Omaha daily bee., 1896-08-20
PUNCTURING BRYAN's bubble.

Globe-Democrat (rep): "If," says Bryan,
'the cost of producing gold should be re-
duced 30 per cent without any increase in
the output, the purchasing power of an ounce
of gold would not fall OF course it
wouldn't; and that is the main reason why
the gold standard Is preferable to the silver
standard.
New York Tribune (rep): Mr., Bryan says
railroad rates have not been reduced to keep
pace with falling prices. In 1872 it cost 33. 5
cents to take a bushel of wheat from Chicago
to the seaboard by rail, and in 1895 1t cost
1917 cents. Even Mr. Bryan will not assert
that average prices are less than half and
only a little more than third of what they
were in 1872. How mere fact will over
throw a whirlwind of eloquence!
New York Sun Cdem): Bryan gave this
as his definition of the 16 to / scheme, in a
speech at Pittsburg on Monday evening:
sixteen to one means this, that If you owe
debt you can go out into the market and
buy silver and have it coined and use that
silver to pay your debts" That is, If a man
owes you $40 for wages he ''can go out into
the market and buy silver" for about $3.50,
have it coined into $40, and force you to
take these 53-cent dollars in payment OF his
debt to you.
Chicago Times-Herald rep): 1--WE cannot
enforce respect for our foreign policy as long
as we confess ourselves unable to frame
our own financial policy said Mr.. Bryan at
Madison Square. 1t was announced in the
House of Commons just before prorogation
that Great Britain has accepted our foreign
policy. We appear to be able to enforce
that without difficulty in every part of the
world. Without difficulty also, after Novem-
Der next, we shall maintain the financial
policy we have ourselves framed.
New York Times (dem): Mr.. Bryan pro-
fesses respect for the venerable law of supply
and demand. Yet he insists that free coin
age will raise the price of silver bullion to
Sl.29 an ounce in gold. If that were true,
some very strange things would happen in
international finance. But it is no more
true than Mr.. Bryan's other assertion that
the restoration of bimetalism will restore
the parity between money and property, -
doubtless the most idiotic statement ever
made by candidate for the presidency.
indianapolis Journal (rep): Mr.. Bryan ex-
posed his ignorance when he declared in
his speech that the depositors of savings
banks were now compelled to withdraw their
savings to keep them from starvation under
the gold standard. In 1875, few years be-
fore specie resumption, the number of de-
positors was 2,359,S64 and the aggregate OF
deposits was 1924 037 304. At the close
of 1895 the number of depositors was 4,S75,-
5l9 and the aggregate of deposits was 81 ,SlO,-
597 023. In spite of the hard times the past
few years the depositors are more thar
twice as many as in 1875, and the deposits
nearly twice as large. If there shall be any
withdrawing of deposits in the next few
months it will be due to the radical tariff
policy which Mr., Bryan supported and the
paralysis in industry caused by the silver
craze.
Philadelphia Record (dem): In his Madi,
son Square speech Mr.. Bryan said "a gold
standard encourages the boarding of Nancy
because money is rising; it also discourages
enterprise and paralyzes industry" Mr.
Bryan makes an assumption that is con-
trary to all experience. When the gold
standard is threatened people take to hoard
hiding their
fdence returns the boarded treasure again
flows into the channels of trade. What
boarding is now done is due wholly to the
silver agitation, and the crippled condition
of industry has arisen from the same cause
Business enterprise, manufacturing industry
and commerce flourish only under normal
conditions, the first OF which is confidence
in the security and stability of the standard
of money. The populists threaten this
security and stability and then assert that
the want of confidence is due to the hoard
ing of money, thus substituting the effect
for the cause.