The Ely miner., 1896-09-02
THE ISSUES.
Discussed by Mr.. Mckinley In His
Letter Of Acceptance.
Hs Takes . Strong Stand In Favor Of
ssSound Money" Protection and Reci-
prOcity-Nation Needs Open Milis,
Not Open Mlnts.

MOI upon mlnc1.
Canton, o.. Aug. N.-Maj. Mckinley gave
his letter Of acceptance to the press as
eociations Wednesday afternoon. having
finished his last reading and revision OF
IT at 1880 o'clock. The letter touches upon
all OF the important planks In the repub-
hcan national platform. but the first hals
OF 1t Is devoted 20 an tncisive discussion OF
the money question. The latter is In part
a. follows:
''The character Of the money which shall
measure our values and exchanges ana
settle our balances with one another ana
primary importance and so far-reachtng
In its consequences as to call fol- the most
painstaking investigation. ana. In the enc.
polls. We must not be misled by phrases
nor deluded by false theories. Free silver
would not mean that silver dolars were
would mean the free use OF the mtnts OF
the United States for the few who are
owners Of silver bullion. but would make
silver coin no freer to many who are en-
gagged In other enterprises. It would not
make labor easier. the hours Of labor
hser %sSs S5 the would oD
Or make a demand d'f for nSs an additional @ % dsys
Would adS nothing s to t the nsS comfort Of the
masses. the capital Of the people or the
wealth Of the nation. 1t seeks to introduce
no nn value to te thing % measured @ GW It Would I
not conserve values: On the contrary. II
would derange all existing values. It would
direct effect would be to destroy the little
which yet remains.
What 1t Means.
'The meaning Of the coinage planl;
adopted at Chicago Is that anyone may
50 cents to the mints Of the United States.
have 1t coined a. the expense Of the govern
ment and receive for II q silver dollar.
ment Of all debts, public and private The
owner of the silver bullion would get the
silver dollar. 1t would belong to him and
1t only by their labor, the products of their
land or something Of value. The bullion
owner on the basis of present values, would
the ana dSI % ed
quired to receive it as full dollar in the
payment Of debts. The government would
get nothing from the TRANSACTION , It would
the community would suffer loss by its use.
The Dollars Compares.
I'VE have coined since 1878 more than
l00. .0OO, 900 OF silver dollars. which are main
gold, and are full legal tender for the pay
ment Of all debts, public and private. Eow
are the silver dollars now in use different
free coinage? They are to he Of the same
weight and f1neness; they are to bear the
same stamp Of the government. Why
'I answer: The silver dollars now in
use were coined on account of the govern
ment. and not for private account or Eain.
and the government has solemnly agreed
to keep them as good as the best dollars we
have. The government bought the silver
bullion at its market value and coined 1t
troll of the mintage. it only coins what 1t
can hold at parity with gold. The profit.
representing the difference between the
i,1 olYra Of he e{Ix hx,II{
the face value Of the silver dollar, goes to
the government for the benefit of the pes
pie. The government bought the bullion
In the silver dollar at very much less than
its coinage value. It paid 1t out to its cred
itors and put 1t In circulation among the
people At its face value O. os 100 cents; o.
cept 1t as legal tender, and Is thus morally
bound to maintain 1t at parity with gold.
which was ,.h then en- as IS now; the recognized
nations Of the world. The government
having issued and circulated the silver dol
lar. it must in honor protect the holder
sacredly kept Not only Is there a
moral obligation, but there is q legal obli-
cation. expressed in public statute. to
maintain the parity.
They Could Not Be Kept at Par.
'These dollars, in the particulars I have
named, are not the same as the dollars
which would be issued under free coinage.
They would be the same in form, but DIFF;
ferent in value. The government would
have no part In the transaction, except to
coin the silver bullion into dollars. 1t
d would tai take n upon he i5ess no n It
It could only get them, as any citizen would
get them. by. giving something for them.
posted the silver, and its connection with
the transaction there end. Euch are the
silver dollars which would be issued under
to to q one. Who would then maintain the
parity? What would keep them at par
with gold? There would be no obligation
there were, 1t would be powerless to do it.
Bimetallism.
"Bimetallism cannot be secured by In
dependent action on our part. It cannot
be obtained by opening our mints to the
world, at the ratio oc sixteen ounces of
silver to one ounce of gold, when the
CO aNa rs more m nan thirty
China have tried the experiment. Mexico
has free coinage of silver and gold at q
half ounces s. of silver TO one ounce aoS Of soid U
and while her miots are freely open to
both metals at that ratio. not a single dol
as money. Gold has been driven out of
are on a silver basis alone Tntii ;nterna-
tjonal agreement is had, 1t is the plain
duty oc the United States to maintain the
gold standard. It is the recognized and
ton tons Of the World. With Which we trade ns
more largely than ary other. Eighty
four per cent Of our foreign trade for the
fiscal year 1885 was with gold standard
countries, and our trade with other coun-
tries was settled on gold basis.
Mr.. Mckinley declares that the leeisla-
ton during and since 1873 has secured the
largest use Of silver consistent with fi,ian-
cia1 safety and the pledge to maintain its
parity with gold. We have to-day more
silver than gold.
Favors the Use OF Silver Money.
s'The republican party has not been. and
IS not now, opposed to the use of silver
money as its record abundantly shows. It
has done all that could be done for its In
creased use, with safety and honor. by the
United States acting apart from other gov
ernments. There are those who think that
1T has already gone beyond the limit Of
financial prudence. Surely we can go no
further and we must not permit false