Birmingham state herald., 1896-03-17

two-thirds of it American. The reason why no greater quantity of gold coin is
 seen passing from hand to hand is that
 the continued agitation of the silver question creates an apprehension as to the stability and equal value of our coins,
 and causes gold to be hoarded or laid away for hard times, even by the advo-
 eates of free coinage themselves. Their money Is converted into gold because they have no apprehension that any loss is then possible.
 Establish free and unlimited coinage
 at the present ratio, and the day the law Is passed the panic will begin. Every one who has debt owing to him will at once endeayor to collect it by foreclo- sure of his mortgage, or in whatever way he can, and when collected convert the proceeds into gold and lay 1t away, which will absolutely take it out of cir culation.
 The bonds of the government owned in Europe will be returned by every ship and sold in the market for gold for just whatever amount can be realized above 30 cents on the dollar. This country will be immediately drained of all of its gold, and it sent abroad or hoarded, and noth- ing to take it's place; for if the United States had double the number of hints they now have and were all run both day and night they could not, within the next | ten years, coin in silver dollars an equal diilOuHl III NdluC u euc 6Oiu iiuo oiiNOh out How can any man maintain that we could pass through such crisis as | this without experiencing shock to our l commerce and business unparalleled in | our history? The bankers, the specula- | tors and wealthy could survive 1t, but the | suffering which the poor laboring people would experience has never been approx. imated in our history.
 care nothing for <6fe spun theories
 of what constitutes>money and its his | tory in ancient times, nor of suppositions as to the effect of free coinage upon the price of silver bullion. It matters not who nor what party Is responsible for the present low price of silver, nor for the unwise legislation upon 1t in the past. We must deal with conditions as we find them and seek their proper solution in
 common, practical sense rather than in sentiment or speculative theories.
 law for the free and unlimited coin age of silver would be to allow every owner of bullion to take it to the mint and have 1t coined into dollars at the ra- tio of 16 to l, without paying anything therefor. It would be new and untried experiment in this country. We never have had law authorizing the free and unlimited coinage of silver. Prior to the act of 1873 the owners of both gold and silver bullion had to pay mintage for their coinage Now the owner of gold bullion alone has the privilege of coin age. in unlimited quantities, free of charge. The advocates of free and unlim- ited coinage of silver demand the same privilege for the owners of silver bullion, which, if granted, would tax the people to pay the enormous expense of running the hints of the United States for the
 sole benefit of the owners of bullion. The act of 1873 wrongfully demonetized the silver dollar, and it so remained until
 the law of 1878 restored it and made it a legal tender It was then deemed best and safest not to give 1t free and unlim- ited coinage, but to coin silver on gov- ernment account to the extent of not less than $2000 900 nor more than $,0000 900 each month. This act originated in and
 was passed by democratic house and
 republican senate over the veto of a re-
 publican president. It continued in force
 for twelve years, and there were coined
 during that time $420, 0,000,00O an average
 of $35, 900 900 per year, before it's repeal
 A republican congress in 1890 repealed
 the coinage provision of that act and
 passed a law providing for the purchase
 of 4,500,000 ounces of pure silver bullion every month, and to pay for the same
 with treasury notes, and did not require
 the secretary of the treasury to have 1t
 coined This law was passed by republi-
 can votes, every democrat in each house
 voting against it. It greatly aided in
 producing the panic of 1893 by continued
 purchases of silver bullion, which was
 piled up in the treasury, and indicated
 that this country would soon be upon
 silver basis financially, which greatly
 impaired confidence in the stability or
 the credit of the country. The act was
 denounced by the Chicago national dem
 ocratic convention of 1892 as ''cowardly
 makeshift," and it's repeal was demand
 ed. The president assembled congress
 in extraordinary session on August l,
 1893, and confined his recommendations
 principally to the repeal of the purchas-
 ing clause of the said law, which was
 ,1ic 1,ntf1 November 1 1S93.
 While under consideration part of the
 democrats insisted upon attaching to the
 repeal bill a provision for the free ana
 unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio
 of 16 to 1, and claimed that the national
 platform sustained them in this demand.
 It was the only plank in that platform susceptible of dout construction and
 it has led to a most unfortunate division
 in the ranks of our party.
 It was well known to all that Presi-
 dent Cleveland was opposed to the free
 coinage of silver, but notwithstanding
 that knowledge prominent men-leading
 senators from the southern states, old
 and experienced in the history of the
 past-inconsiderately and unwlsely ln-
 sisted upon the free and unlimited coin
 age of silver, notwithstanding the fact
 that it wJld imperil their party The
 president refused to yield, and the re- suit was breach in the party, which has
 not only practically dethroned it from
 power, put crlppleu II diiiioot pcyohu iO-
 demption and still the work of destruc-
 tion goes on. have not agreed with MT.
 Cleveland in all of his policies, but in view of, the sad history of our party, and
 the fact that after struggle of thirty
 odd years we had regained power in all
 of the departments of the federal gov
 ernment, considered it my duty to
 waive any objections I might have and
 stand Loyalty by the president, who is an
 honest democrat, and has been doing all along what he deemed to be wisest and
 best for the entire people. While may
 question in my own mind the wisdom
 of some of his policies. when I think of
 the many good things he has done and
 the broad recognition he has given to the people of the south. including my oid
 rebel comrades-which no other presi-
 dent has done-I exclairn. Grover with
 whatever faults thou hast, love thee
 stillr' I am too loyal democrat to
 strike my chief though not in accord with him in all things. I sustain his ad-
 immigration to the best of my ability,
 and regard these democrats who de-
 nounce him as being extremely unwise and impolitic
 I do not question the honesty and sin