The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-09-25
THE INTELLIGENCER.


A silverlte down in Kentucky, named
George Gilbert, claims to have discover
ed that 1t was the divine Intention that
gold and silver should be used as money
and that whosOever dlscriminates
against silver violates the implied law OF
the Almighty. He says: God has put
granite and stone IN the earth for build
ing purposes; coal for ruel; diamonds
for ornaments, and gold and silver for
money; and those who discriminate
against silver work against the intention
OF the Most High God and make them
selves blasphemers."
Col Henry Watterson himself pref
ty good Democrat, but not one who is fol-
lowing the boy orator of the Platte,
brings this Daniel to Judgment, and
shows clearly who the blasphemer is.
I'VE knew" says the colonel in the Lou
isyille Courier Journal that there were
stone and granite In the earth. but we
did not know that they were Intended
exclusively for building purposes. We
had supposed that the making Of lime
out of lime stone, and that the making of
carboiic acid gas from marble dust or
other substances containing the gas. for
use at soda fountains or in the labara-
tory was within the rights of men," He
then shows that, according to the Ken
lucky silverite, when the ancients made
bricks with which to build the tower of
Babel. instead of digging stone and
granite out OF the earth, they became
blasphemers. and that this must have
been the reason for the confusion of
tongues and the dispersion OF the people
about the earth,
And then, too, the ancients found gold
and silver in the earth, but they did not
know It was wicked to discriminate
against silver. They did not have the
Kentucky prophet to tell them about 1t.
They simply used 1t as money by weight
at the market value. It was not until
century and a half before Christ that the
Lords chosen people, the Hebrews, be-
gan to coin It, while the standard of the
Romans was copper. The Courier Jour-
nal. continuing, says:
But as our forefathers found gold and
silver, copper lead and zinc and many
other metals or their ores In the earth,
how could they know which they should
use for money, and that there was a
divine Introduction against dlscrlmina-
ton against silver? Obviously as they
had no prophets to tell them this, they
could not know 1t at all. They depended
on human wisdom to guide them. and
were punished for their pride OF opinion
and their blindness, for they gave the
preference to gold. Solomon has been
accounted the wlsest of men, but we
read in Holy Writ that all his drinking
vessels were OF gold; "all the vessels Of
the forest of Lebanon were OF pure g0ld
none were Of silver; II was not anything
accounted OF in the days VI Solomon"
We are also told that Solomon made
silver In Jerusalem as stones" strong
Instance of discrimination against silver,
which we now understand may have
been the reason for the revolt of Reho-
bNam and the Ten Tribes. All this was
for want OF Mr.. Gilbert, OF Shelby, to
warn Solomon that he was going too far
with silver.
It has been a good deal OF puzzle how
l6 to l became known as the divine
ratio" The fathers Of the constitution
did not understand 1t, because they fixed
the ratio at 10 to /. Gilbert was not there
in person or by proxy Jackson some
how hit upon the l6 TO ratio. but we re-
gret to say It was done with view to
making gold the standard.
1t Is pity that this Kentucky prophet
was not living in all the ages Of the
world to warn people against the COM
mission of the blasphemy OF dIscrimin-
atIng against silver, and OF putting other
things found In the ground to uses other
than those which the prophet solemnly
declares they were Intended II has al
ways been supposed that to the judy
ment NJ man was left the work Of put
ting natures products to use, but the
Kentucky silver prophet has overturned
this belief OF the centuries, and now we
must halt and begin all over again. The
prophets OF old knew nothing. What a
pity George Gilbert, the Bryanlte, didn't
live In those days.