The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-10-09
Speech of the Hon. Joseph G. Sib-
ley, in the House of Represent
atlves, June 10, 1894.

In 1874 the shipments of wheat from
India il creased England bought her
ounce of silver at 10 cents, AMI she
could take that to Indio and exchange
it for bushel of Indian wheat, ana IN
five years after the demoneliZa ion of
silver, India had incrt ased her ship
ments from 735, 900 bushels to II, ,9O0,-
600 bushels.
In ten years, with the continuous de,
probation in the value of sil\ er, the
sh pments of Indian wheat had in
creased from 100000 to 76,000,000
bushels In fifteen years the ship
ments of Indian ht at to Eurtp pc had
increased from 735, 600 in 1873 to al,
600, 600 bushels, aud last year she eX-
ported 100000 bushels. The same
ounce of silver England could not buy,
10 develop the grain markets of India,
at less than 129 cents before the de-
monetizatlDn and hostile legis ion,
she now buys at 20 cents and takes it
to India and still gets the same bushel
of heat for it. as when silver was
worth $l.l0. We have played all
these years into the hands OF England,
against the pro perity of our own
An. erit All wheat producers. And yet
some of the gentlemen from the Mis-
sissippi Valley and from the great
wheat growing States come here aud
say that this metal must go lower still
! in order that their constituents nay
continue to feed the European nations
at even less price than they are able
to command to-day.
Mr. Speaker, let us look at cotton and
see if the analogy does not hold true
there also. They established cotton
mills in India iu 1863, and from that
year down to 1874 they were never
able to export one pound of cotton
yarn; eleven years of attempts to intIo-
duce cotton-spinning i'll India, with
ahject failure as the result. But in
1874 the year after the demone tization
of silver, they shipped 1000, 900 pounds
of cotton yarn. The next year they
shipped 100000 p, unds. With each
decreasing quotation in the value of
the ounce OF silver bullion there was
an increase in the export Of cotton
yarn from India. In 1889 it had gone
up to IS 900, 600.
In 1891, the last year for which [
have been able 10 secure figures, the
exports of cotton yarn from India
amounted to 65,00O,0 900 pounds; the
same thing has been equally true OF
the exports of raw cotton. MIR. Speak
er, have observed that the prosperity
of the farmers and the railroads went
|
that the managers and stockholders of
! railroads can ltafn from these condi-
tiOus above escribed? Which is bet
ter for your corporations, to he able to
earn money at the expense OF Europe
or 10 be able TO borrow it from Europe
at your own expense? Permit me t"
show the position of those IN Engla
who are so much opposed to blmetal-
lism. AT the meeting of the British
and Colonial Chambers of Commerce,
held i'll London in 1866, Sir Robert n.
| Fowler. a member of Parliament,
banker and an Ex-Mayor of London,
said: s'that the effect of the depr. cla-
ton of silver must finally be the ruin
America, and be the devt lopement of
India as the chief wheat and cotton
exporter of the world
Russia, another silver nation, aud
the great competitor OF America in the
production of wheat, has also furnish
| ed to European nations her quota of
wheat, paid for in the deprecated
ounce of silver, that we by legislation
! have degraded and dt based. Oh, l
J tell, you my friends, it is very fine to
J hear you talk here about degraded
and debased dollar" but L would
rather have debased dollar than a
degraded C ,uDtry-rather debased
coin than debased people. .sas.s.s.s -
Since 1873 what has been history?
Disaster has followed disaster as upon
the speed of the whirlwind. The con-
ditions have grown more strained ev-
cry moment, and are growing more
aud more so with each recurring year.
Statesmen and patriots may well pom
der upon this condition. You have had
warnings all along the past which
shows the natural trend of such con-
ditions. And now the people, the
great producers OF the world, come To
you aud ask for justice.
NV farmer friend, when was it that
You got $l.5O for your wheat, and when
did you get so o. 20 cents for your
coin? LII 1873 you received $l.lS per
bushel Oh an average, for wheat and
and Ia 1873 silver was demonetized.
You plaAters and growers of cotton,
tell me in that year you received 23
cents a pound TOR your product! IL
was in 1873, but in that year we de-
monetized silver aud what happened?
Why, we turned over the interests of
the producers of this nation into the
hands of the British financiers. Let
us look at it. Silver was worth at
that time 1920 cents an ounce; that
was it's coinage value. Aud at that
time we had the grain markets aud the
cotton markets of the world; and in
1873 India exported only 735,O0O BUSH
| els of wheat.
Now, there never has been u time in
the history. of India when silver b 8
not been It's money, and there has
J never been time from the day when
they commenced raising wheat down
to the present hour that ! ounce Of sill
yer did not measure the value of l
bushel of wheat. 1t makes no differ
ence what the value of the rupee is.
The same number Of rupees buy the
same number of bushels of wheat all
the time. But England could not af-
ford to buy an ounce of silver at 1928
and take it to India to measure the val
ue OF her heat, SO she took our wheat
from us and paid us lutte less, from
l.2O cents to % cents in 1873.
If man is poor to-day and has not
got start in the pathway of life that
has led him out of the common level,
if the farm prices are low the price of
labor, his commodity, is low, and tile
low system of prices makes no benefi-
cial differei ce. He can never lift him
fr<>,,, finn osforc opH hnnhosvo - -