The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1896-08-21


.r,,., a help ii along We ought 20 mako
V;ery cure that u . going 20 be q good
thing fof lis and that Il q not going
to be the worst thing that ever hap
pdned to our country, III Z.
THE demand IL made because the
market price Of oliver 10 much lower
than Il used to be. The demand 10
made by the producer OF silver because
ne a human and wants an he can get;
also because he IL q shrewd trader who
thinks he Will catch farmers and wage
carriers with his silver bait. he tells
us all that he Il q great public bene-
factor who has plan to raise the price
of farm producta and the compensation
OF labor. He tells us that prices and
wages are low because dollars are
scarce. II we win vote for the free and
unlimited coinage OF silver he promises
to give the country more dollars, % give
the farmer more for his products and
the wage-eAruer more for his labor.
and this viii make better times for
everybody. He has plying heart for
easy way to throw on his burden.
Beforc the. "Crime.r Il
| The silver producer points to days
when farm products brought better
prices than NOW. and when the laborer
got more for his toll. He tells us the
year in which things began 70 go wrong
that 10 the year Of "the crime OF 1s73."
Then began the fail In the market price
OF silver. Then began the tumble in the
| prices Of farm commodities. That was
the beginning OF the great decline in
wages. After that we began to be q
nation of white slaves, and the ..money
| power was our master. The PopuItsts
take up with the cry OF the silver pro-
To-.
cratic organization. and In the name
Inf the Fopuiist Democratic party q
/ c1mpnisn - 70 be made for the 60-ccnt
ldoflar. Tho Republican party Insists
Ethat free coinage means q deprectRfed
and diehonpred dollar. and that nothing
mat buys less than Q hundred cents
| worth s. 4 dollar. Which q right? This
Is the money question which every vo-
| ter must decide, first by his enlightened
| judgment, finally by his frenman's ball
lot. ~
what the Record shows.
lit can be shown
That Congress did not commit "a
crime against silver in 1873, or In any
other year;
That dollars are more plentiful than
That silver dollars are more plentiful
| than they were in 1878. or at any time
1 before that year:
That the fan in prices began before
1873;
That the price of silver has nothing
to do with the prices of farm products
and OF other commodities;
That good times remained with US
1 long after 1875
That the silver producer and his polit-
ical agents are altogether selfish. and
that their scheme confronts every man
4 OF us with q personal peril, and the
country with the stain of national dis
/ honor
Then the free and unlimited coinage
| OF silver is something to be avoided as
we would try to avoid war, pestiience
and famine.
why and How tho Act OF 1s7a Passed.
Let US begin ut the beginning and see
briefly what was the crime of 1873"
II was an act OF Congress dropping the
standard silver dollar from the coin
age. Congress recognized that the sill
yer dollar wns not in circulation. 1t
had not circulated for sixty years 1t
had more than dollars worth of silver
In II, and person who had 1t would not
pay 1t out for o dollar when he could
sell IL for more than that. Trade had
l"demonetized" the silver dollar. that
Is to say, had taken its money quality
III SWat AAONu lt.t 10 Jul tuO MUCH VHluE
d In dollar coin will dcmonetIze II as
certainly as&o put too little In II, and
then leave It to Its fate. The act of
Congress raised no protest from the
silver producers, because they were
selling their silver for more as COM
modify than II would have brought
them IL coined Into dollars II the gov
ernment were Offering tho farmers of
Jackson county dollar bushel for
their wheat and the general market
would pay 81 03. not bushei of II would
be sold 10 the government. Silver pro-
ducers know their interests quite as
well. They discovered later that q
crime had been committed. That was
wnen they could not get a hundred
cents anywhere for the amount of silver
N silver dollar. They discovered also
That the dreadful work had been done
- secret.
The measure had been before Com
gress ana the country for three years.
It was first recommended by the secre-
tary of the treasury. It was printed
and sent to monetary experts for their
Opinions and advice. II was offered in
Congress April Is. 1870. and passed
nnally on February IL. 1SI3 The dis
cussion takes up more than 40 columns
OF me printed official record II passed
potn houses twice in consequence of
amendments. The six senator's from the
faeinc coast voted for 1t. Senator
stewart, OF Nevada, silver producer
ana now a leader of the free silver
craze. was one Of the six. Instead of
being slipped through secretly IL had
muen more than the ordinary publicity
ana careful consideration. II il an in
teresting fact that the votes from the
SILVER states were for the measure.
Senntor Stewart. of Nevada. who has
since spent so much time and money In
fhe Tree silver cause. voted for It,