The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-12-06
Observation-Disclosures
CHAPTER ON INDEPENDENT
ACTION-PLAIN FACTS.
Under the Safeguards of the Democratic
Platform the United States Can Coin
Silver Free Without Fear of Foreign
ConspiratOrs.

@. Is it possible for the United
States to put in practice the free and
unlimited coinage of gold and silver
at the ratio of 16 to 1, independent of
the action of gold-standard countries?
A. The United States can, under the
safeguards and restrictions suggested
by the Democratic and other platforms
declaring for free coinage of gold and
silver, put such a law into effect with
out the cooperation of the gold-stand-
ard countries France, with an aver
age population of 35,000,000, main
tanned free coinage of gold and silver
at 1914 to 1 for seventy years, when
there was not half the demand for
money there is now. The fluctuations
of production of the two metals were
greater than ever known during this
period, yet she kept her minis open
to the entire product Of the world, put
ting higher price on silver than could
be had anywhere in the world,
thus fixing and regulating the
price of gold and silver for all the
world and all the time ranking
amongst the most prosperous OF ma
lions. With our 100000 energetic
people, our millions of acres OF unde-
veloped and uncultivated lands, anu
our unlimited fields of profitable IN
vestments begging for capital in large
quantities for their development, we
can surely do now what France ala
while human enterprise was yet IN
swaddling clothes. Mr.. Blaine mad
profound confidence in the ability and
recognized the duty of the country IN
this regard. He said (see page 821
Congressional Record, 1879: This
responsibility Of re-establishing silver
in it's ancient and honorable place as
money in Europe and America de-
wolves really on the congress OF the
United States. If we act here with
prudence, wisdom and firmness, we
shall not only successfully remonetize
silver and bring it into general use as
money in our own country, but the in
fiuence of our example will be poten-
tial among all European nations, with
the possible exception of England. In
deed our annual Indebtedness to Eu
rope is so great that if we have the
right to pay it in silver we necessarily
coerce those nations by the strongest
of all -self-interest-to aid us
in unfolding the value of silver as
money"
@. Under such conditions would Sc
rious loss or injury result to the coun-
try?
A. No. The country was never more
prosperous than during the eighty-one
years we were under such law.
O. But are not the conditions
changed since then and was there not
more demand for silver then than now,
since other countries were then under
free-coinage laws, whereas now they
are not?
A. The conditions as to the demand
are not greatly changed. England de-
monetized silver in 1861, fifty-seven
wears before the United States. The
United States alone would use today,
under free coinage, more silver than
did all the silver-using nations prior
to 1873. According to the census re-
ports we manufactured in 1883 $780,,
600 900 worth of goods, nearly as much
as Great Britain, France and Germany
combined; S2,OOO,O0O,0OO worth more
than gold and silver in the world. Our
railroads carry 60,000,000 tons of
freight annually more than all the rest
of the world transports by rail and
water both. We produce $500, 900
worth more agricultural products than
any nation in the world. Our people