The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-09-16
au,o DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.
assertions and Arguments Con-
Hs ;dereI and Answered..

.-t;ons and Arguments Com
Hs .;dereI and Answered.
,,v,ng that the money question is
Recognit.,oo all others at this time, we In
paramao,nannt ;on TO the fact that the Constitu'
vite a tlens silver and gold together as the
ton na metals of the United States.
nO %s;s statement is inaccurate and inten-
III a,Ir misleading. The only place. IN
uu y;nb the constitution names silver ana
wiz. .oCetber" is where it declares that
gol' State shall make anything but gold
~ oliver coin a tender in payment OF
s suh,s {" 1t does not say that silver ana
ue ,s sball both be coined in an unlimited
sO'u un or. or that either one or both shall be
ma :aod of ALI. but specifically gives to Con-
eO the mower to determine what the
s,s 400 of the United States shall be, botn
:" 70 the metals used and their relations,
=. saving in explicit terms in section .:
uTho Congress shall have power to coin
money and regulate the value Thereon:
:. doss NOT name silver and gold togeth-
=. &c the platform says, but names gold
"a oliver together, pointedly giving the
n-ofprence to gold by saying in section
n. "No State shall make anything but
a0n and silver coin payment for debts.
II ANYTHING is to be inferred as to the re-
,a.;on which it intended that the two
metals should bear it is clearly that goid
wos 70 be preferred, since it is first named
IN the only place where the metals are
mentioned. If the trainers of the platform
usntad TO he frank. why did they not
follow the wording Of the constitution IN
their statement and say ''gOld and silver
instead of reversing it and saying "silver
and gold!'
The first coinage law passed by Congress
under the Constitution made the silver DOL
lar fine money unit and admitted gold TO free
coinage at ratio based upon the silver dol
lar unit.
The first coinage law clearly made gold
standard by first naming all the gold
coins which, it said, should be of the
value of given number Of units, and said
that the unit should be ''of the value of
sSpansh miled dollar as the same is now
current, and to contain 416 grains of
standard silver" If the advocates OF
silver insist that this act interpreted the
meaning of the constitution and that this
Interpretation must be followed, why do
they now insist upon a standard silver dol
lar with only 3121a grains of silver in
stead of the 416 grains which the act
specifically names? By their own propo-
sition they demand a violation Of what
they claim is constitutional requirement.
This act which they claim is an interpre-
tatOn of the constitution on this ques-
ton provides that ''every fifteen pounds
weight of pure silver shall be of equal
value in all payments with one pound
weight of pure gold" If this is an inter-
pretatiOn of the constitution why do these
sticklers for its observance propose to vio-
late it by saying that every sixteen
pounds weight of silver shall now be
equal to one pound Of gold? Would there
not be equal authority for saying that
every seventeen or eighteen or twenty or
thirty pounds weight of silver shall be
equal to one pound weight Of gold? By
their own proposition to change the ratio
they admit that neither the constitution
nor the first act passed under it is binding
as to the future relations of gold and sill
yer as money. The fact that this act spe-
clfcaly said that every fifteen pounds
weight of pure silver shall be of equal
value with one pound weight of pure gold"
indicates that gold was intended to be
Inc measure of value, for had the trainers
OF this act intended that silver should be
tne measure they would have said that
0nepound of gold should be equal in value
70 fifteen pounds of silver. Alexander
hamilton, who was one Of the trainers of
Inc constitution and whose report to Con-
gfess was the basis of this act, said of
Inc alleged unit. the Spanish dollar, ''that
species OF coin has never had any settled
or standard value while gold
aas liked price by weight with an eve
10 It's hneness. This greater stability of
ne value of gold coins is an argument of
iofce for regarding the money unit as hav-
ing been hitherto virtually attached to
goa rather than silver"
II the trainers of this platform insist
.aal Inc hrst coinage act passed under
~e constitution Is an exact Interpretation
" Tue meaning of that instrument, why
nave they and their party always insisted
'nat protective tariff is violation of the
eOnSututlon when they know that the
,u! arst act passed under that constitu-
aon declared that the tariff duties which
lesied were for the support of govern.
ss en' ana the encouragement and protec-
uoh OF manufactures
Medeclare that the act of 1879 domonot,.
n us sllVer without the knowledge and an
~, VI the american people, etc
ine act of 1873 did not demoaetize sill
. ..i, as is claimed by this sentence of the
,oa. The act itself says in specific
s t.mS mat this act shall not be CON
on ueu 10 AFFECT any act done, right ac-
au"eu or penalty incurred under former
Ss . Iul every such right is hereby saw
Sa ~, mus clearly stating that it did NOT
n.;u any of the coins authorized
fa"n 10 mat date, while every one of tho
~. .uu' hundred and fifty million standord
tha. uoiiars coined since the passage of
ls"a, act is and has constantly been = fnll
Sa sa' lender, and none of them is mr. hos
0ee a demonetized " ""S
ont tha az. ol 1913 was not passed with
l amo .ae knowledge and approval Of tho
I !. people" as the platform oscorts
,s- was submitted to Congress in 49,; ~
n,o " printed thirteen times, discussed at
vss,,, |, until Jan. l, 1873 NEARLY thrae
la ID, tne debates and discussions fIl;no
whio pases OF the Congressional Record
sions =; was published daily during the SOS
Am us IL which it was discussed Tho
to tn"a people had ample opportnn;tv
tboa Anow all of its provisions ana .hs.
show" as no popular disapproval OF If ;s
S iau"n by the fact that 1l2 Of tha =, - IS
re.elac vt sne House which passed it were
serve ;e many many of them continuing to
lives IN Congress to the end of tho;.