Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1896-07-11


a dollar when the world will only
take it for fifty cents as compared
with gold and it can be bought for
fifty cents, then the government
could make the silver ounce or dol
lar worth two or five dollars. II the
principle is admitted that by legis-
laiion values can be created then we
have the solution of the problem of
banishing poverty from the world.
We might as well legislate at once
to make everybody rich. If the sill.
yer producer or owner OF European
silver can take his silver to the n Mt
and have it made into dollar as
good as gold when it is only worth
fifty cents, why not legislate to make
ten cents worth of silver, lead, zinc
or copper a dollar, why not legis-
late to make ton of coal worth ten
dollars a. the mine, or bushel of
wheat worth two dollars The fact
is that whenever there is more sill
yer than is needed for money, Con-
gress should stop its coinage. Ii
there should suddenly be found
mountain of gold, surely Congress
would not permit the parties own
ing it to take it to the minis and
make money out of all of it as fast
as it could be coined. Congress in
such case would have to limit the
amount of gold to be coined, just as
it limits the amount of silver.
Congress tried to legislate to up.
hold the value OF silver by buying
first two million ounces. But in the
face of the act of Congress to pur-
chase four million ounces per month
silver constantly declined, and would
decline if we bought ten million
ounces n month, simply because
Congress cannot create value, or be-
You'd reasonable amount, invest
commodity with value when this
value is not recognized liz the COM
mercial world. If Congress can leg
islate so that silver shall have more
value at the wish of the silver mine
owner, why not legislate that wheat
and corn and all other products shall
have more value? 7"
EFFECT OF FREE SILVER.
"What would be the effect of free
silver ~
1.-THE free coinage of silver at the
ratio of Is to l by the United States
alone would drive the six hundred
millions of gold now in use out of
circulation" said the senator, ODE
cause bankers and everyone else
would hoard gold. This would lead
to tremendous contraction, and to
such panic as the country has never
known. OF all the evils that have
beset this country or any other, a
ductnating currency Is the greatest,
and OF all persons most Interested in
sound currency is the laboring
man. He wants his savings to be
stable and certain If be is working
for dollar day he wants at the
end Of thirty days to receive money
worth $50, and not worth only SIS.
1t would be hard On the people who,
by thrift, economy and hard work
have accumulated savings and put
them in savings banks in gold or its
equivalent, to have these same saw
ings paid back TO them in money
worth only half as much as the money
deposited"
"What is the cause of the free sill
yer movement ?"
"The present silver movement is
simply an effort TO get something for
nothing, which is reversing the laws
Of creation; to create values where
they do not exist. This cannot be
done; it is impossible. 1t never has
been done.
cit is estimated that the banks,
trust companies, building associa.
tions and other similar institutions
have more than five thousand mil
lions of money belonging to the peo-
pie, money as good as gold. Now,
if we had free silver all this vast
sum would be paid back to the peo-
pie in silver worth fifty cents on the
dollar. The people would suffer a
loss of one-half their money. The
bankers and institutions would pay
in silver, and make what the people
lose. You see free silver would de-
fraud the people and help the bank
ers. But this would not be the only
evil that would follow; there would
be many others. The credit of the
country would be destroyed. We
could not borrow money at home or
abroad to build railroads, open
mines, and build factories. We have
been suffering from business depres-
sion for nearly four years. This
would 60 on. Our state as we'll as
others would suffer. The evils of
free silver would be greater than
those of free trade"
SIMPLE QUESTION.
"Senator EIkins, you say values
cannot be created by law; then how
is it that fifty cents worth of silver
is now worth, when coined, dollar,
and passed for dollar, equal with
gold?"
"The answer is simple enough"
said the senator. "Just SO long as
the government is able to redeem
silver and paper in gold, just SO long
both silver and a paper dollar will
| be worth a dollar in gold, although
the paper dollar is not worth intrin-
sically more than cent, and the ell
yer dollar intrinsically more than
fifty cents. But let the government
| fail to redeem in gold, then silver
and paper dollars fan in value and
| fuctuate from day to day according
to the confidence Of the people in
the government that it will some day
make both as good as gold.
"To further Illustrate, just so long
as business man can pay his notes,
and it is known he has at all times
proDertV on hand worth several