Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1896-06-05
The Free-Silver Folly.


dress the Democratic convention to be held
in Hardy county at an early day. at it
were possible" says Mr.. Wilson, "for me to
respond to any summons from them, should
do 80 with alacrity, and should especially
feel 1t privilege and a duty just now to
urge upon them continued fidelity to Demo-
cratic principles and to warn them against
that disaster which now hangs so portent.
ously over its immediate future, and even
threatens its obstruction as national party
after history coextensive with that of
our government, and a record of patriotic
achievement that ought to inspire it to a
still greater future. That danger is its pos
sible adoption, or rather the adoption by the
Democrats of the South, of the policy of free
coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to to
gold"
Continuing, Mr.. Wilson, says:
"We have now in the United States about
two thousand million dollars of money,
made up of over six hundred millions OF
gold, four hundred and twenty six millions
of standard silver dollars, and the residue in
smaller silver coin, minor coins and paper
money, which includes greenbacks, treasury
notes and national bank notes. The gold
dollar is by law since 1878 the standard, and
the government pledges itself to keep, and
does keep, all other kinds of dollars on a
par with gold. This is more than four times
as much money as we had IN circulation in
1860, and nearly twice as much per head OF
population, Notwithstanding the fact that
present business methods tend more and
I'D oil. hon
to smaller use of money and an ever. ex-
panding use of credit representatives of
money. Every existing debt, bond, obliga-
ton, note or contract for salary or wages
made since the resumption of specie pay,
ments in 1879 is payable in the gold stand.
ard, and every part OF these two thousand
millions is available for such payment, for
none of us care whether we receive gold,
silver or paper as long as the government
keeps all on parity.
ave have now free coinage of gold, and,
as a consequence, the gold coin is worth ex.
actly as much as and no more than the bull.
lion out OF which it is coined.
at has not been found possible for any
government in recent times to fix such Il
ratio between gold and silver as to keep
both in full and concurrent circulation I'M
der free coinage hence all free silver coun,
LTlcS W uhy nave uD luli lCbhi-tChdtl hSbai
currency but silver. But all the gold stand.
ard countries coin on government account
more or less silver coins and keep them at
par with their gold. The United States
have coined thus over four hundred million
silver dollars OF full legal tender power and
large amount of smaller silver and other
coins for use as change in small transactions,
with limited power.
"Free coinage OF silver at 16 to ! means
that any private owner of silver bullion may
bring it to the minis and have it coined with.
out charge into dollars OF the present weight
and fineness, which, of course, would there
after be worth as much as and no more
than the bullion of which they were coined,
which is now about fifty cents to the dollar.
No gold would then be coined because with
the bullion necessary to coin gold dollar
could be purchased enough silver bullion to
coin two silver dollars. No one would use
gold dollars to pay debts which he could
pay with less valuable silver dollars. The
first effect of free silver would be to drive
out of circulation the six hundred and TWEEN
ty five millions of gold and to sink all silver
and paper money to the standard OF the Sill
yer dollar. There would be at once shrln'
age OF our currency OF two-thirds OF its pres
ent purchasing power or money efficiency
by the disappearance OF six hundred millions
OF gold and a shrnkage in value of the other
one thousand four hundred millions to one
half its present value. The first step, then,
would be to contract our currency from two
thousand millions TO about seven hundred
millions in purchasing power. Along win
this contraction, of course, would come q
like contraction of debts, salaries, wages ana
all past obligation. There is no country
In the world that could make this sudden
change in its money standard without plung.
ing headlong into an indefinite period Of
panic, bankruptcy and distress, with disas-
trous check to its development and long
idleness to its industries. The hope held
out to debtors that they would be able pay
in cheaper dollars would never be realized
because they would be at once pressed tor
their debts, and in such Reorganization OF
of trade and of all business they could not
get the cheaper dollars, and the idea that
free silver would give us larger currency
would not be realized, If ever, in the lifetime
of the present generation.
"The farmer is urged to support free silver
on the ground that his products have gone
down with the gold standard and would rise
with the silver standard. They would not
rise as fast nor as much as the things he has
to buy, and he ought to see that, while wheat
and some other things have gone down OF
recent years, it is because of the immensely
increased production and the speed and
cheapness with which all parts of the world
can carry their wheat by steamcar and
steamship to the markets which fix It's price
But farm products, on the average, have not
fallen near so much as the things which the
farmer has TO buy, and labor has steadily in.
creased in wages in all the years of the gold
standard thus giving the laboring man, with
less hours of work, larger control over the
necessaries and comforts of life. Out of all
the catastrophies of such change no men
would emerge unframed except those VINO
own gold or who own silver bullion or
mines, and when we had once gotten 10
silver basis and began to build up again the
credit system upon it--that marvellous sys'
TEN which has made possible our modern
development and which represents many
times in currency circulation and power the
money basis on which it rests-we should
have cumbersome, heavy, inferior metal
money, like the few unprogressive countries
of the world, and surrender TO our great
commercial rivals the best metal and best
mechanism for trade and commerce. Ii Con.
gress tomorrow had the power and should
enact a law compelling all the railroads OF
the country Immediately 10 change from
broad gauge to narrow gauge, it would not
more disorganize the transportation busl-
ness of the country and more cripple lts
efficiency thereafter, as compared with other
nations, than for US to pass at once from
gold TO a silver standard.
"Let it not be forgotten, also, as matter
of history, that for nearly % years before
the war we had gold standard and no
metal money but gold of legal tender in
sums of over five dollars. This was the
effect of slightly undertaking silver, so that
none came TO the mint for coinage. So now
for like period gold has been the legal
standard, but in addition TO the halves,
quarters, dimes, ETC., we had in those days
the government has on its own account
coined and put into circulation 81 times as
MANY silver dollars as were coined from the
beginning of the government down to 1873
under free coinage and keeps them all as
good as gold dollars. And yet the people
are told that silver has been demonetized
and that free silver will give US bimetallic