The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-07-21

With pleasure / appear on the Athr-
native of the query, Resolved, THAT
the best interest of the United States
demands free coinage of silver at the
ratio of 16 to l." When I cay best in
terets 1 do not mean a petty handful
of ~goldbugs whose aim is to demone-
tia oliver, decrease the circulation, in
order that they may suck the very life
blood Of the nation by a continual is
sue of bonds.
But l mean the welfare Of the ma
| iority who create the wealth and upon
| whose IF orts the fate of the nation de-
ponds.
First, Hon. Judges, I will show you
that demonstration is the cause of the
depreciation of silver. At the Inter
national Monetary Conference, while
urging that a gold standard be adopted,
Ruggles, acting as a mouthpiece for
John Sherman, said that by 1900 the
annual production of gold and silver
in the United States would be 500, 600,
900. Frightened by this false and
wicked statement the Conference
passed a resolution favoring demoneti
cation of silver. Thirty years have
elapsed, yet the production of both
gold and silver is only about ~one-fourth
of that amount. And not more than
one half of this is used for money.
Having deceived the Latin Union,
| Sherman returned home and went to
work to deceive the United States. In
order to hide his treachery, be made
a free coinage speech in 70. The very
next day, in the hurry Of business, he
rushed a bill through Congress demon
esizing silver. Doubtless no other per-
son in the United States understood the
bill. President Grant said, Il would
not have signed it had know the mis-
cry and wretchedness it was going to
infict upon the American people. Sill
yer was at g premium when it was de
monetiZ9d. In fact, Micl al Chevaiier
wrote a book favoring demonstration
much as silver. Had gold been de-
monetiz9d the parties who cry so cent
silver, would now be bowling 4O-ct.
gold.
Hon. Judges, what is meant by free
coinage, is to give silver an equalshow
ing with gold. Wipe every law from
our statute books hat is against silver.
Make it a legal tender for all debts,
private and public, and you will do
away with the argument of 50 cent idol
lars. Remove the and the effect
will be what it was before 70. A dol
lar in silver will be worth a hundred
cents in gold. Cotton will be worth
Is cents per pound; wheat, q dollar a
bushel; corn, Is cent; labor will be en-
ployed, tramps unknown. Farmers
can pay their debts and educate their
sons and daughters. Merchants will
do a cash business. Doctors and law
yers can collect their debts. Panicg
will be a thing of the past. Maniac
turers will flourish. Commerce will be
carried on with renewed emery. Bonds
will become unnecessary, and the pub
lie debt will be ~liquidated.
I wish to stop right here and ask
my opponent if this will ruin the coun-
try7
Hon. Judges, how can my opponent
or anybody else object to free coinage
when it simply means giving silver an
equal showing with gold9 Gold enjoys
free coinage. Why not give silver the
same privilege? Silver is more dura-
bic, suffers less from abrasion and may
be submitted to greater use with less
loss. Two years ago the opponents of
silver said if the Sherman law was re
pealed, gold would flow to US by the
millions, but one tenth of our people
have not seen q piece of gold since,
and will not, as long az we stay on q
gold basis and have to sell bonds to
run the government. Sixty-six millions
millions of people use silver, while
only 1000, 600 use gold. Is it to the
interest of the United States to legis
} late for 6 per cent. of her people and
leave 81 per cent. Of them poverty
} stricken and strained to their utmost
{ capacity? The quantity of gold is SO
limited that it is easily controlled by
) banks. It is, therefore, more diahon.
est than silver. AS it gives the few the
power of robbing and expressing the
majority. Here is a case that proves
the fact. On Black Friday, 1869, Jay
, Gould and James Fisk made a cornel
on the gold market, by buying all the
gold in New York banks. They raised