The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-06-04
MR.. OWEN TALKS.
City and Rural Audiences Posted
on Silver.

fOAAosA >ohA k1olSu III IC0uWOOu
county was formally opened by the
Populists last Thursday evening. S.
M. Owen, Populist candidate for gov
ernor two years ago, was the speaker.
1t was shortly after 81 o'clock when
Joseph Chadderdon introduced the
speaker as the man who would be
governor of Minnesota to-day but for
the intrigue of the two old parties.
Mr.. Owen began his speech by con-
graduating himself on two things; that
he had the pleasure of speaking to
Redwood audience, and that he was
not elected governor of Minnesota.
He said that the Populists could not
have changed anything under the cir
cumstances and they would have been
blamed for everything, and thousands
would have believed it. Time, he
thought, would bring things out all
right. The people must know the
cause of the hard times. He had
spent life time in studying the dis
eases of the public. The Republicans
boosted of the prosperity of 1880 to
1890. We seemed to be prosperous,
he admitted, but during that time the
money making population of the
United States increased % per cent,
while the mortgages increased 297
per cent. He then read statistics
showing that the oldest States had in
creased in like proportions. Debt
making and paying should go hand
in hand. One-half of one per cent of
the people own the wealth of the
United States. Equal distribution of
wealth, he thought, was nonsense.
War could not produce the same
effect as the change of money, if the
change was for the better leave it
alone, if for the worse change back
again. He claimed that there had
been marvellous change in the civil
lied world on the money question.
England changed 60 years ago. Some
deny that there has been any change
or demonstration of silver. He
claimed that there had been COM
plete revelation in silver. He said
there was more silver than gold, the
proportion being about one-half and
one-twentieth. Some people, he
claimed, called the silver men revolu-
tionists. Gold, he said, was only a
commodity, although some claimed
gold was Gods money, which he did
not believe was so, and that his gold
friends would find it out some day.
Mr.. Ovens remarks about gold Gre
ated considerable laughter throughout
the crowd. He knew that gold had
raised because it took more to pur-
chase it. He admitted that gold would
buy more merchandise for the sake of
argument. Farm products had gone
down while trust and combine goods
had gone up. A dollar would not pay
any more now than it used to. The
farmers have to pay the railroads just
as much for the transportation of So
cent wheat, 1O-cent oats and the rail-
road friends no cent potatoes as they
did when they we're worth double the
amount. The time must come when
the debtor cannot pay the creditor and
must go down. He thought that if
silver was put back again it would put
up the values. Some said that if we
have free coinage chat there would be
a silver flood, but he thought that the
people at this time would prefer sill
YER food to one of water. A silver
food was nonsense. "Where is the
silver to come from?" Mexico has
free coinage. Gold had never left
this country as since 1893 He claimed
that no prediction made about silver
ever came true. Millions of capital
from the United States was going to
Mexico Sound money that makes
for silent factories, he thought, should
be let alone.
The question of silver was not
partisan one. Mr.. Owen stated that
he never would be candidate for Of
fee before the people again. The
present money system meant ruin and
all that is said about gold are mere
predictions, and had no history to
back them except % years. The sill
yer question was the greatest question
of the coming campaign and that the
old parties must give place to new
party agreed on the question.