The Penn's Grove record., 1897-07-02
SECOND DECLARATION OF NpEpENpENCE


OF Death.
On Monday, July 9Th, the 121st a%nniver-
sary of the political independence of Amer
lea will be celebrated. In many places the
flag of our boosted liberty will be flung to
the breeze and the orators will make the ca
gle screech. Our forefathers declared their
independence because of a small tea and
stamp tax but to-day Great Britain is tax
ing Americans about $3.50, 600, 900 a year
on five billions of gold bonds for The use of
money our own national Congress should
order made. The acts of our i~orefathers is
heroic because distance lends ~enchaHtment.
Let the dead past bury its dead,
Act in the living present, look ahead.
Never mind what our forefathers did.
What are we doing to-day to gain the fin
ancial liberty of our Country, to free us
from the bonds of British gold. The old
Declaration of Independence had its day.
On Monday read the new one promulgated
at Chicago July 2, 1896, the one which the
orators of so years hence will proclaim a.
the greatest document ever issued in this
generation. Every school child should paste
the following in their history after the De-
claration of Independence of their fore faith
ers, because it contains great historic facts,
which will live as long as the world stands.
1--WE invite attention to the fact that the
constitution names silver and gold together
as the money metals of the United States,
and that the first coinage law passed by
Congress under the constitution made the
| silver dollar the money unit, and admitted
gold to free coinage at a ratio based upon
the silver dollar unit. We declare that the
act of 1878 demonetizing silver without the
knowledge or approval of the American peo-
pie has resulted in the appreciation of gold
and a corresponding fall lin the prices OF
| commodities produced by the people, a
heavy increase in the burden of taxation
and of all debts, public and private, the en-
riehment of. the money-lending classes at
home and abroad, the prostration of indus
try and impoverishment of the people.
"We are unalterably opposed to mono
metallism, which has locked fast the pros
perity of an industrial people in the paraly'
sis of hard times. Gold monometallism il
a British policy, and its adoption has
brought other nations into financial servi'
tude to London. 1t is not only un-Ameri'
can, but anti-American, and it can be fast
ened on the United States only by the stiff.
ling of that spirit and love Of liberty which
proclaimed our political independence in
1776 and won it in the
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.
1--WE demand the free and unlimited coin
age of both silver and gold at the present
legal ratio of 16 to 1, without waiting fol
the aid or consent of any other nation. w
demand that the standard silver dollar shall
be a full legal tender, equally with gold
for all debts, public and private, and W.
favor such legislation as will prevent fo
the future the demonstration Of any kline
of legal tender money by private contract.
1--WE are opposed to the policy and Eprae
tice of ~surrendering TO the holders of the OBJ
legations of the United States the option re
served by law to the Government of redeem
ing such obligations in either silver coin o
gold coin. We are opposed to the issuing
of int~erest-bearing bonds of the United
States in time of peace, and condemn tn
traficking with banking syndicates which
in exchange for bonds and at an enormou
profit to themselves, supply the Fedora
Treasury with gold to maintain the polic1
Of gold monometallism.
Congress alone has the power to coin ant
issue money, and President jackson declar
ed this power could not be delegated to cor
po1ations or individuals. We, therefore
denounce the issuance of notes intended t.
circulate as money by national banks as ii
derogation of the constitution, and We de
mand that all paper which is made a lega
tender for public and private debts or which
is receivable for duties to the United State
shall be issuedsby the Government of thu
United States and shall be redeemable il
coin.v