The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-09-02
The Ohio Democratic Platform.

1--WE areunalterably opposed to monomet
alism which has locked fast the property OF
an industrious people in the paralysis OF
hard times.
The adoption of the free coinage of sill
yer at the ratio of Is to l would result in
! true monometalism, with silver as the
money metal. This is proved by the fact
! that every country which has attempted
to retain the silver standard or the con-
! current free coinage of both metals at a
ratio widely different from the commercial
ratio of the two metals has lost all of its
gold and retained only silver currency
and true monometalism, while other ma
lions making gold the standard and coin
ing silver on government account circulate
both metals in large quantities, approach
ing thus more nearly to true bimetalism
than those which by the free and unlimi-
ted coinage OF silver at a ratio widely
different from the commercial ratio of the
two metals obtained only silver mono
metalism. The condition of the people of
the countries maintaining the gold stand
ard, Oh what the trainers OF this platform
term gold monometalism. is one of vastly
greater prosperity than that Of the people
OF the countries maintaining the silver
standard, There is more money per capita,
better wages. better bones, more com
forts Of life. more education and more
general intelligence among the people of
the gold standard countries than among
those Of any Of the countries having the
silver standard. Mexico. which is probab-
ly the most prosperous of the silver stand
ard Countries, has total OF 81 - per
capita fol its people. the South American
States per capita of less than So aside
from the uncovered and deprecated pa
per. China - ::}3. the Central American
states S3.6G, while Germany has $3.50
pei capita, Great Britain so. IS per capita,
nitei States 922.51 per capita. Neither
lands 81 - per capita, and France S35. ~
per capita. Recommendation has indeed
''locIed fast the property of an industrial
people in the paralysis of hard times
wherever it has been established by the
process proposed by this platform, viz:
the unlimited coinage Of both metals at a
ratio widely differing from their relative
commercial value.
Gold monometalism is British policy
and has brought other nations into financial
servitude to London.
1t is also a German policy, French
policy, Belgian policy, an Austro- Hun
garian policy, Netherlands policy, a
Danish policy, Russian policy, Gillian
policy, Peruvian policy, a Japanese
policy, and in fact the policy of the most
enlightened and progressive nations the
world over. If the United States were to
abandon her present system and under
take greatly enlarged use of silver with
out the cooperation of other nations she
would abandon the company of the most
intelligent. enlightened and prosperous
nations of the world and join the ranks
Of the weakest and least intelligent ma
tions, all of which are Fastening to adopt
the gold standard as rapidly as possible.
ut is not only I'M A merican but anti
American and it can be fastened on the
United States only by the sitting of that
spirit and love Of liberty which proclaimed
our political Independence in 1116 and Won
it III the war OF tie revolution
The "spiIit and love of liberty which
proclaimed our independence in 1716'
and which is still strong in the minds of
the people of the United States i S not in
favor of reducing the citizens of this coun-
Try to the level of poverty, degradation,
ignorance and practical enslavement which
characterize the condition of the masses
in the few remaining silver standard coun-
tries of the world to- day. The only at
tempt to ''stitie the spirit of love of liber-
ty'' ever made in the United States began
in 1861 by the very party and the very
leaders who are now proposing to degrade
the working people of this country to a
evel of those least intelligent and pros
porous on the face of the earth.