The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-10-31

question. The Democratic platform declares 70.
free silver, but say to you that the American
people would never have heard Of free silver as
an issue if there were no silver mines. The
owners Of the silver mines originated the ire
silver idea and the syndicate of silver mine
owners is the biggest trust in these United
States except the Standard Oil and the Sugar
trusts.
What is money? Money is something which is
used to facilitate the exchange Of commodities
1t may be gold. silver or paper. PJpe", how.
ever, is only substitute for currency. II is
merely Il promise to pay. All transi 2, and cN'
changes are carried on by using these pap y
promises to pay. But the money of ultimate i6.
dcmption is not paper The money Of ultimate
redemption is what the paper promise says it
shall be.
This $50 gold piece which | hold in my hand
, is good for $40 the world over. II should take
this silver dollar which hold in my other hand
and go into New Mexico with it I could buy IL
dollars worth OF goods and receive 80 cents
change. Why is this? It's because this country
has passed n law that that dollar is redcemable
in gold. That's the gold standard. It's the
pledge OF the nation to redeem every dollar in
gold.
The Mexican government doesn't pledge itself
to redeem its dollars in gold. 1t allows it to
stand its own market value and that's about
80 cents. What OF the American dollar il we
take away this pledge and leave it alone to
stand on its own market value? It's worth
about 4s cents and it has on one side, 'ln God
We Trust If this pledge were taken away we
would certainly have TO trust in God for the
! other 52 cents
The silver dollar is sixteen times the weight
of the gold dollar and twenty times its bulk.
| make the declaration that ii free silver came
into existence the extra expense of settling bal.
ances with gold standard nations would be sum
cient to destroy all profits.
We are asked by the Democratic party in this
campaign to abandon the gold standard and
substitute Mr. Bryan's pet hobby the free and
| unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio OF 10 to
l. which means that sixteen ounces OF silver
shall be equal in value to one ounce OF gold
That's the ratio at present fixed by law, hut II
was fixed when an ounce "i silver was Wort"
$l.29 as about 90 cents now.
Gold, however, hasn't varied in value since
! then. Its value has remained the same. ~
can't vary else how could it be standard OF
value You can't have one yards'ick 10 inches
long and anoher Is inches long and measure
your wards sometimes with one and sometimes
with the other.
The free coinage of silver meals thai any
owner of silver bullion can take any onnntity OF
it to the mint and get il coined into coins OF
any denomination free CT cost liked by law
What would this mean to the merchants IN thls
| country doing business with the merchants OF
eign merchant owed an American merchant 81.
| OOo, 600, he could come to this country, p,r'
chase $5O0.OO0 worth Of silver bullion, get 1t
! coined into Sl,CU0.1O0 and pay his deit. Your
merchant gets 1000 900 silver wheels worth only
| $5OO,OOo, Instead of his Sl,O0d,OOO
DEPEw's STORY.
Chauncey Dcpew once entered an insane asy.
| lum and saw Il lunatic pounding away on a
| bed as il he WAS riding horse. THAT'S a tine
| horse you've got," said Clauncry. That's hot
| horse" said the ltp,atc, "that's hobby
| 'Well what's the difference" said Mr.. De-
pew. 'Well," replied the lunaiic, "if man Is
| riding a horse he can get or That's the way
with Mr.. Bryan. II he l'vcd to he as old as
Mcih,salch he would still be riding his free
| silver holly. | am sure that aittr Nov. llc
| will have all the leisure time he wants TO ride
| it till 'loomsday.
At this point Mr.. Grow gave brief
resume of the Republican policy of
protection and high tariff. exploding
logically the Democratic theory of free
trade and direct taxation. THE
Democratic party" said h,, Stands
for free trade, free silver and free
soup" He then took up the question
of expansion and said:
You have now the question OF territorial ea-
pansion before you. We have extended our ter.
rito,y into far.of Asia as the result OF Just
war. We made war with Spain because we
' couldn't stand to see at onr very doors, people
| being exteiminated by starvation. In the first
week OF tnar war We relieved the distress OF
| 10, ,OOo, COO Of people in the philippine islands
and took them in from the dominion OF SPAIN
When peace came, Spain transferred her soyer-
cignty in these islands to the United States and
not to Agunaldo.
Who will tell me that the question OF liberty