The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-12
SETTING nLAisE,s RECORD RIGHT.
PopOcrntic Misrcpresentation of His
silver speech Corrected.

Washington Special to New York Tribune.
The attempts of Bryan land other Popo-
cratic orators as Well as OF topocratic
committees TO falsify the record of James
G.. Blaine on the silver question by the use
of CARRIED extracts frCm the speech he de-
livered in the Senate on Feb. Z, 1875. has
created an extraordinary demand among
Republicans in all parts of the country
for copies of the speech itself. in partial
Congress committee issued several hundred
thousand copies some time ago. but the
number was found 10 be utterly made
quate. and an order has now been given
for the printing OF round million copies
the largest order that was ever given for
mittee. If this number is found insufficient
more will be printed Mr.. Bryan and his
supporters will be made TO realize before
the end OF the campaign that they made
a grievous and disastrous mistake when
they attempted to falsify the record and
mlsrepresent the attitude of Mr.. Blaine { n
the silver question. 1t seems strange that
any man who was not a political IDIOT
s i nave mace such an attempt IN
Blaine said:
AT the current rates of silver the free
coinage OF dollar containing 1925 grains.
worth in gold about 90 cents. gives an 'lleg-
itimate profit to the owner of the bullion.
enabling him to take 90 cents worth of It
70 the mint and get it stamped as coin and
force his neighbor TO take ii for a fun dol
lar: This is an undue. an unfair advantage
which the government has right to
give the owners of silver bullion and which
defra!idS the man who is forced TO tt Ike the
dollar. Evidently the nrSt dictate OF pr0-
dence is to coin such a dollar will not
only do justice among our citizens at home,
but will prove a protection an absolute
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. the gold monometallistS
of Europe, who. when the opportunity Of
fers, will quickly draw from us the one
hundred and sixty millions of gold coin
which we now hold. If we coin silver dol
lar of full legal tender, obviously below the
current value of the gold dollar, we are
opening wide our doors and inviting Eu-
rope to take our gold. With our gold flow
ing out from us we shall be forced to the
single silver standard. and our relations
with the leading commercial countries OF
tie world will be not only embarrasso1 |, but
crippled. 1t will assuredly follow that if
we give free coinage to this dollar OF infe-
rior value and put it in circulation at the
expense of our better coinage in gold, and
unless we expect the Uniform and invarla-
bic experience of other nations to be in
some mysterious way suspended for our
peculiar benefit, will inevitably lose our
gold coin. 1t will flow out from us with
the certainty and the force of the tides.
Mr.. Blaine was opposing and arguing
against the coinage of Scent silver dol
lars. If he were alive to-day what would
he say about the proposition for the free
and unlimited coinage of 53-cent dollars,
regardless of ''the aid or consent of any
other nation on eaTth?"
On Feb. 10, 1878, Mr. Blaine offered an
amendment to the Blaine-Allison bill, pro-
viding that the silver dollar TO be coined
should contain 425 grains instead of 412la
grains of standard silver. His amendment
was rejected, and he voted against the bill
which provided for the limited coinage OF
92-cent silver dollars.