The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1900-04-07
A Wonderful Speech by Promi.
nent Bi.MetaIlist.
TRUTHS AND SENTIMENTS
free Coinage Of Silver no Longer Needed-Made
Ridiculous BY lnjudiciOGs Friends-BioOd
Wicker Than MeteF-American Bray
cry and HeroisGl.

The celebrated Tom Fitch recent
ly delivered speech in Salt Lake
City from which the following ex-
tracts are made:
II am not here to antagonize free
coinage of silver or to withdraw one
word that I have uttered in its
behalf. No man, in. proportion to
his abilities and opportunities, has
advocated bi-metallism more earn
estly than I have. But its injudic-
ious friends have for the present
aided to make it impossible by
making it ridiculous. They have
welded it to free trade, free paper
money, free anarchy, and free con-
tempt of court, and to every fantasie
in finance and every fal1acy in
philosophy, and every phase of fool
politics advanced by the dreamers
and cranks and 1ong-whiskered
precinct statesmen who have climb
ed upon the Democratic back as the
Old Man of the Sea leaped upon
the shoulders of the unfortunate
Sinbad of old. Because I am a
friend of bi-metallism, it does not
follow that must fall down and
worship this black-spotted, saffron
bellied, poison-spitting ella monster
of politics, and as a bimetallist I
feel like saying to our opponents
what the 1ong-legged Irishman said
to the short-legged jackass whom
he was riding on very hot day.
The rider 1oosened his feet from the
stirrups, and the animal in kicking
at flies thrust his foot into the
vacant stirrup-iron. "Be jabers,
me boy" said Pat, eff you are 60
ing to get On it is time for me to
get off," (Laughter)
Bimetallism is not 50 necessary
now as it was twelve years ago
when the agitation for free coinage
of silver first assumed proportions
of national consequence. Then the
worlds annual production of gold
was but ninety millions of dollars
and those who demanded free coin
age of silver were right in declaring
that not enough gold was produced
to meet the increasing demands of
commerce for metallic money. But
since then the golden rivulet has
been fed by the outpouring from
the heated hills of West Australia,
from the yellow-ribbed mountains
Of South Africa, from the frozen
sands and gulches of the Arctic,
and from tens of thousands o1
stamps which the discovery of the
cyanide process of reduction have
set to work in the Rocky mountains
until the stream of ninety million:
has swollen into a river of two
hundred and sixty millions, whose
oenehcient waters are irrigating the
arid wastes of insolvency and add
ing everywhere to values and put
ting bread into the mouths Of thu
workers, and making, possible tn
payment of mortgages and divorcint
labor from the sterile embrace
Apathy and wedding him to fai
young Hope.
Again, since Our opponents mad
Tes silver coinage one of the many
tenets of their muitifarious faith
Austria-Hungary and Russia hav
changed from the single silver t
the single gold standard. Japan
aiert' sagacious and progressive
mas changed from 16 to I to "a to !
HVen Mexico has placed her publ
Indebtedness upon a gold basis: th
mlnts of India have been close
against the further coinage of silve
rupees, and a thousand millio
"unces of uncoined silver are no
ready to be thrown upon the FIR