The Portland daily press., 1897-04-14

| Of the Repu ublicans had fegained their
senses and had rallied to the standard
| nf him who founded the Democratic par
ty, and whose motto was equal and exact
justice to all.
Other speakers were Hon. Richard 2.
Bland of Missouri. Joseph c. Sibley OF
Pennsylvania, John j. Hentz of Ohio,
Andrew j. Liscomb of Virginia and
William Su1zer of New York.
Mr.. TOWNE IN BOSTON,.
Famous Minnesota Free Silverite Speaks
Faneuil Hall.
Boston, April 13.-The Massachusetts,
Democratic club observed the birth of
Thomas Jefferson tonight by a banquet
at the American House. Ex-Congress-
man Charles A. Towne of Minnesota.
was the principal guest and speaker.
Philip ]. Doherty, the president of the
club, presided and Mayor Ramsdell of
Lynn, Mass, mad the address Of vel
come to the distinguished orator from
the West. The speeches wers delivered
at. .Faneuil hall. Mr.. Towne spoke as
follows:
The people of the United States are
face to face with mcst grave problem.
Conditions have been forcing it to the
front, both here and in all the gold stan
dard world for over 20 years. AS early
as 1876 a commission. was appointed in
tie United States to inquire into sthe
| change (which has taken place aain the
relative value of gold and silver" etc;
| in 1878 a monetary conference CT the
principal nations of the world was held
| to discuss the same general subject; in
| hpr n 1SSH a I'm
| Iish royal commission; in 1889 confer
ence at the Paris exposition; in 1892
| European conference at London and an
otner at Berlin; in 1897 an American ad-
ministration that proclaims itself pledged
to an attempt to secure settlement of
| this great question through another con-
| ference of the nations.
What is all this inquiry about? These
things have not happened by accident.
/ They denote purpose and imply a
cause The fact is that i'll nations with
| high tariffs, in nations with low tariffs,
\ in nations with no tariff at all. and in
each country under whatever kind of
tariff, for three and twenty years the
constructing grip Of the gold standard
has been compressing the energies and
| throttling the industrial life of the world.
Thus far the struggle to cast off its
| hold has been in vain. How long shall
/ this condition conrlnue9 sAre we c0m-
These are the questions that we must
ask in earnestness and consider with
solemn attention.
The situation in the United States has
in some respects been peculiar. AT the
time the law of 1873 was passed We had
practically neither gold nor silver in oir-
culation, but Wers upon basis of ire
deemable paper. Little attention was
therefore paid to the passage of this law,
andswhen resumption came in 1879 it was
made easier for ns than would have been
the case by the fact that kin the previous
year the Bland-AlliSon law had gone into
effect, whereunder there were coined
from March, 1878, to July, 1890, over 37e
millions of silver dollars.
In August, 1890, coinage began under
the Sherman law, as it was called, which
provided for the purchase of 4,500, 00O
ounces of silver per month, and the
monthly coinage of 1000 200 ounces there
of until July !, 1891, he coinage there
after to be only such as was necessary to
provide for the redemLti tion of treasury
notes issusd in payment for the bullion.
Under the latter law about ~ millions OF
silver dollars were coined in the fiscal
year 1891, and thereafter an average of
about three millions per year until the
repeal of the law Nov. l, 1883.
thus it viii be seen that We enjoyed
the access uf thess hundreds of millions
Of what was money for nll purposes, intn
the currency of the United States, when
but for this Legislation we should have
foun / it necessary to get along with
gold alone The effect of this new money
was most pronounced.
1t was we'll stated by President Harrl-
son, in his annual message OF 1880, as
follows: "It is curious 10 note that The
advance in the prices OF articles wholly
unaffected by the tariff act tviz; the
Mckinley law) was BY many hastily ns-
cribed to that act. Notice was not taken
of the fact that the general tendency OF
the markets was upward from influences
wholly apart from the recent tariff legis-
lation. The enlargement OF our currency
by the silver bill undoubtedly gave an
upward tendency to trade and had @
marked effect on prices; but this natural
and desired effect of the silver legislation
was by many erroneously a6trlbuted to
the tariff act. F"
You will not fail to observe that the
depression in the United staues, which
we have mourned SO tragically during
the past five OF six years, was practically
coinoident with the cessation OF this sup
ply OF silver money. very little @ OF that
silver has been coined since 1891, and the
fall of prices, gradually and intermit-
tent from 1878 until then, has EeeD
! regular and preoipitate ever since.
Average prices have declined aoout l5
per cent within that time and prices OF
agricultural products on an average at
least of g5 per cent
! Inde ed, comparing the prices Of the
great agricultural staples, the fall has
neen much more than that. For exam
pIe. if the American farmer had been
! peImitted to pay $1,000 of Indebtedness
from his three crops Of corn, wheat ana
oats. he could have paid 1t in 1890 with
| 184I bushels, whereas last year it would
! have required 1868 bushels, n fall of prac-
tically so rer cent.
We hear much of which the proposed
new tariff is to do. We ought to know,
in the light Of history and reason. that
| it can accomplish but little good and
that that little must be temporary.
We are suffering from more funda
mental disease than faulty tariff sys-
tenn N 1te the fact, for example, that
in the wear 1891 the total value of the
lamentations into this country of goods
either wholly OF partly manufactured
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