The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-06-17
/ FEARFUL WRECK OF SENSE.

A FEARFUL WRECK OF SENSE.
Mr.. O. M. Hall. Of Red Wing, was
once a Republican; then he became a
Democrat; always he was an aristo-
craJ:
Got whe the gods did muddled notions
try.
And torn shapeless mass like anarchy"
He can talk more nonsense TO the
square inch than any man in America.
Here is his speech at the recent Demo-
cratic State Conventions:
The first speaker was O. NJ. Hall, Of
Money" "Sound money" said the
tion, but existed as necessity OF
commerce. Money has progressed.
Gold and silver have supplanted the
copper and other metals Of old 1t is
the sanction Of commerce, not the
stamp OF the government, that
creates money. 1t has as many varia-
tions as necessity requires. 1t has
been contended that silver has been
demonetiZed. Silver has never been
demonetized. How could it be done?
Commerce still uses it the same as
gold, but by scale. Bullion cannot
be demonetiZed: its value IS created
by mmerce, not by legislation. 1t
does not matter what money is used
as medium OF exchange, but as all
highways trend t ward the sea, SO
does all money lead towards that yell
low metal. The subsidiary coin Of our
treasury teaches us a wholesome les
son. 1t goes into the treasury and
comes out when necessary. Instead
OF trade adjusting itself to money,
money should adjust itself to trade.
Trade does not need all the silver
coined; il it did it would call upon
what is in the treasury"
Mr.. Hall predicted that no sound
financial legislation would be accom-
plished in the next two years. There
was no immediate danger In the Is to
l agitation, but what he was most
afraid Of was some compromise that
might be effected, which he con-
sidered the worse. LET us sooner GO
to silver basis at once, and then
when the storm is over we will know
where we are at" said he. I'VE have
done similar things before. For home
trade, silver is as good as gold, but if
we would keep step with civilization
we must line ourselves with the
world.''
There ought to be law that any
man who would talk as much absurd
ity as that ought to be sent at once to
the I'm becile Asylum.
'Sound money was not created by
legislation but existed as necessity
Of commerce.
Aristotle said Of money!
1T erists not By nature but By lato."
Which shows what a darned old fool
the Greek philosopher was, compared
with 0. M. (Ol-mity) Hall. of Red
Wing How did the world exist be-
fore Red Wing was settled and Hall
born?
''Gold and silver have supplanted
the copper and other metals of old?"
Lie number two. Every man in
America has copper coins in his
pockets even when he has neither
gold nor silver. And gold and silver
did not supplont the other metals be-
cause they were in use at the very
dawn Of human history.
''It is the sanction Of commerce not
the stamp of the government that
creates money"
The American Cyclopadia, Vol. XII
p. 1885, article money" says:
ION the testimony Of Thomas Bar
ing we are assured that it was found
impossible during the crisis of l847, in
London. to raise any money whatever
on a sum Of go, COO $500, 00o) Of silver
During d similar crisis in 1854 in CAL
cutta it was equally impossible to
raise even single rupee on 100000
($100 O0O) Of gold. The former was not
legal tender ADORE 10 shilinqs. achile the
latter auas not so for any sum ,chdtere,
About 1855 Holland adopted silrer as
the only legal tender, at a fixed value,
but attempted to coin gold coins hav-
ing no such (egal tender value, this
only being regulated by the market
forms (about $50. OOO) had been coined
the demand entirely ceased"
II some one would pry open Olmity
Halls Uranium and get the idea into
it that only forty years ago silver was
the only legal tender money in Hol-
uus dHN OtIdU was ~ AClA d u
for gold because 1t ,pds not legal tender. he
would faint or turn Prohibitionist!
ut is the sanction Of commerce not
the stamp of government that creates
money" says Hall.
Why commerce once made axes the
money Of account in trading with the
South Sea Islanders. In 1851 more
than 1,(0o tons Of cowry shells were
brought from India to Liverpool to
be exported to the coast of Africa in
exchange for palm oil. In this case
the shells had 1.-THE sanction of com
merce" but not "the stamp Of govern
ment" and Hall says they were there
fore money. Hall is an ass.
The constitution Of the United
States says:
Congress shall have power to coin
money and regulate the value thereof"
Hall says Congress can do nothing
of the kind-that a lot of traders
alone have that right.
The United States Supreme Court.
Q2 Wallace 519), says:
"We repeat, money is not SUBJ
stance, but an impression Of legal du-
thoruH-a printed legal decree"
Hall is lawyer and while he would