Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-09-02

SIAUNION, VA, w
language can overstate the infinite dis
p tress that the gold standard means to
the human race; it is because we be-
lieve that no power on earth will pre-
vent the advocates of free coinage from
preaching that gospel wherever they
can find those to hear it. fApplause. ]
THE STRUGGLE FOR BIMETALLIsM.
Some of our opponents say that they
are afraid that we cannot maintain bi-
metallism alone. We reply to them
that we have waited twenty years for
other nations to help us, and if we are
going to restore bimetallism we have
got to restore it alone, because others
do not come to our assistance. LAP
plause.
! More than that we believe that the
assertion of American independence
will do more to bring about interna
tional bimetallism than q sarvile de
pendence upon our enemies to bring it
to US. [Applause.] Our opponents say
that all we need is q restorat ion of con-
fidence. Whenever the confidence man
ia abroad in a community the man who
has the least confidence gets off with
the most money. Laughter And 1
dence man is abroad in this campaign
preaching. Have confidence and all
will be WELL"
My friends, confidence must have q
basis to rest upon. Our opponents say
that unless VIC shape our financial poll
cy to suit the pleasure of foreign ma
tons they will not loan us any money
We reply that as long as we shape our
financial policy according to their
pleasure we will always be borrowers
and can never be money. loaners our
selves, Confidence must rest upon a
substantial basis. Suppose that q man
in your community gives out his notes
until everybody has them, and then
lsomebody tries to collect a note and
finds that the man has no property be
hind his notes how can you restore
confidence in that man, how can he in
spire confidence in, the community ?
Just in one way, and that is by putting
property behind the notes that he has
out.
BANKRUPTCIES HAVE INCREASED.
My friends. how are you going to re-
store confidence in the United States
by legislating value out ofthe property
| upon which notes rest? YI.. have
tried it and you have found that hank
ruptcies haze increased year by yaer
and the only people who have prog
pered are those who own Investments
/, praya Ole IL dollars or monty they are
making ont of the extremities of the
government. If you want to rts.~--e
confidence you have got to restore
prosperity to the great masses of the
people, and talk as much about good
property as they have been talking |
about good money. Money can be |
too good. II can BE- 20 good that you
can long for y and pray for a but
!cannot set hold Of y. Laughter.
e. kemember chat wheneXsE
money deafer when y6d increase ia
purchasing power, you have simply
| driven down the valve Of other things,
and if those who own money and who
hold contracts payable in dollars are
willing to SO legislate as to make their
property more valuable, how can they
appeal to those who own property and
! owe debts to join them in that sort of
legislation? have asserted assert
again-that without the aid of the
money owing classes the gold standard
would not stand for one day in any
nation under the sun. / assert that
| behind the gold standard in this coIn
try the only potent force consists of
those who hold fixed investments and
those who as brokers profit the greater
by greater bond issues. They tell the
laboring man of this nation that they
ought to support a gold standard. The
laboring men have never found the
financiers of this nation the men who
have exerted themselves to improve
the condition of the laboring man. AS
| >.,r1~ <1~D -
time trying to break down labor Or
ganizations--the only protection that
the elaboring man has had-these are
the men who now come to the help of
the laboring man.
| SOLDIERS AND FREE COINAGE
| I ask you if you ought to expect |;
blessings from those from whom you
have only received cursing in the past?
of our opponents the other day said |
that the old soldiers would be opposed
to free coinage. They gave the i'm
preston that the financiers are very
much interested in maintaining gold |
standard for the benefit of the soldiers,
! but, my friends, these men forget that |
all of the soldiers lived during the war,
! and that during the war the soldiers
knew that the fnanciers made their
bonds payable in gold and left the |
i soldier to offer his life upon the battle |
field. [Applause.]
More than that, my friends, l do not
| believe that the soldiers who are will |
| ing to offer their lives if need be in be-
half of their country are today going |
to join in a conspiracy to enslave
seventy millions of free people by
| lettering them to gold standard. |
/ Ov1r al SIT nf
have been appealing to the ministry. |
l have noticed some of the advocates
of the gold standard have said that the
preachers, that the teachers in relig |
| ion, should favor the gold standard |
! because their salaries we're SO small
| that they did not want them reduced |
| Laughter.
Well, now, am willing to concede |
everything that is right to our oppo- |
nents, but l must confess that there is |
one argument which they might make
! that would appeal to some ministers,
| if there were any ministers who were
| in the business of ministry merely for
the dollars and cents there was in it.
Laughter say there Is one argu-
ment-it is an argument that cannot
that it is worth. The gold standard |
makes hard times. Hard times drives
men out of employment. Idling is
conducive to crime. Therefore, the
gold standard, by increasing the
! amount of crime, increases the demand
for ministers to put down immorali-
| ty. [Applause.]
/ PROSPERITY FOR THE MASSES.
If there is any other reason why a |
minister should favor the gold stand
ard have not heard it, and even the
most astute of our opponents have, SO
far as know, never urged the reasons
which 1 have suggested to you. My |
friends, there is this general principlef
that you can use in governing your
the long run any policy which brings |
prosperity to the great mass Of the
neonla will h.. shared nv all the DeODlo |