The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-08-29
Plclslcr1n 1908 anu zseo.


When Tom Reeds "Wtld ASS of The
Prairies" delivered his speech in Cham
berlain a couple OF weeks ago he took
occasion to state that when he made his
free silver speech in congress in 1893
the Republican party had in its platform
declared for the free coinage of the
American product. or course every we'll
posted man in the audience knew that
he was lying about the matter, because
the Republican party meyer adopted a
plank OF that kind in apY OF its plat
forms and it was not until 1894 that The
Republican party OF this state made it
self the laughing stock of everybody by
adopting such plank. s. Il. Wright
promptly called Picker down that night
and in last weeks Democrat rakes the
prohibition -Wonian--suffrage pension :
demagogue over the gridiron in good
shape. Mr.. Wright quotes the speech OF
Picker, made Aug. 81, 1893 in congress,
and as it is pretty good reading for those
who have listened to, or are about to hear,
his later gold standard utterances, we
publish it herewith. 1t will be noticed
that in 1893 he ridiculed the idea of free
silver coinage coming through inter-
national agreement. Now he is stump
ing the state and claiming that the
Democratic party is going to ruin the
country by adopting the very ideas held
by him up to the time OF the Republican
convention at st. Louis in 1896. Here is
what Plckler said in 1898:
was about to say, Mr.. Speaker, that
when the proposition was before the
fifty-tirst congress for the passage of the
Sherman bill. the friends of silver then
proposed to the gold men in this house
as compromise that we have free coin
age of the American product. The argu-
meEt of those men was then the same as
their argument is now They always
have the same argument. When the
Bland-AllisOn act was under cGnsidera-
tlOn the gold men were just as great
calamity liowlers" as to what would be-
fall the government as they are now. As
calamity hOwlers" they 0ntstrip all
other men. whenever the people want an
expansion of the currency. When we
had the Sherman bill under considera-
tiOn they came forward and in the same
tone as now preached calamity. They
said the nation would go to destruction
If we adopted any of those propositions.
Yet the Biand-Allison act became law;
the Sherman act became a law: and this
government pr0spered under both those
mp1gIrpc Nnf hnVn SfiII .ha co, IN
argument presented here today. -
Where is the love OF the New York gentle
man for the silver miners of the west?
want to know il you gentlemen pro-
pose to wipe out all the interests OF the
silver states. as well as ruin the agricui-
tural states by lowering further the
present low prices of products? The
people in mining states and territories
are in great trouble; ani certainly it
seems to me there Should he some con
sidcration given to their product. This
house can not too swiftly come to the
question of aiding TIE western people
and keeping open if possible the Ameri-
can mines. 1t is ruin to ,sose states to
oppose it. NIX 1t is bey lnd my com
prehensi0n to understand how you ele-
vate an object by depressi. x 1t. You say
silver is now travelling upon Ilalting
limb, but to enable it to run swiftly YOU
amputate the leg, and SO you vote against
coinage at any ratio. You find silver
on the first floor, and in order to get it to
the garret you hurl it into the cellar.
."* No ono as have yet heard in this
debate. and have attentively listened
to the whole of it, has denied that plac-
ing this country upon a single gold
standard. which the voting down of these
free silver amendments do. will reduce
every article in price that the farmer has
to sell, as we'll as ruin the silver mining
states. 1t cannot be denied; it Is Tie
eternal truth. No gold man can deny,
moreover, that it will largely increase
our Indebtedness in the west and south.
~ The gentleman from Massachusetts
MIR. Morse] also asserted what so many
of his followers have reiterated. to~wit;
that II we had free coinage in this coun-
try the world would bring to us all its
old junk pots. kettles. and spoons, as we'll
dumping ground for the silver of tie
able. 1t is we'll known that all articles
great a value by reason OF the labor value
pSllltS auuCu W lilG Nu1tG llIdt Lllt
owner cannot afford, nor does he sell for
coinage at bullion values. s** There
has been no answer to the argument up
on this floor that France for seventy
years maintained the parity of the two
metals, and no answer to the conclusion
that this nation could not now do the
same. +A;* Why should we not give
silver the opportunity it ever had in this
country during its whole history until
the year 1873. during all OF which time
it was equal to and much of the time al
a premium over gold? ~: 1t has
seemed to me very unfair in this debate
that the monometallist persistently talk
Of 57-cent dollar when they know the
| theory of the bimetallsts, the theory oI
| frne coinage Win M onn.i chanca ro,
silver bullion at the mints that gol;