Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-08-27


me call your attention TO one fact. Inc
free-coiners assert, when they are 'oiu
that the ncreas ed output of gold Is COINS
TO tend very much and by natural pro.
ccsses TO solve this question. that lro ON
one-half TO one third of the gold amman!
produced in the world goes into the ar.s'
This statement is probably an eNaggclaf
ton. Ii is probable that one-quarter Vl
the gold of the world produced annualIy
goes into the arts, and il has been dong
il for centuries. Consider for mo-
meDt, my fellow citizens. what an ehor-
nous sum. enormous aggregate-three
billions, perhaps four billions, OF dollars
are lying in the shape of golden orha-
ments. thousands of dollars of them ~
this room tonight Now | want 10 asA
you this question. If there is GOLD lhlii-
inc. If the power of gold is so absolute
and tyrannical as il is claimed, II its
possession in the shape of coin gives us
owner such sway over the destiny anu
fortune of his fellow man, how Is II
that this enormous amount of gold, per
haps one-third of that which is IN EXIST
ence. has not shown the least symptom
yet of going into the melting pot 10 De
turned into coin!
But we hear great deal about the de,
monetization of silver. and one Woulu
think to hear our free-coiner friends de-
claim that silver had been entirely de-
monetized, that by some maliEn lnnu-
ence the money function OF silver
throughout the world had been entirely
abrogated. md il is very catching
phrase. 1t has been very catching
assumption, for will not call it an argu-
ment.
Now, say. my fellow citizens, that,
properly considering facts. that state,
ment is inaccurate, not TO say untrue.
assert that silver has never been demon
etized in the sense in which that charge
has been made. (Applause) Demone,
tiZation means to divest of standard
value rs money, and | say this has not
been done with any dollar of silver com
that was ever minted mt any mint. APP
plause) 1t is true that many nations
who have approached the danger line OF
which / spoke few moments ago. when
one metal drives out another, that many
nations have told the owners OF silver
which lay concealed in the earth we VIII
not longer buy il at certain ratio and
al certain price. Even that has not
been entirely done. and l repeat my
statement that the assertion that silver
has been demonetiZed is one calculated
To mislead. and is not true in fact.
"The Crime of 49,"
An our woes are dated from 1878 the
period when the free-coiners persuade
their disciples that. to use their stock eX-
preston. silver was demonetiZed. or that
'one-half of the aggregate wealth of the
world was struck down at n blow. Now
let US bring this statement to the crucial,
absolute test of figures. Of what records
and statistics say upon this subject, and
not trust to the vague defamation Of
any person. The value land / will give
you my authority for this statement in a
moment), the value of all silver coin in
the world in 1873 was $1,S77 ,0OO,0 900.
In 1895 it was $4100,0O0,000. The
value of all the gold coin in the world in
1873 was S3045, 600, 900: the value of all
the gold coin in the world in 1895 was
81 200. 100000. OF this quantity of sill
yer current in the world in 1895, So, 49,
100000 was full legal tender. Now at
tend to me for a moment while the math-
ematical deduction is made. BY this
statement il appears that the quantity
of gold in the world increased. between
1873 and 1895, only S1,20O,0O0, 900,
while the increase of silver coin for the
same period was 50. 2S3. 900. 000-more
coined in the twentythree years since
1873 than remained up to that time OF
all the coinage of the world since Noah
left the ark. (Applause.) And nearly
double more silver has been coined than
gold since 1873. What becomes, then, of
the assertion of the equal and equable
production of silver and gold from year
10 year since time began, and of the de-
monetization of silver since 1873, in the
face of this showing that. between 1873
and 1895 the coinage of silver was near
ly twice greater than that of gold? They
talk of the demonetzation of silver since
1878 in the face of silver coinage
throughout the world since that year of
over 81, 900, 100000, of which $685.
444 .467 was minted by the United
States. (Applause.) And of gold the
United States minted during the same
4 =
answered statement confidently made
and flausibly maintained, and yet erron-
eous in fact, that there has in all this
time been an enormous contraction of
the currency all over the world, vet
these figures conclusively demonstrate
that that statement is not true. Now,
my friends. | have not taken this from
the statistics of any other speaker or
from any other book. know where the
statistics are gathered with the care
which commands the respect and conf
dence of the civilized world. and on the
Doth of July (only a few days ago. |
telegra phed to the director of the mint
regarding information upon these sub
jects. and he answered me:
Hon. G.. X. Davis. st. Paul. Mimi:
The total value of all silver coined in the
world in 1873 | estimate TO have been
81, ST. 100000 and 1895 81. 100. 600. 900.
The worlds stock of gold i'm 1873 is es-
timated TO have been S3O1o, 900. 600 and
1895 about 400. 100000. Il. T.. Pres
ton. director of the mint" And these
figures | have just given you are the tig-
ures which | have just read in the tele-
gram of the director. The greatest BUSH
ness transactions in the way of finance
on the face of the earth are made upon
statements like that, and when what
have said is discussed the only answer
that will be made TO il is probably that
Mr.. Preston and the United States gov
eminent is one general universal gold
bug. Qaughter.)
Now let me give you another state
ment The coinage of the nations of the
world in 1892. 1929 and 1894 was as
follows: Gold, $172,413,124: silver,
1855. 517. 34T: 1893. gold. S232 40 517;
silver. S13I ,952 800: in 1894, gold s227.
921 ,032: silver. S113.095, 1888. A total in
three years of 1899. 1856. 49S. With all
deductions for recoinage this output of
coined money is of immense volume.
Now | have thrown out these surges-
tons and will pass from that branch Of
the discussion and call your attention TO
another assertion Of the free coiners. |
alluded 10 il cursorily few moments
ago, but | propose TO now trent II in
the same manner in which | have trent.
ed the last preceding question. The free
coiners assert that contraction has in
icted all the financial and economic
miseries that mankind has endured since
1878. Now ! say that they Themselves
coolly propose 10 bring about n contrac-
ton of currency in the United States un-