The Indianapolis journal., 1896-09-10
than so per cent. of the commerce of the
world is settled in gold or on a gold basis.
DISCRIMINATION AND FRAUD

world is settled in gold a gold basis.
DISCRIMINATION AND FRAUD.
Such free coinage legislation, if ever con-
srmmated, would discriminate against
every producer of wheat, cotton, corn or
rye-who should in justice be equally enti-
tied, with the silver owner, to sell his prod
ucts to the United States treasury, at a
profit fixed by the government-and against
all producers of iron steel, zinc or copper,
who might properly claim to have their
metals made into current coin. 1t would,
as well, be fraud upon all persons forced
to accept a currency thus stimulated and
at the same time degraded.
In every aspect the proposed policy is
partial and one-Sided, because it is only
when a profit can be made by mine owner
or dealer. that he takes his silver to the
mint for coinage The government is al
ways at the losing end. Stamp such fic-
titus value upon silver ore, and dis
honest and unjust discrimination will be
When silver bullion, worth a little more
than so cents, is made into a legal-tender
dollar, driving out one having purchasing
ana debt-paying power of 100 cents, 1t will
clearly be done at the expense and injury
of every class of the community.
Those who contend for the free and un-
limited coinage of silver may believe in
all honesty that while the present ratio OF
silver to gold is at thirty to one mot six
teen to oneJ. silver will rise above the
existing market value. If it does so rise
the effect will be to make the loss to all
ion is but a hazardous conjecture at best,
and is not justified by experience. With
has. bought about 460.000000 of ounces
of silver from which it has coined approx
imately 43o, 600 900 of silver dollars and
issued 130.000000 of dollars in silver GER
tificates, and the price of the metal has
81 steadily declined from sl15 per ounce to
cline when the supply is augmented by
the offerings. of all the world? The loss
upon these silver purchases to the people
this IA mr. hoe aorJx
00n 000
The dollar of our fathers. about which
Yer maintaining full parity of intrinsic
value with gold. The fathers would have
spurned and ridiculed a proposition to
make a silver dollar worth only SO cents
stand of equal value with a gold one worth
hundred cents. The experience of ali
nations proves that any depreciation, how
ever slight. of another standard, from the
parity with gold, has driven the more
valuable one out of circulation and such
experience in matter of this kind is worth
much more than mere interested specula-
tive opinion. the fact that few gold coins
mestic uses is no proof at all that the metal
is not performing a most important func-
the house is NOT always in sight, but the
house would rot stand an hour if there
were no foundation. The great enginery
that moves the ocean steamship is not al
ways in view of the passenger. but il is,
all the same, the propelling force Of the
vessel without which it would soon be-
come worthless dereiict.
1t may be Instructive to consider mo-
ment how the free and unlimited coinage
of silver would affect a few great interests,
and | mention only enough to demon
strate what calamity may lie before US
If the platform formulated at Chicago is
permitted to be carried out.
EFFECT ON SAVINGS.
There are now on deposit in the savings
banks of thirty three States and Territories
of this Union the vast sum of $4,000. 600, oOo
These are the savings of almost five mil
lion depositors. In many cases they repre-
sent the labor and economies of years. Any
depreciation in the value of the dollar
would defraud every man. woman and
child to whom these savings belong. Every
dollar of their earnings when deposited was
worth 100 cents in gold of the present
standard of weight and fineness. Are they
not entitled to receive in full with interest,
all they have so deposited? Any legislation
that would reduce it by the value OF
single dime would be an intolerable wrong
to each depositor. Every bank Or banker
who has accepted the earnings or these
ti1e1s mions o o1 b reouired to nav them back
In money not one whit less valuable than
that which these banks and bankers re-
There are. in this country, nearly six
thousand building and loan associations,
with shareholders to the number of l.
800 900: and with assets amounting to more
than $500 900 900. Their average OF holdings
is nearly $500 per capita, and In many
and women Who have denied themselves
the comforts of life in the hope of being
able 10 accumulate enough to buy or Dulid
homes of their own. They have aided In
the erection of over a million of houses,
which are now affording comtort ana sned-
ter for five millions of our thrifty people:
Free coinage at the arbitrary rate of
sixteen ounces of silver to one OF gold
would be equivalent to the conf1scatlon OF
nearly half the savings that these people
have invested. 1t would be tantamount to
a war upon American home-makers. 1t
would q invasion of the homes OF the
provident," and tend directly to destroy
the stimulus TO endeavor and the compen-
sation of honest TOLL Every one of the
shareholders of these associations Is en-
titled to be repaid in money of the same
value which he deposited by weekly pay
ments or otherwise in these companies. No
one of them should be made homeless be-
cause a political party demands change
in the money standard of our country as
an experiment or as concession TO sell
1iShneSS greed.
The ma gnitude of the disaster which
would overtake these and cognate inter-
ests becomes the more strikingly appar-
ent when considered in the ,aggregate
Stated broadly, the savings banks. life
insurance and assessment companies,
and building loan associations of the codn-
try hold in trust 81, 5,309 ,3S1. The debase-
ment of the currency to silver basis, as
proposed by the Chicago platform. would
wipe out at one blow. approx mately 81,
9e3. S56 of this aggregate. According to
the report OF the Department Of Agricul-
ture the total value of the main cereal
crops in this country in 1894 was 1895 49,
107. So that the total sum belonging to
the people and held in trust III these in
stitutions, which would be ofiiterated by
the triumph of free and unlimited coinage
would be seven and one-half times the total
value of the annual cereal crop of the
United States. The total value of the
manufactured products of the country for
the census year of 1880 was 1882 537, ,2S3
The establishment of a silver basis of val
Tie, as now proposed would entail a loss TO
these three interests alone equal to S. per
cent. of this enormous output of all the
manufacturing industries of the Union
and would affect directly nearly one third
of its whole population.
WOULD ROB PENSIONERS
lars per annum due to pensioners of
the late war. That sum represents blood
spilled and suffering endured in order to
preserve this Nation from dsintegration.
In many cases the sums so paid in PEN
sions are exceedingly small; in few, if any
are they excessive. The spirit that would
deplete these to the extent of a farthfng
is the same that would organize sedition
destroy the peace and security of the
country, punish rather than reward our
veteran soldiers, and is unworthy of the
countenance, by thought or vote, of any
patriotic citizen of whatever political
faith. No party. until that which met in
to insult the honored survivors of ollr.
struggle for the national life by PROPOSING,
to scale their pensions horizontally and to
pay them hereafter in deprecated dollars
worth only fifty-three cents each
The amounts due, in addition to the in