Omaha daily bee., 1896-08-28
CANDID FREE srLvERIrEs.
Coming out Flntfooted for n Dcprc-
cjnte1 Dollar.

Louisville ourier-JouruaL
A short time ago the Courier-Journal pub.
lished the gist Of the ablest defense OF the
free silver policy which this paper has re.
ccivcd from any of its contributors. 1t was
from a Kentucky farmer, who addressed
himself to the advocacy Of free coinage
earnestly, thoughtfully and argumentatively.
Asking at what ratio should our mints be
opened to the free, unlimited and indie
pendent coinage OF silver, he wrote:
TO this question | answer unreservedly
16 to /. If the people want bimetallism at
all they want the currency deprecated and
this is what would be done il the ratio of
l6 to should be adopted. 1t is not parity
which we want; 1t is not concurrent %circula-
ton; If gold does not circulate here it will
circulate elsewhere, as it is now doing; it
will still form a portion Of the worlds money
supply. We will have no need for gold
silver will be our money, and it will be
what we want, n deprecated currency"
We publish today an authorized interview
with Judge w. S. McClain of Little Rock.
leader of the free silver forces in Arkansas,
VINO boldly and frankly takes the same
ground:
81 am sometimes asked he SAYS. eff |
believe the reconciliation of silver would
increase its value so as to make the bullion
in a silver dollar equal to the present gold
dollar. | answer no. If l thought so |
'N' ''''N 'Aiii' bAllb Nllt lto-
t%oration of the coinage of sill
yer. The sole object OF remonctizing sill
yer, as | understand it, is to secure a
cheaper dollar with which to measure and
regulate prices.
"if we would only adopt the silver dol
lar as the unit and measure of value" he
explains, I'VE would thereby have a money
that would be a little more than half as
valuable as gold and it would be exactly
what We want
Tho iudpp rprnpnizcs that tbis urouI1
swindle creditors, and he is not sure that
private debts existing before the passage of
a free coinage act ought not to be paid in
gold, suggesting that perhaps a proviso to
that effect should be placed in the act which
Mr.. Bryan is to sign. The Judge, however,
does not seem to remember that the plat
forms on which Mr.. Bryan was nominated
declare against any such honesty and forbid
even the making of a gold contract. How
ever, the judge thinks that there is such
a thing as being a fool even about paying
debts" and is not in favor of encouraging
too much honesty in that regard. As to
debts which the government owes, he would
not hesitate to partially repudiate them,
and pay them in the cheap silver, even
though the government received from it's
creditors full value in gold.
This view Of the effects OF free coinage
is undoubtedly the sincere one. and the one
which is entertained by most of those who
are clamoring for free silver. They would
not care for free silver if it would give
them a dollar equal in value to the gold
dollar. Moreover, it is the view taken in
both of Mr.. Bryan's platforms, which for
bid contracts for gold, and which thereby
confess it is not the expectation that free
coinage would make silver money as valua-
Bile and as desirable as gold.
Mr.. Bryan in his New York speech pro-
fessed to believe that free coinage would
raise silver to $1.29 an ounce, at which a
silver dollar would be of the same value as
the gold dollar. In this Mr.. Bryan departs
from his platforms, and if he could prove
his theory most of those free silverites who
are now supporting him would have no
further use for him and free silverism.
What they want is a deprecated dollar, not
another dollar as dear as the gold dollar.