Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-09-10
Letter From Ira Hall.
HE WILL SUPPORT THE DEMO-
CRATIC TICKET AND GIVES
HIS REASONS THEREFOR.
Mr.. Hall Was Formerly a Prominent
Citizen of Audrain and a Re-
publican-A Letter to
s. B. Cook.
To the Editor of The Intelligencer.

To the Editor of The Intelligencer.
Los ANGELES, Cal, Aug. 81, 1896.
For long l have noted with pleas
ure the solid and able stand you
have maintained for the restoration
of>silyer to its rightful place in the
coinage of the. country upon an
equality with gold as absolute
money.
/ have been more than pleased
with the flash of your trenchant
blade, which you have welded in
decapitating the misguided heads OF
those who, without discriminating
and intelligent thought, have been
led astray by the false teachers of
a system of finance that has brought
a paralysis upon the business indus
tries of our land and an "Iliad of
woes" upon the toiling masses, that
is distressing to contemplate.
I have been a Republican from
the days of Lincoln down and have
rejoiced at the old time achieve
ments of the Republican party that
have redounded to the glory and
prosperity of the country. But
now 1 am, from honest conviction,
compelled to call halt and refuse
to follow the banner of that party
that proposes to still fasten upon
the country for an indefinite period, if
not for all time to come, the present
gold standard financial policy, that
has in this land of infinite capacity
for production of all that civilized
man has need of. sent thousands
upon the road tramping as beggars
and filled the hearts of many thou
sands more with continuous anxiety
as to where the bread for tomorrow
will come from.
The appalling depression in busi-
ness industries falls with terrible
weight upon the farming commu-
nifty, the basis of all industrial life;
for he finds that with the increased
purchasing power of the gold dollar
his sweat and toll are unremunera-
tive, that the products of his farm
must go for pittance to feed and
fatten and further fill the Golfers OF
the gold magnates of New York and
London. Can the farmer live, much
less thrive, with oats at 10 cents and
corn at 15 cents per buehela Will
the honest farmer, whether Demo
crat or Republican, continue to vote
with party that proposes to con
tinue on under such system OF
finance2 Or will he cut loose from
parties and policies that have brought
us to the present deplorable condi
ton, and cast his vote for Bryan,
the only presidential candidate that
gives promise to bring us out from
under this bondage to the gold
magnates? When we remember
that there is less than 81, 900, 900, ,00C
of gold money in the whole world,
no more that enough for one great
nation, and that when it is divided
up between this country and the
European nations how small an
amount there is for US, how is ii
possible for any intelligent thinking
man, actuated by honest and unset
fish Notwithstanding an interest for
the common welfare-to hesitate to
vote SO as to restore silver to its
original place as money on an
equality with gold and displace the
currency of the national banks, to
whom the government farms out
the right to issue their promises to
pay in the shape of bank notes as
money.
Since the demonetization in 1873
the enactments of congress, author
izing ana requiring the purchase OF
silver, delayed the catastrophe of the
present hard times and business
depression or we would have long
ago experienced the enormity of
ssthe crime of 1878"
This is illustrated by the fact OF
the quickness with which the hard
times were brought to the acute
stage after the repeal of the silver
purchasing law, Immediately after
which repeal we were promised
that an abundant prosperity would
set in. The present condition of
the country is glorious ''object
lesson" of the fruits of the conduct
of the government along the lines
of that wonderful system of 'sound
finance" of which we have heard so
much prating, and which the
Republican party proposes to con-
tinue if SO fortunate as to put
Mckinley in the presidential chair.
With sickening iteration the gold
bug aristocracy and their cohorts
prate about an ''honest dollar, "
thereby meaning the gold dollar.
And this in spite Of the potent fact
that the gold dollar has nearly quite
doubled in purchasing power within
the last few years-say since the
repeal of the silver purchasing law
and the adoption of the gold stand.
ard by Austria, which think was
in 1853.
Now let these prating gold bugs
answer if that is an honest dollar
which increases III value or purchas.
ing power and bears the hardest
uLon the farmer and takes twice as
much of his products to pay his debi
with as it did before.
These highly conscientious gold
advocates, who hold the bonds and
mortgages, don't appear to show
any compunction of conscience in
taking the same number of dollars
from their debtors as they did
before this appreciation in the value
of gold. They forget to call that Q
dishonest dollar" or regard 1t as
a dollar dishonesty taken by them.
But they can cry out long and loud
to the laboring man and declare te
him if free silver coinage becomes
law that he viii be paid in fifty
cent dollars for his labor, because
they are 80 much interested, as they
would have him believe, in his wei
fare, seeming to forget that Their
would be no law against these pre-
cious shylocks giving the poo