Omaha daily bee., 1896-05-16

use Of gold TO increase the circulation. The
law also prohibited the people from securing
silver when they wanted 10 increase the cir
cul1tion. Give us free and unlimited coinage
OF silver and there will be no difference be-
tween the bullion and coinage value Of silver.
What is stable currency? We want q
dollar that maintains its parity with pros
periy. Look at the awful decrease in prices
that has been going on during these last
twenty-three years. Docs my opponent call
that the result Of a stable currency? Mr..
RoG5water stands pledged to a policy that
favors the creditor classes and works to the
disadvantage of the toilng masses" Re
ferring to the report of the royal commits
sion again. Mr.. Bryan said: "If England
stands ready TO impoverish the whole world
why should we in America not stand up for
an honest dollar?" The speech was con-
cuded with a mention Of Turkey as a coun-
try using the gold standard and reference
to the civilization. progress and development
Of Mexico, country that was pledged to the
FREQ and unlimited coinage of silver.
HONEST DOLLAR DEFINED.
In reply Mr.. Rosewater remarked that his
opponent did not seem to care what effect
free coinage would have on the interests
of the country 50 long as he could prove
that The Bee did not contain an editorial
In 1873 telling the people Of the demonetiza-
tion Of a dollar that did not exist.
In regard to Mr. Bryan's demand for
definition Of an honest dollar he declared
that an honest dollar was a dollar that
after 1t was hammered down and the stamp
taken off would exchange for just as much
of any commodity as it would before the
stamp was taken OF; dollar that would
pass current the world over at approximately
its bullion value. He was as anxious as
Bryan to see silver appreciate in value but
he did not want to see it done by slight-of-
hand or by a legislative fraud. Why was 1t
II Mexico was so prosperous under the silver
standard, as was asserted by his opponent,
that ii took two of their dollars to buy
dollar in any market in the world?
Returning to Mr.. Bryans Interrogation, Mr..
Rosewater said that the main reason why
the bill of 1873 did not excite as much
comment then as 1t had since was because
neither silver nor kod were then in gen.
eral circulation as money. No metal money
was known except in California, Nevada and
Montana. where gold dust weighed on the
scales, was the medium Of exchange. Mr..
Bryan's declaration that the Rothschidls had
engineered the alleged decentralization of sill
yer, was met by the fact that at that time
a silver dollar was worth $1.03. The foreign
bankers could have had their loans repaid
in silver and gained a premium of cents
on every dollar. And still there were people
who were credulous enough to believe that
the Rothschids spent 100000 in bribng
United States senator's in order to beat them
To show the :allacy Of the assertion that
the bill of 1873 had killed silver, Mr.. Rose
water stated that in 1892 it required ten
and one-half pounds OF silver to equal the
value of one pound cf gold In the next
century it required eleven pounds of silver:
In 1887 fourteen pounds and when the United
States mints were first opened fifteen
pounds. That was certainly greater de-
probation than had been experienced since
1879.
PUTTING ON FINISHIN GTOUCHES.
From this point the speeches were limited
to five and ten minutes each and largely con-
sisted of more detailed argument on the
points that had been raised in the previous
portion of the debate Mr.. Bryan labored
at some length to show that the financial de-
preston was entirely due to the "crime of
1873" and in reply Mr.. Rosewater asked
his opponent to explain what caused the
great panic Of 1873 and the great depression
Of 1897, when free and unlimited coinage
Of silver was in active operation.
Mr.. Bryan reiterated the long standing
free silver argument that the allegedd de-
OF silver was the first and
cause of the depreciation in prices
and Mr.. Rosewater showed the fallacy of
the statement by indicating the manner in
which the invention and use of labor saving
had cheapened the cost of pro-
luction of nearly every commodity. In H.
he cited the newspaper business
In 1872 with the old-fashoned press then
In use, it required the combined exertions
Df ten men to print 5000 papers an hour
In 1875 the Webb perfecting press was in
which turned out $1,000 papers !
IN hour with the assistance of one man.
A little over two years ago the type cast |
ng machines had been introduced in The |
Bee office and with them twenty four men |
lid the work ttat had required seventy-two |
ypesetters before. By this means the cost |
If composition had been reduced from 81 |
30.