Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1897-08-27

: Thought That All Mankind Had q Pred
: Election For Gold-silverites Who EuIo
I Eizo jackson Should Read History.
I The silver Democrats have been un
. usually profuse this year in eulogies O
! Jefferson aud jackson. They have at
J tempted to make it appear to thosI
with Democratic instincts that it hal
been the regular thing for 100 years fol
Democratic statesmen to champion sid
yer and cheap money. Jefferson's oppo
/. sition to cheap money and Reputation
OF debts, and his advocacy Of a coinage
ratio which should always be kept close
to the natural or market ratio, has been
made clear during the last few months.
The appeals Of the silver Democrats
TO General Jackson are meeting with
the same fate. In recent speech
ex-Congressman Josiah Patterson Of
Tennessee, after calling attention TO tho
fact that previous to 1876 no American
statesman of any party approved Of the
absurd doctrine that government can
maintain bimetallism regardless Of nat
ural ratios, spoke at some length upon
Jackson's position On money and cur
rency. Here is what he said:
Nothing within the range Of po-
litical absurdity could equal the spec
tacle presented by the followers of Bry-
an when they met on tho 9th of Janua-
ny to eulogi2e Jackson, who courageous
~ restored the gold currency.
Have these gentlemen ever paused
long enough in their assault ON the pros
perity OF tho country to inquire why it
was during Jackson's administration
the ratio was changed from 10 to 10 to
II If, as they teach the people, we had
tho concurrent circulation Of gold and
silver from the passage Of the act of
1902 down to the suspension of the coin
age OF tho silver dollar in 1878, why
was this change made? Are they igno-
rant, or do they disguise the fact that
after tho act Of 1909 gold relatively to
silver was undervalued and went out Of
circulation because it was worth lit
tie more as bullion than as money? Do
they forget or do they suppress the fact
that gold remained out OF circulation
for more than 80 years prior to 1884?
Are they uniformed, or do they |
conceal the fact that statesmen illustri- |
GUS in Democratic annals for many |
years prior TO the administration Of |
jackson advocated the restoration of the |
gold currency? Have they never read |
history, or do they withhold the truth,
when they ignore the fact that the bank
of the United States selflshly opposed
the restoration because the people would
prefer its bank notes to currency SO
bulky and inoonvenient as silver? 1t
was jackson who saw tho necessity for
action, and who struck the blow which
crushed tho bank and brought hard
money TO the pockets of the people. 1t
was Thomas II. Benton, speaking for
the administration of jackson, who de-
dared in tho senate that the only way ?
TO crush the power Of the bank was to
restore gold TO circulation. Here was
he necessity and tho only reason for
he passage of the act of 1884 establish
ng the ratio Of 16 TO /.
Tho similarity between tho discus
ZION which took place in 1884 and tho 7
discussion which took place in 1896 is l
triking and instructive. Hard money /
Democrats, i'll supporting the policy of r
Jackson, advanced tho same arguments n
which the sound money Democrats adj S
anced in supporting the policy of
cleveland. IL tho hard money Dem T
Gratis insisted that the differentiation
t gold by tho act Of 1893 forced it out
+ circulation, the sound money Dem
Gratis insisted that the proposition in
no Chicago platform to overvalue sill
cr, if carried into effect. would bring
bout the same result b
If the hard money Democrats recog- OF
lied that the act of 1899 had no per- Ia
sptible influence ON the commercial =
llue of either gold or silver, and the =
lly way to restore gold to circulation ~
as TO change the ratio. the sound mon 81
: Democrats recognized that the free d'
intage of silver at tho ratio of 10 to /
hen tho market ratio was SO TO / pi
ould result inevitably in silver mono ri
etallism. If tho hard money Dem
rats commended THAT all mankind had
for gold. the sound mon-
Democrats commended that gold
andard was preferable 10 silver
andard If the hard money Democrats,
order to maintain the gold currency
hen restored, undervalued silver by
aking the coinage ratio 10 TO when ID
o market ratio was 1853 to /. the
ind money Democrats resisted the
heme 70 overvalue silver so as TO
rec the retirement Of gold. If the hard
oney Democrats, after the passage of
0 act of 1884, pointed with pride and
nltation to the prosperity which fol- Ra
we'd the restoration of the gold cur no
ICY, the sound money Democrats have on
yer faltered in warning their conn l,t
men of the disaster which would fol- Q
v its retirement