The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-06-17
IS THIS MAN A CRANK"
A REPUBLICAN HISTORIAN ON THE
GOLD CONSPIRACY.

John Clark Ridpath Expresses Views on
the Financial Question Which are Shared
bv MANY Thousands of HIS Party in Indi-
ana.
INDIANAPOLIS, June 10.-The follow
ing letter, written by John Clark nd
path, the historian, was addressed 10
Frank A. Homer, State committeeman
| for the Fifth district, in response to an
INQUIRY as to whether Mr.. Ridpath
would become candidate for congress
in that district:
Frank A. Horner, Chairman Demo
cratic Central Committee for Fifth
| District:
my Dear Sir: have your favor of
June 3 and will say in answer thereto,
and to many other letters of like pur.
port, that l am not a candidate for
representative in Congress or any Of
flee, or for any nomination. I am
deeply concerned in the condition of
the country and anxious to the last
degree that the people shall, in the
ensuing contest, succeed in rescuing
the government absolutely from the
powers that now control it. Those
powers are inimical to popular liberty.
They are hostile to those rights which
the American people once enjoyed,
and which, if they are true to them.
selves, they will soon enjoy again. /
do not wish to shrink from any duty,
but think that I shall be able to do
the cause more service in the position
which now hold than if I were a
candidate for public office.
ITO me it seems clear that the
American house of representatives is
no longer the splendid arena that it
once was for the display of statesman
ship and patriotism. The manner OF
it's organization has closed that arena
against all individual initiative and
made it a sense for the display only of
party contest and the vociferation of
party triumph. It's not true that the
house of representatives at the present
time stands near to the people and
speaks their voice. 1t is one of the
strange facts of our political history
that the senate has become the area of
the people. There their voice is heard,
and their of late their will has been
expressed;
desire the recovery of the government
from the powers that now control it
may get together on the simplest pos.
sible issue,y or issues, in the ensuing
political contest. There is just one
great question before the American
people, and that is whether they will
be compelled by the international gold
conspiracy, having its bifurcations in
London and New York, to transact
their business, and in particular to
pay their debts with cornered dollar
worth two for one, fraudulently sub.
stituted for the dollar of the law and
the contract, or whether they, the peo'
pie, will reclaim the right to transact
their business and pay their debts &C
cording to the terms of the contract
and according to justice.
1T is said by the emissaries of the
gold propaganda that they who advo.
cate the restoration of our coinage
and money to the exact condition
which it held prior to the act of 1878
are dishonest; that they wish to coin
so cents worth of silver into dollar
and compel creditors to accept that in
lieu of an honest dollar. Than this
there never was a greater sophism and
falsehood. What the people desire
and what they intend to 10 is to coin
hundred cents worth of silver, that
is, a dollars worth, that is 3714 grains
of silver into a dollar, and by that act
to break the corner on. gold and re.
duce the exaggerated purchasing pow
er of that metal to its standard.
eff any man dare say that 3714
grains of pure silver are not a dollars
worth let him be challenged with the
question whether that amount OF un-
coined silver will not purchase as
much of the average of twenty-five of
the great staples of the American
market, including real estate and Ia
Dor, as the same silver would purchase
20 years ago. Let him answer that
truly, or forever afterward hold his
peace. AS a matter of fact, the un-
coined silver in the American dollar
will buy more of the average of our
great staples than the same would buy
in 1875.
What thenq The limited supply of
gold in the world has been cornered
by those who own it. They are few,
very few, and the people are millions.
The price of the cornered gold has
advanced more and more until it has
become worth almost two for one.
All the while coined gold has conceal
the fallacy that is in it. The gold eagle
still proclaims itself ten dollars, al
though it has advanced in purchasing
power until it is nearly twenty dollars.
| Under the obscure and fraudulent
process all productive industries have
been crushed to the earth. They who
labor in the fields and shops have been
virtually ruined. For myself, I stand
with the men of the field and the shops
with them and for them.
If the present process goes on and
the price of gold continues to increase
until it is worth five for one the own
ers and controllers of it will, l suppose
still continue to insist that the gold
dollar is the honest dollar. The claim
that gold money is the "sound money"
the 'hohest money" of the world that
silver money-real, primary silver
money on our olel statutory ratio-is
dishonest and unsound money is the
most false, as it is the most adroit,
proposition ever put forth by interested
parties to defraud the people of great
nation. I rejoice that our noble gov
ernor, Claude Matthews, has repudiat-