The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-04-18
The COUNTRY IS SAFE.
There L. No Danger of Free Silver Sem
ators Winning.

There IL No Danger Of Free Silver Sem
ators Winning.
Thee free coinage movement win
come up again and again in speeches, in
resolutions, and in newspaper articles.
but pract' cally the country has appar-
entity little to fear. The silver party
will continue to exist for time, and it
may be that the politicians who will
control the coming presidential conven-
tions, even some of those who have just
voted against free coinage, will sue
coed in inserting in the platforms
double dealing and dishonest currency
planks. Such planks, however, will
be taken by the people at their real
value. One thing is certain, neither
party will dare, in the face of this vote,
to nominate u presidential candidate
who would not veto free coinage
measure. 1t may be that the cand;-
dates will be men of doubtful ante
cedents; nevertheless, the man who
will be president after the 4th of March,
1897, is not likely to sign free COIN
age bill. Whoever he may be, or
whatever his record on this question
may be, he knows now that the people
who control the presidency and the
house of representatives are against
this particular humbug. The business
interests of the country, and the hold
ers of American securities at home
and abroad, may rest assured that it
is as certain as any future event can be
n Ia
white house will be as strong bulwark
against this form of unsound money
as it has been and is during the pres
ent four years.
This much has been accomplished by
the thorough discussion which the
question received during the time
which elapsed from the strenuous days
OF the panic i'm 1893 to the end of the
campaign of 1894. For nearly 20 years
the country has been at the mercy of
the spectators of the mining camps
because of the cowardice or ignorance
of our politicians. 1t was in 1876 that
the movement for free coinage began,
and in 1877 Mr.. Bland secured the pas
sage of his free coinage act by the house
of representatives by vote of 1863 to
"a. 1t WIS great victory, but Mr.. AL
lison in the senate secured the amend
| ment of the bill so that it became our
first silver purchasing act. In this
form it was passed by both houses in
1873. From that time to this the agi-
tation has gone on. The free coinage
congressman have never been able to
| enact their theory into law, but they
have disturbed business, ruined hun
| dreds of merchants, discredited the
country, cost the Taxpayers many mil
| lions of dollars, and burdened the treas
ury with tons of useless bullion. In
the end they inflicted a panic upon the
country, and increased the public debt
by an amount exceeding $3.50, 000, 900.
1t was only when the people actually re.
allied that the strength of the silver
sentiment in congress was sending
home the bonds and other securities
that had been sold in Europe; and that
| by reason of the same bad influence
business was brought to q standstill,
| the banks were boarding their funds,
merchants were failing, factories were
closing, and workingmen were idle.
while the government was again, as il
had been in the early days of the war,
a half-suspected borrower in the money
marlket-it was only after all this had
dawned upon their minds that tho
people began to think upon the sub
| ject, with the result indicated by tho
recent vote in the house of representa-
tives.-Harper's Weekly.