. In this, he
said, they forgot three things. First,
France does not have free coinage of
silver. Second, it has the largest Cir
culation per capita in the world, and
third France has over SO more gold
than silver per capita in circulation,
with which to maintain her silver
circulation. He also touched upon
the question of prices, and taking
Mexico, which the Popocrats are so
fond of referring to, showed that
prices under free silver are from two
to three times as high as in the
United States, while wages are less
than one half in deprecated coin.
But the trouble in this country
is not so much matter of
money as lack of confidence The
money is all right and there is plenty
of it, but lack of confidence keeps it
tied up. The troubles from which
we are suffering today he believed
were brought on by over investments,
and changes in our tariff laws, and
are aggravated by the silver agitation.
He briefly showed how the Wilson
tariff law has operated against the
industrial interests of the country.
Lake Crystal lettings.