The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-01
a NEW GOLD CHAMPION.
He Is From Texas and Makes Strong
Arguments.

Arguments.
New York Letter an Philadelphia Ledger
From the state of Texas has arisen a
new champion of the gold standard.
worthy to meet on any platform William
]. Bryan or any other advocate of free
silver. Judge NJ. L. Crawford of Dallas,
Texas, made such a deep impression by
his speech before the Indianapolis None
tary Convention that ne was induced to
come to New York and address the State
Savings Banks Convention to-day He is
a typical Southerner; he fought in the
Confederate ranks during the Civil War,
and he IS, like most Southern white men,
Democrat but he for the gold stand
ard and no compromise with the free sill
yer men and other advocates of fiat
money. He does not question the honesty
of the mass of people in the silver faction.
but he does question the sincerity and
honesty of the leaders: In fact, few men
have spoken on this threadbare subject
In so original and refreshing way as this
Texas lawyer does, and his forcible per-
iods aroused much enthusiasm among the
usually staid New York bankers In mis-
speech to-day he opened for a reference
to the war and to the fact that the sons
of the North the South, the East and
West were marching side by side, wearing
the same uniform and following the same
flag, forming a union that is lnVincible,
and that, armed with the right, may bid
defiance to the world.
Among Judge Crawfords more telling
sentences were these: THE demand of
free silver did not originate on the farm
or in the workshop; its cradle was the
Comstock lode. 1t is the offspring of greed
and rapacity. 1t Is safe to say that prop
osition TO destroy more than one-haf of
the value of the deposits In our savings
banks squarely submitted to a popular
vote of the American people, would not
prevail in single county in the union,
and yet the advocates of free silver prac-
t,cally admit that such would be the eff
feet of its adoption. Could this govern
ment lay the hand of despotsm upon our
savings banks and take from their cof-
fers money enough to pay the public debt
it would be an act of spoHa ton and op-
preston unparalleled in the history of the
world. Still, such an act would not in
fict as great peeuniary loss upon the
100000 of wage earners, whose savings
have built up and who own the savings
banks, as would the free coinage of silver
at IS to 1. There can be no doubt but that
the rank and file of the free silver advo-
Gates. who nave been educated into this
belief by the party leaders, are honest in
their convictions but il takes a large stock
of human credulity to make us believe
that the leaders when they set at def
ance The experience of this and all other
Countries where the experiment mas been
tried, are themselves sincere. What they
fail to gather from the experience Of all
nations they attempt to supply by organi-
zation and persstency. We have Welded
too much already There must be no
more compromises. The government has
lost more money in the purchase of the
uncoined silver in the treasury than would
have built and paid for twenty first class
battle ships. While the shouts Of Admiral
Deweys heroic crew are going I'D from
Manila, announcing a glorious victory for
the American fleet ana proclaming
change in the map of the world the de-
mand comes from the free silverites I'm
Congress to coin the scigniorage ana issue
one hundred and fifty millions in treas
ury notes II is to be hoped that no such
measure would prevail. We have more
than enough demand obligation outstand-
ing against the government. We don't
want 70 fight this war with fiat money
We have got the gold right here in the
hands Of our own people 10 maintain our
armies in the field and our ships ahoat
our people have the patriotism to hand
over TO the government gold enough to
meet It's every want. They say that gold
Is cowardy and hides before. the echoes
of the first hostile gun have died away,
| deny IT, Our people, rich and poor alike
offer the government more than Il has
need for. If during this conflict gold dis
appears il will fee from vicious legislation
and not from Spanish bullets"