Askov American., 1943-05-06
SilUer Question Big
Issue Back In 1896

| column in the Friesland Journal,
issue of Saturday, Oct. 10, 1896.
Dealing with the silver ques-
ton, one of the leading political
issues of the campaign that year,
the article will be of interest to
many of the old-timers who can
recall those days, as well as to
members of later generations.
AS I am very much interested in
Pine county and the success of the
settlers and citizens of said part of
the state, l would like to contribute
little share of the political docu-
ments to make the people of Pine
! county see in the right light which
issue at the coming election, it will
be in their interest to vote for.
AS l was in Europe last summer
and spent about two months there,
l have some idea of how the people
over there look upon us in our pres
ent struggle against the silver party.
Not only the financiers but mer-
chants and manufacturers as well as
the majority of farmers in Holland,
Germany, France and Belgium, where
l was visiting consider the present
movement of the So-called Free Sill
yer party in the United States not
only as an adiotic idea but almost
next to a financial suicide.
The United States and the condi-
tions of the United States looked
upon, from the outside, have quite a
different appearance than for those
who live right here and who, influ-
enced by certain political dema-
gogues think, or are made to be-
lieve, that the United States is such
big country and influential in all
respects that it can control by its
issues practically the whole world.
Such, however, is not the case,
bankers and those who are engaged
in the loaning of money, especially
in the west and northwest, know too
we'll which percentage of the money
used for the development of the
original wild prairies and forests of
the western part of the United States
is owned in England, Holland and
Germany.
The owners of said money, who by
| loaning the same to people in the
| United States as individuals or as
corporations, making the develop
ment of this vast region possible,
have in good faith loaned their money
in dollars, wherefore 100 cents in
the international market of the world
should be repaid.
Should the aims of the Silver
party become realized, they would
cause to become enacted upon the
statute books of the United States a
law whereby the payment of any
debt should be legal in any form of
United States money, whether such
be gold, silver or paper. AS long as
the United States financially is on the
gold basis, such would be no in
jury to anybody, but as soon as
| the object of the Silver party is
accomplished by opening the mints
of the United States to the free coin
age of the silver dollar and the
paper representing the same, it will
| go down in the international market
| to the value of the silver which such
| a dollar represents, which practically
means that the Silver party would
| repay the money loaned to the United
States or her citizens at the value of
100 cents in the dollar, of the value
of SO cents or whatever the silver
m obt ha at the time
That such policy of dishonesty
| cannot be followed without impun-
ity is clearly visible, The intention
| of part of the citizens of the United
States to show their dishonesty and
deprive creditors of part of their
dues, has had tendency already to
scare capitalists, not only United
States citizens but the people abroad.
The consequence, whereof, is that no
| European mortgage company or indi-
| vidual investor is willing to loan
money to an individual, corpora
ton or country as a whole where
such policy as above outlined may
be followed and unless the vote this
fall is very decisive in favor of gold,
European capital will not be avail
able for the United States for years
to come If the victory for gold
should only be slight, then times will
remain bad and money will be as
tight as it is now, because the own
ers of the money in Europe who
have got the whole world and not the
United States alone, for their cap
ital to invest in will rather send it
to another part of the globe, than to
the United States where they know
they have got to deal with people
who do not wish to pay their honest
debts.
European capital will then be with
held until the next presidential cleo
ton, causing bad times and there is
possibility that such a condition
after slight victory for the gold
party may be taken advantage of by
the silver barons, by stating that if
they had succeeded during the cleo
tiOn in 18Q6 times would have been