The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-11-12

Idios-Dsclarasion Of the Gold standard
BY the Prssid. mt ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Declared d Address to b Poo
PIE
New York. November e.-The semi
annual meeting OF the executive COM
mittee of the National Sound Money
League was begun here today
General Secretary Smalley read a
communication from NJ. c. George,
vice president for Oregon. who wrote
tina he was with the league In all the
great questions relating to the currency
and realizes the necessity for agrees
sive work. AS to the state. in many
places the league would find it honey
combed with financial ignorance and
error. The light, he said. should be
made to shine in all the lark places.
On motion of Mr.. ingalls,. OF Cincin-
natl. it was voted to appropriate 81. 900
TO aid Mr.. George in spreading the
light in Oregon.
j. X. Cowen, OF Baltimore. reported
that things We're satisfactory in his ter
ritory and added hat Maryland did
not need IN financial aid from the
national league.
]. Sterling Morton. vice president OF
the league for Nebraska, wrote: Mr..
Bryan and his disciples are actively
engaged in propaganda of money fall
lacies. They have united in one con-
glorate all the fanatics, bigots and i'd
lots in this state for the purpose of
UNFOLDING the free coinage OF silver at
a ratio Of 16 to 1. 1t is very painful
to observe that this aggregation may
quite possibly make a majority OF 20.-
600 at the coming election for candi-
dates who represent all that is inimical
and disastrous to agriculture and. liz
fact, to sound money government ev-
erywhere."
Judge w. NJ. REESE, vice president of
the league for Arkansas, wrote: There
is no change in his state. There is an
overwhelming majority for free silver
and Organism in any congressional dis
trict."
Charlie F. Libby. vice president of
the league for Maine, wrote in part:
so far as Maine is concerned, / do not
think that the silver question will be
an issue in the congressional campaign
next year."
James L. Blair, of ST. Louis, wrote:
ION the whole, / cannot say hat l
feel encouraged over the situation in
Missouri"
William G. Cornwell, Of Buffalo, re-
ported that as far as he could ascer-
tain both in the eastern and western
parts of the state the free silver sem
timent was actively dying out.
Louis Enrich, of Colorado Springs,
reported that nothing but better times
can bring about a change in the free
silver sentiment in Colorado. THE
only thing to affect the west" ne said.
lis better times, and 1 would now sug-
gest that the league come out boldly
and ask the president Of the United
States to proclaim the gold standard
as the money basis of the country"
President Leighton thought it high
ly ~inexpedient for the league to COM
NIT itself on this point at the present
time.
M. E.. ingalls,, of Cincinnati, aid
The result Of h recent campaign
shows cOnclusively hat the south will
again drift back to the democracy and
free silver" Continuing, he said that
t h great danger now is a tendency
to drift into a new banking law, which
to hi country will be fraught with
danger"
On motion of H. P. Robinson. of Chi
cagO, it was resolved that q committee
be appointed to receive and consider
the report Of the monetary commission
when it is made and t o call a meeting
Of the executive committee if it Is
considered necessary hat action be
taken thereon.
A committee, comprising Louis r.
Enrich, Mr.. Leighton. Secretary Small
ley, Gustav H. Schwab and William c.
Cornwell, was appointed to epa a
declaration for international bimetal-
lism, to the effect that b~imetallism is
dead and that gold should be the
standard of the country.
A recess was then taken.
Before re-assembling the members of
the committee said that President Nc
Kinley a stated his intention Of rec
Ommending in his next message to con-
gress the advisability of separating the
issue department Of the treasury from
the regular government expense ac-
counts. In other words. it will be
proposed to hold the gold reserve as a
redemption fund for greenbacks-to
make the gold and g~reenbacks inter-
changeable. 1t was said that President
Mckinley had spoken freely on Monday
with a prominent official of the Ma
tional Sound Money League on this
question.
When h committee resumed its ses-
sion Lou r. Enrich, Of Colorado
Springs, as chairman of one of the sub
committees, read the following ad-
dress:
The executive committee of the Ma
tional Sound Money League, in behalf
OF its members throughout the United
States, issues the following address:
international bimetallism, as a
world possibility, is Fac Let us rec
ognize this. The international bime-
tallic commission appointed under the
st. Louis pledge Of the republican par
~, have made strenuous efforts en- be-
half of this policy. Those efforts have
proved futile. The commercial necessi-
ties of the world have demonstrated
that a dual standard is commercially
unacceptable and in the present stage
OF civilization, impossible. The hour
has come, it seems to us. when a ma
tional recognition of this fact is nee
essary.
The situation demands a definite,
clear, uneuuivOcal declaration that in