Natchitoches populist., 1898-05-13

ly interested. Among other Things they
cited the fact that foreigner creditors
held over $5,OO0,000,O00 worth of our
railroad bonds, and that they would
in this one item alone lose enormously
as the result of a panic. At 10 a, m.
the Sth, the stock markets opened
steady and firm. There was no unload
ing of securities. The people who
would have been most injured by it
had decided to not commit suicide.
On Thursday, Nov, Sth, silver had
advanced to s1O5 an ounce. why
this enormous advance?" was asked.
Because in six months, as soon as the
new congress can convene" was the
answer, "371A grains of pure silver can
be coined, at the pleasure of the hold
er, into dollar; and, an ounce of it,
at that rate, will be worth $1.29 The
next day it jumped to $1.20 an ounce,
within nine cents of its free coinage
value. On Friday run on the treas
ury at Washington for gold was an
nounGed. BY Saturday the next day
at Q p. m. there was not dollar of
gold in the United States treasury On
Monday, the 18th, gold payments were
suspended, and no gold could be had
without paying q premium that fluctu-
ated for several days between 20 and
~ per cent. Business proceeded as
usual with the same kind of money
passing from. hand to hand as former
ly. There was no gold left with which
to redeem any more of it; and, it was
rapidly coming out of hiding and seek
ing investment. Prices. of property be-
gan to advance. In thirty days the
situation was better understood. A
new money crop was coming, that was
going to go into competition with gold
to supply the demand for hard money.
Under the law Of true bimetallism, to
get on the statute books as soon as
the new congress could get at it, no
contract would be legal made payable
in one of the two metals. 1t would be
optional with all to pay in either metal.
Thus the two metals would be In COM
petition with each other. In the face
of this threatened competition, gold
began to decline. On January Sd, the
premium was II cents.
".
All over the Union, suits had begun
against debtors for the foreclosure of
mortgages and debts. This was quick
ly checkmated by the same spirit that
had faced the awful hailstorm of ostra-
cism in November. Meetings were held
in every county, and legislatures were
petitioned to pass stay laws to pro-
tect the people from the collection of
debts for two years after the inagura-
ton OF the new president. Governors
were petitioned to call special sessions
of legislatures in many instances.
Everywhere these meetings were held,
beginning in the west and spreading
east and south. In many cases law
yers volunteered their services without
fee TO take up the cause of the people.
Members of the legislatures elect were
brought into these county meetings,
and pledged to thus protect the peo-
pie till at least two new crops had been
harvested under the new order of
things. This was socn followed very
generally where payments were not
convenient, by voluntary liens being
given payable in two years, thus secur-
ing creditors, giving them negotiable
paper and defer1ing the payments of
the debts. Thus the conflscation of the
property of debtors was stopped The
tremendous force that had entered in
the November revolution was equal TO
the emergency, and the money power
was at their mercy--but that mercy
was tempered with justice.
v.
BY January 1st strong movement
mad set in toward the Rocky noun
tains. BY Feb. LIST it became rush.
Gradually the country had awakened to
a realization of the wealth In the sill
yer deposits of our western mountains.
The Alaska gold fields were to have
competition in the silver mining region
OF our own mountains A hundred
Klondikes had suddenly sprung up into
existence-not in the frozen zones of
the north, but in our own glorious eli
mate. The railways were taxed to
their full capacity; within four months
after the election FIVE states of the
Union were all hope and animation,
feeling the throb of prosperity; to
say nothing of the orders of provisions
and machinery that followed an army
of three million Of people into the
rocky Businesses and beautiful valleys
of our west, The words of Lincoln were
recalled, uttered on the day OF his
death, recorded in Barret's history of
him, issued in 1865, in which he said to
Mr.. Colfax, who left Washington that
morning for the west: Tell them, the
miners, that the more gold and silver
they mine makes the payments of our
national debt so much the easier The
whole nation was beginning to feel the
pulsatiOn OF new life. And with hone