The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-07-30
FROTH And FOAM
THICK IN AIR
Reed Opens the Campaign 10 Maine--
Cautions the People Against
Too Much Talk.
MONEY AND CAPITAL MATTER
Gold and Silver caanot Be Married Except
According TO Their MARKET Value
AOaey the Transisrrer Of
Capital

Alfred. Me-. July 2o.--ThIs quaint
county seat was the scene today Of
the opening OF the Republican national
campaign OF 'ss. The people from all
the country round came to listen 10 a
speech by the Hon. Thos. B. Reed. on
the occasion Of his denomination for
representative In congress by the first
district In the Republican convention.
In his speech Reed took the ground
that the free coinage Of silver by the
United States would not raise It TO a
par with gold at the ratio OF ls 10 1.
He said that as soon as the election
was over. and the future position Of
the United States was assured. cap
ital would come from abroad and we
would again be prosperous. Mr.. Reed
said:
"If / were going 20 give advice TO
the people OF the whole United States
should not take this time TO do II.
Just now there is great deal Of froth
and foam in the air, and some time is
really needful TO disclose clearly TO
every eye how much Of 1t is the result
Of a temporary breeze which stills at
nightfall. and how little there is of
that heavy ground swell which shows
that great elementary forces are at
work. Two months ago no man OF any
standing would have risked his repu-
tation as a prophet by limiting the
slightest doubt OF Republican success.
Four years OF actual trial Of opposi-
tion under the guidance OF its best and
twice trusted leader, has left no shad-
ow of question as TO the public duty,
1.-TWO months have slipped away,
hardly time enough to rlpen a straw
berry, much less system Of finance,
and there are those who tell us that
all things have changed, and that
those very men, who were being ar
rayed for decent burial had burst
the cerements OF the grave and had
been transhgured by some new ar
rangements Of crowns Of thorns and
crosses of gold. were to lead us TO
new happiness and even repair all the
damage they themselves had wrought.
Now this may be so. but to me it does
not seem probable. The talk dies in
the empty air Better a pound Of per-
formance than shipload of Lam
guage.
LET us see what is proposed by
those gentlemen who within the last
two months have discovered a new
cure for all ills the flesh is heir to.
and who proclaim. as they did four
years ago, that they hold prosperity
in their grasp. Their remedy is the
free coinage Of silver. l6 to l. What
does that mean? Heretofore when
ever gold and silver have stood to-
gether II has been at the market value.
When we have tried TO make gold and
silver circulate together We have al
ways married them according to their
market value. Today we find them
not l6 to /, but 80 to and they are
going, they say, to lift silver to twice
its value. not by the universal sense
of mankind which alone makes value,
but by the STATUTES Of the United
States single handed, against the civ
ilized world. Why should the United
States try to do this alone? What we
want is not more money but more
capital-money always comes with
capital. We have money now, more
than we can use. lying idle We have
exported a large amount of it. Money
is the transferer of capital as the hay
rack and horses is the transferer of
hay More racks will never make
more hay. but more hay will require
more hayraeks. and is sure to get
them.
"our capital is great, but the United
States is very much greater. There
are millions of square miles and sew
enty-five million people, and undevel-
oped riches without stint. But there
is not much capital, not near enough
to keep 75,OOO,OOO people at work. When
are we the most prosperous? 1t is
when the 100000 people are all at
work, and when that happens we bor-
row of the rest of the world thousands
OF millions Of dollars.
"Now, just as soon as this election
is over and the future position of the
United States is assured, both as to
money and as to the temperament of
our people, capital is ready to come
to us from abroad and from our own
people, and we shall again be pros
perous,"