The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-26
VERDICT OF THE ELECTION
HENCE THE GOLD STANDARD
SHOULD BE PERPETUAL.
This Is the Meat of An Address De-
livered by Governor Shaw of Iowa
Three Hundred Delegates Pres
emit, Representing los Cities In
81 States-Proceedings.

started by the Indianapolis board of
trade more than one year ago. This
body took upon itself the Inauguration
of a movement whose primary purpose
was monetary reform. without any
assurance that the object of its en-
deavors would be realized in a national
! sense, the board of trade issued invita-
/ lions to commercial organizations of
the central west, which brought to-
gether the nucleus on which today's
convention rests.
The cities sending representatives to
/ the first convention were Cincinnati.
Chicago, Cleveland. Columbus. Grand
Rapids, st. Louis, Indianapolis. Louis
! vile, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, st. Paul
and Toledo. This conference determin-
! ed to call a general convention of the
] trade and commercial organizations of
! the country TO meet in Indianapolis,
Jan. II, 1897, to consider the currency
/ question in non-partiSan manner.
LARGE REPRESENTATION.
In response to the call there assem-
bled in Indianapolis on the date named
! 800 delegates. representing the business
interests of los cities in q states.
Following the instructions of this
conference, a committee of II was Sc
lected to formulate a currency reform
plan.
After months of evidence and discus
sion, in Washington, this committee
completed its report, which was made
public Jan. 8. This committee was. EX-
Senator George F. Edmunds of Yer
mont; Charles a. Fairchild of New
York. eX-secretary of the treasury; c.
Stuart Patterson of Philadelphia, who
was president of the monetary cOnven-
ton last January; n. c. Fries of Salem,
n c.; T. G. Bush of Admission, Ala;
George e. Leighton of ST Louis; w
b. Dean of st. Paul; R. S. Taylor OF
Fort Wayne; Louis Garnett of San
Francisco; Professor ]. L. Laughlin of
Chicago, and Stuyvesant Fish of New
York.
TELLER TERRORS.
Today's convention is much larger
than the first which was called for the
purpose of submitting the plan and Sc
curing its adoption. Delegates arrived
who were not previously announced,
and the whole number will probably
reach 400, which is third more than
year ago. Some of the eastern boards
of trade at first declined to send dele
gates, because they did not think it
necessary, but the taking up in the
senate of Teller'S resolution for the
payment of bonds in silver, delegates
say, induced them to send strong dele
cations Several states come here with
NNACSe&bSo SNCCcullIS the limit set DY
the executive committee. The south is
represented by delegates from Texas,
Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky Mis-
souri,, North Carolina, Virginia and sew
eral other states. There appears to be
a strong feeling that the reports of the
monetary commission should be en-
uorsed by the Republicans without
qualification There are differences
over certain provisions of the bill in
troduced by Representative Overstreet.
but most of the delegates declare that
currency reform is of such importance
that united action should be taken to
secure consideration of the bill by con-
gress.
The convention was welcomed to the
state by Governor Mount. Governor
Leslie NJ. Shaw of Iowa presided. and c.
stuart Patterson submitted the report
OF the committee of election
IN taxing charge of the convention.
governor Shaw spoke. in part as fol-
lows:
SHAW FORGIVES US.
L do not wish to be understood as
charging those who advocated the free
coinage of silver at the ratio with gold
OF 10 to l with dishonesty; l prefer 10 .
regard them as entitled to forgiveness. !
Tor certainly they knew not what they
did. Nevertheless, is no unmistakabIe {
provide for the discharge of all exist I
ing Liabilities, public and private. with I
a silver dollar, or its equivalent in
trlnsically worth but 80 per cent of the (
dollar OF the money current at the time .
the obligations were incurred. 1t was
the boast of the advocates of the meas
ure that this inferior coin should be in
no manner or form redeemable. ex-
changeable, or convertible at par into
any other coin or form of money intrin- I
slcally worth more. \ cheap dollar was /
the battle cry of the allied forces. {
The elementary principle that the
standard coin of all countries is worth /
the material of which it is composed. /
and never more, was ridiculed by the
promulgators of the new movement /
Ihey refused TO consider the provisions
of the statute which makes the present
gold coin legal tender at its nominal /
value only when of full weight and
within the limit of tolerance provided /
by law; and which provides that the
same coin shall possess legal tender
qualities in proportion to its weight /
when below the limit of tolerance. They
failed to note the common transactions
of everyday life, when the foreign gold
com is exchanged for the gold coin of
TINS country and the gold coin OF this
for that of foreign lands. absolutely in
proportion to the material of which
they are composed. They would not
heed the demonstration of this same
in the fact that the standard
silver dollar of Mexico circulates both
at home and abroad. as compared with
gold in proportion to its bullion value.
WHAT ELECTION DETERMINED.
Nevertheless. by a popular majority
of over a million, the country again
declared. even amid the most .depress-
ing conditions, that neither total nor
partial reputation found audience in
the American heart and mind. Our
people are honest, and they are wiser
than many suppose. The safety of re-
publican government was never so
clearly demonstrated as on Nov 3, 1896
Either the verdict rendered on that
day determined that the value of the
United States dollar shall be and re-
main in both debt paying and purchas-
ing power the equivalent of 25.S grains
of standard gold, or that election de-
termined nothing.
MAKE DECREE PERPETUAL.
This being settled. what remains to
be done? The people have a right to
expect something. They went to the
extreme limit of their opportunity in
security against financial
depression, commercial upheavals and
industrial agitation. In view of the Oft
declaration for national honor
and the payment and discharge of
every obligation, public and private. in
a currency equivalent to gold. it re-
mains for the lawmaking power to
spread the verdict of 1896 of record. to
render judgment in accordance there
with, and to make the decree perpet-
ual