River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1896-08-20

Of silver: and I want TO say one thing
70 yOu-that not one of these pr"tessors
in foreign universities, not one of these
economists whose name and fame are
worldwide, and not one of those great
hnanciers who have given days and years
Of thought to this subject, not one, and
nobody except the leaders of the modern
Democracy and Populism, has ventured
10 advise his own country in Europe 10
undertake that task alone. lApplause)
The question is this, and nothing more:
Shall the United States, alone, under
take the free aud unlimited coinage of sill
yer at a ratio of 10 to IL "a few cries
of ''yes" and no." and repeated cries OF
no. Now, see you gentlemen oyer
there who called 'yes," and you gentle
men here who called no." shows the
difference of opinion upon this subject
Qaughterl, and to you over there who
come 10 listen to me, you will listen dis
passiOnately, you will digest my argu-
ments. and l hope finally that by the
time you have done so thoroughly that
you will be inclined TO shout mo" with
the gentlemen who responded when you
responded. Cheering and appiause.l :
Now. let US be entirely good-natured
about this. l am going 10 try TO give
you the facts, and / repeat it. the issue
is whether the United States shall at
tempt to do that thing alone, in the
face of the controlling fact that every
civilized commercial nation upon the face
of the earth, except the Central Amer
lean and South American states. years
ago and before we did abandoned It ut
terly. And if / shall succeed in con-
yincing any of our friends that we are
not in position to do it without intilcting
upon the country and upon us all injuries
which il will take a generation TO re-
pair. / shall be more than rewarded
for the pains that l have taken, the OBJ
servations that | have made, the studies
/ have gone through and the reflections
which have brought me TO my present
convictions. (Applause)
Shall We Go Backward or Forward?
Shall we, for our own interests stand
along with those nations with which we
have classed ourselves and who are lead
ing the march of humanity, or shall we
go with Mexico. South America. China
and Japan. the rearward half of the
great army of human progress, and join
those imperfect and rudimentary civiliza-
tons. which are an ocular demonstra-
ton that no nation ever undertook alone
the coinage of free silver that did not de-
prive itself of gold entirely. (Applause)
And you have but to glance upon the
map of your school boy or school girl,
your little son or daughter, 10 see the
fact recorded there for the education OF
youth. TO know that every one of those
nations stands upon a lower scale of
progress than the nations which have
declared the policy upon which the Unit
ed States now stands.
My fellow citizens, the warnings Vt his
tory are all against il. The present ex-
amples of nations who singly are endeav-
Oring TO sustain themselves under a single
standard forbid US TO enter upon a vOy-
age upon. was going to say, untried
waters, but no, upon voyage which we
can plainly see other nations are making
at the present time. where we can plain
ly view rocks of distress, the shoals and
quickSands of their course from the Sc
cure mainland upon which the American
people now stand. and from which our
opponents are attempting to lure them
by false lights and false alarms. Cap
plausel
Now we have got TO take facts exactly
as they are. We are not dealing with
glittering and glowing generalities We
are administering society and human con-
Germs; society, a being perfectly concrete.
infinitely practicable. somewhat selfish.
and | am going TO appeal TO the selfish
ness Of this audience 10 know whether
they will assist in bringing about that
which | think | can prove will result
from the arts of the gentlemen who are
attempting TO mislead them.
Now. my friends. the world is divided.
Just as sharply as il is by oceans and
mountain chains between the gold com
tries. who employ concurrently with gold
more silver money than all the silver
countries contain or circulate. TAP
plauSe) | say that the gold countries
of this world including the United States
land I call them gold countries for the
purpose not of definition. but of clear.
more silver than all the silver countries
of the world employ. contain or circulate.
! make another proposition. | appeal
70 history and 10 contemporary facts
which no man can dispute. that every
free coinage country is on a silver basis.
Isn't that so? Cries Of "Yes') | make
another statement for you m think of
for / am not going 10 elaborate It'll am
going 10 get into he figures pretty soon
every gold country uses silver and gold
in amounts nearly equal by money ma
tons. Isn't that so? Cries of "Ycs."l
Isn't that so in the United States
tCries OF "Yes.D In France? Voices
"Yes."l | make another statement for
your calm and cool reflection. that no sill
yer standard country has any gold mon
ey whatevl.. (AppiauSe.) Don't take
my word for it. Go and investigate this
subject. / say that no silver country has
any gold money whatever. and YOU can
search from Mexico 10 Cape Horn and
find that this statement is correct
Another statement-and I make IL up-
on 4 sense of my responsibility after an
exhaustive examination of statistics. in
vestigations and records-that in every
silver standard country wages are pressed
down 70 the very minimum of a wretchcd
subsistence. II is SO in Mexico. II is so
in japan. it is so in South America. I
say that in every silver country wages
are pressed down 70 the very minimum
OF a wretched subsistence.
The Reasons.
Now If il is true II will not 60 into
the reasons for it,, but if il is true as a
concrete, absolute fact, that no silver
country. no country which has adopted
the silver standard has any gold circuIa-
& IN whatever. l say that it follows that
the only practicable bimetallism on the
planet is by the nations with which the
United States has classed itself. and IL
i this bimetallism in the United States
which the new Democracy and Popu-
lism are endeavoring TO destroy by sub
stituting a silver mOnometallism. IAN
plause) The bimetallism which this
country and the nations of which I have
spoken enjoy is the bimetallism of fact
and actual enjoyment extending 70 that
full extent which human Judgment hui
man experience. human apprehension
call IL what you will-teach is the pro-
norffor in which fha metals CON h. -,