X J,
Li OAJ.,
The Wealth Makers and Lincoln Independent Consolidated.
VOL. Y.1H-
LINCOLN, NEBR., THURSDAY, July 23, 1896.
NO. 7.
It
III II I V J I 7 1 I I I 1 1 I Y 7 I
y
V
THE QDANTITY THEORY
Captain Ashby Writes an Epistle to
a Young Friend.
MONEY AND ITS JUNCTIONS.
Every Young Man in the United
States Ought to Read It.
He Says The Financial Problem Is Simple
If One Will Take an Inquiring
Glance at It.
The financial question is simple if one
will open his eyes and disregard the fal
lacies of the scoundrels who seek to pau
perize mankind by rendering money
scarce. At bottom the whole question
is one of abundance or scarcity of monev.
Now. first of all. I mean money. Not
gold bullion nor silver bullion, nor any
particular material which the law has
fixed upon to express money. It is
strange that man will notseethat money
is a necessarily local entity circumscribed
by the jurisdiction of the sovereignty
which makes it.
Money is strictly a function of govern
ment. Nothing is money except what
some sovereign power decrees to be
such, and it necessarily is not money
beyond the jurisdiction of the law cre
ating it. Each sovereign nation has by
virtue, of its power over the subject a
money peculiar to itself. Nothing is
money unless it is compulsory payment
j for all debts and monetary obligations.
Nothing is money that requires to be re
deemed in something else, or that must
be exchanged for some other thing to
perform any monetary function. Neither
does value reside in money. Value is not
a property ot anything; it is simply a
relation. Value strictly expresses the
good any given thing- is capable of do
ing man. value is tnus tne relation of
, things to human needs and does not,
like weight, length, breadth, etc., reside
in things at all. A loaf of bread is of the
same utility, whether it costs you five
cents or a dollar. It supports human
life, and that capacity to support hu
man life constitutes its value. Thus it
is'seen that the wicked have confused the
argument and seek' continually to con
found the understanding by "words
without wisdom" or even meaning. Val
ue is a word that does Dot apply to
money. Money expresses in arbitrary
terms the prices of all things for sale or
Lire. In this country the money of ac
count is dollars, cents, etc. These words
express the price ot things arbitrarily,
because the law has so decreed it. Now,
on one end of a rod hang all things that
' are for sale or hire in the united States;
on the opposite end hang all the money.
Now, these opposites constitute measure
and limit the supply and demand for
each other. All the money within the
jurisdiction is the price of all things for
sale or hire within the jurisdiction. Look
closely at that. It cannot be otherwise.
The price of all things for sale or hire
is necessarily all the money there is to
price them in. Therefore, at some angle,
they mast of necessity balance each
other, and the quantities at each end re
maining the same, they must find their
quilibrura. This equilibrum is called
the general level of prices, which ought
to be steadily maintained,
Now, human wants is that which
causes demand for things, but does not
constitute demand. As money does not
of itself directly minister to any human
rfd, there never was a demand for mon--""isy
for its own sake.
'But as all those things on the other
end of the scale meet and satisfy human
need, it is these things at last that are
always the object finally sought and
which are the real object of the demand.
But by law and universal consent that
thing on the other end of the scale which
we call money is the price of all demand
able things, and the first step toward
getting the things which meet human
needs is to get that which is the price of
them. Observe that there is a wide
difference beiween human need of useful
and desirable things and the demand for
. them.
The demand is limited or measured by
our capacity to get possession of that
money which alone is a demand for the
things in the opposite scale. I may be
starving or naked but neither hunger or
nakedness constitute a demand for
bread or clothing unless it is able to
speak through the sole medium which
law has made to be the demand for the
things in the opposite scale. Happy in
deed would it be for millions if our needs
alone had power to become demands,
and yet despair does sometimes make
, them so.
Human needs only create demands for
things that are for sale or hire as fast ns
we can possess ourselves of that thing
which is their price, and through which
our needs may be transmitted into de
mand for those things which supply hu
man needs. Supply and demand is su
preme. All the money in a given juris-
f diction is necessarily the measure and
limit of the demand for all thincs for
lale or hire. But conversely all tha
ings for sale or hire in the jurisdictions
o truly constitute in like manner the de.
nid for money. It is quantity of
y noney, therefore, that is, the number of
J dollars, which determine!) nhnnlnfolir lio
power of each one of us to transmute
our needs into demand for those things
necessary to our mortal well being.
Tho number of dollars remaining the
same, if the quantity of things for sale
or hire be doubled, it is self-evident that
the price of things must be one-half.
Every mortal knows this and speaks of
it as over production and glut of the
market of things that are for sale or
hire. If with a given number of dollars
and a given number of laborers the
price of labor is one dollar per day, the
number of laborers is at once doubled,
with no change in the number of dollars,
the days labor must fall to fifty cents.
Supply and demand are supreme and ab-
S 1 .. ai;4 J ,
UlUVU UUU U UtUUi CU1U UUtUljill ChO
gravitation.
ALL. THE
DOLLARS
ALLTHIN08FOR
SALE OB H1RU
If the number of dollars constitute as
they do the demand for all the things
that are for sale or hire, it is manifest
that reciprocally all the things that are
for sale or hire do likewise constitute the
demand for all the dollars. Human
need is the force which perpetuates and
makes active the demand. Human need
of things can only express itself through
dollars. Now any one can see here three
things upon which all rests. Human
needs, dollars, and the things useful or
desirable that minister to human needs.
A change in any v one of these parts af
reets tne equilibrum at any moment. In
crease of population, increase of human
wants without increase of population.
either one would create a desire for more
useful and desirable things, and conse
quently would call for more of those
dollars through which alone wants can
become demands. It is uot needful to
repeat that any increase in, the quantity
of things for sale or hire lowers the
price other things in each instance re
maining unchanged.
Now, if increase or diminution of hu
man wants and the increase or diminu
tion of things for sale or hire raises or
lowers the prices, can it be that any
man is so stupid as not to see that in
crease or diminution of the number of
dollars, the, other condition . being un
changed, must of necessity produce the
same effect?
The need for dollars is always exactly
equal to tne need for all other things
Double the number of dollars and the
price is doubled. Diminish the number
of dollars one-half and the price is d
rainished one-half. How could it be
otherwise, seeing that dollars are price?
Now, the greater the number of dol
lars, the less intense is the chase after
each one. The fewer the number of dol
lars, the fiercer is the scramble to get
one. it comes to pass that people who
get hold of them will notpart with them
1 hey shut up factories and stop, all en
terprisee, because their scarce dollars
are become to precious too be exchanged
tor uncertainties. They retuse to part
mm tnem except upon bond aud mort
gage ior usury. o tney grow scarcer
and continue to wring the price out of
everything. iJond and mortgage is re
fused, and a bond payable by taxation
which forces payment is the only invest
ment wnicu tne inner circle of money
changers will look at, and the uncon
trouaoie greea 01 tne ssoyiocKs riots in
high places and causes the represent
tive of the people to betray them aud
trample under foot the laws of the
country, and issue bonds as fast as these
robbers who eat up the nation desire a
place to invest their ill-gotten gains.
Credit has vanished, but business has
been compelled to shrink to get upon a
cash basis. How easy, by increasing the
number of dollars up to the needs of bus
iness, it would have been to put the
country upon a cash basis and have
maintained the business unshrunk and
unshriveled. But the diabolical pur
pose of these fiends is almost incredible.
If you favor an increase of dollars they
scare you to death with a big word,
much as you have when a boy frightened
a colt or calf by running at it and open
ing and shutting an umbrella. They
will say, "Oh, you are,an inflationist!."
Frankly, I am. I have examined this
umbrella with which they used to scare
me, and I find there is nothing in it but
supreme impudence and assurance.
Search the history of nations. No na
tion ever suffered from too much money.
Mark the word, money. They will hoot
assignats of France and continental
script at you. Neither of these were
money.
Even the greenbacks, under the influ
ence of which the people of this country
prospered as never before, were notquite
money, bixty millions of them became
money and were at a premium overgold
fcutticieutly overcome your fear of
this bhylock s umbrella to investigate
inflation. suppose gold could be
quarried out until there should be two
hundred dollars for each man. woman
and child in the nation, then these scoun
drels would demand its demonetization.
It is not because gold is a good substance
to make money of, but because it is
scarce that they fight for it. With a
Jewish shrug they say we coin all there
is, and if it is scarce it is not our fault.
Thus they avoid the responsibility for
the scarcity of money which they create.
bold never was fit for money. It
never performed the duty and work of
money. There are millions of gold coins
today forty years old that never did any
of the work of money, and the stamp of
tne mint is as clear and bright as the
day they were coined, showing that like
their greedy possessors they have done
no useful service for man in their day or
generation. It is scarce, and that is its
sole merit as money material. But let
us have an indefinitely large number of
dollars, no matter of what material
they may be made, and each additional
dollar relieves the stress of demand for
dollars. Multiply dollars until no man
chases after them, until all should turn
their attention to the accumulation of
useful and desirable things, and until
all business should be done upon a cash
basis, and tell me who would be hurt?
Increase the number of dollars again
until people would be as hard to per
suade uo part with things for sale or
hire as they are now loth to part with
dollars, and again inquire who is hurt?
The man who has employed himself in
the production of useful or desirable
things would have a voice In determining
the number of dollars he should receive
in exchange. Moreover, I acknowledge
that the man who has muscle and brain
and capacity to labor, which he wishes
to sell, would have something to say as
to the number of dollars he should re
ceive. Driven to the wall, I acknowledge
what the final result is: That if every
man had all he wants of money, I could
not compel him for hire to do any
drudgery, but would no doubt be forced
to clean out my own cess-pool. Both
Vanderbilt and myself, no doubt, would
be compelled to help uurreHimulivu wives
scrub the kitchen. What a dreadful
state of things, when man should be
emancipated from the slavery wuich
scarce money enforces aud made free
from the dread necessity of cleaning
other people's cess pools for hire to keep
from starving. Let inflation come and
more inflation. "
It means emancipation from drudgery;
it means liberty to all the useful people
and freedom from their present servi
tude to those who never did an useful or
meritorious act in all thefr selfish lives.
Not therefore because silver has any
talisraanic power or that I believe it bet
ter than gold, but merely because there
will be more dollars if both silver and
gold are made to do service, am 1 in
favor of the free admission of silver to
the mints upon the old ratio and upon
equal terms with gold. It is well to en
list in the bal tie and contend for more
money, for it is a battle against slavery
and the downfall of civilization.
But the real trouble lies deeper, and I
have prepared and delivered a lecture
called "The Man of Nazareth and His
Mission," which lays bare the whole
disease, and gives the remedy. I hope
to have it published soon.
Times are savage and barbarous. Civ
ilization has begun to dssolve already.
Houses are decreasing in the United
States daily. When one burns it is not
rebuilt. It was thus with Babylon and
all the rest. Scarce money has done its
work in all ages. W. H. Ashby,
THE TRADE DOLLAR.
It was a Scheme to Swindle the Wage
Worker and Small Merchant.
How the Kascals Worked the Plan.
When first suggested the trade dollar
was hot intended for domestic circula
tion, and this was distinctly stated in
the elaborate jeport of the late Dr. Lin
derman, the director of the mint. The
trade dollar was to be virtually a small
ingot bearing the United States stamp
indicating its weight and fineness; and
the object m preparing such an mgot
was to provide an outlet in the eastern
markets for our American silver. But
when the bill was reported in the senate
by Mr. .Sherman, the trade dollar was in
cluded in the regular silver coinage and
made legal tender to the extent of 5.
This did no harm at the time, because
silver then brought such a price that the
trade . dollar was worth 104 cents in
gold. Moreover the coin did not circu
late in the eastern states, the greenbacks
being legal tender, although not redeem
able. But on the Pacific coast the me
tallic standard bad been enforced by
public opinion, the depreciated green
back was not used, and the trade dollars
had a considerable circulation.
But about this time the price of silver
began to fall, and in 1876 an act was
passed taking away the legal tender
quality from tho trade dollar and reduc
mgittomere bullion. The dollars still
circulated, however, and gradually
worked their way east, where thev came
into common use among the working
classes and small business men. At last
the discrepancy became so great that
they fell into disrepute, merchants re-
nised to tase tnem, and thev were
bought up by the merchants and bullion
dealers at a discount, varying from 15
to 35 per cent.
As soon as they fell sufficiently, a syn
dicate was formed to furnish capital to
Duy ano noia tnem until congress could
be persuaded to pass a law redeeming
them at their full face value. In order
to secure the passage of such a law sev
eral United States legislators were ad
mitted to the syndicate "on the ground
floor," aud by their influence the law
was passed March 3d, 1887. In this way
the syndicate was enabled to "scoop in"
the millions of dollars ofhich the work
ing classes and small business men had
been robbed by the two previous laws
the first making the trade dollar a legal
tender, and thus forcing its circulation,
and the second taking away the legal
tender quality and throwing it into the
hands of the brokers. In other words
the United States government issued
several million checks forone dollar each,
and then repudiated them. If a business
man had done this he would have found
himself behind prison bars.
I have thus detailed the history of the
trade dollar because there are several
very important lessons to be drawn
from it. Most of these lessons are too
obvious to require explanation: but
thereis one point which I trust will be kept
more carefully in mind, and that is that
there is no more insidious, effective and
devilish method of robbing the wage
earner than by producing changes in the
standard of value. It is by causing ar
bitrary changes in the values of great
properties that the unearned fortunes of
Wall street have been made. And as it
is now so it has always been. The crown
ing charge of oppression and dishonesty
brought by the patriarch of old against
his father-in-law, Labau, was in these
words: "Thou hast changed my wages
ten tirnes."
Why They Grieve.
The goldbugs who announced, and ev
idently believed last spring, that they
had killed off the silver craze, are now
grieving because they did not cremate
the corpse instead of planting it. Moral:
Don't tackle a job unless you mean to
finish it Silver Knight.
Breeders of fine stock can find no better
advertising medium than this paper.
MR. BRYAN CAME HOME
An Ovation Such as no Citizen of the
State Ever Before Eeceived.
HIS OLD NEIGHBORS GREET HIM
Unnumbered Thousands Line
Streets of the City.
the
Immense Processions, Fire Works, Doonv
lug Cannon, and Shouting
Multitude.
Last Friday was the greatest day Lin
coin ever saw, and if it had not been for
the narrow minded meanness of the
State Journal, it would have been a day
of fraternity and unalloyed enjoyment to
every citizen of the city and the thous
ands who came to join in the festivities
lu the first place the cannon that was
taken to the postoffice square to fire a
salute to Lincoln's presidential nominee
was spiked and had to be bored out,
a rauroaa man oiierea to give a spe
cial car for the use of the reception com
mittee who were going down the road a
few miles to meet Mr. Bryan. When the
State Journal crowd heard of it, they
brought such a pressure to bear on the
railroad manager that he was forced to
withdraw his offer, whereupon a Lincoln
gentleman pulled out his pocketbook
and bought full fare tickets for the whole
committee.
The State Journal crowd insisted that
the reception should be absolutely nou
partizan, that no banners should be
carried and that nothing should be said
or done that would reflect on the g. o. p.
all of which was agreed to and then it re
fused to decorate its building, it being
the only business place on the square not
aoorneo wun scores ot yards of bunting,
One might search the west with a lan
tern and another such a specimen of
smaii, cnnaisn, contemptible meanness
could not be found. It was not even a
wise sellishness. It made no votes for
the gold standard.
'PI i. 1 r tt
iub irain on wnicu wr. uryan came
was oVtri a hour behind time and &
drizzling ram was falling moBt of the
time, but the people lined the streets all
the way from the depot up P. street
across to 0, and all along 0 and the
side streets, clear out to Mr. Bryan's
moiiest nttie noine.
livery one that could get a tin horn
seemed to have procured one and for an
hour and a half they patiently waited
for Mr. Bryan to come. Scores of vouna
ladies had tin horns and rivalled the
yong men in making a noise.
t mally, word was passed along from
block to block that the train was an
hour or more late, and there was a rush
to the restaurants which were filled to
overflowing, and they soon cleaned ud
everything eatable from the depot to Fif-
teeniu street. Then they filled np the
siaewaiKs ana streets again and yelled
louner tnan ever.
t; inally Mr. Bryan came, and getting
into a carriage accompanied bv Mrs
Bryan and two of the committee, the
others following, drove rapidly up P to
Ninth, up O to Fifteenth street; aud out
tnat street to his home.
A big roar of sound started at the
depot and rolled along as Mr. Bryan's
carriage advanced. Horns were blown
flags and handkerchiefs waved, men
shouted themselves hoarseand it seemed
bedlam had broken loose.
It had been announced that a recep
tion would be held at the state house,
begining at 9 p. m. At half past seven,
hundreds of people had assembled in a
drizzling rain. Soon the north portico
was filled, then the stone paved area in
front, then the broad walk leading down
to K street, then over to the north and
reaching around to both the east and
west sides, i For au hour and a half
these thousands stood in the drizzling
rain, patiently waiting.
Meantime an immense torchlight pro
cession was forming downtown, stretch
ing along the streets for many blocks.
A few minutes before 9 o clock the
whole sky, or rather the lowaring clouds
which were hanging low over the citv.
were lit up, with the glare of red Greek
fires and the procession began to move.
Clear strains of music broke out from
the bands, followed by the roar of the
drum corps, the shouts of the people and
the noise of the hundreds of tin horns
and the torchlight procession wound its
way along the streets up to the north
side of the capitol, theu turned and went
around to the west entrance.
As the procession passed the north
entrance, a mass of fire works were let
off and the sky was filled with red, white
and blue fire.
One section of the parade carried an
mmense amount of Roman candles.
When they came to the north-west cor
ner of the Capitol grounds they marched
up on the lawn and for fully fifteen min
utes the air was filled with red. white
and blue balls of fire.
A little after nine o'clock, above the
bursting of rockets the rumble of many
thousand voices, the racket of the horns
there came the clear sweet tones of Mr.
Bryan's wonderful voice. He was speak-
ng from the north balcony of the state
bouse. He said:
"Fellow citizens: I am proud tonieht
to be able to say to these who are assem
bled here, these are our neighbors (Ap
plause.) I beg to express to republicans,
democrats, populists, prohibitionists.
all, of all parties the gratitude which we
feel for this magnificent demonstration.
I say we, because she who has shared
my struggles deserves her full share of
all the honors that may come to me.
(Applause.) j 1
"Ibis scene tonight recalls thfe day,
nine years ago this month when by ac
cident rather than by design, I first set
foot within the limits of Lincoln, I re
member the day becauso I fell in love
with the town and then made the resolve
to make it my future home. (Cheering.)
I carne among you as a stranger in a
strange laud, and yet no people have
treated a stranger more kindly than
you have treated me and 1 desire to ex
press tonight not only our grateful ap
preciation of all the kindness, socially
and politically that you have shown us,
but to give to you the assurance that if
by the suffrages of our countymen 1, for
a short time occupy the most honorable
place in the gift of the people, that I
shall return to the people who first took
me in their arms. (Applause.) This
shall be my home. And when earthly
honors have passed away I shall mingle
my ashes with the dust of this beloved
state. (Applause.) This is no political
gathering. I see here faces of those who
will not be with me on the issues of the
day, but 1 am glad that love can leap
across party lines and bind in holy friend
ship judgments that go apart
"1 thank the mayor of this great city
for the charity which he has shown to
day. I thank those of all parties who
have been willing for a moment to for
get differences that exist between us and
join in celebrating the fact that at last
the nomination for president has crossed
the Missouri river. (Great cheering and
loud and long applause.) We are glad
that the prohibition party came to our
city for its candidate and if the great re
publican party which for so many years
has dominated in the councils of the na
tion had selected a Nebraska man for
the head of the ticket I should have led
you in honoring him regardless of what
his opinions might have been. (Ap
plause.) I am glad that the other
states of thio nation, east and south and
west will have thoir attention turned
toward this great prairie state and to
wards this capital city. I believe, my
friends, that when our fellow citizens in
other sections of this land shall become
acquainted with the people of this na
tion that they will pay all honor to us
and it will be a tie to bind us all in com
mon love of the greatest nation on God's
footstool today. (Applause.)
"And, now, until I can see each one of
you personally and express my thanks
by the pressure of the hand or by my
voice, permit me to bid you all in behalf
of my wife and myself good night."
(Long and continued applause.)
Mr. Bryan and his wife then retired to
the rotunda, which had been beautifully
decorated, the doors were then thrown
open and the immense throng began to
surge through. There was a jam for
hundreds of feet outside the building,
and wnue no one was maimed or 1
riously hurt, for a while it looked like
there would be. It was such a jam as
one sees out once in a life outside of two
or three great cities of this continent.
Mr. and Mrs. Bryan stood under the
lights on the great dome, while thou
sands and thousands of people passed
oy at tne rate ot nearly 00 a minute,
with all of whom they shook hands.
This went on for nearly an hour and a
nan and then the remainder of tht crowd
dispersed and the great souare was de
serted and through the misty rain, the
four big electric lights on the cupola
shone down on the debris of the fire
works, but the people had gone.
Altogether it was the greatest dav
that Lincoln ever saw or ever will see for
years and years to come.
THEY HAVE GROWN DEFIANT.
Wall Street Declares It Is a Power
Over Which Congress Has
No Control.
Are the Saerlflces Our Soldiers Made Fruit-
less and Did They Die in Vain.
Editor Independent. It is evident
that we are approaching a critical pe
riod in our life as a nation. The money
power is arrogant and despotic. For
thirty years they have played their
hands craftily; first the "exception
clause," then in 1867 Representative
Kelley introducsd the following reso
lution, which was adopted: "Resolved.
That the war debt of the country should
be extinguished by the generation
which created It, is not sustained by
sound principles of national economy
and does not meet the approval of this
house." This was the first, direct no
tice which congress voiced for the
money power that a policy of perpetual
debt was to be established, and should
have aroused the people from every
corner, but it did not. The people were
party blind and the politicians purchas.
ed. Then came the act of repudiation,
which made currency bonds payable in
coin. Then the acts of 1873, which in
effect demonetized silver. Many sup
plemental acts were necessary to so ar
range matters that the republic would
be chained hand and foot. It is now ac
complished; the mask Is thrown off,
and the money power declares itself an
independent power over which the re
public has no control and dare not at
tempt such a thing. It flings defiance
in the face of the millions who were
once free and tells them that they dare
not lift a finger to defend their homes
and property. The heroes of many a
bloody field for country's sake are told
that the sacrifices which they made
were fruitless and that their comrades
died in vain. Henry Clews, a banker,
a sinew of the money power, boldly and
in public print declares that Wall street
(the banks) will not submit to congress
and her laws and heap insult upon the
American people by telling them that
the congresses they have elected in the
past were so weak and impotent that
they dared not even attempt to main
tain the supremacy of the nation. Will
this notice of rebellion, this threat to
invade and devastate the homes and
business of America, which they exer
cised In 1873, and are still doing, create
no ripple of condemnation from con-
gress or our national officials? Has
this gang of attorneys got so low In
their servility that they will let such
as this pass by unheeded? Is not the
people the government? If an Invading
army enters territory and destroys one
half our stock and property would we
have any mercy upon them? But these
traitorous wretches of Wall street have
destroyed more than one-half of the
value of all property, already and send
out threats to destroy the rest, and no
official hand Is raised to stay the In
vader or protect our homes! . From
their boast that congress dare not in
terfere with their schemes of confisca
tion and theft it la evident that con
gress is In collusion with the traitors.
Of what kind of material la congress
composed that It "dare not" protect the
country from devastation and ruin?
It Is composed largely of lawyers, and
during the thirty years In which they
have been weaving their plot they
haven't dared to fulfill their oaths of
office and protect the nation, but occu
pied their seats and drew their pay
while traitors ran riot with the peo
ple's rights.
Clews evidently thinks that the next
congress will be the same and that
Wall street can play Its game In safety
to a flnlBh. Perhaps It may, but it
should not be so. . Give us a congress of
laboring men and the scrofulous souled '
traitors of Wall street will see a con
gress which not only dares to protect
the homes of America, but will wipe the
banditti of the money power from the
face of the earth.
Clews and his Uk will have to com
ply with the law and stop their schem
ing course of theft or the plowshare of
the farmer will turn the accursed soil
of Wall street up to the sun. Traitors,
get ready to make a final stand for your
homes. Let the shylocks come no fur
ther. Stand here and now for our
homes and loved ones. Billions of debt
founded on fraudulent laws brought
through congress have nearly destroy
ed the one and enslaved the others. It
must go no further.
Down with the money power.
H. O. STEWART.
TELLER WRITES TO BRYAN.
Warns Him of the Power of Corporations
And Banks.
Lincoln, Neb., July 18. That William
J. Bryan will receive the support of Hen
ry M. Teller of Colorodo there can be no
longer any doubt. Mr. Bryan today
received a letter from Senator Teller, in
which he told him he would support him
in his race for president. The letter
reads as follows:
Denver, Colo. July 15. Hon. W. J,
Bryan, Lincoln, Neb.: Dear Sir I con
gratulate you on your nomination at
Chicago. I think the country is to be
congratulated also. I need not assure
you that your nomination was more
than satisfactory to me. I think we
hall be able to consolidate all the
friends of free silver in your support, and
if we do this I believe you will be elected,
although I do not overlook the tremen
dous power that will be put againBt us
in this campaign. All the power of mon
ey and organized wealth, corporations
and monopolies of all kinds will be
against us. Justice is on our side and
this is the cause of the people. It is a
contest for industrial independence and
for freedom from the domination of for
eign powers and foreign capitalists, and
it does not seem possible that in such a
contest before the American people that
justice should fall aud wrong prevail. I
do not believe we shall fall. 1 think I
can promise you the cordial support of
tne western silver men, who have hereto
fore acted with the republican party,
and if you get that I think all of the
western coast and interraountam states
will be with you. I will not offer any
suggestions to you save to advise you
that, as you were nominated without
pledgee of favor or privileges to any one.
you maintain that position and make
no pledges or promises, so that you may
go into the great office of president
of the United States without the
embarrassment that follows pledges and
promises, even if they are such as may
be properly carried out. It will afford
me pleasure to place myself at the dis
posal of the national committee to make
speeches in your behalf, as my health
will permit, where and when it may
think I will do good. I am, very res
pectfully, II. M. Telleb.
What Free Silver Means.
The plutocratic newspapers of the
country have kept the people in such
profound ignorance that it is necessary
to constantly repeat the simplest and
plainest things. The following is printed
not for the regular subscribers of this
paper, but that you may give it to your
misinformed neighbors:
I- ree coinage of gold and silver means .
that the government shall receive gold
and silver, coin the same into dollars
aud return the dollars coined out of the
silver or gold deposited, as the case may
be, to the depositor without other
charge than the cost of assaying and re
fining the metals. Jt ree coinage m no
sense means that the government shall
buy silver.
Sixteen to one means that the silver
dollar shall contain sixteen times the
weight of pure silver as the gold dollar
of pure gold, that sixteen ounces ofsilver,
for this is our present coinage ratio, '
shall be coined into the same number of
lollars as one ounce of gold. The weight
of pure gold iu the dollar is 23.22 grains.
Therefore the , ounce of gold will coin in
to 20.67. The weight of pure silver in
our dollar is371jgrains,or sixteen times
the weight of gold in the gold dollar.
1 herefore the coinage value of an onnce
of silver under free coinage would be $1.
2929. Consequently sixteen ounces (ac
curately 15.988 ounces) of silver would
be the equal in coinage value of one
ounce of gold or $ 20.67.