The advocate., 1896-09-02
promise or agreement In connection
with metallic coins used for money.

lated the silver dollar, It must in honor pre-
tect the holder from loss. This obligation ha
so far been Sacredly kept Not only is there.
} moral obligation, but there Is q legal obliga
tion expressed in public statute, to malnsai
the parity.
This statement had better be allowet
to pass without comment. Let 1t g,
until the government feels itself "iI
honor" bound to protect farmer
against low prices.
These dollars, in the particulars hav
named, are not the same as they would b,
under free coinage They would be the SAM
in form but different In value. The govern
ment would have no part in the transaction
except to coin the silver bullion into dollars
1t would share In no part Of the profit. Il
would take upon itself no obligations. Il
would not put the dollars into circulation. Il
could get them, as any citizen could get them
by giving something for them. It would de-
liver them to those who deposited the silver
and its connection with the transaction would
there end.
Such are the silver dollars which would be
Issued under free coinage Of silver at ratio
OF 16 TO l. Who would then maintain the
parity? What would keep them ct par with
gold? There would be a demand upon the
government to do so, and il there was it would
be PoWerless TO do 1t. The simple result is
that we would be driven to Q silver basis-tO
silver mOnometallism. These dollars, there
fore, would stand upon their real value.
1t is hard to believe that Major Nc.
Kinley does not understand this sub
jeCt better. Surely he must know that
there is not now and there has never
been any law requiring that the coin :.
age value and the market value Of any
metal shall be the same. On the con.
trary, the law specifically prescrlbes
the coin or money value Of every piece
of money 1t makes. And the constitu
tion authorizes Congress to exercise
that authority. Congress can make a
dollar out Of half dollars worth of
silver bullion as easily, as lawfully and
as justly as 1t can make 160 cents out
of 10 cents worth of copper and zinc.
Money 10 made for the use Of the peo-
pie. That is the reason why the people
want free coinage. AS long as our
laws provide that gold aud silver shall
be used for money coins, the people
want these metals coined freely and
without limit for their benefit, just
as the law formerly provided, and
sS 1t now provides In the case of gold.
The people Except q very small pro.
portion Of them) are not producing
gold and silver, but they are producing
thousands and millions of other srti-
cles, and they need money to assist
them In effeCting quick exchanges of
these things. They care nothing about
what their money is made Of, but they
want enough Of 1t. And If we make
our money out Of something that en-
ploys the Understanding that they
dig out Of the earth, let 1t be coined
freely, and let the quantity be limited
only by the demand. The people have
q right to require at the hands of the
government a plentiful supply of
money for the Legitimate transactions
of their business.
Free coinage means the debasement OF our
currency to the amount between the CONNER.
cial and coin value Of the silver dollar, which
reduce property values, entail loss, destroy
confidence, impair the obligations Of existing
contracts, further impoverlsh the lAborsrs and
producers OF the country, create panic of un-