The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-13

/ A NOBLE CAUSE.
TT is a noble cause which engages and
| inspires this large body of commercial men.
| (Cries of That's right.) Standing by con-
| stitutional authority and law is the highest
| obligation of American citizenship. (Re-
newed cries of That's rightD Standing by
| the public faith is a call of supreme duty.
/ Great applause.) Preserving the public
| credit untainted, the currency uncorrupted
and both above challenge anywhere in the
/ world is the command of simple honesty
and good morals Cheers and cries of
| Good. goodt) I appreciate the grave re-
! sponsibility which, by the action of my
| party and the force of circumstances has
| been placed upon me--a responsibility
| which would be almost impossible to bear
| but for the consciousness that l have the
| sympathy and support of patriotic men of
| all parties from one end of this country to
| the other Great cheering and cries of
| We will stand by you, Major!O
"One of the phases of the political strug-
| gle this year. my fellow-citizens, is wheth-
| er We shall have good money or whether
we shaH have poor money. money GCries OF We
| of the contention ought TO bring the
| answer, as it has from you, without ar
| gument or elaboration. Everybody ought
| to want good money. (Cries of We do!O
| Honest money is the only kind for honest
Ppeople pfp great cheering);, ga, and the United mite.
| (Renewed cheering and cries of 'Hurrah for
| McKinleyin There are good people doubt
| at 16 TO l will keep every dollar as good as
| It is now and IT result in IN. giving US US more
Never.O All authority IN our country and
| throughout the world is against it. Is it
| reasonable that the stamp of the govern
ment can make 50 cents worth of silver
| worth a dollar? (Cries of Nor 'no!) Such
a proposition is opposed by reason and
| experience. If it can make 81 cents worth
! of silver equal to 100 cents then the same
| power can make anything which it may see
fit to call a dollar equal to 100 cents.
Tf1J1 a nd nFi nj hl g CCf
| Then why have any real value in our
money at alp (Cries of Good" good" If
| the governments stamp can impart it,
then paper with such stamp would an
swer the same purpose and. besides, would
be the cheapest and most eonyenient
What Just or honest reason can be
found that our money should not be as
good and equal to the best in the world?
loud cries of 'Nonen none.) We do not
have anything but the best in the United
States. CTremendOus applause and cries of
'Hurrah for Mckinley. the next Presi-
dent!D We have the best money now, and
that is what it has been since 1873. That
is what it will continue to be if the Re
publican party is given control of every
piause and cries of 1t will be given; that 5
all right.) That is what it will not be if
our enemies shall triumph CRenewed APP
GOLD THE ONLY STANDARD.
eff we were starting out now, gentlemen,
to originate a new financial system, would
we make a different one from that we now
have? (Cries of No! No.O We might in
some minor particulars, but would we not
select the metal for our standard which
was the most stable and unhuctuating in
value, and the one most generally recog-
nized by the leading commercial nations
of the world? (Cres of Yes, yes!) We
would make our standard OF that metal
which was the steadiest in price. (Cries of
That's right,D We would not overlook
the fact for a single moment that gold Will
sell for as much before it is coined
as it will sell for afterward. is it not best
for all interests to have Il standard OF
money of a metal which sells for much
in bullion it sells tor when minted and
is just as valuable out of the mint as in it;
chat loses nothing even if it is melted and
which is of the same value If every mark
of the government stamp is effaced? cloud
cries OF Yes yesr3 A Aanetal whose market
value is the same as its coin value is surely
a safer standard than a metal whose mar
ket value is 4S cents less than its coin
value. If you were to have two standards,
they must be equal If we would float both
gold and silver freely, we must make the
| ratio based upon the commercial value of
the two metals This was the view of
of party. This was the view of both JEFF
ferson and Hamilton, who differed widely
on other SUBJECTS. This has been the view
of the wise men, Democrats and Repub-
licans (applause) from the beginning of the
government until now. ca voice, Well,
we are wise Democrats and laughter)
This would seem to indicate it. (Cheers)
There are those who think there is
something sacred about the ratio of is
to 1 because the fathers established it; but
the fathers did not establish it. They es-
tablished the ratio of fifteen ounces of
silver to one ounce of gold. and those who
established that ratio made it up the
commercial ratio between gold and silver
and they seemed not to have been infiu-
enced by the fact that in 1452 the CONNER
c1al and coinage ratio was ten and three
gold. 1t was not until 1884 that the United
States adopted the ratio of is to l. And
why was it done? Because that was be-
lieved to be the real relative value, or
nearly SO, between the two metals at that
time; and they seemed not to have been
but determined the ratio upon the then
values of the two metals in the markets
of the world. (Cries of That's rightly
gold and silver, and yet while he was Presi-
dent of the United States. on his own mo-
ordered the mints to discontinue the coin
age of silver dollars. Why did he do it
Because he believed that he could keep
gold in the country and make it circulate
at a ratio of 10 to 1 by suspending the
coinage of silver dollars. He thought if no
silver coined the gold, although more
valuable, would flow into the channels of
trade. The fact was that gold did not, not
withStanding the suspension of the coinage
of the silver dollar.
WOULD HAVE LESS MONEY
There were no silver dollars coined in the
United State from 1906 to 1884. Then Con-
gress changed the ratio between the two
metals from fifteen ounces of silver to one
ounce of gold, to sixteen ounces or silver
to one of gold, and whole history has
demonstrated that whenever under any
ratio the metal was more va ,uabe than
the other, the more valuable went out of
circulation and the less valuable remained
in. (Cries of That's right.D The cheaper
metal drove the better metal out (Crfes
of That's right. too.D That is the irrever-
sible law OF trade. That is the unvarying
law of business and it is an indsputable
fact that where you have two standards
the less valuable than the other the
most valuable goes out; and if we had free
coinage at 16 to /, while the commercial
value of silver in it's relation to gold is 30
TO 1, gold would go out and silver would be
the only money with which we would do
our buSiness-for a hundred-cent dollar will
not keep company with a fifty-two-cent
dollar tremendous cheering and cries of
'Hurrah for McKinley), and, instead of
our having more money would have less
money with which to transact the business
of the country. Great applause and cries
of That's right!o So that We would Sc
cure by this Mexican system (great laugh
teri a poor dollar and less circulat ton.
Great applause and cries of That's $
rightiO That we do not want and that we
do not mean to have. (Renewed applause
and cries of We won have it. y
"In 1873. when the free coinage of silver
was stopped, were not using either gold
silver money. We were using PAPER
We did not dollar of silver then. We
now have five hundred and nifty millions
of which four hundred and thirteen mil