Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1896-09-03

cally all of this country's product. Ii
: was believed 10y those who then and
now favor frea coinage that such use of
silver would advance its bullion value
to its coinage value, but this eXpecta-
ton was no. realized. In few
months, Notwithstanding the unprece-
dented market for the silver produced
in the United States, the price of silver
went down very rapidly, reaching 81
lower point than ever before. Then,
upon the recommendation of President
Cleveland both political parties united
in the repeal OF the purchasing clause
of the Sherman law. We cannot safely
| engage in other experiments in this
direction.
On August 30. 1891, in IL public adj
| ternat Onal ratio. which all the lead.
ing nations of the world would adopt,
| and the true relations he fixed between
the two metals, and all agree on the
quantity of silver which shall consti-
| tute silver dollar, then silver would
be rs free and unlimited in it's privi.
ege of coinage as gold is to-day. But
that we have not been able to Sc.
cure, and with the free and unlimited
coinage of silver adopted in the United
States ut the present ratio, we would
he still further removed from any in
ternational agreement. We may never
he able to secure it if we enter upon
the isolated coinage of silver. The
double standard implies equality ut
| ratio and that equality can only he es-
tablshed 10y the concurrent law of ma.
tons. II was the concurrent law of
nations that made the double stand
ard; 1t will require the concurrent law
OF nations to reinstate and sustain IT.
The republican party has not been,
and is not now, opposed to the Use of
silver money, as It's record abundantly
shows. 1t has done all that could be
done for its increased Use with safety
and honor Ivy the United States acting
apart from other governments. There
are those who think it has already
gone beyond the limit of financial
prudence. Surely we car, go n" fur-
ther, and we must not permit false
lights to lure us across the danger line.
We have much more silver in use
than any other country in the world
except India or China -S5OO, OOO, 900
more than Great Britain; $l5O,OOO, 600
more than France: S40O, ODO. 200 more
than Germany; 1921, OO0, 900 less than
India, and Sl25, 600, 600 less than China
The republican party has declared in
favor of an International agreement,
and if elected president 1t will be my
duty 20 employ all proper means to
promote it. The free coinage of silver
in this country would defer, If not de-
feat, international bimetallism, and
until an international agreement can
he had every inter- st requires us To
maintain our present standard. indie.
pendent free coinage of silver at a ratio
of l6 to one would insure the speedy
contraction of the volume of our cur
rency. 1t would drive ut least son, 900,
600 of gold dollars, which we: now have,
permanently from the trade of the
country and greatly decrease our per
capita circulation. 1t is not proposed
10y the republican party to take from
the circulating medium Of the country
any of the silver We now have. On
the contrary, it is proposed to keep all
OF the silver money now in circulation
on a parity with gold by maintaining
the pledge of the government that ali
OF it shall be equal to gold. This has
been the unbroken policy of the repub>
llcan party since 1873. II has ina,igur-
ated no new policy.
1t vii! keep in circulation and as
good as gold all of the silver and paper
money which is now included in the |
currency of the country. 1t will
maintain their parity. 1t will pre-
serve their equality in the future AS it |
has always done in the past 1t will }
not consent to put this country on "A |
silver basis, which would inevitably |
follow Independent free coinage at a |
ratio of l6 to l. 1t will oppose the ex-
pulsion of gold from our circulation.
If there is any one thing which |
should be free from speculation and
fluctuation, it is the money of IA
country. 1t ought never to be the sub
ject OF mere partisan contention. When
we part with our LABOR, our products,
return money which is rs stable and |
unchanging in value ms the ingenuity
of honest men can make IT. Debase-
ment of the currency means destruc-
ton of values. No one suffers SO much |
from cheap money as the farmer and !
laborers. They are the first to feel |
its bad effects and the last to recover
f ON them. This has been the uniform |
experience of all countries and here, as |
elsewhere, the poor and not the rich |
are the greater .fftrers from every AT
tempt to debase our money. 1t would |
fall with alarming severity upon in
surance companies and their policy |
holders; upon saving banks and their
depositOrs; upon building and loan as
sOciatiOnS and their members; uDon |
the savings of thrift; upon pensioners !
and their families; and upon wage |
earners and the purchasing power of
their wages.
The silver question Is not the only |
ISSUE affecting our money in the pend !
ing contest. Not content with urging
the free coinage of silver, its strongest
champions demand that our paper
money shall be issued directly 10y the |
government of the United States.
This Is the Chicago democratic declar-
'ation. The st. Louis peoples party
declaration Is that "our national mon |