Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-05-08
THE MONEY DUES TON.
A VERMoNrER's IDEAS OF MATTERS
AND THINGS

knowledge the receipt OF "A copy of your
paper in which the fallAcy of Senator
Morrrills argument % in favor of the
gold standard is ably exposed. This
paper ought TO be read by every voter
in the State of Vermont. | don't think
the ability of the senator need be ques-
toned but, like many others, he has let
his greed for gold overbalance his reason.
| once had great faith in Senator Nor.
rill as sound statesman, but | believe
his influence for good during his long
political career has been more than over
balanced by his influence in the silver
question. | am glad to find one news
paper in Vermont with moral courage to
stand up for the interests of farmers and
the industrial classes against such men
as Senator Morrill,. Five years ago like
large majority of the farmers of Yer
mont, | was mere parrot" on the
great currency question, only echOing
the sentiments of prominent newspapers
and such politicians, giving no thought
to the subject. After five years of care
full reading and thought, | no longer
echo the sweet notes of the cuckoo
unless they are in accord with reason.
Any old "hayseed farmer" with the
statistics and history of IA country before
him, can solve the so called intricate
currency question in six months, so that
he would know that it would be impos
sible to keep up a continuous contraction
of the currency of a country for 30 years
without filling that country with tramps
and beggars. 1t is not the ignorance in
our legislators that has brought the
American congress on its knees before
"JOhn Bull" begging for an English
syndicate to protect the treasury while
the congress takes short recess and the
president goes fishing.
| agree with the sentiment expressed
in the editorial on the first page of the
paper, save what was said in regard to
Mr.. Mckinley. | always voted with the
Republican party until 1892. when left
it on account of its hostility to silver.
am in favor of high protective tariff;
so is Mr.. Mckinley. but some of his
recent utterances are "straddles" on the
silver issue. know that back as far as
1877 he was in favor of free coinage of
silver; so were John Sherman, Grover
Cleveland, Secretary Carlisle. etc. If
the Republican party adopts a platform
endorsing the free coinage of gold and
silver at the ratio of l6 to |, or less,
without any "straddle." it will win back
the silver men who left it in 1892 II
Mckinley is not "straddle bug" why
do all the gold bugs" endorse him:
As near as can leain from reading
different newspapers, it is going to be
the policy of the Peoples party, free
silver Democrats and Republicans to
unite with the party which is most likely
to win on the currency question. That is
my position. | would vote for the
rankest free-trade Democrat, If he was
sound on the money issue, rather than
for a Republican on "straddle" plat
form. Stopping the coinage of silver by
the principal countries of Europe and
by the United States in 1873 has built
up silver-using countries beyond all pre-
cedent and pulled down most gold-stand-
ard countries to the same extent. With
a liberal volume of cheap money these
countries are furnishing us with the
same kind of goods we once fur
nished them cheaper than we can
produce them with our currency con-
tracted to a gold basis. Tariffs are of no
avail. Our wool industry was destroyed
in this manner years ago, under a high
protective tariff. England gained in
this operation what she would have been
glad to purchase at a great price. She is
a great purchaser of raw material and food
products of other nations. 70 obtain
these cheap and control the markets of
the world with her manufactured goods
is her life; to lose them is death. Before
silver was demonetiZed she purchased
large quantities of our food products and
raw material, Paying in gold She can
now take our cheap silver (made such
by the demonetizing acD, 90 to silver
using countries and get these at about
half the cost in gold England is the
great creditor nation of the world.
Hence her object in having silver demone-
tized. The United States is the great
debtor nation of the world. Continued
on a gold money basis, we are a COM
pletely ruined nation.
+. l.. GRISwOLD.
West Rutland, Vt.