The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-11-01
If BRYAN is E1ected--What Then?

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weighed what the results will be?
Perhaps some one replies that
under the gold law he can't seriously
hurt business.
Is this so?
True, it is claimed the Senate, even
if BRYAN is elected, will still contain a
majority of sound money men, and a
free silver coinage bill could not be
passed Immediately. When McKin-
ley was inauguarated there was a free
silver majority in the Senate, and he,
too, was unable to pass the gold bill
Immediately; but when the terms of
those free silver Senators expired in
1899, the Republican Legislatures ire
turned to power with Mckinley in
1896 replaced enough outgoing Dem
ocratic Senators with sound money
Republicans to max majority, and
pass the bill in 1900.
In like manner, if Bryan is elected
and the Democratic party returned to
power in a majority of the States,
why will not Democratic Legislatures
send Democratic Senators to the u nj
ted States Senate to replace outgoing
Republicans when their terms expire
in 1908, and thus give the Democrats
majority there-just as the Repub-
lican Legislatures did? And then
what is to prevent them from repeal
ing the gold act and passing free
silver coinage bill-just as Mckinley
and the Republicans passed the gold
bill ?
And don't they stand pledged to do
this?
Their Kansas City platform de-
mands 1.-The free and unlimited coin
age of silver and gold at the present
legal ratio of 16 to 1 without waiting
for the aid or consent of any other
nation"
William J. Bryan on September
4th last at GAINESVILLE, O., announced:
"The party stands where it did in
1896 on the money question"
And at Paterson, N. j., on Septem
Der 28, 1896:
II say to you now my election
means that this nation shall open its
mints to the free coinage of both
metals at the earliest possible mo-
ment.n
And at Knoxville, Tenn, on Sep
tember 6, 1896;
''If there is any one who believes
the gold standard is good thing, or
that it must be maintained, | warn
him not to cast his vote for me, be-
cause | promise him it will not be
maintained in this country longer
than | am able to get rid of it,
Is is not perfectly clear that if they
are returned to power, they will re-
peal the gold law and pass a free sill
yer coinage bill ''at the earliest possi-
BILE moment"
And is it not equally clear that if
we elect them to power on the 9Th of
this month one great result will be
that we aust face the passage of a
free silver coinage bill about three
years hence, in 1904?
RESULTS OF FACING A FREE sILvE r
COINAGE BILL.
What will the effects be of such a
law? And what will the immediate
effects be of having to face it's pas
sage three years from now?
The present value of silver bullion
is about 65c per ounce. There are, in
the silver dollar, 412! grains of silver
-tenths fine, or 3714 grains of pure
silver. AS an ounce of silver contains
4S0 grains, 3714 grains is worth about
sol cents, so that silver dollars today
are worth intrinsically less than 81
cents; and when every owner of silver
bullion can take it to the mint and
have it coined free into silver dollars,
each such dollar will be worth just
what the silver costs that it takes to
make it, for if they were worth any
more, instead of using the coined sill
yer dollars, one would instead buy
the cheaper silver bullion, have it
coined and use that. Hence it is evi-
dent that under free silver coinage
the value of the silver dollar must fall
to its bullion value.
AT the present rate two such silver
dollars would be worth less than 81. .02
in gold; and if you owe debt of $500
today, and did not pay it till then,
instead of having to pay 5000 in gold
you could pay it with 200 silver dol
lars, worth only $102 in gold. While
this might save you $9S in gold would
not your creditor lose sos, nearly half
his debt ?
Now if you have debts out, owing
to you, and you saw that Congress
was going to pass Jaw authorizing
your debter to pay them in 51-cent
dollars, would you wait until Con
gress passed that law, or would you
insist on your debters paying you at
once in gold (or its equivalent) so that
you should receive the same value
that you lent him; that is, 100 gold
cents on the dollar, and not about
one-half of it And would you not
proceed to collect in at the earliest
possible moment?
In short, every man who had money
coming to him and expected silver
dollars to depreciate would want that
money paid him at the earliest posi-
BILE moment and would proceed to
collect it with the least possible de-
lay; and if he got it he would imme-
diately put it into gold if he could to
prevent its depreciating on his hands,
and as there are but 81 ,059,0 900 OF
gold in the country, including that in
the US. Treasury (by the U. S. Treas
ury report Oct. 1, 1900,) and as the
total amount of money in circulation
is 81, 113, 900, 900 (same report) it is ap-
parent that many of those holding
bank notes and silver certificates and
silver dollars would be unable to get
gold for them. So he must start in
as early as possible and get in before
others, bent on the same object, and
if possible escape the crash and the
crush.