The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-04-09

ne sous utn&s 8aa UtHnH1o tOH ARN4 fAa&
Have said This to the People,
Congressman Wheeler, Of Alabama,
made some forcibie remarks 10 the
House few days ago He ha. intro
duced bill providing that sa long -
the gold standard 1. maintained / n This
country the salary Of all the officials.
including congressman, be reduced TO
tbree-fourths the salaries now provided
By law.
In speaking on The bill Mr.. Wheeler
said:
Now, Mr.. Chairman, we must either
reduce salaries or We must enact the
senate substitute. into law. and thus
provide for the coinage OF silver. The
arguments in favor OF the gold stand
ard were it'll. more than the reitera-
ton of the same scarecrow doctrines
that were sent here from Wall street
TO oppose the stlver-coinage law Of
1878, and which have been reiterated
| every time silysr-cainage bill has
been brought before this body. The
arguments were shown to be fallacious
then and the history of the last eigh-
teen years has proven them TO be ut
terry without foundation.
A most dIstinguis shed III IN Der OF this
body-probably the nblest lawyer from
the State which he represents on this
floor, and by far the abiest advocate OF
| the gold standard on thi. side OF the
House. n gentleman for whom We en-
terrain profound regard, a gentleman
whom ! saw in his seat few moments
ago-aftcr the falIacy Of those argu-
ments had been exposed, after every
principle and theory that he advocated
on this question had been refuted,
| cried out: stop all this agitation for
| the free and Unlimited coinage of sill
yer"
Yes, the distinguished gentleman
cried, y Oumust not agitate." That,
| Mr.. Chairman, has been the exclama-
not agitate." Applause. When gen
tlemen r.sor. to this ullimatum they
admit that their arguments are falla-
cies. Nero told the people that they
must not agitate;" Caligula told the
people that they must not 'agitate.'
The gold-standard bankers of New
| York city, who now own substantially
all the gold in the United States-sC
much was shown by the late bids or
the bonds-were able to purchase bond:
for gold to the amount Of $l02 ,44S, 1893.
50, while the 10000, 900 people who liv.
south of the Ohio and Potomac rivers
were only able to purchase TO the
amount of 1922 ,OS6.
These gentlemen of New i Ork insis
that "this gold must be the Only none!
of ultimate redemption" They hav'
the farmers of the South and West b.
the throat, and they say, you mus
not agitate. If you do, we will max
it worse for you we control the none,
of the land; we have power whicl
you can not resist" and the distin
guished gentlemen who advocate tn
gOld-standard policy cry out, "YO
must not agitate." "YOu farmers Q
. the West, you farmers of the South,
cry the bankers and mOnied men, "w
have by our methods reduced the valu
of your products to One-half; we hav
degraded you to mere tOilers; we hav
elevated ourselves to be money king
and sovereigns; and now we say, '9o
must not agitate' applausel !; if you az
itate this question we will make mai
!. tiers worse for you"
The speeches of these gentlemen ar
merely repetition of the explode
Y. theories which the Wall street an
Lombard street bankers and broker
sent here in 1877 and 1878 to oppOs
the silver-coinage law of 1873, an
which were reiterated by the same me
, when they struck the final blows upo
, silver by the bullion bill of 1890 an
purchase-clause repeal of 1898.
Every prediction made by these me
has proven to be false, and every pr
diction made by the friends of silvt
, has proven to be correct and tru
i They said the silver-cOinage act (
t 1873 would be followed by panic an
s distress. We denied this and insiste
: that it would bring prosperity. "
r were right and the gold-standal
bankers were wrong.