Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1896-10-17

Mississippfs Able Senator Enlight-
ems the People OF Natchez.
warmly Greeted and Handsomely Enter
talned by the Good Citizens Of That
Progressive City--A Clear and Force
full Discussion Of the burning
Question OF the Day.

full Discussion OF the turning
"'''''o- y
-
x.. 49,. ~, nx,..t..,nr,,s dlstin-
natcnoz, miss, vc.. o SsnP = '' ws,-
guished son, United states senator u. y. wa"
thall arrived In the city this forenoon and was
given a very cordial reception by committee Of
e,s,... ~ .s.ortaa to nj. botei wbere be has
ci'i-cnS ANU eoeot'o. " 80 ..sss. .a,v,rv
been the recipient Of many courIesles' recc,v'ns
many calls and meeting many OF the people OF
this city. whom he has often desired TO meet,
but has heretofore been deprived Of the oppor-
tunity. Inc Aonplv vpo'a 'ouso, "s 's.. =.
spoke tonight, was niieo 10 its utmost oapnvny
with one OF the largest and most brilliant assem-
,.se ~, ovsr hssn .d,n,rers N this distln-
VINO NAYS escr poon su'''.. ~ a"sa ..,sh
guished gentleman, honoreu inc occasion wan
c,ate the t;eneral's effort as much as did the
$1,000 80 rao waltbalI was introduced 10
eseinei -. m p.,,,,a- rannsau and
the audience py Hon. N. rainier Lahheau, ahu
at once launched out into his address, which
was deyoted almost entirely to the discussion OF
~. anaro,ai i..ua II the ercluslon of other
. wy a' 's'.' =
The speaker gave brief history OF the de-
monetIzation act AZ 1874. OF the Bland Allison
-, :, ,s-e 80 :, ~ Sh..,o,, act N 1sao show-
acs VI 1910 anu VI 'lo onoi ~ :, s,,s
Ing the elect OF each, ana proceedea as iohows'
In 1898 the president, backed up and applauded
by the metropolitan press and the capitalists
special session and recommended the repeal,
Without conditions, OF SO much Of the Sherman
law as authorized further purchases OF silver,
and we were confronted sQuarey with the
proposition to put the country back openly
where the act OF 1873 had put II secretly.
AS this recommendation came from Demo.
cratic president In whom had implicit faith and
by whom had stood In all things not involving
the surrender OF my own views Of public duty re-
specting silver naturally paused In the face
OF such q proposition, coming from such
source to search for the true line OF my duty as
Democrat, accustomed to follow the great
leaders Of my party. / turned TO the National
platforms Of my party to see II l remembered
Alright the pledges glyei In our last successful
campaign and frequently before: Going back 10
1880 / found In that year the National Democ-
racy, at the instance OF u distinguished Missis-
sipplan, on the Platform Committee, had de.
clared for "honest money, consisting OF gold
and silver and paper convertible into coin on
demand"-and here was o proposition In enect
to strike down one OF the money metals OF which
that ''h0nest money" consisted.
found that In 1884 we said, "We believe In
honest money, the gold and silver coinage OF the
Constitution, and circulating medium CONVEX
tible into such money without loss, and mere
was proposition to openly discredlt one Oh the
coinage metals named In that Constitution. l
found that In 1888 we "reamrmed" the PLATFORM
oil 1854 and reiterated our DelleI IN SILVER anu
gold alike and here was proposition 10 put
this declaration under our feet, which had been
deliberately repeated to bind the conscience Oh
every Democrat who recognizes, as we once
jority is the law OF Democracy when assembled
In convention. found pledges stronger II
possible, In the platform Of 1872, ana mere tney
are: LIST; we hold 70 the use OF pom goia any !
silver as the standard money OF Inc country,
and here was proposition TO let 60 silver ana
TO mold to- gold alone as standard money. "a:
Another thing we mold TO. IS "tne coinage Oh
Doth gold ana silver WITHOUT discrimination
against either metal or charge for mintage and
here was q proposition openly 10 discriminate
against silver leaving TO gold alone the coinage
privilege we promised both. Sd. We said the
dollar unit OF coinage OF both metals must pc
OF equal intrinsic ana excnangeaDie Yalue OF ~
adjusted through international agreement or by
such safeguards OF legislation as snail insure
the maintenance OF the partly OF tne TWO metais
and the equal power OF every dollar AZ aii Times
In the markets ana In the payment OF deDts,
and here was proposition, after repeated Ell.
forts to obtain International agreements nau
failed and II was patent that all such must fall,
not to resort to Legislation to maintain the parity
as we had promised, but 70 make that parity
Impossible by withholding from one metal an
essential privilege which the government mad
bestowed upon the other: 4th: we said we de-
mand that all paper shall be Kept az par with
and redeemable IN such coin" put mere was u
proposition not to redeem paper IN silver com
at all, but exclusively In gold. All this seemed
to me so repugnant to the platform conmittals
OF my party, four times announced In the pre-
ceeding twelve years, that looked again 10 see
II the denunclation OF the sherman law In the
platform OF 1892 there was any hint or squinr'
In the direction OF the single gold standard now
proposed. We denounced the sherman law as
Il "cowardly makeshift," but did so In such con-
nection with the use OF gold and silver as stand
ard money as plainly and purposely to recon-
mend blmetalllsm rs substitute Tor TINS
''makeshlft." No man can point 10 line or
letter In any platform declaration OF either the
Democratic or any other organized political
party, even remotely suggesting departure
Of gold and silver on equal terms. which the
Democratic party has favored from the Degin-
ming OF Its existence.
lstudied the presidents message TO see what
exigency could justify this new departure and
whether the action he proposed would meet tnat
exigency. He told us we were called together
because there was ian alarming and cxtraordin..
airy business situation Involving the welfare ana
happiness OF all our people, that moneyed In
situations were suspending, securities hitherto
deemed good were refused when offered Tor
loans values had become uncertain, and Toss
and failure have invaded every branch OF bust
ness" He told us the evils he enumerated were
principally chargeable' 10 the sherman law Q!
July H. 1890, In bis opinion, and that the gold
reserve OF $780, 900 long ago set aside for the
redemption OF other notes, for the first time had
been encroached upon by paying out ABOUT $loJ.-
900 900 on account OF silver purchases. Refer
ring to the fact that the treasury notes, paid out
for silver bullion were by law expressly redeem
able In either gold or silver at the discretion OF
the secretary OF the treasury, lie told OF they
were all redeemable In gold because the Sher-
man law declared It to be our policy to maintain
the two metals on q parity with each other. L
re examined that declaration, but looked In
vain for any expression or Implication in II to
excuse the attempt TO do the impossible thing OF
maintaining the parity OF the two metals by
throwing the tremendous power and influence Of
the government against silver to dshonOr and
degrade IL, and In favor OF gold, TO raise II In
public confidence. to increase Its relative value
and adopt IL as the only money fit to offer q
creditor In payment Of a debt expressly payable
In either silver or gold. The president told us
that under the Sherman law silver reached the
lowest polnt ever known" and who wonders
that IL did. and that since then IL has fallen
lower still, since that was the natural and nee
essarv conseouence OF the strained construction
of lie law IN pursuance OF which the govern
mont discrimjnated AGAINST silver and Openly
Condemned tins "standard money of the conn.
trv"
Gere was n proyIsIon Of law intended. pro-
fassedIv IN mako Inc two money metals eouai In
the money function. construed away and yir-
tually annulled nv the treasury official charged
will Ire axacntion Could II be that the consti
iuiian when If yave Tho legislntive ,iennrtmen
Inc anthorItv ..fo coin nancy and regulate fhe
value thereoIp contemnlated ibat the executIye
dcnnrtment when the law gave The same value
IN n silver d,llar md gold dollar. should con-
damn ono os TOO h.sa ~ nav n gnvernment debt
dlsiinctiv navnbie in e,thero Might n NOT lie
,hat nnr aacretarv ~ Tho trcasnrv infeliecfual
md natriotjc brifsfallable az oiRer men and
@,iie ~ changeahie had erred in giving the
Shermnn law q CONSERVATION foreign To ia de-
clar.d nurnoae unsunnorted Nv liz terms and
bos,ile n liz eeeta ~ verv interest here ex
,na ,ntaresss ~ c,n,.,S Aiignt n not n. tsat
w. .ain..,its. =. ~. IA ~, a., t,s., ,,,.s