Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-09-03

M'KlNLEYy8 ABLE DISCUSSION OF THE
MONEY QUESTION.

Major McKinley's letter of acceptance
is as sound as a gold dollar. The fol-
lowing are some Of his best points:
What Free Coinage Means.
TIE character 81 tha money which
shall nleaaura our s uas and exchanges
and settle our balances with one another
and with the nations Of the world is of
such primary Importance and SO far
reaching in It's consequences as to call
for the most p~ainstaking Investigation,
aud in the end a sober and unprejuaieed
Judgment at the polls. We must not be
misled ~ phrases nor deluded by false
theories. Free silver would not mean
that silver dollars were to be freely had
without cost OF labor. 1t would mean
the free use Of the minis of the United
States for the few who are owners of
silver bullion, hut would make silver
coin no freer TO the many who are en-
gagged in other enterprises.
1t would not make labor easier, the
hours of labor shorter or the pay better.
1t wonld not make farming less labori-
Gus or moro profitable. 1t would not
start q factory or make a demand for an
additional days labor. 1t would create
no new occupations. 1t would add
nothing to the comfort of the masses,
the capital of the people or the wealth
of the nation. 1t seeks to introduce a
new measure of value, but would add
no value TO the thing measured. 1t
would not conserve values. On the con
trary, it would derange all existing val
ues. 1t would not restore business con-
fidence, but its direct effect would be to
destroy the little which yet remains.
The meaning Of the coinage plan
adopted at Chicago is that any one may
take a quantity Of silver bullion, now
worth So cents, to the minis of the
United States. have it coined at the ex-
pense OF the government and receive for
it a silver dollar which shall be legal
tender for the payment of all debts, pub
lie and private. The owner of the silver
bullion would get the silver dollar. 1t
would belong to him and nobody else.
Other people would get it only by their
labor, the products of their land or
something Of value. The bullion owner,
on the basis of present values, would re-
ceive the silver dollar for SO cents
worth of silver, and other people would
be required TO receive it as a full dollar
in the payment of debts. The govern
ment would get nothing from the trans
action. 1t would bear the expense of
coming the silver, and the community
would suffer loss by its use.
Silver Dollars Now on n Gold Basis.
We have coined since 1878 more
than 400, 600, 600 of silver dollars,
which are maintained by the govern
ment at parity with gold and are full
legal tender for the payment of all
debts, public and private. How are the
silver dollars now in use different from
those which would be in use Under free
coinage? They are to be of the same
weight and hneness. They are to bear
the same stamp Of the government.
Why would they not be of the same
value? / answer: The silver dollars now
IN use were coined on accOuH& OF the
government. and not for private account
or gain, and the government has sol
eInnly agreed To keep them as good as
the best dollars we have. The govern
ment bought the silver bullion at its
market value and coined il into silver
dollars. Having exclusive controlc Of the
miutage, it only coins what it can hold
at q parity with gold. The profit, rep
reseating the difference between the
commercial value of the silver bullion
and the face value Of the silver dollar,
goes to the government for the benefit
Of the people.
Farmers and LAbcrers Would Safer Most.
If there is any one thing which should
be free from speculation and ~fuctuation,
it is the money Of a country. 1t ought
never to be the subject of mere partisan
contention. When we part with our la
Dor, our products or our property, we
should receive in return money which
is as stable and ~unchanging i'll value as
the ingenuity of honest men can make
it. Debasement of the currency means
destruction of values. No one suffers so
much from cheap money as the farmers
and laborers. They are the first to feel
its bad effects and the last to recover
from them. This has been the uniform
experience of all countries, and here a
elsewhere. The poor. and not the rich,
are always the greatest sufferers from
every attempt to debase our money. 1t
would fall with alarming severity upon
investments already made, upon insur-
ance companies and their policy holders,
upon savings banks and their depositors,
upon building and loan association
members, upon the savings Of thrift,
upon pensioners and their families, and
upon wage earners and the purchasing
power of their wages.
"Good Money Never Made Times Hard"
1t is a mere pretense to attribute the
hard times to the fact that all our cur
rency is on a gold basis. Good money
never made times hard. Those who as
sert that u present industrial and
financial depression is the result Of the
gold standard have not read American
history Alright or been careful students
of the events of recent years. We never