The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-06-18
THE SILVER QUESTION.
BY MARGUERITE LEoLA POWERS.


(Oration delivered at the commence
ment exercises of the Nehart High
School, May 81, 1S98.)
The world is now passing through
a crisis in it's history. This crisis has
more bearing upon the countries of
the new world and especially upon
the United States than other nations
of the globe. Perhaps in all ages and
in all time no problem of economics
has presented itself, the consideration
of which is of such vital import to the
world and to posterity as the money
question. The popular mind is di
vided among the strictly gold stand
ard element, the bimetallists and the
party favoring the free and unlim-
tied coinage of silver In this age,
when our country is enjoying the
best of schools, the printing press is
flooding the country with printed
matter and public speakers are Civ
ing us their flood of eloquence and
fund of valuable research, there is no
excuse for our remaining in ignor
ance upon this subject We live in
an age of thought and reason; let us
give this subject much thought and
study, and having so done, lack not
the courage of our convictions, but
voice them boldly to the world.
Daniel Webster, perhaps the great
est of American orators, in his mas
terpiece of oratory says:
"When my eyes shall be turned
to behold for the last time the sun in
heaven, may not see him shining on
the broken and dishonored fragments
of once glorious Union; on states
discovered, discordant, belligerent;
on land rent with civil feuds, or
drenched, it may be, in fraternal
blood. Let their last feeble and lin
gering glance rather behold the gor
geous ensign of Republic, now
known and honored throughout the
earth, still full high advanced, its
arms and trophies streaming in their
original lustre, not a-stripe erased OF
polluted, not a single star obscured; /;
bear for its motto no such miserable
interrogatory as, what is all this
WORTH nor those other words of de-
lusion and folly, Liberty first and
union afterward;' but everywhere,
spread all over in characters Of living
light, blazing on all its ample folds,
as they float over the sea and over
the land, and in every wind under
the whole heavens, that other senti-
ment, dear tc every true American
heart, Liberty and union, now and
forever "
Let us review briefly the position
in the financial world during the last
thirty years.
Before the year 1870, only Great
Britain and Portugal, countries
with population of about 10000
900 were on the gold standard. All
other civilized nations were on either
a silver or bimetallic basis. Silver
and gold until that time had been
coined free of charge according to a
legally established ratio. There was
then no quibbling about the price of
silver because there was unlimited
coinage of both metals. The white
metal of a silver dollar was worth as
much as the yellow metal of gold
dollar, and therefore there was no
monetary dispute, theIe was no silver
question. But since that time Ger
many, Austria, United States, Swed-
en-, Norway, Denmark, Australia,
Egypt, Canada, Russia, Chile and
Japan, nations with "a combined pop
ulation of 300,0O0,000 inhabitants
have adopted the so called gold
standard so that today nations with
nearly 400, 100000 inhabitants have
bowed down to the money kings
and have only the free coinage of
gold. In addition France, Greece,
Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Spain,
Roumania, Servia, Holland, Bulga-
ria, Turkey, and India, nations with
a population of 36O,000,0O0 inhabi
tants have suspended the free coin
age of silver.
The privilege of the free coinage
of silver has been withdrawn in
countries having population of
5000, 900 and the result is, that a
silver dollar as measured by the
gold standard today is worth not
quite fifty cents.
When we consider that the begin
ming of the present century the rel
ative production of both metals was
a little more than three of silver to
one of gold, at the middle of the
century it was nearly equal, and in
the ffties it was four of gold to. one
of silver. 1t will readily be seen
that the fall in price of silver was
not caused by an over production of
the metal, as claimed by some ad-
herents of the gold standard but on
account of adverse Legislation.
The fact is most noticeable that
since the demonetization of silver
there has been fall of price in real
and personal property, gold dollar
today buying nearly twice as much
as it did thirty years ago. After the