Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-03-03
SILVER DEMOCRATS.
ISSUE AN ADDRESS TO ALL Sill.
YER ADVOCATES.
The Address sets Forth the Evils OF the
Single Gold Standard aud asks that all
Opponents Join to Bring About The
Free Coinage OF Silver.

AZ Iho IeOpio' Auo burEehuOt Va
the republican party to the advocates
of the gold standard and monopoly is
at last complete. The present admin
istration, called to power ON the SOL
emn pledge of the republican national
convention at st. Louis to promote BIZ
metallism, has formulated and sent to
congress bill the leading purpose of
which the honorable secretary of the
the treasury avows, is to commit the
country more thoroughly to the gold
standard. The country has already,
for twenty-four years, been so thor
oughly committed to this standard,
partly by law and partly by the usur-
patton of the executive branch of the
government, that the effects are seen
and felt on every hand; wages are re-
duced; work is harder to get; the
weight of debt is doubled; the value of
land and other property is reduced one
half or more, until the lives of the peo-
pie are made bitter with hard bondage.
1t is certainly not in the interest of hui
manity to have this condition of things
more thoroughly established.
"The continued rise in the value of
gold, or, which is the same thing, the
continued fall of prices, must inevita-
bly, tranfer the property of all those
engaged in active business, the actual
creators of wealth whether by hand,
brain Or capital, to those who, avoid
ing the risk and effort of active bust
ness, only draw interest.
"The increase of las per cent in mon
ey, caused by its increasing scarcity,
from 1909 to 1S49, as admitted by lead
ing advocates of the gold standard,
found expression at that time in eX-
tremely low prices and conditions of
unparalleled distress. The discovery
of gold and silver in extraordinary
quantities, and the great increase in
the volume of metallic money result
ing therefrom relieved this distress and
brought in its stead wonderful pros
perity. Prices rose, business flourish
ed, producers prospered; all were hap.
Ply. D., ,..,
Substantially this condition would
have continued if both the precious
metals had been allowed to remain in
use as money, because they were being
found in nearly sufficient quantities to
increase the volume of money in pro-
portion to the developments of bust
ness A wicked conspiracy, however,
deprived one of them of the money
function. This was done with the de-
liberate purpose of raising the value of
the other by rendering the supply of
metallic money relatively scarcer, as
compared with the demand. From the
hour of the contamination of the crime
mankind has suffered commercial dis
aster and social distress in almost con-
stantly increasing measure. just in
proportion to the growth of arts and
civilization and the expansion of com
merce business and industry, the mad
equacv of the volume of gold is felt,
is scarcity is Emphasized; its value in
creased.
"The repression of life and happi-
ness, which is inseparable from long
course of declining prices, has now
checked development, and if continued
will ultimately stife civilization. An
eminent American, President Andrews,
of Brown University, some years ago
said:
"Our national debt on September l.,
1855, was two and three.quarters bill
lions; it could then have been paid off
with eighteen million bales of cotton
or twenty-gve million tons Of bar iron.
When it had been reduced to billion
and a quarter, thirty million bales of
cotton, or thirty-two million tons of
iron would have been required to pay
it. In other words, while nominal
Bhrinl,age of about 50 per cent had
taken place in the debt, it had, us
measured in either of these two world
staples, actually been enlarged to some
so per cent
although more than half of the
principal of this enormous debt and
every cent Of accumulated interest,
had been paid by the labor Of the
United States, the holders Of the bonds
still hold claim for more of the labor
of the people than they held before
these enormous payments had been
even begun. This cruel confscation Of
the lives and liberties Of the laborlng
millions of this country is the most
stupendous crime that has been COM
mitted in the annals OF civilization.
Unless a government of the people,
by the people aud Tor the people has
persisted from the earth, surely the
present boldly svowed scheme, not
only to consider, but to increase these
evils will not be permitten.
"In addition to this purpose of more
thoroughly establishing the gold stan