The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-01-15

usually prOfuSt his year III euloSleS OF
jefferson and Jackson. They have at
tempted 10 make it appear to those
with democratic instincts that it has
been the regular thing for 100 years for
democratic statesmen to champion sill
yer and cheap money. ~Jefferson's oppo-
sition TO cheap money and Reputation
of debts, and his advocacy of 4 coinage
ratio which should always be kept close
TO the natural or market ratio, has been
made clear during the last few months,
The appeals of the silver democrats t0
Gen. jackson are meeting with the same
fate. In d recent speech eX-CongreSs-
man Josiah Patterson. of Tennessee,
after calling attention to the fact that
previous to 1876 no American statesman
of any party approved of the absurd
doctrine that government can maintain
bimetallism regardless of natural IA
tics, spoke at some length upon Jack
sons position on money and currency.
Here is what be SAID:
Nothing within the range OF po-
litical absurdity could equal the spec
tacle presented by the followers of
Bryan when they met on the Sth of jan
uarv to euinmize jackson, who cOura-
g~eously restored the gold currency.
Have these gentlemen ever paused
long enough in their assault on the pros
perity of the country to inquire why it
was during JaChson's administration
the ratio was changed from fifteen to
sixteen to one? If. as they teach
the people. we had the concurrent
circulation of gold and silver
from the passage of the act Of
1899 down to the suspension of the coin
age of the silver dollar in 1873, why
was this change made? Are they igMo-
rant, or do they disguise the fact that
after the act of 1892 gold relatively to
silver was uEdervalued and went out Of
circulation because it was worth 4 lit
tie more as bullion than as money? Do
they forget or do they suppress the fact
that gold remained out Of circulation
for more than 80 years prior to 1884?
Are they uniformed, or do they
conceal the fact that statesmen iliustri-
Gus in democratic annals for many
years prior to the administration of
jackson advocated the restoration of
the gold currency? Have they eve
read history. or do they withhold the
truth. when they ignore the fact that
the b2nh of the United States selfishly
opposed the restoration because The
people would prefer its bank notes to
a currency 50 huL. y'ard inconvenient
as silver. It Ua% J"c:tson who saw the
necessity for act.o-. ard who struck the
blow which crt.s.c.i TIE bank and
brought hard T.n.er to the pockets
Of tha r~rn;e. 1t w.: Thomas II. Ben
ton. speaking for the administration OF
Jackson. who declared in the senate
that the Only WY TO crush the power
of rhc hank was to restore gold to cir
culat!on. Here was the necessity and
the only reason for the passage of the
act of 1884 establishing the ratio OF
sixteen TO Dr..
TIE similarity between the discus
son which took place in 1884 and the
which took place in 1896 IS
striking and Instructive. Hard money
democrats. IL supporting the policy of
Jackson. advanced the same arguments
the sound money democrats al
in supporting the policy OF
Cleveland. If the hard money dem
ocrats insisted that the undcrvaluatioa
of gold by the act of 1892 forced it cut
Of circulation. the sound MONEY dem
ocrats insisted that the proposition in
,he Chicago platform to undervalue sill
yer. if carried into effect. would bring
about the III result.
IF the hard money democrats recog-
nized that the act OF 1892 had no per-
reptible influence on the commercial
value of either gold or silver, and the
only way to restore gold to circulation
to change the ratio, the sound mon
democrats recognized that the free
mintage of silver at the ratio of six
teen TO one when the market ratio WAS
thirty-two to one, would result inev-
itably in silver monometallism. II
hard money democrats contended that
al mankind had a prediction for
rold." the sound money democrats on
:eLied that a gold standard was pref
cradle TO a silver standard. 1.-THE hard
money democrats, in order to main
tain the gold currency when restored
undervalued silver by making the COIN
ace ratio sixteen to one when the mar
ket ratio was l5.5Sto /, the soundmoneT
democrats resisted the scheme to over
value silver so as TO force the retirement
If gold. If the hard money democrats.
after the passage of the act o. !S..f.
pointed with pride and cXultation 'ai"H
prosperity which followed the res'oTa,
ton of the gold currency. ~" sound
money democrats have never fai'"red N
warning their coun'rymeH OF the dis
ast,r which &ou!I fo!.ou It's retire,
ucnt.
The truth is. the country is indFht
ID 10 the hard money democrats. OF
whcpl jackson vas The chief. for thf
| roId standard. lroul'i 20 on and show
how The act Of 1924 had All effect exact
~ o~pnnsitp 10 that of 1870. how under
the Operations of the sam" iEfeXibi'
economic law gold went ouf Of circula
ton under the one and silver under III
other. low congress in 1859. en- accou
of the retirement of silver. was force