Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-04-28

thaC THIS great insurance combine was
tampering with the state Of Iowa by
electing its minions to those positions
Gentlemen, that is nothing more than
another piece of demogoguery. He
didn't look at the proposition in that
light In 1888. On page 407 of the
house record of the twenty-second
general assembly A. B. Cummins
voted against house file No. 90, to pre-
vent improper combinations by insur-
ance companies or officers thereof.
What do you think of that? It is con-
sistent with this record throughout
and yet he made your railroad law.
Yes, he voted for twas on the con-
ference committee which reported
unanimously In favor Of the act. All
Of the railroad members voted for the
bill because they knew that It's pass
age was Inevitable, and they might
have been impaled by public opinion
should they come up for endorsement
by the people II they voted against It.
But in the preliminary stages Of this
Legislature and on the elective railway
commission bill and the two cent fare
bill they arb all on the record, which
/ have given you.
cumn,lns as Free silverEte.
"Let us go back little further to
ancient history and get little more
of the record OF this representative Of
perfection. have letter bearing
date September is, 1893, written by A.
B. Cummins to DR.. J. r, Gorrell, q
populist and Bryan supporter, Of New
ton, Iowa Listen to this:
"'My dear sir: Your frank and cpur-
teous letter of the 18th is entitled to
a candid reply. First allow me to
congratulate you upon the admirable
way in which you sspeak your mind !.
II there be canker upon our social
and political life it is the time serv-
err" whose views change with the tone a,
Of every nearer and audience. AS Tor
me, whatever opinion have upon pub
lie questions are open to anyone who
may care to hear them. Reflection and
study may change them, but they are
never concealed.
Upon the question Of silver coin
age do not pretend to be stats
tician. have given some thought to
the matter upon principle and the con-
clusion to which have arrived is this;
The experience of the nations has,
think, demonstrated one fact beyond
reasonable controversy, viz. that all
currency must be convertible or re-
deemable In coin having an intrinsic
value. To create the requisite conf1d-
.ence among the people, the currency
other than coin must not be dtspro-
portionate to the amount Of coin
available for use.
gle gold standard absolutely impos-
sible or at least excessively dangerous
for there is not enough OF that metal
to give stability to the large volume
of currency or subsidiary coin that
must rest upon it, s
Gentlemen, is that craftsmanship?
Is he endowed with that perscience
that enables him to see into the fu-
ture and forecast that which is GER
tain to pass? We will read another
sentence.
THEREFORE,. AM IN FAVOR
OF THE FREE COINAGE OF SILL
Weir NOT ONLY OF AMERICAN
SILVER BUT OF ALL SILVER, BE
ING. ABSOLUTELY SURE IT WILL
NOT AND CANNOT BE COINED Tc
EXCESS
"a voice from the audience) "Thai
is good Organism
"That Is good Organism and good
W. b. WeaverisIn.
"Well, the letter is pretty lengthy
but / want the reporters to publish II
in full because am going to comment
on 1t. The governor says he don't
want to be misconstrued, and the rec
ord is good deal better than state
ment>. I cannot do justice to this sub
ject without talking at length. Let us
now take one step further, and here
we may disagree.
1.-THE only reason for using gold and
I.sf. r1rrr s<rxv
currency is because they have intrin-
sic value, that is because labor has
been expended to produce them. There
fore. the coinage ratio should CORE
spond to the intrinsic ratio Mark you
I do not say the market rltio; the lat
ter may be Influenced by many things
that are temporary or abnormal. There
are tests however which can be ap.
piled prominent among which is the
cost Of production. With the excep.
ton / believe Of a single instance d
a monopoly, the relative value ol
things is determined by the cost OF
producing them. do not mean the
cost of a single mine or a single veal
but a long general average. Guided
by these lines, / would ascertain the
value ratio existing between gold and
silver, would fix this as the coinage
ratio ana then would coin them bott
DIS LILLY dllu hIdpiuly DIS, LIE uiSIdls
were brought to the mint
rs that craftsmanship? would like
to know how under the heavens the
actual value of the. silver, the intrinsic
value or cost Of production could eve1
be aseertained by mortal men. Take
for example the Silver King Mine at
Park City, Utah. It is a silver lead
mine paying dividends of 100000 pei
months with silver worth sixty-five
cents an ounce A large share OF its
ore goes directly to the smelter and
the rest being low grade is milled. II
also produces lead, copper and small
gold values. On the other side of the
gulclA is the Daly-West paying lower
profit This mine produces a lower
grade and the relative cost of opera
ton is greater than that of the Silver
King. There is no standard Of cost
that can be ,ascertained Take the
silver mines the length and breadth Of
the world and how are you going tc
get the data? Many are owned by pri
yate individuals who do not report
But gentlemen, about the year 1903 q
statesman, one William ]. Bryan, ap