Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1896-07-18
A FEW IDEAS.

Nucn mas Decu salu uuu MUCH
more will be said for and against
the free and unlimited coinage of
gold aud silver at the ratio of 10 TO
I. The Republicans In convention
at ST. Louis, under the leadership
of Mark Hanna, president of the
biggest iron ore trust in the United
States, declared in favor of the
existing gold standard and against
the free coinage of silver. Asa
matter of fact we have no existing
gold standard in law--only by Gus
tom. President Cleveland and his
secretary of the treasury, ]. G. Car.
Isle, construe the clause which
reads payable in coin" to mean
payable in gold, to the great dis
gust and disadvantage of the
American people. And the Repub.
licans, by declaring in favor of the
existing gold standard, simply
express the intention of continuing
to pay in gold obligations which
read payable in COIN
The Republicans started into the
campaign declaring that the tariff
was to be made the issue. Now all
agree that there is a great scarcity
of money in this country, and this
being the case, what in the world is
the use of trying to make the tariff
the issue? How is a man to take
advantage of any tariff laws that
might be enacted if he hasn't any
money! The proprietors of mills
and factories might start them up,
employing thousands of hands, but
how long can they run if they can
not sell their products, and how
can they sell their products if the
people haven't any money! The
assertion that tariff is to be the
Issue is preposterous. Even Mr..
Mckinley, the standard bearer of
the Republicans, has been forced &c
admit that the tariff will not be the
issue. but that the financial ques-
ton will.
The Wichita Eagle. of which
Marsh Murdock is the guiding
spirit, quotes "a part of the constitu
ton, which says. Congress shall
have the power to make money and
regulate the value thereof" Mr..
Murdock tersely adds that the Re-
publican convention at st. Louis
amended the constitution by add.
ing to the above quotation "by and
with the consent of Wall Street and
England"
The Democratic convention at
Chicago declared in favor of the
people as against Wall Street and
England by adopting platform
declaring in favor of the free and
unlimited coinage of both gold and
silver at the ratio of l6 to l. The
gold bug Republicans and gold
bug Democrats. as well, say 1T will
make 50-cent dollars; il will flood
the country with the silver bullion
of other countries" The first
assertion we deny; to the second
we say, let 'er flood. When, in the
name of suffering humanity, was a
certain amount of gold worth
dollar until il was made so by leg
islative fat! Gold has no intrinsic
value; neither has silver. If gold
was demonetized, as silver was,
would il be as valuable as il is now:
No, thousand times no. Legisla-
tive fiat made certain amount of
gold worth dollar; Legislative fiat
can do the same thing for silver.
When there is Legislation in favor
of silver, silver bullion always rises
in price until it gets 70 be worth in
the neighborhood of Sl.29 per
ounce. When silver bullion is
worth $1.D per ounce the silver in a
dollar is worth about $l.02. How,
then, could there be such thing
as a 50.cent dollar? Knock the leg
islative prop from under gold and
what will il be worthf There is no
such thing as a 5O.cent dollar. Such
talk is puerile.
To the assertion by the gold men
that the United States would be the
dumping ground for silver bullion
of all the countries of the world,
we say come on with the dump.
The United States is selling coun-
try, not necessarily a buying coun-
try. We maintain that whenever
the United States by law says that
a certain amount of silver shall be
worth a dollar that same amount
will be worth dollar the world
over, the cost of transporta ton
taken into consideration. Let other
countries come on with their silver.
For the sake of argument we will
admit that they will come. Their
money made from or represented