Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-09-14
OMAHA CURRENCY CONVENTION BE-
GAN YESTERDAY.
J. STERLING MORTON PREsIDES
FIATISTs CAN'T KEEP STILL UNTIL
THEIR TURN COMES.
by Horace White, H. r.
Robinson, Louis Enrich, Govern
or Shaw and General War
ner-Shaw a Gold Mon
OmetaIlist.

OMAHA, NEB., Sept. 13-One of the most
distinguished gatherings of financial STU
dents and authorities that ever assembled
opened a three days session at the Ne
braska building on the exposition grounds
this morning. Scarcely well known name
on either side of the great currency prob
lem which has been so long before the
American people but is represented on the
programme for set paper or part IN the
running debate. ]. Sterling Morton Is pre-
siding to-day.
Shortly after 10 O'Clock, Mr.. Morton
called the convention to order, and, with
out any unusual formality. beyond a few
words of explanation and welcome, deliv-
cred an address upholding the gold stand
ard. and then read Mr.. Edward Atkinsons s
paper.
There was no debate on Mr.. Atkinson's
paper. and Editor Horace White, of the
New York Evening Post, opened the con-
ference proper with a paper or THE His
tory of the Gold Standard
FL. f. Bartine, of the National Bimetal-
list, of Washington, d. c., replied to Mr.
White, beginning with support of the
legal tender theory of money in general.
He denied that either Mr.. Atkinson or Mr..
White had made any affirmative showing
in behalf of the gold standard In fact, he
denied that any affirmative showing could
be made for it. The same law that made
25.S grains of gold dollar could have made
dollar of half that amount, and, under
the law making this a standard dollar, il
there. were only one ounce OF gold in the
world, 1t would not be worth more than
5000. The gold standard, wherever it eN-
listed, was a creature of law and nothing
else. Gold had no particular intrinsic value.
Its value as q money metal was altogether
eXtrinsic, depending upon its relation to
other things, and its exchange value was
altogether dependent
ply and demand. The difference between
the supporters of Bryan and those of Nc
difference of method. One element believed
in the free coinage of silver independently,
and the other in waiting for an interna-
He made the statement that, in the last
election, practically 13,500.O1O voters had
gone on record for the free coinage Of sill
equivocally for the perpetuation of the
gold standard. He quoted Jeveons to DEM
onstrate that the general establishment of
the gold standard throughout the world
would operate disaStrously to business.
Speaking for an hour he went into all the
arguments in support of silver as money
metal co-ordinatefy with gold at sixteen to
one
almost mouth to mouth contest between the
gold and silver Sides with the middle-of-
the-road editors of the Reform Press As
sociation strongly in evidence for their IA
vorite theory of an irredeemable paper
currency. The fiatists are the most impa-
tient to be heard and can hardly wait until
Thursday: which is their day, for the ad-
vocacy of paper money, and their inter-
ruptions were fast and numerous.
The first speaker was H. P. Robinson,
answered number of Mr.. Bartine's points
of argument, and contended strongly for
the necessity for maintaining the natianal
honor by paying off the obligations of the
country in as good money as they were
contracted in.
His real subject, though. was THE In
terest of Railway Men in the Gold Stand
ard" and he predicted that the 40. 900 rail-
way employees of the country who voted for
Mr.. Mckinley in the last election would do
so again in 1850 for the sake of their own
interests as they wanted their wages paid
in dollars of a purchasing power equal to
that of the money in which they are now
paid.