The Irish standard., 1896-10-24

Y ERs oFTHosE WHO s1sA 5Es
i sluNITED STATESs sTTIEt III
/ QFsTIALFsA A BILIIlN Ot DOLLARS
i ON THE PRINCIPAL. ia .5s.1sr 81 I'm \
i TEREST ON THE WddsE EVER
SWEAT OF THE MECHANIC AND
THE LABORER, OUGHT R CAUSE
HIM TO TAKE AN INTEREY IN THE
FREE COINAGE OF SILVER.
The term "free and unlimiAd coinage.
Iof. silver is misund derstood. May believe
It means that everything in shae OF sllv-
sver, bullion or otherwise, will once be
coined In unlimited quantities aad thrown
on the street. Only those who hve silver
/ to coin will take it to the mint,and only
those who earn it will or shoui Legally
be permitted to possess it.. But hen tor
] eigners will send their silver to b coined
If it is free, and that will give US much
money! is another cry. If dollars
worth of silver comes from acrss the
water, dollars worth Of some Alef1can
product will be exchanged for it, unless
the foreigner is reckless enough . send
his bullion for nothing. 1t he des, we
are the gamers. If he desires to gin his
silver into American dollars, the. must
circulate here and pay for labor ard COM
/ nodities here; for as soon as tIey go
abroad they must go through the Guclble
and appear in another form as the money
of another nation; and gold must 10 ex-
actly the same. Every argument tlat has
been or will be used against silve can
with equal force be directed againstgold,
for there is no such thing as ''money the
! world
| "The, cry that we will have too much
money If silver is remonetized and maze
the equal of gold,' is unworthy Of consicer-
atlon No nation ever yet complained OF
having too much money or suffeeo
through that cause. Hard times and pm
les are due to contraction and not expsn-
sions of the currency. Contraction of tae
currency is not possible where the goverl-
) ment itself, acting under it's constitutions
right, issues the currency directly to tEe
people without the intervention Of indi-
viduals or corporations. There will be
more money in the hands Of the people, in
bona fde circulation if free coinage Of sill
YER isrestored to where it was up to 1873.
We are warned against interfering with
vested rights by those who object to free
coinage. FROM 1892 UP TO 1873, A Pc
RIOD OF EIGHTY-ONE YEARS, Sill
YER STOOD SIDE BY SIDE WITH
MONEY OF THE UNITED STATES.
THE RIGHT OF SILVER WAS A
VESTED RIGHT IN 1873. NO PARTY
PLATFORM OR DEMAND FROM THE
PEOPLE CALLED FOR ITS DEBASE-
MENT BY CONGRESS. 1t was not be-
cause silver was less valuable than gold
that it was denonetized for at the pass
age Of that act it was worth 8 cents more
than gold. ALL LEGAL DECISIONS
AND PRECEDENTss ARE AGAINST
THAT ACT OF CONGRESS; IT WAS
NOT DEMANDED BY THE PEOPLE,
THEM, AND CANNOT BE DEFEND
ED From ANY OTHER STANDPOINT
THAN AS AN ACT sTEALTHILY
PERPETRATED IN THE INTEREST
OF THE POWER THAT CONTROLL-
ED GOLD, OR THAT HOPED TO CON-
USE OF GOLD. IT WAS TO. MAKE
MONEY SCARCE THAT THE ACT WAS
PASSED, AND 1T SUCCEEDED. If
anything in existing circumstances war
ranted the belief even that the volume
of goll would be sufficient to transact the
business of the nation, there would have
been an excuse for the action Of congress;
but such was not the case.
The total production of gold in the
United States in 1890 was valued at $32,-
100000 I do not know what percentage
of that amount is consumed in the fine
arts and in the jewelry trade, but it is
safe to assume that at least one-half will
one-half, or s16.400 600 for use at the mints.
The total volume of currency as given in
official reports last year, including gold,
silver ana paper, was $45S, 1874, ,057 silver,
and $1,004, ,20C,553 was made up of the diff
ferent Issues of paper currency. With less
than third of the currency composed of
gold, and a titaI of over two billions of
dollars required for use each year, 1T IS
SIMPLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOLD TO
CONSTITUTE AN EQUITABLE OR
HONEST BASIS FOR OUR CURREN-
CY. 1t must not be forgotten that less
than s295.SO6,S ,S31 of the gold coin was In
actual circulation; but if we add to that
1862, ,759, we would then have on|N $685.
$50 of gold and it's representa- acives in act
ual circulation. With a population of g.
100000 people in the Ur!ted States, we
have but a fraction over six dollars per
n eapta Of ls gold T n cfcu1ton Ass WITH anq WIFE TH
Law IN EXISTENCE WHICH AU-
THORIZES THE CITIZEN TO DE-
MAND GOLD, WE FIND OURSELVES
AT THE MERCY OF oLIQUEs, RINGS
AND CABALs. IF rH5Y SHOULD
AS a NAT1oN. Three citizens of the
United tates, Jay G5u'd, William Waldorf
Astor and John d. Rockefeller, own a
combine7 total of $500, 900; over six
millions more than the actual circulation
of gold coin in the United States. If we.
are to regard gold as the basis on which
our currency is to rest, as at present,
the three men named have 1t in their
power to withdraw every gold dollar from
circulation without any warning or notice
whatever; they may absorb and carry
out of the country the basis of our nation
al currency, and do 1t under authority Of
law. s."
s.The census returns estimate the wealth
of the nation at $1,000 per capita, and
with gold as the basis each $1,000 worth
of property must be represented by frac-
tion over six dollars in gold 1t is neces-
sary that we have basis or measure Of
values, and il gold is to perform tina
function, those who ere wealthy enough
may corner the nation itself if they desire.
TIE wORKMAN'S HOME MAY BE
WORTH FROM ONE TO FIVE THOUs-
AND DOLLARS; BUT THE MOMENT
THE GOLD GAMBLERS BEGIN TO
CALL IN THE MONEY MADE OF
THAT METAL, THE MINES AND
WORKSHOPS WILL SHUT DOWN OR
GO ON SHORT TIME, AND HE HAS
TO MORTGAGE HIS HOME IN, ORDER
TO LIVE. This could not be done with
the currency Of the nation composed of
gold, silver, and paper based upon the
faith and resources of the nation and cir
culating as legal tender for all debts pub
lie and private THE WORKMAN is
IN FAVOR OF SILVER,
FOR III is A STEP TOWARDS SUP
PLYING THE COUNTRY WITH A
SUFFICIENT VOLUME OF MONEY
TO Transact THE BUSINESS OF
THE SAME.
Ill ocic