Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-11-01


the production of silver 1t has furnished
an increase OF circulation. 1t has nam
tanned the gold standard While utilizing
and benefitting silver TO the utmost extent
of not denlonetizing gold. 1t Is the key
to our exalted, almost pre-eminent, stand
ing III commercial credit ana nAtona!
honor among the nations of the world.
Persistent Harrison in his message TO
Congress of December Isl, 1850, declared
that some months of further trial will
be necessary To determine the permanent
effect of recent legislation upon silver
values but il IS gratifying to know that
the increased circulation secured by the
act has exerted ana viii continue to exert
most beneficial influence upon business
and general values 1t is cur
ious to note that The advance in prices of
articles wholly unaffected by the tarn at
Notice was not taken OF the fact that
the general tendency OF the markets was
upward from influences wholly apart from
recent tarln legislation The n.arg 9menC
of our currency ny The silver bill undouDt-
eddy gave an upward tendency TO trade
ana had marked effect on prices but
this natural and desired effect Of the sill
yer legislation was by many enormously
attributed 10 the new tariff act
In the second session OF tae Congress
that enacted this law euiogiZed tor its
wisdom by both President HARRISON and
President Mckinley, the question of the
free coinage of silver again came up and
in speech aga MS free coinage SheTm IN
Warmly espoused the Sherman silver law
and used this remarkable language: We
do by our law of the IasL session with
draw from the money market of The world
the whole OF the SILVER We produce in this
country and some $i1OtO, lOo,t00 Of that pro-
duced IN MeXico.'
Now, THAI saw worked well. The price
OF silver gradually advanced. 1t ran up.
AT one time it touched, l believe as high
as $l.2G so the operation of that law o,d
adN ance the pr,ue OF silver.
In the light of what has followed these
uterances, Tell me what any Republican
could do but think and act FOR himself.
ShouIG he regard those entfmentS of his
party leaders as mere juSgiery OF words,
Hllsrepre sen-aton, ire result Of ignor-
ance or the truth? Whicn? When Cieve-
land went out seV eEty one cents was the
value ct the silver dollar. boastinsly de-
clared Mckinley IN 1870. Cleveland m ght
now turn TO h-n ana answer: You have
gone in and The value OF the silver dollar
Is 3Szs cents Sec Republican cdm2algn
that by tie operation of the law the price
of silver was made TO advance. Harrison
asserted that the enlargement OF cur
rency produced Il mark d and wholesome
effect upon trade and prices. and McKln-
ley said: Il want a GouDie standard.
All is ch3ngel. and what chan6e! 1t
almost sta9sers oeIlei When, Tenectlnlg
upon the subs aquent conduct CT these gem
tlemen upon Cnis imD0rtanl subject. Let
me say 10 you That me very liberties OF
people are always involved and wrapped
up in their monetary system. and the. lib
critics of our fellow subjects form theme
of too high nature to be determined by
me interests o. party. Il -a@stones III ne
From that day I had no further use for
the Republican party as then organized
and led, and as it is dominated now. In
my judgment it no longer represents the
Repubicanism of Lincoln, Grant and
Blaine, but has become simply a machine
to register the DEGREES Of the money pow
er, both at home and abroad. In this
say nothing whatever against the rank
and file of the Republican party. The
masses Of all parties are honest men, and
II tney go Sstfa$, Al IS simply me resut1
of imperfect Judgment. therefore. OBJ
ject to the leadership of the Republican
party which dictates its policy and names
its principles, misleading and binding, as
L believe, the judgment OF mllllonS OF
honest men.
There is very little difference, after all,
between true Republicanism and true De-
mocracy; both true Republicanism' or
true Democracy" should be but a syno-
nym for true Americanism. AT this june
ture, | firmly believe that true Republic
canism finds its highest and best ideal in
the person of William Jennings Bryan, of
Nebraska.
In one form or another, the silver ques-
ton has now been before the American
that an exceedingly large proper
ton of the American voters fall a long
way short of comprehending it, and many
there are who scarcely know what the
silver question IS There is a good reason
for it, which is briefly this: Upon one
side, and l might say right here that it is
the gold side. the subject has not been
debated with any idea OF giving the peo-
pie a clear understanding of it. but on the
contrary, every effort has been made to
throw Gust into their eyes and blind their
judgment by passionate appeals to their
prejudices. In my remarks upon this oc-
casion, L shall endeavor to make it APP
pear what the silver question actually is
and why the so-called ''silver mem object
to the single gold standard.
1t is impossible to understand the sig
niiicance of the silver question without
having first oStained at least a general
idea of what money is, and the principles
which should be applied to its consider
alton, because the silver question is mere
ly branch OF the broader question of
money: and as the issue is now shaping
itself we are not only confronted by the
question of whether or not silver Should
be freely coined at the ratio of sixteen
to 2,t one, we are also face to face with the
most comprehensive sense.
WHAT is MONEY?
1t is not easy to give definition which
shall clearly, concisely. and at the same
time fully state what money actually is
1t is usually termed a medium of ex-
So far as 1t goes the first definition is cor
rect because money is in the most COM
plete sense medium of exchange. Strict
iy, however, it is not proper to speak of
money as a measure" or standard
of value, because both measure" and
standard imply hxity, unchangeability;
kbllltlulIlS WHICH. III us ESlatlOn TO other
things, is always the same. Thus for ex-
ample, we may call a yard stick a stand
ard Of measure, because at all times and
under all circumstances it represents a
certain definite absolute length. But we
cannot with equal propriety speak of a
dollar and pound sterling as a standard
We do not use the dollar the same as we
do yard stick. We lay the latter upon
a piece of cloth or anything else and
measure off yard after yarS. But the only
way dollar measures anything is by
being exchanged for 1t. Value is a rela-
tive term and it is always suggestive of an
exchange The value of anything is what
II will exchange for in other things a
great many people assume that a gold
dollar is Interchangeable in its value because
1t always contains certain quantity of
pure gold. But, my friends, the quantity
of gold which a dollar contains simply
represents its weight, not its value OF
gold dollar shall consist of Is 22-160 grains
of pure gold and that 1t may be coined
freely at that rate the nominal value of
% 22-1C0 grains of pure gold will be a dol
lar, but that has no bearing whatever up
on its real value; because under such cir
cumstances. the Is 22-i00 grains of gold
and the dollar which ii will make are es-
sentially the same thing, and we cannot
determine the value of anything by COM
pairing it with itself The question IS, how
much will that gold dollar exchange for.
not in gold. but iii something else? At
one time 1t required 23a. grains of pure
gold to make a dollar. Why? Simply be-
cause the law provided that so many
grains should go into a dollar. Congress-
could, tomorrow, enact a law providing
Gov ALL ,<.,s