The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-08-21

RemOnetized TELLS why Ciam Sheiis
Were Demonetized-C Civilization and Evo-
luton Advancing Toward a Single Stand
ard In Everything-Faith In American
Intelligence.
The Shoe and Leather Reporter pub
fishes the following speech made by the
Hon. Joseph G. Hendrix at the dinner
of the National Morocco Manufacturers
association of the United States at Man
haitian Beach early this month:
MIR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN
am glad to see you, "men OF small
brains and large capital" am glad al
WAYS to face successful men in an Amer
lean industry. You represent trade
which years ago furnished material for
the money instrument. There was
leather money once and plenty of it.
You have never set up any cry because
of the characterization Of leather, never
asked redress for the crime" OF the
abandonment of the use of leather as
money. You do not now ask IL It's re.
monetizatiOn.
Mr.. Stein-Nor for free tan>sxa
Mr.. Hendrix-Nol Therefore, have
great respect for two people, the North
American Indian and the morocco man
ufacturer. Along these sand dunes from
Manhattan to Montauk point, the anti
quarian can point to great heaps OF
shells where the old squaws used to sit
and practice the free coinage OF wam-
pun. After awhile smart Yankee in
vented turning lathe which trans
formed the clam shells into money too
fast. This led to the demonstration OF
the Long Island clam. Laughter. The
Door Indian has passed off to the plains
and we hear no more of the free coinage
of CLAIMS.
These are simply evolutionary steps.
You look back to the beginnings OF
your industry and marvel at the changes
The world advances Civilization re-
fines Commerce requires exact terms
and measures 1t insists upon certainty,
fixity in the standard Of values. 1t must
have something upon which it can de-
pend. 1t has found out that it must de-
pend upon some one thing. That is why
it has veered to the single standard. 1t
has quit stepping from one standard to
the other. It makes its election. 1t votes
for gold because Of its great value in
small compass and because Of the fxity
Of that value. So it is that one great
nation after another, under the com
mand Of its best intelligence, has come
to the gold standard. 1t is because they
have found it the cheapest, best and
most effective standard by which to
measure all values.
What does standard mean? What is
its primary significance? 1t comes from
an old Latin word meaning something
to turn to. When you are in doubt you
20 to the standard. ] don't care what
line Of business you are in or what
course of life you pursue, a standard
governs it somehow or other. You ride
ON railway on a standard gauge, you
sit at table of a standard height, and
SO on through the list. The standard
must be the thing it stands for. If you
have a standard Of weight, it may be OF
diamonds or precious stones, but it has
got to have weight-that is the first
thing. If you have standard of length,
it must have length. And when you
come to the question Of the standard OF
value, whatever it is made of it has
got to have value.
You can talk about the whole ques-
ton of finance in 100 different lights.
But this is the main point-you must
have standard of value. That standard
must have value We choose for the
standard the metal which fluctuates the
least in value. That is the whole story
of the gold standard. [Cheers.
Our friends out in Chicago claim
that the gold standard is a British pol
icy which we are seeking to enforce in
this country. Did you ever hear any
thing about British policy in connection
with the law of gravitation or British
policy of good health against bad health
good clothes against shoddy! There
are other countries in the world besides
Great Britain. We do not have to look
to Great Britain to know what is a good
thing. [Great applause. We are old
enough and big enough to know good
thing when we see it. Ours is a country
that for so years has been under the
gold standard. You have never known
anything else. All you have was built
upon the gold standard. The greatness
and development of this country have
been attained under that standard. How
is the world lining up on this question?
China, Japan and Mexico are for free
silver. Great Britain, Germany, France
and the great empires of Europe are for
gold. Where do we belong? There is
only one answer. Can any one fancy
that our great pope lation, made up OF
! 20, 600, 900 of the best examples of the
Anglo-SaXon race, &ixed with Irish
wit, Scotch cunning, German thrift,
Is going to step from the high plane
where we stand to the lower one be-
meath? What strange madness has come
into the American people TO make it
seem possible that they could do a thing
of that kind? Applause.
We can live on a silver basis after
we get there. Our great rivers will fol-
/ low their courses to the sea- Gods sun
will kiss the earth. The crops will
spring forte. Children will be born and
grow up. Enterprises will go forward
But are we going to take the leap in the
dark and try an experiment frauQht