The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-08-27
one ounce of gold. Mexico gahd China

|
bullion is coined anu circulated as
money. Gold has been driven out of
circulation i'll thess countries.
And they are on silver basis alone.
Until International agi cement Is reached
1t is the plain duty of the United s.States
to adopt gold standard. 1t is the reoog-
nized and sole standard of the great COM
mercial nations of the world with which
We trade more largely than any other.
Rig -four per cent of our foreign trade
for the fiscal year 1895 was with the gold
standard countriessand our trade with
other countries was settled on O gold
basis
We now have more silver than gold.
Chiefly by means of legislation during
and since the year 1878 there has been
put IN circulation more than 1921 coo, 600
| OF silver or its representative This has
| been done in the honest effort to give to
silver, If possible, the same bullion and
coinage value and encourage the concur
rent use of both gold and silver money.
Prior to that time there had been coined
less than So, QUO, 600 of silver dollars in the
whole history of the United States,
period of SO years. This legislation se-
cured the largest use of silver consistent
with financial safety and the pledge to
maintain Its party with gold. We have
today moro silver than gold. This has
been accompanied withgrave peril to the
public credit.
The5so-oalled Sherman law sought to
use all the silver product of the United
States for money at its market value.
From 1890 to 1893 the government pur-
chased 4, 800, 600 ounces Of silver month,
or $4,000, 600 ounces year. This was one
third OF the product of the world and
practically all Of this country's product.
1t was believed by those who then and
now favor free coinage that such use of
silver would advance its bullion value
to it's coinage value, But this expectation
was not realized.
In few months not withstanding the
unprecedented market for the silver pro-
duced In the United States, the price
OF silver went down very rapidly, reaoh
ing lower point than ever before.
Then, upon the recommendation of
President Cleveland, both political pa
ties united in the repeal of the silver pnr
chasing clause of the Sherman law. We
cannot with saft ty engage in further ex-
periments in that direction.
Here Mckinley quotes from An address
delivered in 1891 wherein he advocated
international bimetalism.
Continuinglhe says: "The Republican
party has not been and is not now op-
posed to the use of silver money, it's
record abundantly proves. 1t has done all
that could be done for it's Increased use,
with safety and honor by the United
States. acting apart from other govern
ments There are those who think it
has already gone beyond the limit
or financial prudence. Surely we oAn go
no farther, and we must not permit false
light to lure us across the danger lins.
MORE THAN ANY OTHER COUN-
TRY.
We have more silver in use than any
other country in the world except India
or China. The Republican party has
declared in favor of an International
agreement and if elected President it will
be my duty to employ ali proper means
to promote 1t. Tn free coinage of silver
1 would defer, If not defeat fint0rnationl
bimeta1lsm and until an International
agreementscan be had every interest re-
Quires us to.niaintain ouf present stand
ard. Independent free coinage of silver
at ration of 1f ounces of silver to one
ounce of gold would insure the speedy
contraction of the volume of our ourren-
oy. 1t would drive at least 500, 600, 600 of
gold dollars which we now have perman-
emily from the trade of the country and
greatly decrease our per capita .circula-
tion.
1t is not proposed by the Republican par
ty to take from the circulating medium
of the country any of the silver we now
have. On the contrary it is proposed to
keep all the silver money now in oircu-
lation on parity with gold, by main
J tanning the pledge of the government
that all of it shall be equal to gold. This
publican party since 1878. 1t has inaug-
urated no new policy. 1t will keep in
circulation and as good as gold all Of the
silver and paper money which are now
included in the currency of the country.
1t will maintain their parity. 1t will
preserve their equality in the future as
it has in the past. 1t will not consent to
put this country on silver basis which
would inevitably follow independent free
coinage at q ratio of 16 to /. it will
oppose the expulsion of gold from our
circulation. If there is on thing which
should be free from speculation and flut-
uation it is the money of our oounry.
The debassment of the currency means
the destruction OF values. No one suff-
ers SO much from cheap money as the
farmers and laborers. They are the first
to feel it's. bad effects and the last to re-
cover from them. This has been the uni
form experience of oil countries and
here ss elsewhere the poor not the rich
are always the greatest sufferers from
every attempt to debase. our money. 1t
would fall with alarming severity upon
investments already made, upon insur-
ance companies and their policy holders,
upon savings ba nks and their depositors,
upon building and loan association NOM
bers, upon the savings OF thrifty, upon
pensioners and their families, and upon
the wage earners and the purchasing
power of their wages.
The silver issue is not the only issue
affecting our money in the pending con-
test. Not content with urging free coin
age of silver its strongest champions de-
1 mand that our paper money shall be is-
sued directly by the government of the
United States.
Thus in addition to the free coinage of
the worlds silver we are asked to enter
upon an era of unlimited irredeema BILE
paper currency. The question which
was fought out from 1865 to 1879 is thus
to be re. opened, with all Its uncertainties
and cheap money experiments of every
conceivable form toisted upon u.s. Not
satisfied with the debasement of our
coinage which would inevitably follow
the free coinage or silver at 16 to l, they
would still furth er degrade our ouTren cy
and threaten the public honor by the un-
limited issue of an ilredeemable paper
currency.
IARRAYlNG GLASS AGAINST GLASS
/ 1t is q cause for painful recret and