Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1896-07-11
SUCKER STATE SlLVERITES.
Impudent Claims of Sixteen to One Shout
ers at Peoria.


ers at Peoria.
The Illinois Democratic state conven-
tion added hypocrisy and double dealing
to the silverite doctrine of repudiation
and dishonest dollars when it declared
in its platform: "We favor the soundest
and safest money known to man. X
We demand the repeal of that Repub-
lican and plutocratic legislation which
demonetized silver and reduced it to the
level of token money, destroying by
one-half the stock Of real money. n
We demand the immediate restoration
of the free and unlimited coinage of
both gold and silver as standard money
at the rate of 16 ounces of silver to l of
gold Of equal fineness, with full legal
tender power to each metal " This dec
laration for free silver was termed "the
bimetallism which was made the basis
of our monetary system by Hamilton
and jefferson.
Of all kinds of frauds the canting
humbug is the worst. The sincere but
mistaken silverites, who admit that free
coinage at 16 to 1 would put this coun-
try on the silver basis, are deserving of
far more respect than the men who have
the impudence to talk of '.sound and
safe money in connection with their
80 cent dollar scheme. Every man who
is old enough to vote knows that free
silver, with the bullion value of the two
metals at ratio of 30 to 1, means silver
monOmetallism pure and simple. This
is the standard Of Mexico, China and
India, where its frequent and violent
fluctuations and decreasing purchasing
power testify to its 'soundness and
safety" Is that the kind of money the
American people want?
1t will be somewhat difficult to secure
the repeal of ''the legislation which de-
monetized silver and reduced it to the
basis of token money" since there is no
such legislation on the statute books.
What the Sucker State financiers re-
ferred to was probably the legisla-
tion which since 1878 has given us
$3.50, 600, 600 of full legal tender silver
money, not one dollar of which is token
money, and $75, 900, coo of subsidiary
coinage. AS there was not $50, 900, 600
of silver money of all kinds in the coun-
try in 1878 and less than $S,000,O00
full legal tender silver coins, it is hard
to see how ''the stock of real money has
been destroyed one-half. - Since an in
crease of $540, 600, 900 is considered a
contraction of the currency, it is easy
to understand how the crosseyed silver
ties can believe that forcing $625, 600,
900 III gold out of circulation would
give us more money
''The bimetallism of Hamilton and
Jefferson" was the coinage of gold and
silver at Il ratio which was as nearly as
possible the commercial ratio between
the values Of the two metals In expert
ence it was found that whenever one of
| the metals was overvalued it disappeared
from circulation, the cheaper money
only being used, so that the country was
| always on either the gold or the silver
standard. Under present conditions,
with the bullion value of silver 30 times
that Of gold, it3would be impossible to
keep gold i'll circulation, and the coun-
| try would go at once to a silver basis.
Americans who favor real bimetallism,
under which an almost equal value OF
gold and silver money is now kept in
circulation, must work and vote against
| free silver ne monOmetallism.