The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-10-15

now living have things been in the
state in which they now exist There
is general paralysis. men are earn
ing nothing and are tramping the
! streets constantly, where before they
| were going TO and from work happy,
| prosperosu people drawing good sal
| aries. Now what is the cause and REM
edy stated in the issues now made for
US to decide. Mr.. Bryans party says
| the cause is. what is by some called
| the crime Of 70, and the remedy is free
| coinage OF silver. In my own judgment
the action in 1878 has no more to do
| with it than a proclamation made by
the car of Russia.
| eve have had since 1884 gold STAN
dard; everything has been rated &C
| cordingly. If free coinage IS enacted
the silver must stand upon its own
| basis" Here he took a silver dollar
| from his pocket and said: THAT silver
| dollar is worth one hundred cents al
| though the silver in it is only worth
! fifty-three cents. Why is this? Be-
cause it has the pledge OF this govern
ment behind it. because it has a gold
dollar behind it, because it has had
and still has the faith and confidence
of the American people in their govern
ment behind it. (Applause.
Under the free coinage, the man
who has the bullion takes it to the mint
the same as a farmer takes his grist to
/ the mill. The government puts it's
stamp upon it, and that stamp simply
| says that 1t IS SO many grains pure sill
yer, and no more. There is nothing
whatever behind ii, but it must pass
upon its own basis as it will have moth
| ing else TO pass upon.
The Mexican dollar has six more
! grains in it than our own American
dollar, yet l can go to FL Paso or any
other place along the border, and get
two Mexican dollars for that one Amer
! lean dollar. You say it is because it is
| in this country and the Mexican dollar
is only worth half as much. I tell you
l can take that dollar down ito the
City of Mexico and get two Mexican
dollars for it. Applause) Why is
this? The Mexican dollar under free
coinage is compelled to stand upon
| nothing save its own value.
IF free coinage is enacted there WIFI
be more wrecks and disasters follow
ing it Immediately than have ever been
known before in this country. In TWEEN
ty-four hours gold will retire entirely
and with forty-eigpt hours every gold
States treasury Why will this be?
Simply because gold will be able TO buy
one and a half, or two, or two and
half dollars in silver, and every man
who holds a trea sury note will go to
the treasury and draw out the gold.
Every man will try to get there before
it can be dra wn by the others, and con-
sequently 1T will all be drawn as fast
as it can be handed out.
II know people who already have
drawn out their savings from the
banks. and have gotten all the gold
they have worked for so long, and have
put it in their little rim boxes and put
it in some safety deposit to remain url-
til this question is settled. But when
the election comes, and if Mr.. Bryan Is
elected all the six hundred mmillions
of gold will retire Immediately and
when this is done the remainder of our
currency will depreciate over half. 1t
will take a long time TO replace it by
free coinage.
IF you conclude to vote for the
cheaper money, if you have had bad
luck and your crops were failure. II
you became involved in debt. and take
thi; means to extricate yourself, how
Will you be helped should the cheaper
money carry. Mr.. Bryan is not COM
ing around TO throw ii into your laps;
the silver mine owner is not going to
shower you With the product of his
mines; you will have to get it by your
own labor, you will have to sell some
thing to get il, You must earn il; and
with a deprecated currency it will
take You hong time to earn it. In the
mean time what is your creditor doing?
He will collect if he possibly can no
matter what occurs to you in the pro-
cess immediately upon the assurance
that this will come to pass. You Will
be as poWeriesS then TO get the fifty
cent dollar as you are now TO get the
hundred cent dollar. Ii would be very
much like the Irishman who asked the
price of Fbushel of potatoes soon after
landing in this country, and was in
formed that they were worth fifty cents.
Fifty cents?' said he, aghast, why,
can buy that many praties in OTland
fur six cents Then why in the devil
didn't you stay there and buy them?
.Bekase OF couldn't git the six cents be-
gorra.' 0aughter)
Suppose you owe your neighcor $500
which you borrowed of him in gold,
and you defer payment until free coin
a ge should come in, and should then
pay him in a currecy which is only
worth fifty cents on the dollar. Would
that be honest or honorable? Would
YOU not defraud him of one-half his
savings, which ne had worked for years
10 accumulate?
Il met friend in Topeka the other
day who IS a Pop. He came UP to me
and taking me by the hand said: Tom
/ have Sc in my pocket and | am going
to vote for Mckinley: two years ago
was busted and l voted the Pop ticket;
four years ago l was drunk and voted
for Cleveland Oaughter)
Some of you perhaps have expected
me 10 say something OF Mexico. as
WAS once the representative OF our
government to that nation. Mexico
now has about four dollars per capita
in circulation, while We nave about six
teen dollars in coin per capita. Now.
our friends tell US that times are very
prosperous in Mexico on account of free
silver l would ask why we are not
four times as prosperous; We have four
times the money per capita Mexico
was a terribly degraded nation until
che DiaZ government went into power.
President DiaZ although an Indian is g
remarkable man, and is perhs ps better
qualified 10 occupy the presidency than
any other person living. He knows his
people and the existence OF a goaod gov
ernment is what makes it appear as X
does. The laboring people are WRETCH
edly poor: they hive in little dirty adobe
houses. sleep upon the ground. the max
ed earth frequently being the only bed
they have no chairs but some times
have a stool or bench; the women are
haif-clsd, and the men are in the same
plight. A lisht, thin pair OF pants, and
another garment resembling shirt,
form their clothing. and some of them
are almost entirely destitute Of EVEN