The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-08-20

wrong or injustice that will be done to
creditors by the canceling of nearly one
half of the debts due them. Even
threats to do it will lead to prompt and
harsh collection of debts before free
coinage can become law. | am adj
vised that debts that heretofore have
been uncalled for have, in fear of such
a law, been enforced. 1t is certain that
before free coinage bill can become a
, law the wide spread distress caused by
the pending of such a measure will lead
to the rapid collection of debts, the
suffering of property and the deep
existing financial difficulties coming out
of insufficient revenues for the nation
as well as for many state governments.
they are bloodthirsty Shylocks, aristo-
cratic bloodsuckers. Maybe there are
men among the money-lenders who
merit these expressions, but among our
creditors are thrifty men and women of
every community. The nation has as
creditors 100000 Union soldiers, their
widows and children, who are creditors
of the nation for over S140,OOO,OOO a
year for bloodshed and sacrifices in the
Union army. 1t would be the height
of meanness and perfidy beyond express
sion for this great country to pay them
in a money with less purchasing power
than gold, merely because the over
production of silver in The United
States has reduced the market value of
silver bullion contained in a silver dollar.
To take advantage of this decline in or
der to reduce the value of the pittance
to these pensioners is worse than to rob
the graves of their dead.
There is another class of creditors that
the free coinage of silver will greatly in
jure. 1t is the depositors. who, accord
ing to statistics, number 100000, and
whose deposits amount to over S1,SO0,-
100000. Will yu cheat them by reducing
the value and purchasing power of the
dollars they have deposited? Free
half the life insurance which provident
people have paid to secure in case of
their death, some support and protec
ton to wife and children. 1t will affect
injuriously the multitude of clerks and
employees who depend upon monthly pay
and will reduce the purchasing power of
all salaries of officers and employees in
the public service of the United States
and of every state, county. city or town.
greatest injury resulting from the free
coinage of silver will fall upon
workingmen. Their wages are now
based upon money of the high
est value, upon gold coin of
standard value. Under free coinage of
silver the value of the silver dollar will
fall to 90 cents in gold or, as | have al
ready said, the hundred cents of the gold
dollar will be worth 100 cents of the sill
yer dollar. With free coinage of silver
every Workingman can and ought to de-
mand enough silver for days work to
be equal to the purchasing power of his
present wages in gold. The struggle be-
tween workingmen and employers will
then commence. and no one knows bet
ter than the workingman how difficult it
is to get an advance in pay. We have
strikes and trouble enough now, when
the workingman gets his pay in gold or
its equivalent, but what will be the CON
dition when he is paid in cheaper money
of the same normal amount but less pur-
chasing power. Every sentiment of JUS
tice will be on the side of the working
man in his struggle for good money, or
in its stead, higher wages in exchange
for cheap money. In such conflict
nothing can be greater than cheap
money, whether, of coin or paper. The
best dollar is the dollar that buys the
largest quantity of food or clothes. That
dollar is the gold dollar, for it buys more
food and clothing than any other dollar,
and will also buy Il silver dollar for 80
cents if the coinage of silver is made free
at the ratio of 16 to 1 of gold.
Experience has shown that the United
States can make the silver dollar buy as
much as the gold dollar, but it can only
be done by the government buying silver
bullion as needed. and coming into dol
lars on government account. This has
been tried. Every country in Europe,
except, perhaps, Russia, republics and
monarchies, maintain the silver standard
at par with the gold coin at even a less
ratio than the United States, and now
Russia has boarded over $4OO00O,O0O in
gold in preparation for the gold stand
ard, which she will adopt We have now
in the treasury belonging to the govern
ment, 379O00,0OO silver dollars repre-
scented by silver certificates, and also bull
lion costing over $11S,0UOO00 in treas
ury notes in active circulation and main
tanned at par with gold at the ratio of
16 to l. The free coinage of silver is an
invitation not only to American miners,
but to all miners and owners of silver
in the world, to deposit their bullion in
the minis of the United States and to
lar for every 412 IL grains of standard
silver deposited But that silver is worth
in the market only 80 cents. Why should
we receive this bullion from the owner
of silver mines at nearly double its mar
ket value. when we have such vast
hoard in the treasury which we hold
without difficulty at par with gold. The
Only ODJeCtlOnaDle erect Oh InlS dcIlOl
will be to degrade the dollar, to lessen
it's purchasing power nearly one-half, to
enable debtors to pay their debts for 90
cents for dollar, and to cheat the pub
lie creditors who hold our bonds. If this
policy shall be adopted, the United States
will take its place among the nations of
the earth as a bankrupt, closing its bus
mess at SO cents on the dollar.
There is another meanness about this
free coinage-of-silver business. The
United States has always paid its bonds
in gold coin or it's equivalent. In the |
darkest hour of our trouble we stipulated
to pay our bonds, principal and interest,
in gold. All the war debt was paid in
this way A portion of it was paid by the
sale of bonds at a lower rate of
interest, but we eXacted from the pur-
chasers of these bonds gold coin or its |
equivalent even while our notes were be-
low par as coin. About SS61, 100000 of |
these securities are now outstanding, of |
which $262,O00,000 have been sold by |
this administration and paid for in gold |
coin. 1t is one of the objects of those |
who advocate the free coinage of silver |
to force this government to pay their |
bonds in silver coin reduced in value 1t |
is harsh to express this opinion of
measure favored by many good people, |
but can not regard it in any other light |
except both as fraud and a robbery, and |
Al