Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-11-01

the contract 'leY were paSdDlS al |
tina. standard. In this condition we
passed the act of 49, IAN act to |
strengthen the public credit" 1t
was fraud on its face, as, at that |
time, we did not need dollar of
credit, and taxation was pouring into |
the treasury, all that we needed to !
pay our interest, our debt, and the;l
expenses of the government. True,
there was pretense that we desired
to refund our debt, but by the act we
voted six hundred millions of bonus
to domestic and foreign creditors, by
providing that the debt should be
paid not according to the contract, in
the currency of the country, but in
gold and silver, naming the mum Der
of grains in each which should con-
stitute dollar with which to pay the
dollars of the debt.
But we will pass that and forgive it.
Good for Farmers.
Four years later, we, debtor ma
ton, owing an Indebtedness equal to
the assessed valuation of all the prop
erty in the country, with national,
state, municipal, railroad and private
| debts. payable by the contract in gold
and silver, struck out of the medium
with which these debts could be paid
| by the terms of the bonds more than
half the resources of the nation, the
state, the municipality and the people
of whom the debtors as to creditors
were as a million to one.
Suppose the people of the north
| west, by millions of contracts, speci-
| flying the rate per bushel, had agreed
| to deliver to the east millions of BUSH
els of wheat" Suppose. pending
| delivery, there should come the pros
pect of an exceptionally great crop of
wheat; and then suppose that valid
law should be passed, obligatory
upon those sellers of wheat, that
all these contracts could be filled
only with Michigan red wheat. How
long would it take the judgment
creditors on unfulfilled contracts to
own the property of their debtors?
| And tell you that, to that piece of
legislation of 1873, more than to any
thing else, is due the fact that the
bone and sinew of the northwest, the
farmers, are the owners today of but
equities of redemption in farms and
in property not worth the face of the
mortgages upon them, and in many
cases not worth so per cent of the face
of such mortgages. Yet since rs, in
very many cases, and in very large
maj oEity Of instances, the farmers
have paid in interest more than the
face of the mortgages.
Means Justice to the Masses.
Now, if we concede that free coin
age is to depreciate and debase the
currency, we must admit that with
out some provision in the legislation
for their protection, the small deposit
tors in savings banks may be losers
as well as the great aggregation of
| capital, and all the interests and in
come receivers of our people. But
even in that case it must be remem-
| bered that those who will suffer are
/ few-very few, in comparison with
| the great mass of the people of this
country who have suffered and are
suffering.
The righting of this wrong should
| have come, when all the holders of
the debts existing in 1873 still held
them. But it is undoubtedly true, as
claimed, that most of the farm mort
cages have been carried along and are.
in the same hands substantially as
then. However this may be, there is
no doubt that we are still a nation of
debtors, as we were then, and
that it was great crime against hu-
manity for the representatives of a
nation of debtors to absolutely destroy
resources to pay their debts in the
means specified in the contract Great
ing them. England was not the cred
itor of the world, and when her rates
of interest could not be increased, she
increased their purchasing power by
demonetizing silver, and compelling
the world to pay in gold. =.
| 1 need not say that if were in the
house 1 would vote for free coinage,
because it is right.
Very truly years,
DoN NJ. DICKINSON.
p S. This state (Michigan) is over
whelmingly for free coinage
1t is left to the public to say how
much influence Mr.. Dickinson pos
sesses in the present campaign.