The age-herald., 1898-02-12
HON. JOHN M. TOMLINSON
 SOUNDS THE TOCSIN The UnCOmprOmlSnO Leader Of th6 Silver Forces
 in Alabama, at Livingston. THE FINANCIAL QUESTION MOST RELY DISCUSSED "The Flag 50 Oallantly Run Up At Chicago in 1896 Must Not Be Pulled Down Lowered For One Moment"
THE FINANCIAL QUESTION MOST RELY DISCUSSED
Special to The Age-Herald.

 great success, every beat in the county be- ing represented; and large audience lis tened to very able speech on the cur rency question by Hon. John w. Tomlin- son, state chairman of the Democratic Ma tional Bimetallic committee.
 The meeting was held at the court house, and was called to order by c. H. Allen, editor of the Sumter Sun. A silver club was organized and great enthusiasm was manifested throughout the meeting l. R. McElroy, of Cuba offered the follow ing resolution. which was unanimously adopted:
 Resolved. That we do now organize the 16 to Democratic club of Sumter county, with L. P. Neal as president and c. H. Allen as secretary; with one vice-president for each beat in the county, to be ap- pointed by the president of the club.
 After MT. Tomlinson's address Dr. M. B. Cameron. the only Is to l straightout can didate for probate judge, made a short but effective speech, urging the necessity of standing by the Chicago platform.
 On being made chairman, F. P. Neal in- troduced MT. Tomlinson in a well worded speech, characterizing him as the uncom- promising leader of the democracy of the state. For more than an hour and a half the gentleman entertained his hearers Wllu d SpttCn ISpiSlt Wllu lOSlC anu 6lO- ounce. At the conclusion he was loudly applauded and a vote of thanks was ten dered him.
 Mir. Tomlinson opened his speech by com plimenting the democracy of the Black Belt. He said that men who had resisted black domination had the manhood to re- sist the domination of the enslaving gold standard. That never in the history of the great fight for siver's restoration were the prospects better for ultimate success. After explaining the position of the diff ferent political parties on the question, he declared that the republicans were evasive and insincere, while the democrats by their aggressiveness for the coinage of gold and silver at 16 to 1 showed their sincerity.
 Plans of the Parties
 The speaker showed conclusively that the republican plan was to have only gold coinage supplemented with non-legal ten- der national bank currency to be issued or withdrawn at the will of the banker. That the plan further contemplated the non use as primary money of all the silver money now coined, which when carried out, as money measures property, would result in the reduction of all present prices and wages, uninf1uenced by local conditions, at least one-half what they are now Whereas the democratic party also recognizing the inadequacy of the gold supply for money purposes, proposes to supplement the de- ficiency by restoring the coinage laws of D, which provided for the free and unlimited coinage of silver by this country at the ex- isting legal ratio of Is to 1; believing that money, the supply of which Is regulated by Nature and not by man, Is O fairer arbiter between debtor and creditor, and a more Impartial medium of payment in the trans- action of business of the world.
 Reasons for 16 to1
 The reasons for adhering to the existing legal ratio of 16 to 1 are:
 l. Because that is the natural ratio. The average production for centuries being, in weight, in that proporton; which is con- frmed by the fact that the gold and silver coin of the world-the result of the coin- age from the earliest times-Amounts to in round numbers the same, viz $4 900 ,000 = 900 each. In the year 1896, the year of the great contest on the financial question, the worlds production of gold and silver at the coinage value of 16 to 1, was exactly the same $215, 100000 each.
 2. Because the bonded indebtedness of the United States was contracted payable in coin at the then present weight and fineness, which was gold and silver at the ratio of 16 to l. and to change the ratio, by enlarging the silver dollar would be pay ing this debt beyond the legal and moral obligations involved.
 g. Because the increasing of the ratio, By enlarging the silver dollar. would neces- sitate the recoining of all of the silver money in this country which, besides the expense thereof, would reduce the amount of silver dollars in exactly the same pro- portion that the ratio is iDcreased. thereby producing contraction instead of expan- sion and defeating the very purpose of silver's restoration-more money.
 4. Because it would put us farther away than ever from international agreement as the European ratio is only 151a to l.
 5. Because 16 to Is not only principle but programme on which the democratic, fho t1tcta ayad he cf1x ties are united, to abandon which would be to go from the strait road of fixed purpose to the open field of uncertainty and con- fusion that would likely result in the adop- tion of a larger ratio and, as we have shown, defeat the very purpose of the law more money.
 Gold Supply Inadequate
 The speaker further contended: The coinage of gold alone is not keeping, and cannot keep pace with increasing popula- tion and business so as to afford an ade- quate supply of the circulating medium for the transactions of business. Repub- llcans admit this by proposing to supple ment with national bank currency. That gold had become more valuable the more it was sought after and consumed in the arts, little being left for money That since 1873 the population of the United States had nearly doubled: that the coin age of gold had not kept pace. That as
 
 of property. products and labor, if the supply of gold was as great as the increase fin population and business. the coined sil- yer remained as redemption money, prices would remain the same; that if not as great. and the silver coined no longer used as redemption money. then prices would decline.
 Volume Money Regulates Prices
 Quantitative theory is correct and is the key to the temple of all knowledge on the currency question. That 1t was axio- matic in monetary science, on which all writers on political economy agree from the days of Aristotle down, that the amount of money fixes the value of the money. Thaton the number of dollars out depends the value of the dollar. That cut In half the amount of dollars and you double the value of the remaining dollars, or double the number of dollars you cut in half the value of the dollar. That when you say the value of tho dollar is doubled. you mean that 1t will buy twice as much of the products of human ,oil and of