The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-04-14
conquest. cesslon, or acquisition in any

eo py Jefferson. The KnOw-NOthingS
came along In 1856 with secret conclaves
and PROSECUTING, and they met their Wa
terioo in Virginia. Henry A. Wise led
the hosts that conquered them, and his
neck was clothed with thunder; but the
iishtnings OF his speech were guided by
that master. the spirit OF Jefferson.
| The "A. p. AS are abroad in the land
now. Religious fanaticism threatens for
and against them. but before they came
Jefferson had provided solution OF
the problem. and the tenets of our Con-
| stltution furnish the tombstone by
| which sectarian establishments shall not
| be foisted as burden upon the State
and it is the spirit of Jefferson that
| moves over the angry waters and says
peace be STILL
JEFFERSON ON THE MONEY OF
THE PEOPLE.
l admired so much the speech of our
| accomplished friend from Massachu-
sets that l dislike to dissent from him
in anything. But he was truly Jefferso-
| MAN when he said, Let us through dis
cussion find the truth and bravely assert
| it," Joining hands with him in that,
| my candor shall be equal to his own.
THE secret of Jefferson's power and
| leadership" he says. was his steadfast
| devotion to principle" but must be eX-
cused If fail to see the application of
the statement to this summons to US
| TO abandon the blmetallic money sys-
tenn which Jefferson himself helped to
| establish. Our party solemnly and una
nimously declared in national convention
| four years ago that I'VE hold to the use
| OF both gold and silver as the standard
| money of the country, and to the coinage
OF both gold and silver without discI imi-
mating against either metal or charge
| for m!ntage. but the dollar unit of both
| metals must be of equal intrinsic and
| eXchangeable value" and ii would seem
to me that IL we had the steadfast de-
votion to principle" which was so COM
| mendable in jefferson, we would hold to
this principle, and not let 1t go al the be-
| hest of American usurers and British
| bondholders and European Kings.
L fully concur with the Governor that
Jefferson would never have made an
issue between Colorado and Wall street,
or between debtor and creditor class,
or upon any geographical division. but
may l not remind you that it was our
| Republican foes, and neither jefferson
nor the party of jefferson that did that
very thing In 1873, in stripping silver of
| Its equal coinage right with gold; that
| 1t was Wall street and Lombard street
that were the aggresssors. not Colo
RADIO. nor the West; not the debtor class
May I not suggest that 1t was the credi-
tor class that led the assault TO make
silver debts payable in gold to the detrl-
| ment of the American silver mines, to
| the detriment of the Australian and
South African geld mine of Great
| Britain and to the leaping up of burden
on taxpayers, debtors and the common
people. May l not point out that in
| 1878 the Democrats helped partially to
| restore silver in the Bland-Alison act
| of 1878. and have tried for twenty-five
years for its full restoration? Neither
my distinguished friend nor any one
else can demand more freely that that
the honor and credit of this country be
respected with scrupulous fidelity to
the plighted words" but when l read the
plighted words gold and silver" in the
Constitution of the land which I have
sworn to support. and read the word
coin" i'm the public contracts which
am honor bound to observe, may not
| I believe mine own eyes and declare that
"scrupulous fidelity" would say and ray
| gold and silver" and coin" which is
| Unfortunately either. as promised
and not Construe the words gold" and
silver or the word coin" as meaning
gold only?
| Virginia made the Spanish silver dol
lar her standard of value as long ago
as lGi5. and the United States made the
American silver dollar its unite of coin
age in 1893. Every silver dollar of to-
| day Is Just the same that ii was Il hun
dred years ago. are we are not so encum-
| bered with surplusage of dollars of any
| MINI III any part OIL the lanu tnat l nave
visited as to need use the articles of
law 10 get rid of them.
! Our friend says that for the solution
of this question I'VE turn to jefferson"
for help and guidance. BE 1t So Let
me quote Jefferson. which he did not
do. When Hamilton drew his famous
report OF the mint a hundred years ago
he declared that ITO annul the use of
either of the metals is to abridge the
quantity of the circulating medium and
Is liza Bile to all the objections which arise
from comparison of the benefits of a
----- with the evils of Il scanty cir
culation.' 1t was then that jefferson
wrote to him: II concur with you that
the unit shonld stand on both metals, "
and if that means II should stand on one
of my notions of jefferson, and the null
| tiplication table are alike ut fault
! Washington signed the bill for both
| metals. Daniel Webster defended Il In
| after years, declaring that gold and
| silver were the money OF the constitu-
ton. and that we had no right to dis
place either metal. ! arrange Washing
| ton and Hamilton and Webster with JEFF
| ferSon. and am content. But I am not
going To stay al odds with our distin-
guished friend a the grave OF jefferson
There was one thing that jefferson said
about money which we will concur in.
and that is that one warm thought is
worth more than money" and giving
| him the warm thoughts that one upon
his native heath should feel for an hon
orcd guest I would venture 70 cav ~