Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-10-16


mn being on ,Ae ground withul7ch money 20
promote the ,.rntilt t...t.aa ~ siiNDr, AID 80
Oh, as wholly a"l 0..,, .....cHly false. tWilh
20 bo scrupulnp,-y courteous ~ my opponents.
lat ~ a con Dlcttlo'- ~tao, ~ of cOutempOrt-
neous hit j az. la,. ~! 80 say that IN the -
years during which u.vc been "a attentive
observer of puL..c .l4.-trs / have never " =
messed nor heard of -uth MISCONCEPTIONS, Shame
less, per, istcnt, 0uDatiou-. cumulative, r'r.,I-
TIC lying as has been ana ls now done VITA -e-
gard 10 the act Of ! 49, - origin, its nature
ana rs consequence
What Would Follow Bryans Election.
Consider now what the immediate conse-
Quencc5 would be- II Ar. Bryan were elected
president with a congress 20 match. Mr..
Bryan would Of course DO anxious 70 have
his free coinage law enacted but that could
hot be, even II he called extra session OF
congress, until some time N April or May,
ave or six months after the Gay Of election.
But as soon on tho 4th Of November as the re.
suit Of the election was announced everybody
would know that the parity of gold and silver
would not be maintained
IL having been made certain by Sir. Bryan 3
election that the parity OF gold and silver
would not be maintained, there would be a
rush upon the treasury for the gold in il by
persons holding grecnbacks entitled to re-.
compton, and the gold reserve would be ey
hausted in twlnklIng. Gold will instantly
disappear from circulation TO be boarded or
exported Why viii II disappearf Because
every sensible person when making payment
viii prefer to make II in the less valuable dol
lar and hold the more valuable gold dollar
back for moro profitable use. Gold will there
fore quickly rise 10 a premium, and we shall
be on the silver basis long before free coin
age law can be enacted. What does II mean to
be on the silver basis? The word 'coin, - wher
ever II appears in the law, Will no longer mean
gold, II was So far understood, but silver
alone, The greenback or treasury note re-
aocmblC IL "cOin vii! no longer be redeemed
in gold, as heretofore, but only in silver. The
United States bond payable in coin, no matter
whether gold was paid for II or whether IL had
boon sold for the very purpose of buying gold
for the treasury, Will be paid, principal and
interest, IL silver-repudiatiun fragrant
the world ever witnessed. Our daily trans
actions IN buying and selling, in paying and
receiving wages, Will no longer be carried ON
upon the basis Of the gold dollar worth lOO
cents, but Of the silver dollar worth 80 cents
or thcroabout, for the government viii no
longer hold up the silver dollar to the value OF
the gold dollar That Is what the silver basis
means. You can study in Mexico how IL
works.
The quantity OF gold vanishing from circula
ton VIII amount u about $500 OO0, 900, the dis
appearance Of which will make a tremendous
hole in the voium, OF our currency. Nearly
Dne-third OF it viii be gone, and what remains
will bc reduced nearly oue-halt in purchasing
power. But, says the silver man, there viii be
free silver coinage 10 lll the gap promptly
with coined silver or silver certificates. On
no, my follow sufferers The disappearance of
r1ld VIII happen promptly after the election
II Mr.. Bryan, and there VIII not possibly DO
any free coinage Of silver for At least six
months, and II VIII require a great many more
months to M a pap OF SbtU.OU,UO
The Free Coinage Panic.
What will happen meanwhloY The st. Louis
Globe Democrat reports Mr.. Bryan TO have
SAID some time ago: II think il, 4" meaning tho
victory OF the free coinage movement, will
cause panic. But the country L. in deplor
able condition, and IL viii take extreme meas
Uros 10 restore 1t e. a condition of prosperity"
Whercupon the II. Louis paper pointedly re-
marks, Evidently Mr. Bryan has heard Of tina
doctor who always threw his patient into fits
before administering any curative medicine"
Just So
How, then, would Mr.. organs aft" works
The sudden disappearance of our gold from
circulation would produce the most stringent
contraction of the currency record. Bust
ness men who owe money and AT the same
time have money due them will be forced 70
collect that money by every means at their
disposal. Nobody viii be inclined % lend out
any money except upon extraordinary secu-
rity The banks VIII naturally consider il their
luty 10 keep themselves strong, and there
fore 10 call in loans and 10 Restrict their dis
counts and advances 20 business men with The
utmost caution Business establishments,
manufactures, mercantile houses, unable to
got the money for meeting their obligations,
VIII by the hundreds succumb to their ombAr-
easements and tumble down like Of
bricks. Other, Will cautiously restrict their
operations to the narrowcst possible limit, ana
wage oarners by the thousands viii lose their
employment and be turned into the street.
No class Of society wlll be spared the de-
| s;ruative consequences. Every frightened
creditor, pressed by his own creditors and APP
prehensivc OF a growing loss 10y every days
delay, will eagerly pounce upon his debtors.
The prompt settlement of every account viii
pc pcrenptorlly demanded. our farmers who
have mortgages on their property and who
have been told tlat free coinage Will make
Things exceedingly easy for them viii have
| some unexpected experiences. Every mortgage
debt that ~ due Will be quickly called in. The
| mort cageor VINO tries 10 have his bond extend
q viii hnd 81 unwilling ear. He WHO seeks
80 borrow money IN order To replace the old
mortgage with now one vii! be told that tins
is no time for loans, except, perhaps upon cx-
orbitaut conditions. The nortgageur may tao,
too, that his bond Is payable IN sold coin, and
he Will have 10 buy the gold at the premium
then ruling. Foreclosures viii be the order Of
| che day. The lAort ga.,tor who scek- shelter TN
Der tho law delay Will al any rate turtaer
burden has PROPERTY with the cost OF legal pro
ccedngs. Everywhere anxiety, emUarrass-
| iaent, -acritce loss and distress, even before
AIR. Bryan could ascend the presidential chair
Bryan's Bime tallism.
After five or six months OF such deadly
crisis, Dir. bryan = extra session or congress
would begin ana give Us free coinage. Then.
as Ar. Bryan SoIcmnly prUmis II Us in his
great New York Grafton, free coinage Will give
u himctallism. bmctallism will give Us an
| abundance of money, and All viii be RI Sht
BiWctall!Sm? what is bimctallsmY u IL n
monetary system in which tine two metals cir
culltc together Tor all tha purposes OK moray
on a parity with each uthcr upon a fixed l-s4l
ratio, which Ia our case IL l6 90 /. Eylleutly
so have bimctaliism gold must bo on h4pi
as wol rs silver
How viii Mr. Bryan set the gold back from
the money powerY Evidently he must Gfflr
IN inducements What inducomcut; u bo
sure, tho miuts WI be open To gold as wcu -
silver BUt who VIII odcr gold bullion 30 havo
1t coined INTO dollars for circulation when he
can have silver dollars with the same LEGAL
tender power at haif the pricef Only an idiot
would do that. or course, gJil will be cHored
only when the silver dollar is up again t. tao
gold standard. There Is the rub. But here
Mr.. Bryan steps in with "A theory which -
curiosity in statcsmanship. hc -gid IL MS
New York speech: Any purchaser tho st..i.ds
ready 10 take the entire supply of any article
at certain price can prevent that article from
falling below that price. 30 the government
can Tx "A price for gold and silver 10y creating