Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-10-15
TO FARM E RS.

spoken In their platforms on d Va
riety OF questions, the chief and nj
most only one under discussion il
the money question.
ackinley's platform declares for
the single gold standard until bi.
metallism can be had BY iuterna.
tional agreement, and pledges him
and his supporters to work to &C.
cure an international agreement FOR
the use of silver - we'll as gold for
standaEd-or redemption meney.
Notes are not money, but prom
ises to pay money. Some are re-
deemable in silver and some in coin.
This means that the government
has a silver dollar in the treasury
for every note calling for silver,
and has silver or gold dollars for
every note calling for coin. Not q
government bond is payable in gold,
but in coin, but the practice of the
government is to pay interest and
principal in gold when demanded
and to redeem all coin notes in gold
when demanded.
This policy has given power to
banking syndicates to deplete the
treasury of gold and force bond is
sues, thus increasing the debt of
the government and adding to the
volume Of interest that must be
semi-annually paid.
Mr.. Bryan's platform declares
for the restoration of silver as re-
demption money and for the free
coinage OF silver just as gold 10
granted free mintage. The plat
form declares that the ratio shall
De 16 to /, which experience has
established as the proper one and
the one that is and has been in
force by the law for many years.
And the platform declares for the
free coinage of silver without wait
ing for the aid or consent of any
other nation, thus asserting an in
dependence in keeping with the
dignity, the power and the great
ness Of the United States.
Mr. Bryan stands for indepen-
dence of England, France and Ger
many, and the whole world, and
q throwing off the yoke of the mon
ey changers of London and New
York. lie stands against an in
crease of the public debt. He
stands for an income tar, whereby
the wealth of the country can be
made to bear just proportion of
the public burden. He stands for
the constitutional right OF the gov
ernment alone to issue paper mon
ey, and against the delegation of
that power to banks.
The Mckinley platform declares
that bimetallism is good for the
people, but has not faith in the
power of the United States to main.
tain it alone, although we had it for
nearly sixty years after England
adopted the single gold standard.
Bimetallism, the free coinage of gold
and silver, is good for the coun-
try and the people. but Mckinley
says we cannot have it until the na-
tions of Europe consent.
The Bryan platform says bimet-
allism is good for the country and
the people, and that the people
should have it at once, without
awaiting the consent or aid of Eu-
rope.
This is the difference between the
platforms of Mckinley and Bryan.
Silver was stricken down by act
OF Congress in February, 1873.
There had been no demand for it
by the people and no discussion Of
1t BY the press. Few members of
Congress knew the effect of the act
and fewer still knev that silver was
being demonetized. Gen. Grant,
who signed the act as President of
the United States, said thst be did
not know it would cut of silver and
destroy one-half of the volume of
currency.
About six months after the "crime
OF 1S73," as the demonitization act
is denominsted, there came O panic,
precipitated by gold speculation and
gambling. confidence was destroy
ed, failures were numerous and
some banks closed their doors. For
five years there was business depres-
sion and stagnation, which was re-
lieved by the Bland act, requiring
the coinage Of about fifty millions
of silver dollars a year.