Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-09-10

llSQ tue UuhuCco VI tuO HosASA - W.
ferson and Hamilton founded them,
and as jackson and Benton left them;
to reinforce a constitutional provis-
ion which Webster and Blaine said
could not be set aside, and to give the
producers of this country a living
chance in the markets of the world.
You destroyed silver by demonetiz-
ing it; you placed the burden OF the
worlds debts upon the other metal
and thus doubled its value. You
know that the bullion value of a sill
yer dollar is 50 cents in gold, because
you demonetized il, and that with
its money function and right to free
coinage restored the divergence be-
tween its mint and market value will
disappear. You also know that every
paper promise of the government now
existing, save a few million gold GER
tifcates, is payable in gold or silver,
at government option, but that the
option has been transferred to the
creditor through the manipulation of
the power so long in ascendency in
this nation. You also know that no
dollar ever issued by the government
of the United States ever deprecated
in its relation to gold until the govern
ment itself refused to recognize it as
money in all particulars, or gave its
citizens the right to discriminate
against it. l, at least, assume you
know these things; for otherwise, you
would hardly be competent to preside
over the affairs of the great corpora
tion.
But YOU say should this party
"come to power" we shall be "on the
single SO cent silver dollar basis. "
Are you sure of this2 Will not the
So cents become so, 40, 80, 20, 10
cents,-nothing? If you are right,
what shall retard the inevitable de-
clension2 Possibly this did not oc-
cur to you while your bull was IN its
lncipient stages. am relieved by
the thought that my family will at
least in your judgment get not less
than So cents on the dollar, in the
event of the Democratic success. |
am also relieved by the thought that
in such an event the premiums which
/ must pay you between now and the
time of my death will not be paid as
heretofore, in 200 cent dollars. That
will help little.
am asked to consider the opera
tion of the Bland and Sherman acts.
1t will convince me, you think, OF
the correctness of your statements.
| assent with pleasure. But primarily,
| want to remind you of two or three
important considerations: The first
is that these laws provide for limit
ed compulsory coinage, not for unlim-
tied free coinage OF silver. They
were compromise measures, prepared
and passed by the enemies of the
white metal. Second, that they were
at all times administered by unfrlend-
ly hands and encountered the open
hospitality of banks, money-lenders,
insurance and other financial agencies.
Still another ls that each of these
laws made the coins and notes issued
Hereunder lawful tender for all debts,
"except when otherwise provided in
the CONTRACT clause under which
you have lent borrowers your silver
money, but made them sign contracts
for repayment in gold; and thus by
your practices doing the very thing
you charge on the Democratic party,
namely: "maklng dollar mean wide
ly different things thing with
the borrower and a wholly different
thing for the lender. Of course, when
men like you do this, it is done in
lawful and orderly way, and in the in
terest of sound finance. When the
people demand that the dollar receiv-
ed by the borrower shall be good
enough to be returned to the lender,
they become anarchists, agents of
financial dishonor and reprobates gen.
orally. A last consideration, but by
no means the least, is that when each
OF these laws was passed, men of your
class predicted the very consequences
with which you now threaten us, in
the event of Democratic victory.
You say silver fell in price under
these laws, because the "mine owners
were equal to the opportunity and
poured out the new silver so fast, etc.
| think it is true that the product of
silver steadily increased from 1878 to
1898; SO did that of gold; one had
unlimited coinage; the other unllmlt-
ed enemies. With the brand of Cam
upon its brow, and but part of its
mass monetized through forced COIN
age, its market value fell. Mine own
ers were compelled to "skin" their
mines of everything in sight in order
to pay their men and keep their works
in operation. Profit was a secondary
consideration. The laws you criticize
were pre-doomed and predestined
failure from their inception, and none