Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1896-10-01

THINK MT. Cl6VeldnQ IuaQS mistake IN
dealing with the syndicate as he did in the
first instance. l think he should have done
in the first instance as he did afterwards,
have offered the bonds, when they must be
issued, to the people Of the United States.
But don't propose for one moment, here
or hereafter, to criticize Grover Cleveland
for doing his utmost even in bungling
and awkward way, to maintain the credit
of these United States. [Applause.l
''That is a very significant platform
and it brings to my mind, ladies and gen.
tlemen, one thought, which permit me to
express to you, and which hope may
have your consideration. 1t was well ut
tered by that distinguished statesman and
orator and patriot, than whom in all the
public life of this country we have no bet
ter and no characterization Benjamin
Harrison from Indiana Ggreat cheering]
when he told the people, and it was the
truth, that the president Of the United
States, without any action by congress, had
it in his power any day, if he chose to
dare to do so, to tdishonor the credit and
faith sof the government, and to put this
country alongside Of Mexico and China,
upon a silver basis. We are to be con-
graduated, with all Of Mr.. Clevelands
faults OF omission and commission that he
has been steady and steadfast to maintain
the public credit. $50
Free Coinage Discussed
Another feature OF that platform which
I wish briefly to discuss is this, and it is
of vital consequence to our people. It may
be made very complicated, and it may be
made very simple. I have read great
deal upon both sides of it. have been
bewildered and bewildered in the mazes
of statistical Information until almost
grew to agree entirely with the utterance
Of the man who said that there are three
kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies and statis-
TICS Laughter But after all it is
simple proposition, and it's correct solu-
ton depends upon the application Of simple
principles. Free coinage of silver, the free
and unlimited coinage Of it at q ratio of
16 to 1, without the power to contract for
gold, is the demand of the Democratic
platform, and that is the burden of the
song which Mr.. Bryan is singing from one
end Of the country to the other. Now we
have heard for some years a great deal
about the free and unlimited coinage Of
silver. We have heard great deal said
about restoring the money Of the constitu-
ton, the dollar of the daddies.' You
have heard a great deal about the crime
of 1873, which it is said struck down by
one blow, and that secret and assassin
like blow, one-half Of the metallic money,
or as they call it, the redemption money
of this country and almost of the world.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, there are
some things on that subject that are very
plain. deny, and it is susceptible of
proof, that the constitution makes gold and
silver the money Of the country. It gives
congress the power to coin money, and to
regulate it's value, which means it's coinage
value, it's ratio and the value Of foreign
coins. We have had gold coins, silver
coins, copper coins, nickel coins, equally all
of them money Of the constitution. Who
wants to tell the people at this day that
under the circumstances which surround
us, the free and unlimited coinage OF sill
Yer at a ratio Of 16 to 1 is a restoration of
the money of the constitution? Why, ladies
and gentlemen, you recollect that in 1892,
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton,
acting in concert, made careful investi-
cation to ascertain the market value Of
gold and silver bullion in their relation
to each other. 1t was a much more diff
cult undertaking in those days than it
would be in this day of telegraph and
rapid ocean communication. They thought
they discovered it, and they fixed in the
first coinage law passed by the congress of
the United States, the ratio between gold
and silver at what they found and determ-
ined-the commercial ratio between them
to be Is to 1.
Comparative Value of the Metals.
''No men on this earth knew more about
the history of finance than Alexander Ham
ilton and Thomas Jefferson. No men could
know better than they that If the coinage
ratio differed from the commercial cratic
the two coins could not move together in
circulation side by side. They knew the
history Of the world upon that subject.
They knew that while gold had been COM
paratively stable, silver had been unstable.
They knew that France had had great
trouble in maintaining the ratio, the COIN
age and commercial ratio of gold and sill
yer. They knew that there had been in
many times in the history of the govern
ments of the earth when they had found
it absolutely impossible to keep the two
in circulation, and that happened when
ever one of them was Of greater CONNER
cial value than the other. They knew that
sometimes gold had driven silver out, and
that sometimes silver had driven gold out.
They knew from history, and they knew
from common sense that unless the COIN
age ratio conceded with the commercial
ratio there would be not bimetallism but
and that the cheaper
would drive out of circulation the better
money. That has been called generally
the Gresham law. Permit me for one mo-
ment if you please-and in sense it was
the Gresham law, but it did not originate
with Sir Thomas Gresham. In 1855 Charles
w., king of France, observing that the
coins of his realm were IN confusion, APP
pointed Nicholas Oresmy to investigate the
subject and to report upon it, and he in
learned and wise treatise upon the sub
ject declared first, so far as I have been
able to learn, what afterwards became
known and is known as the Gresham law
in finance and which was simply this, that
where two coins were in circulation in
and one became more valuable
commercially than the other, the cheaper
money would drive out of existence tho
better money.
Later, in 1926, Sigismund I. Of Poland.
xryhio h Dr11S eli ho1
same reasons appointed Nicholas Copernt-
GUS the astronomer, to make the same in
vestigation, and the history tells us that
without knowledge of the investigation and
conclusion of Oresny, he arrived at the
same conclusion and announced it. Let
me call your attention If you please to what
he said, because you will observe in
that while part Of the code OF
the financial philosophy Of the world, 1t
commends itself to the judgment OF every
thoughtful man as being based upon the
commonest principles of common sense and
everyday knowledge. These were his con-
illusions:
First, that it is impossible for the law
to regulate the value of coins, that Is the
power Of coins. The law may
make you take bastard dollar in payment
Of debt, but it can't make you work for
it if you don't have to. sIApplause.l II
can't make you take it for the product OF
your labor il you don't choose to sell 1t for
that dollar. 1t is absolutely impossible for
legislation to make anything Of greater
value than the laws Of trade make 1t in