Evening star., 1896-09-10
Mr.. HOBART'SLETTER
Continued from Fifth Page.)

Continued from Fifth Page)
limited coinage of silver may believe in all
honesty that while the present ratio of sill
yer to gold is as thirty to one mot sixteen
to one) silver will rise above the existing
market value. If it does so rise the effect
will be to make the loss to all the people so
much less. but such an opinion is but
hazardous conjecture at best, and is not
justified by experience. Within the last
twenty years this government has bought
about 46O.OOO,O0O ounces of silver. from
which it has coined approximately 100000
coo silver dollars and issued 13O,OO0.0OO of
dollars in silver certificates. and the price
of the metal has steadily declined from $l.15
per ounce to 6s cents per ounce. What will
be the decline when the supply Is aug
mented by the offerings of all the world?
The loss upon these silver purchases to the
people Of this country has now been nearly
$15O,OOO.OOO
Fraud ON DepOsitOrs.
The dollar of our fathers. about which
SO much is said. was an honest dollar. sill
yer maintaining full parity of intrinsic
value with gold. The fathers would have
spurned and ridiculed a proposition to
make silver dollar worth only fifty-three
cents stand of equal value with gold one
worth a hundred cents. The experience of
all nations proves that any depreciation,
however slight. of another standard from
the parity with gold, has driven the moro
valuable one out of circulation. and such
experience in matter of this kind is
worth much more than mere interested
speculative opinion. The fact that few
gold coins are seen in ordinary circulation
for domestic uses Is no proof at all that
the metal Is not performing most i'm
portant function in business affairs. The
foundation of the house is not always in
sight, but the house would not stand an
hour If there were no foundation. The
great engineery that moves the ocean
steamship is not always in view of the
passengers. but 1t is. all the same. the pro-
pelling force of the vessel. without which
1t would soon become worthless derelict.
1t may be instructive to consider mo-
ment how the free and unlimited coinage
of silver would affect Few great inter-
ests and ] mention only enough to demon
strate what calamity may lie before if
the platform formulated at Chicago is per-
mitted to be carried out.
There are now OH deposit in the savings
banks OF thirty-three states and territories
OF this Union the vast sum of $o.o0M0o 600.
These are the savings of almost 1000 900
derosltors. In many cases they represent
the labor and economies of years Any de-
probation In the value Of the dollar would
de1raGd every man. woman and child to
whom these savings belonS. Every dollar
OF their earnings when deposited was
worth one hundred cents in gold Of the
present standard OF weight and fineness.
Are they not entitled to receive in full
with interest. all they have so d. posted?
Any legislation that would reduce it by
the value Of single dime would be an ill.,
tolerable wrong to each depositor Every
bank or banker who has accepted the
earnings of these millions of dollars TO the
cred1t or our citizens must be required to
pay them back in money not one whit less
valuable than that which these banks and
bankers received in trust.
There are in his country nearly 6,OOO
building and loan associations with share
holders to the number of 1.sO0.0OO. and
with assets amounting to more than $780,
OooUU. Their average OF holdings is near
ly 800 per capita, and In many cases they
represent the savings of men and women
VINO nave denied themselves the comforts
of life in the hope of being able to accumu-
late enough to buy or build homes of their
own They have aided iii the erection of
over a million houses. which are now af-
ford1ng comfort and shelter for 5000 900 of
our thrifty people.
Equivalent to COnfscattOn,
Free coinage at the arbitrary rate of
sixteen ounces of silver to one of gold
would be equivalent to the confiscation of
nearly half the savings that these people
have invested. 1t would be tantamount 10
war upon American home makers. It
would be an invasion of ''the homes of the
provident." and tend directly to destroy
the stimulus to endeavor and the compan-
sation of honest TOLL" Every one of the
shareholders of these associations is enti-
tied to be repaid in money of the same
value which he deposited by weekly paw
ments or otherwise in these companies
NO one OF them should be made homeless
because political party demands change
IN the money standard of our country, as
an experiment, as a concession to selfish
ness or greed.
The magnitude of the disaster which
would pvertake these and cosnate inter
ests becomes the more strikingly apparent
when considered In the aggregate. Stated
broadly, the savings banks. life insurance
and assessment companies and building and
1offo ,f
trust $1,000, III, ,3S1. The debasement of
the currency to a silver basis. as proposed
by the Chicago platform. would wipe out at
one blow, approximately, 81 1858 5U4 S56 of
this aggregate. According to the report of
the Department of Agriculture. the total
value of the main cereal crops in this coun-
try in 1894 was $685., ,i3S, 107. So that the
total sum belonging to the people, and held
In trust in these institutions. which would
be obliterated by the triumph Of free and
unlimited silver coinage, would be seven
and one-haf times the total value of the
annual cereal crop of the United States.
The total value of the manufactured prod
ucts Of the country for the census year of
1880 was 1872, 537 ,2S5. The establishment
of a silver basis of value, as now proposed,
would entail loss to these three interests
alone equal to eighty-five per cent of this
enormous output of all the manufacturing
Industries of the Union, and would affect
directly nearly one-third Of its whole popu-
lation.
One hundred and forty million of dollars
per annum are due to pensioners of the late
war. That sum represents blood spilled and
sufferings endured in order to preserve this
nation from diSlntegratiOn. In many cases
the sums paid in pensions are exceeding
ly small in few, IL any. are they excessive.
The spirit that would deplete these to the
extent of a farthing is the same that would
organize sedition, destroy the peace and
security of the country. punish. rather than
reward. our veteran soldiers. and is un
worthy of the countenance, by thought or
of at.i~t o{t, 4F
--,sA What an incon-
%- AECT8 sistent thing hu-