The Irish standard., 1900-07-28
no DOLLAR OF FIXED VALUE.

In MS nOtlhcitlOn speech, at Canton,
MIR. Mckinley said, speaking OF what
the Republican congress had done: In
stead OF 10 to /, for which our oppo-
ncnts contendcd four years ago, legisla-
ton has been enacted which, while util-
ling all forms OF Our money, secures
one fixed value for every dollar, and that
the best known to the civilized world"
This is a very fair specimen of delu-
sive and misleading platform talk, in
which Mr. Mckinley is past master,
says Rev. DR.. Lambert in the New
York Freeman's Journal.
''lnstcad Of I6 to 1. for which our op-
ponents contendcd legislation
Republican undcrstoo6 secures one
fixed value for every dollar. etc.
Now. did it occur to the hearers, or
does it occur to the readers OF this
statement that when the benevolent op-
poncnt of 10 to 1 made it he was actu,
ally having coined daily in the United
States mints 100000 silver dollars at the
ratio OF 10 to I; that in the month pre-
vlous. June. he had coined over 1000, 600
silver dollars at IS to /; that in the
month before that. May. he had 1000,
600 silver dollars coined at 16 TO +: that
in this present year. this is from jan
uary up to July, he had coined I4ooo,-
600 silver dollars at rs to 1. and that
since he took office he has had "a ooo,-
600 silver dollars coined at 16 to L?
Yet this is the fact. according to the
United States treasury report This
fact in connection with the presidents
statement suggests several things. Ac-
cording to the statement, these 44,ooo,-
600 10 to l silver dollars, coined by
President Mckinley, have, by Republic
an legislation. secured one "fxed value
for every dollar, and that the best known
to the civilized world"
Republicans have made themselves
hoarse crying that the 16 to I silver
dollar is a hity-ccnt dollar. If there be
any truth i'll the cry. the president has
been coming dollars worth only 50
cents and paying them out to the peo-
pie as Ioo-cent dollars Are the shout
ers ready to accept this situation, this
criminal aggression" on the confidence
OF trusting people? Oh. no!
Well, then, they must shift their sails
to the new angle OF the wind and hold
the dollars with only 50 cents worth OF
silver in them are, thanks to the Re-
publican legislation. loo-cent dollars.
Very well. We will see how this SHIFT
works.
Republicans ridicule the idea that leg
islatlon can put value into anything.
They call that stupid Democratic
Populist notion. Now, il legislation
cannot put value into thing. how did
Republican legislation make a fifty
cent dollar worth 100 cents? And if it
did not, how can this gold-standard
administration justify itself in paying
out silver pieces worth only 50 cents
for dollars worth 100 cents?
MIR. McKinley's opposition to IS to I
is OF piece with his plain duty" oppo-
sition to Porto Rico tariff. In boil,
cases he ended i'll doing what he began
by opposing. He opposed the 16 to I
dollars and proceeded forthwith to coin
"A 100000 of them. He opposed, from a
sense of plain duty, the Porto Rico tar
iff and forthwith proceeded to use all the
influence of the government to impose
that tariff on the Porto Ricans.
When Mr.. Mckinley says recent Re
publican legislation secures fixed val.
ue' to every dollar. he makes state.
ment that every political economist, liv.
ing or dead, knows must be false. Eve,
Republicans who hold that Legislation,
cannot put value into anything mus,
contradict him. for if legislation, ever
Republican legislation, cannot put valu,
into a thing it cannot put fixed val
ue' into it. And those economists who
know that legislation can in effect pu
value into thing know that it canno
put fixed" value into it. They know
that there never was a dollar or an,
other piece OF money, gold or silver, O.
/ conner 0r iron tb,t ,1,,,,,,, l>1.. e..