The evening bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, 1896-08-08
Argument of the Man From Maine
in Favor of the Unlimited
Coinage of Silver.
Strongly Opposed to the Single Gold Stand
ard-FayOred Reconciliation
of Silver.

ize the free coinage of the standard silver
dollar and make it legal tender. This
is the speech which the Public Ledger
Claims the BULLETIN garbled. We simply
published an extract or two from the
document, but these extracts were just
and fair index to Mr.. Blaine's views on
the subject. 1t is true he did not believe
at that time that it would be "safe and
expedient" to offer free coinage to the
silver dollar of 412I grains. He did not
believe in the coinage of an inferior
dollar, but he did favor the unlimited coin
age of dollar containing 425 grains of
standard silrer, to be a legal tender IN any
amount. AS a proof OF this he offered an
amendment to the bill providing for the
unlimited coinage OF silver dollars of the
character named. More than this he
said that "H,e responsibility for re-eStdJlish-
ing silrer IN its ancient and honorable place
as money an Europe and america derolres
really upon the Congress Of the United States"
We regret that the speech is so long
we can not publish it in full. Here are
some extracts, however, which make in
teresting reading:
| 81 believe gold and silver coin to be the money
of the constituton-indeed, the money of the
American people anterior to the constitution,
money which the organic law of the republic
recognized as Independent OF its own existence.
No pouer ,cas conferred on Congress to declare that
| either metal should not be money. Congress has,
| therefore, in my Judgment, no more power to
demonetize silver than to demonetize gold; no
more power to demonetize either than to demon
etize both. In this statement am but repeating
the weighty dictum of the first of constitutional
| law! ers. I am certainly OF opinion said Mr..
Webster, that gold and sicr, at fired rates by Con-
grcSS constitute the legal standard Of 1ulUe in this
country and that neither Congress nor any state has
authority 10 establish any Other standard or to dispose
this stdnddrd.'
Few persons can be found, apprehend, who
will maintain that Congress possesses the power
| to demonetize both gold and silver, or that Con-
gress could be justified in prohibiting the coin
age of both and yet in logic and legal construc
| ton IT would be difficult to show where and
why the power of Congress over silver is greater
than over gOld-greater over either than over
both. II, therefore, silver has been demonetized
am in favor OF remonetizing it. II its coinage
has been prohibited, am in favor of ordering it
to be resumed. II it has been restricted, am in
favor of ordering it to be enlarged.
1.-THE responsibility of re-establishing silver in
its ancient and honorable place as money in Eu-
rope and America deyolves really upon the Con
gress OF the United States. If we act here with
wisdom and firmness, we shall not only success
fully remonetize silver, aud bring it into general
use as money in our own country, but the infu-
ence of our example will be potential among Eu-
ropean nations, with the possible exception of
England. Indeed, our annual Indictment to
Europe is so great that, If we have the right to
pay it in silver, we necessarily coerce those ma
tons, by the strongest Of all forces selfinterest,
to aid us in UNFOLDING the value of silver as
money. But II we attempt the reconciliation on
basis which is obviously below the fair stand
ard OF value as it now exists, we incur all the
evil consequences of failure at home, and the
certainty of successful opposition abroad. We
are, and shall be, the greatest producers OF silver
in the world, and we have larger stake in its
complete monetization than any other country
The dittrcDce 10 The Unied States, betoeH TIC gcnerd
acceptance and he general destruction Of SILVER as
money in the commercial ,rorld orH possibly WihiR the
merit hdlf-cetuyy 6qudl the entire bonded DEBT Of the
nation. But, to gain the advantage, we must
make II actual money, the accepted equal OF gold
in the markets of the world. RECOMMENDATION
here, followed by general reconciliation in Ell.
rope, will secure to the United States the most
stable basis for its currency that We have ever en-
joyed, and will effectually aid in solving all the
problems by which our financial situation is sur
rounded.
"On the much-vexed question OF bimetallic
standard, my own views are sufficiently indi-
Gated in the remarks have made. Ibeier the
struggle noU going on in this country and in Other
countries, for single gold standard, tcOuld il Success
fM produce disaster in the end throughout the CONNER
ciGl porld The destruction Of Silrer as money, and
the establishment Of gold as the sole unit Of ralue, must
hare rinOus effect upon all forms Of property ercept
those investments ,cbch yed fred return IN money.
These COidd DC enormously enhanced in udluc, and
,COAd gain a dispOporiondte, and therefore Unfair,
ddldntdge Oper euey other species Of property IT, as
the most reliable statistics affirm, there are
nearlyseven thousand millions of coin or bullion
in the world, not very unequally divided be-
tween gold and silver, 1t is impossible to strike
silver out of existence as money without results
which will prove distressing to millions, and
utterly disastrous to tens of thousands. Alexan.
der Hamilton, in his able and invaluable report
1 l 1871 on the establishment of a mint, declared
that to annul the OF either gold or silver as
money is to abridge the quantity OF circulating
medium, and is liable TO all the objections which
arise from a comparison of the benefits of a full
circulation with the evils of scanty circula-
ton take no risk In saying that the benefits
OF a full circulation, and the evils Of a scanty
circulation, are both immeasurably greater to-
day than they were when Mr. Hamilton uttered
these weighty words, always provided that the
circulation is one of actual money and not of
deprecated promises to pay !