Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1896-10-08

} ment purchases silver at its bullion
value and retains in its value thu
seigniorage Of profit made by thu
coinage Of it, which, II allowed to &C
by free coinage to the private owner
OF the bullion, would take away from
the government the very means Of
guaranty and would at once let the
silver dollars drop to their CONNER.
cial value Of So cents, in place Of
Of their present guaranteed value Of
100 cents.
2. Second mode of guaranty; BY
the governments not using its option
or technical privilege Of paying its
debts in silver and offering gold when
asked for it in payment Of its obliga-
tons. Thus the right Of all the peo-
pie Secured to them by the legal
tender law to pay all their debts in
silver-this right Of the people being
relinquished by the government it.
self-becomes a guaranty Of the
nation to keep the gold and silver
dollars on parity with each other.
Mr. Bryan in all his speeches en-
phatically says; Since silver is legal
tender fer the people why should it
not be used as legal tender by the
government in payment Of its debtsp
Answer; 1t might be so used when
the gold and silver dollars were Of
equal commercial value, but when,
as now, they are Of very unequal
value, the government is obliged to
forego the peoples privilege, and
pay its debts in gold only III so de-
manded) in order thus to furnish a
guaranty Of the parity Of the two
coins. The government and the peo-
pie can not be put on the same level,
because it alone is The warranter or
giver Of guaranty to them.
5. Third mode of guarantee: BY
special enactment promising to keep
gold and silver dollars on a parity Of
value with each other. This has
been proclaimed in the laws Of 1890
and 1898; and SO long as the Republic
cans are intrusted with power this
parity Of the metals will be main
tanned; but with the policy of Mr.
Bryan set on foot, the parity could
not be continued for a day. This
third means Of guaranteed parity,
viz, by governmental fiat, would be
of no avail without the two means
previously named.
1t is upon this platform that the
Republicans stand-that of guaran-
teed bimetallism. The distinction we
have shown between two stages Of
bimetalism, namely, the existing
guaranteed bimetallism, and the cx-
pected international bimetallism, at
once clears up the fog which has been
thrown over the silver discussion, by |
the neglect Of the leading Repu BIZ
cans to emphasize this distinction.
The mistake was, perhaps, started
through inadvertence Of the Republic
can platform itself, as adopted in
June in ST. Louis. Instead Of saving
what it was meant to say, that "until
international agreement can be OBJ
tanned Uhe present bimetalism by
national guarantee) the existing
gold standard must be preserved
Of saying this, the important
clause in parentheses was omitted.
And, thus Mr.. Bryan and all his adj
lerents ever since were left TO pro-
claim the untruth that we now have,
lot bimetallism but gold mono
netallism; and that the Republicans
propose to continue, not bimetaIlsm
)ut a hateful "gold standard con-
lemned by themselves, "untln the
'nly possible sort Of bimetalism can
De had by foreign consent
Falsehood and trickery will not win
n this campaign. 1t is the kind Of
'ifort that reacts upon the instigator.
t is the result Of being on the weak
tide. 1t may be expected that the
'ops will continue to misreprescnt
md to falsfy-that is their stock in
rade; but it is impossible that they
AN fool any great number Of the peo-
DE after the thorough exposure that
he Republican speakers and papers
re giving
The true friend Of the white metal
5 not the party that like the Pops,