The record-union., 1898-09-15
Second Days Session Of the Con-
Vention at Omaha.
Able Papers Read on Both Sides Of the
Money Question.
Charles A. Towne Presents the
While Judge A. L. Crawford of
Texas and Others Speak in Ad-
vocacy of Maintaining a Gold
Standard.


OMAHA, Sept 14.-At the morning
session Of the monetary conference,
Mr.. Crawford, who was 10 have spok-
en- yesterday, but did not reach Omaha
in time, read his paper. Judge A. L.
Crawford of Dallas, Texas, speaking in
opposition to free silver. coinage, said
in part:
'The free coinage of silver at 16 to
/ means not bimetallism, but silver
monometalism: not a double stand
ard When the Government makes a
certain weight of one metal, the law
equivalent Of a defined weight of an
other metal as money, the overvalued
metal is the cheaper and drives the
other out, and bimetallism exists only
on the statute books. 1t is theo~y and
not a fact. This is Gresham's law 1t
is changeless. The coinage history of
our own and every other nation demon
strated it's truth.
IF you make a dollar that is not
worth a gold dollar, you derange the
currency, confuse all values and intlict
great injury upon the people Of this
country. Let us ask ourselves if there
is now existing n this country a condi-
ton which would justify or excuse the
adoption of a monetary system and a
standard of value at war with that
maintained by all the great commercial
nations Of the earth. More than nine
tenthS of our commerce is with the
gold standard countries. Our exports
vastly exceed our imports; the balance
of trade is in our favor, and to settle it
gold is pouring in upon us in IN al
most unbroken stream. Our locomo-
tives pull the trains in Siberia and ia
pan; our reapers can be seen in the
harvest fields all over the world; our
European dudes ride the American
wheel. We have entered the contest
for commercial supremacy of the world.
IT we would win we must have gold
for our standard and smokeless powder
for our guns. This country is not going
to ruin. We are better off now than
ever before, and conditions are i'm
proving all the time. We ,lay higher
wages than any land on earth, and our
laboring people enjoy more Of the COM
forts and luxuries of life. What coun-
try has made such progress in so short
a time? We don't want to change our
policy. We can't afford to risk an
experiment. All we want the Govern
nlent to do is to maintain a financial
system in harmony with the other
great nations of the world, and eives us
a banking system that will equalize the
tween all sections of the country The
good sense Of the American people
will do the rest
Chairman Towne of the Silver Repub-
lican National Committee, who was
presiding, called Senator Allen to the
chair
In taking the chair to preside for the
silver day, Senator Allen of Nebraska
voiced a hearty welcome on behalf of
his State to the champions of all sides
of the money question, who had met to
discuss the merits of their respective
claims. Abiding to Horace Whites
reference to his speech against the
Cleveland bond issue, he said:
II said then and say now that there
was not the slightest authority in the
statutes of the country for that bond
issue, but the American people are tco
generous, as we'll as just, to stand Upon
a. technicality, and they VIII pay them
dollar for dollar for the money re-
ceived.
81 cannot conceive how q man can be
a gold monometallist who wants justice
and to see men enjoy the fruits Of their
labors If a man desires to see a small
volume of money and the resultant
spoliation of business by the creditor
class, I can understand why he should
defend the gold standard. I wish this
debate could be repeated in every city,
village and hamlet in the country, but
to me it is hard to conceive that there
should be any controversy over what
constitutes money. Money is a crea-
ton of law Qoud applause), and this
has been the doctrine of all authorities
on finance from Aristotle to the pres
ent day.
Mr.. Towne then took the floor and
delivered his address. Mr.. Towne sub
divided his address into eleven propo-
sitions as follows: Money is purchas-
ing power" Stability Of value the
test of good money" Failing prices
an evil,' "Appreciating money neither
sound nor honest" 1.-The gold standard
unsound and dishonest, . There was
every reason to anticipate the results
of demonetization, THE effects of de-
monetization were foreseen and fore
told,' Vain efforts to break the force
of conclusion" Persistent condition
intolerabIe,' The restoration of silver
the only alternative" ''The United
States alone can maintain the parity of
16 to II
.sThe endowment of silver with all
the dignity and power of gold would
greatly add to it's demand. The effect
would be that gold would fall toward
silver and silver would rise toward
gold, the result being gradual eleva
ton of average prices that would
eventually reach a compromise about
half way between their present level
and that from which they fell, or an
advance of about 25 per cent.
but we are told that all the gold
in the country, estimated at over $780,
100000, would be driven out of the
country if the mints We're opened to
silver There is no more grotesque fig
ure of speech in frequent use to-day
that this of the gold advocates, which
represents the alleged expulsion of
gold. 1t is as if the first few silver
dollars that should percolate through
the mint were instantly to seek out