The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-10-09

NHt~lHltA anu VIII pIHuHNf II panic tne
like ~ which the present hard times
would be- as a summer storm before
"A hurricane. There are some things you
can dcGy. but there are other great un-
written truths that cann0, be disputed,
and the fact that the IRE coinage OF sill
Yer by this country today would drive
out gold is an undigputed fact to any
honest and sensible man. This gold Is
now In the hands Of the banks FOR the
purpose Of discounts and you and I
aud everybody who borrow money get
the benefit Off
Ny friends, I told you what happened
ia 1922 In this country and again In 1894.
In 1861 we had q little unpleasantness
and both sides went to issuing shin
plusters. They had the same old ex-
cuse that people always have who put
out tiat money. that II was necessary 20
save the country. In the North we
issued a large amount Of grecnbacks.
we issued them as war measure. we
made them legal tender; but the mo-
ment they were issued they began TO
drive out our gold and In six months
we had no specie. and were on paper
basis.
In 1865. when the war ended, the gov
crnment paid up It's obligations. except
the greenbacks. In 1874 they undertook
to increase the Issue and 1t was only
saved by the veto OF General Grant.
The proposition was fought out in 1875
and 1876. and the greenback fellows
were beaten and we resumed specie
payments January l. 1879. In 1873, when
there wasn't dollar specie circulating
when there hadn't been a silver dollar
coined for years, when. n It had been
coined II would not have circulated.
but would have been melted down and
sold. the congress OF the United States
undertook 10 revise the coinage laws
and they passed what Is known as the
law OF 1873. by which they reduced the
legal tender valut of silver and by
which they made gold the standard. II
was righteous and proper law. and one
that was intended TO put the CONNER
cial interest Of this country on parity
with the other great civilized nations
Of the world. II was a law. which was
passed after weeks and months Of delib-
Grafton, and the man who tells you It
was a crime or passed surreptitiously
Is either a knave or fool We got
through the panic OF 1873 and We resum-
cd upon the first OF January, 1879, upon
n gold basis. But the silver mine own
ers had taken alarm at the overproduc-
ton OF silver, and to protect them
selves they raised the cry that silver
was demonetized, and in an evil mo-
ment. In 1878, there was passed what
was known as the Bland bill, by which
the government was authorized to pur-
chase and coin two millions of silver
a month. Not content with this. in 1890
they passed what was known as the
Sherman law, by which the government
was to purchase $500. 900 ounces OF silver
a month and coin dollars or issue silver
certificates for the same. They loaded
up the country with this useless curren- .
cy, for nobody took the silver dollars;
they are in the vaults at Washington
today; but they so loaded up the country
that in 1898 we had a great panic. This
panic forced the repeal Of the sherman
law and left us upon a gold basis.
Such, in brief is the history of our
currency and silver legislation. We
have been practically upon gold basis
since 1884. and by law since 1878, and
the proposition now presented to the
people is whether we shall change the
standard of value which has existed for
so many years and establish new one.
think have shown you conclusively /
that the free coinage OF silver by this
at the ratio of l6 to /, would not
that of gold but that II would drive
out of circulation what gold we have.
The best proof OF this latter fact is that
no country on earth where there is free
coinage of silver and gold at different
'atlo than the commercial one, is there
my gold in circulation, Look at Mex
co, China, and South American repub-
les; they all have silver, but no gold
rhe only countries that have silver and
gold both in circulation are those which,
ike our own, have limited coinage and
egal tender qualities of silver.
The chief reason urged by Mr. Bryan
md his adherents for a change is that
We are having hard times, and that
hese hard times are due to the fact ,
hat we have demonetized silver, that {
We have not circulation enough for the q,
leeds of the people. They forget that I
~ their own story silver was demonet- /
zed more than twenty years ago, and ,
We have had extraordinarily good times {
Until within the last two or three years. I
rhey forget the fact that we have more 5
per capita than ever before !
II the history of the country, and we {
ire using more silver than ever before. I
They further forget the fact that in S
he year 1895 there was more gold mined
md coined by the world than ever be- |
ore in its history. and more than the
production of gold and silver {
n any one year previous to 1886. &
My friends, I have heard much talk I
lbout the coercion of railway employees ,
" railway corporations. / do not be- {
Continued on Fourth Page.)