Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-05-23
Fhe Money Question.

ton. Money has gone up, land and
agricultural products have gone
down. The millionaires and gold
kings. after having got possession
of 81 OF the gold of the country.
determined to hoard it up in their
vaults and safes and thus to take it
out of circulation, and then still more
to contract the currency, resolved to
demonetize silver and to allow no
more to be coined. Their nefarious
purpose was accomplished surreptl'
tiously and by cunning. a gold syn
dictate composed of bankers, gold
kings, Rothschilds of Europe, and u
few congressman met in the midnight
hour and secretly incorporated in a
bill section declaring that no more
silver should be coined. This was
done in the year 1878, and this act,
done without the approval OF the
people, and without the knowledge
of a majority of the congressman, has
brought our woes and grievances
upon us. Silver was demonetized,
thrown out of the list Of money, and
it of course began to decline, and
land and its products declined parl
passu with it. 1t was a sad day Tor
Virginia and the South when silver
was debased. 1t deranged, disordered
and unsettled our monetary system.
We had perfect financial system
before this and things went on IN
harmony, but now disorder relgns;;
The currency is contracted. Gold
laid up for speculation and silver dl.
unfinished in quantity. The price OF
your farm products have in conse'
ouence tumbled down, and you are
less able to pay your debts and your
taxes. In consequence of this decline
in Your land and its products your
debts and taxes are doubled. A man
who had to pay some time since, say
twenty dollar tax, has now virtually
to pay thirty five to forty dollars.
The man who contracted debt some
time since, say a thousand dollars,
and has not paid it, now virtually
owes two thousand dollars. You
need not hope that your taxes Will
be diminished by reason of the SHRINK
age of values, but they will be in
creased by an unjust and unreason
able assessment of your land and by
an increase, that will soon come, in
the interest on the public debt. Now
what is the remedy for these, our ills!
The question is easily answered
restore silver to the former status II
held in the days of our sathers-till
up this gap in our monetary system
and then prosperity and plenty will
fall upon us as the rain and dew falls
on parched earth. But the gold
kings of the land say to the farmers
merchants and mechanics, you are
down and we will keep you down
We are not after raising you up-we
work for ourselves.
We, say the gold bugs, have money
TO buy votes and we have bought up
nearly all the leading papers of the
country. These, they inform lis, are
the leading factors in the world and
with these we will whip you. There
is no doubt that money and the press
are powerful instruments in the
hands of the wicked. The people OF
this county, | am sorry to say, read
no other papers published outside OF
the county but the Baltimore Sun
and New York World-two of the
most unreliable and misleading pa
pers in the couptry-full OF lies, quib-
bles and fallacies, which are not de
tected by the readers. because they
will not read but one side of the
question. They, the readers, get
these fallacies on the brain and retail
them to an unsuspectins neiShbol
and lead him to oppose his own in
teresJ. But the farmer, merchant and
mechanics are from pinching want.
beginning to ask why are we brought
down so low: They have an object
lesson before them, and their judg-
ment will lead them. What good
was it to any to demonetize silver in
1879? Can any man answer the ques
ton to his satisfaction except the
gold bugs? They can say, it helped
to increase our piles of gold and raise
it in value, but besides these no other
class of men can say it did them any
good, but on the contrary incalcula-
BILE harm. Jefferson, Hamilton, Madi
son, Monroe, Clay and Calhoune
favored and approved the double
standard. They were patriots aid
statesmen. But now we have for the
most part politicians as our law
makers, who are not patriots and
statesmen, but hustlers after money
and office. These things are all they
care for and they will down the peo-
pie to exalt themselves. When they
denonetized silver they knew they
were ro5bing the owners of silver
and of silver mines of their vested
rights. These men, as the gold min
ers, invested their money in this
property, but the fiat came to them,
no more silver shall be coined, and
consequently investments went down
and they were ruined. They We're
despoiled of their property and living
Was this just and honorable? Is it
but equity that their property should
be restored to them? And in doing
this you will not only do these men
justice by bringing the silver now
lying in mother earth in the channels
of trade and traffic but lift the nation
out Of trouble. But, say these gold
quibblers, you will give us fifty
cent dollar. This bubble first came
from that demagogue, john Sher-
man, then repeated by the Baltimore
Sun and New York World, then
mouthed around by the minnow
IIlDS. Ills letlldCy anu AOdsChSC
should not mislead any one, but
l am ashamed to say it does
There is and never can be a fifty cent
dollar. If silver is demonetized a
dollar coined out of 4123 grains will
be exactly equal to silver dollar now
in use, and a silver dollar in use is
worth now one dollar, 25.S grains OIL
gold. How is this for high Little
gold bugs figure it up or down as you
will. But again these gold bugs say
how can we trade with England if we
do not adopt the gold standard? Dc
they net know, that England adopted
the gold standard in 1916, when we
had the double standards. Did we
ever hear Of any trouble during that
time? No, and if we again adopt the
double standard there will be nc
trouble. But in any case why shoulc
our little gold bugs in Accomack
trouble themselves about exchange
with England. She never sees 6
| hacl,at Or buShel Of any thing Wt