The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-05-27
MIR. CARLISLE DENIES.

Secretary Carlisle now denies that he
ever supported free coinage. He denies
as strongly as Peter did His recent let
ter sounds very much like the strenuous
denial Of Peter. Carlisle writes an an
swer to a Texas correspondent:
'"The statement that is now being cir
culated so extensively in Texas and else
where that made free coinage speech
in 1873 or at any other time is absolute
ly false, and many of the people who are
circulating the present statement know 1t
to be false. Yours very truly,
u G. Carlisle"
Carlisle says that his famous speech of
Feb. I'd, 1873, was not on free coinage at
all. What are the facts? He and Nc
Kinley had just supported and voted for
the Bland free coinage bill in the lower
house. That free coinage measure was
amended in the senate into the Bland
Allison silver purchase act. When the
amended Bland bill came back from the
senate, Carlisle again supported it, and
in the course of the most exhaustive ad-
dress of his life said:
81 know that the worlds stock of pre-
cious metals is none too large, and see
no reason to apprehend that it will ever
become so. Mankind will be fortunate,
indeed, if the annual production of gold
and silver coin shall keep pace with the
annual increase of population, commerce
and industry. According to my view of
the subject, the conspiracy which seems
to have been formed here and in Eu-
rope to destroy by legislation and other
wise from three-sevenths to one-haf the
metallic money of the world is the most
gigantic crime Of this or any other age.
"The contamination Of such scheme
would ultimately entail more misery up
on the human race than all wars, pesti-
lence and famine that ever occurred in
the history of the world. The absolute
and instantaneous destruction Of half Of
the movable property IN the world, in
Guiding horses, ships, railroads and all
other appliances for carrying on COM
MERGE, while it would be felt more sensi-
bly, at the moment, would not produce
anything like the prolonged distress and
disorganization of society that must in
evitahly result from the permanent an
Inhalation of one-half of the metallic
money of the world"
Whatever the Interpretation placed up
on his speech of 1878 by Carlisle himself
at this time there remains no doubt upon
these points of fact
First, he voted for the free coinage bill
which was the first form of the act of 1878.
Second, he was in spirit and also in
act a free coinage champion whether his
speech specifically defined his attitude or
not.
Third, his argument of Feb. FL, 1878,
was one of the most powerful arguments
in behalf of the free coinage cause, what
ever the specific language used.
Fourth, Mr. Carlisle in that speech de-
scribed the repeal of free coinage as "the
conspiracy formed here and in Europe
to destroy by legislation and otherwise
from three-sevenths to one-half Of the
metallic money of the world" and he de-
nounced this characterization as 1.-The
most gigantic crime of this or any other
age"
Fifth, he predicted that the defeat of
silver legislation, and the consequent
"annihilation of one-half of the metallic
money of the world" would produce
prolonged distress and the disorganiza-
ton of society,""
Whatever Secretary Carlisle may now
utter in denial of his former devotion to
the free coinage cause, will not avail.
His denials simply portray his present
smallness of caliber It is vain for him
to pretend to have been consistent. He
was a silver man down to to the time of
his appointment by Grover Cleveland as
secretary of the treasury, and then be-
came an ardent gold monometallist
Why can he not be honest, and admit
what everybody knows. F. N. S.