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THE ALLIANCE.
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ALLIANCE PUBLISHING CO.
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Lincoln, - - - Nebraska.
J. BURROWS, . : : . Editor.
J, M. THOMPSON, Associate Editor.
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ING CO.. aud all matters pertaining to the
Farmers' Alliance, Includitgr subscriptions to
the pape to the Secretary.
EDITORIAL COKRESr02iI)ECE.
The Silrer Convention.
St. Louis, Nov. 27, 1889.
The silver con ventioa was organized
Tuesday morning, according to pro
gramme. There were about four hun
dred delegates present. Hon. A. War
ner, of Ohio, was made permanent
chairman.
. Among the notables present were
Stewart, of Nevada; Bland, of Missouri;
Jesse Harper, of Illinois; Lee Crandall,
District of Columbia; Ben C. Colvin, of
New York.
Mr. Boot was made chairman of the
delegation, and vice-president of the
convention, and Mr. Burrows was ap
pointed delegate at large to .represent
the states under his jurisdiction as pres
ident of the National Alliance.
After its organization was effected,
the convention got down to work in
good shape. An excellent programme
for addresses by distinguished gentle
tlemen had been prepared by the com
mittee, which was fairly carried out.
Among the leading speakers w ere Bland
-of Missouri; Stewart, of Nevada; Stark,
of Ohio; Jordan, of Ncav York; Symmes
of Colorado; Moms, of Indiana, and
othei's.
Senator Stewart's address was one of
great interest, and we shall publish it
when Ave can obtain a corrected report.
We publish this w eek a verbatim re
port of the address of Hon. 11. P. Bland,
of Missouri, which will be found of
.great interest. It will be remembered
that Mr. Bland is the author of what is
known as the Bland bill, under which
our mints are now operating. But this
bill when presented proposed free coin
age of silver on an equality with gold,
but was trimmed to its present condi
tion to a void a presidential veto.
The Hospitality of St. Louis.
If the weather had been as hospitable
cks the citizens of St. Louis, the dele
gates to the silver convention would cer
tainly have had a happy time. Unfor
tunately the Aveek of the convention has
been an unpleasant one. Tuesday the
,,'-'JAvas continuous. Wednesday there
must hac ghort iatermissions in which
"TSfes ceased to drip. Wednesday
Caa nlyng rounded up with a snoAV storm,
VnSkJir 1 J J 1 J
"ygut the hospitality of St. Louis has
tended to turn the delegates' Avinter of
discontent into glorious summer. Their
badges are passes to everything. They
--till have the freedom of the city in a
diamond snrff box. Invitations are
shoAvered upon them from all quarters.
.A grand ball and concert Avas given
them Tuesday evening. Wednesday eve
ning the doors of all the city theaters
were oxened to them. Thursday after
noon they are to be shown all points of
interest, and Thursday evening a grand
collation, to make up for their loss of
the home Thanksgiving dinner, is to be
giA'cn at the Merchants' Exchange.
As they are mostly gray -headed old
men, these festivities, do net seem to
make them giddy. But they Avill make
them Avell-inclined to again A'isit "this
city Avhen its citizens shall extend an
inA'itation.
The Railroads vs. The People.
The Alliance sold a lot of corn at Ed
.gar last Aveek, delivered on track, at 18
cents per bushel, but after ten cars had
been loaded, they Avere notified that the
road Avas blocked and hence the deliv
ery direct by the Alliance people Avas
refused. The Alliance men Avill prompt
ly appeal to the board of commissioners
and claim heaAry damages, as at prices
ihey were realizing, the loss to the a Aver
age farmer will be from $100 to $200,
or many thousands in the county Avhich,
if added to the scant profits of the farm,
where it belongs, - would enable many
farmers to lift mortgages and live like
white men and American citizens. The
'Avreng will be righted if there is any
justice or defense' for the oppressed left
in the law books of the nation.
A very enthusiastic mass meeting of
farmers Avas held at Betheny school
house, two miles west of Edgar, last
'Saturday, and after a preamble of tht
grievance in being refused transporta
tion for their corn, strong resolutions
"were adopted to co-operate in ferreting
out the direct causes, and urging the
commissioners to - aid them in securing
their rights. Fairfield Herald.
Tally One For Uncle Jerry.
A gentleman Avho recently., returned
from Washington, Avhither he Avent to
referee the fight between President Har
rison and the Illinois senators, tells a
good story about -"Uncle" Jerry Rusk,
the Secretary of Agriculture. One day
.Secretary Rusk failed to attend the cab
inet meeting that is, he failed to get
there on time.' aud the other members
of the cabinet, all of Avhom were anx--ions
to get through so as to a tend to
their OAvn affairs, were greatly annoyed
-over his tardiness. At last he put in an
Appearance, and one of the cabinet offi
cers remarked, sharply: "Ah, here
comes the tail of the administration!"
.Secretaiy Rusk looked at the objector
and then replied: "Yes, by , and
.you'll find - that a tail is needed to keep
the flies off of this administration lefore
Its four years are up." . This Avas one
horse for the gentleman from Wiscon
sin, and it occurred before the recent
November elections, at that. Chicago
Herald. ;
SI
Lffl
DOLLARS
Their Unlimited Coinage Demanded by
the Convention. They aals. tnat iour
Millions of Silver Bullion Shall be
Coined Each Month. Equal Rigrhts
for Gold and Silver.
BLAXD'S MASTERLY ADDRESS.
Mr. Bland's speech was as follows:
What would be the effect of the free
coinage of silver by the government of
the United States?
This is not a new question, nor is it
lacking interest because it is not iicaa'.
The silver question, like the poor, avc
have always with us.
The free coinage of silver . aviII settle
the silver question and very greatly re
lieve the poor. It is said that silver is
the money of the poor man. This say
ing is not without reason.
Silver constitutes for the most part
that vast sum of money in the world
called subsidiary coins, the fractional or
or small change that marks the transac
tion of retail trade the world over. In this
sense it is the money of the poor.
It is also the money that serves the
convenience of the rich. To undertake
to go back in history to the time Avhen
silver was not money or the medium of
exchange, would be to attempt the im
possible. 1-
It was silver, like the moon rising
majestically in the east, that first pene
trated the darkness ' and gloom that
mysteriously shrouded the human race
and pointed out to mankind the Avay to
the Avorld's trade and commerce, civili
zation, science and art. Those periods
in the world's history marked by the
greatest output of the precious metals,
(rold and silver, are the periods of the
greatest prosperity in Avealth, the most
rapid stimes or eiewiimu -ttuu imum
gence. Gold came more actively into
use as nations grew richer. Its produc
tion per weight Avas less than silver.
In proportion. to bulk, therefore, it has
ahvays been esteemed the more pre
cious metal, probably for the same reason
that diamonds are considered still more
precious than gold. Consequently silver
and gold have been money, interchange
able at some agreed ratio. For the last
200 years this ratio has been about 15i
pounds of silver to one of gold, at least
since France in 1803 adopted this ratio,
and until 1873 the parity of the tAVO met
als at that ratio Avas maintained.
Germany decreed the gold standard
in 1871. From 1857 till this decree she
Avas on the silver standard, The United
States demonetized silver in 1873 and
France limited its coinage in J874 and
finally suspended it in 187!). This hostile
legislation broke the parity and since
then gold has steadily appreciated Avhile
sih'er has remained stationary or per
haps has also slightly appreciated.' To
emphasize the statement that France by
free coinage maintained this parity
from 1803 till 174 let us call at
tention to the 'fact that the de
monetization of Germany and of
the United States did not break the par;
that it Avas not dislocated till France
limited the coinage of silver in 1874. It
is thus pointed out hoAvone nation alone
Avas able to maintain both metals at par
by the free or unlimited coinage of both
at her mints.
It is Aery generally agreed among
AA'riters upon the subject, asNvell as statis
tical AA'ho have examined into it, that
since the demonetization referred to,
gold has apprec iated at about the differ
ence betAveen the value of gold and sil
ver bullion. It is also generally admit
ted' that silver, in silver standard coun
tries, Avillbuy as much of commodities as
before, if not more. It is also generally
agreed that the repeal of this hostile leg
islat'on by these several nations would
restore the status quo.
THE VITAL QUESTION.
The only question Avith bimetallists in
our county is whether Ave should at once
repeal our demonetization laws or Avait
for the concurrence of the other powers,
including Great Britian. It is a signifi
cant fact that you Avill scarcely lind a
man in public life to-day Avho "will as
sume the responsibility of contending
for the single gold standard. When the
act of 1878, to restore to. the coinage the
standard silver dollar, was pending,
there were many in both houses of Con
gress .who expressed themselves une
quivocally in favor of the single stand
ard of gold or Avho regarded bimetall
ism as au absurditity an impossibility.
They have all, or nearly all, subsided or
fallen into the ranks of those Avho are
timid in the silver faith, and desire to
halt till some league or treaty can be
had Avith the other nations referred to
for the free coinage of silver. ' I am in
favor of paddling our own canoe on this
as AA-ell as on Jill other subjects. If Ave
haAe enacted bad laws let us repeal
them. It is uot necessary to ask the ad
Aice or concurrence of other countries.
Especially should Ave repeal a laAV that
has been so universally condemned as
the demonetization act of 1873. As far
as I can now recall, every man in either
house of Congress who participated in
the passage of this act has protested
that he did so in utter ignorance of its
effect. The President Avho signed the
act afterward expressed his desire to see
silver come again into general eircula
latiou as an aid to specie resumption,
evidently ignorant that "his own hand
hail signed the decree against it.
No matter whether the interested few
Avho engineered this legislation meant
well or hot, it Avas practically a fraud
upon Congress and the American people.
The act contains 67 sections. Its title
is "to revise and amend the hnvs relat
ing to the mints, assay offices and the
coinage." At that time we Avere on a
paper basis, and the subject of -coinage
Avas not so likely as now to attract gen
eral attention. The only important
change in the laAV Avas the part of it that
dropped silver from the coinage and
made the gold dollar instead of the sil
ver dollar the standard of vilue. The
silver dollar, 412 grain of standard sil
vor, or 371 grains pure silver, had al
Aay.s up to tnat time been the unit of
account, the standard-of .value. Had
the title of the act made known this pur
pose, then no one ought to plead ignor
ance of it, but it studiously avoided
doing so. Section 15 approaching mid
Avay of this eombersome act, provided
for the coinage of the trade dollar of 420
grains of stand ai'd sih'er, for the half
dollar, quarter and dime. They are made
a legal tender for only $5. The full le
gall tender standard dollar is not named
at all but wholly ignored. Section 17
provides that no coins, either gold or
silver or minor coinage, shall be issued
the from the mints other than those of
denomination standards and Aveights
therein set forth.
PROHIBITION OF COINAGE.
This Avas a clear-cut prohibition of the
coinage of the standard silver dollar,
for that had not been named either in
denomination, Aveight or standard. The
stab in the dark of the monetary assassin
is here brought to - view. The Avhole
thing is accomplished by indirection,
both as to title and context. This act
bears all the ear marks of stealth and
cunning. Had the title of the act de-
.1 -' .i s tn be to make crold
the sole standard of, value, and to de
monetize the silver iionai, H w nuumue
been an honest declaration of its pur-
... i 1 K -r mran n I o rr-
poses. IJuttius
the hand," ot tne assai" .
been paralyzed. V
LM.-ii ul. corwl Congress has
already said it should not Avholly stand
The act of 1878 restoring the standard
dollar to the - coinage - was dioif
against it. A mild protest n is xi ue, a. er
a protest that has been the subject of
....f, , Knci on! attack by the
enemies of silver, and especially by those
interested in the eviueni inu.auu
results of the act of 1873 demonetizing
silver. They made grave prophecies that
this restoration of silver would drive
from us all our gold. Yet Ave have to-day
$500,000,000 more gold than Ave had when
this act of 1878 was passeu. n t-j nu-
fl.nr.lnMorn that silver WOUld llOt C1TCU-
tllVJl VIVV HVi KS till - fcJ'- - - a m a. -I
late; the people did not Avant it and
would not take it. Yet Ave have coined
about 350,000,000 of standard uouars,
nearly the Avhole of which is in circula
tion, either as coin or the certificate. V e
had not coined over 50,000,000 Avhen the
Secretary of the Treasury expressed his
opinion that that sum Avas all thecountry
would absorb at a par with - gold, and
recommended further measures looking
to its curtailment and final suspension of
its coinage. From year to year these false
alarms have been sounded in the ears of
the American people. But they and their
Congress have learned by bitter exper
ience that no ear should be given to this
cry of "wolf." The coinage AAras not sus
pended; all the silver goes actively into
circulation at par Avith gold, the only com
plaint the people make is that they have
not a sufficiency of it. What a commen
tary upon the doleful predictions of these
false prophets! As I said in another
place' upon this subject, if avc had a laAV
tnrli the old Jewish law which took
false prophets to the gates of the outer
Avail and stoned tnem io ucuui, e
ivaii1i not liavfi n. sincrle one of these
false prophets, gold worshippers, and
alarmists left to further fesist free coin
age. LEGISLATION OF 1873.
But let us recur to the demonetization
legislation of 1873. We Avere then on a
basis of credit money at a depreciation
of about 12 per cent. The country AA-as,
to all appearances, at least, fairly pros
perous. Our financiers and statesmen
Avere predicting and looking foiAvard to
an early resumption of specie payments,
but a specie payment based on gold and
silver. Germany had demonetized silver
in 1871, but this need not ha-e excited
any special alarm i'or she had demone
tized gold in 1857 without in the least
disturbing the monetary par. Our mines
were then, as now, rich in both silver
and gold. We were again just entering
upon the coinage of silver. In the year
1870 Ave coined of standard si her dollars.
$588,308; in 1871, $637,929; in 1872, $1,112,
961 ; in January and to February 12, in
1873, $977,150. This shows a steady in
crease of the Hoav of silver to our mints,
Avhich were .up to February 12, 1873,
open to free coinage of that metal, as
well as gold. During January and up
to the 12th of February, 1873, as is
shown, Ave coined nearly a million of
standard silver dollars. With these
facts before us Ave may be astonished
that the coinage was cut off. Silver
hail not depreciated below gold, nor
do Ave belieAO it Avould have
lost its par had Ave continued its coin
age. Its did not lose its par till a year
afterward, or until France limited its
coinage! We have every reason to be
lieA C that had Ave continued free coinage
at our mints France Avould not haAe lim
ited or finally suspended the coinage.
What f olloAved this insane legislation of
1873 Ave know full well. It 'was not more
than six months after Ave demonetized
silver till we found our country in the
throes of a financial panic, the most dis
astrous in our Avhole history. Banks alt
oAer the United States, Avith few excep
tions, closed their doors against their
customers and the public. Men and
Avomen, rich and poor, who had money
on deposit AA'ere unable to to get it. You
could not get your OAvn money nor could
you borrow. Confidence had fled. Dis
aster and ruin was written in the faces
of the people everywhere. Money could
not be had. Those who were so unfort
unate as to have debts to pay had no
other recourse but the bankrupt courts.
Their dockets were crowded with liti
gants. They were in name courts of
bankruptcy, but in fact they Ave re courts
of confiscation, Avhere the property of
debtors Avas taken and turned over to the
creditors AA'ithout consideration.
CAUSE OF THE l'AXIO.
It is not claimed that the demoneti
zation of silver alone caused this panic.
There Avere other contractions of the
currcuny in progress. But the probabil
ities are that had we left our mints open
to the free coinage of silver there Avould
luvve been, as Ave haA e shown, a constant
and heavy increase in the coinage of
the silver dollar to. counteract the effect
of paper contractions. This Avould have
won unh ersal confidence. It Avould have
done the very thing President (irant
Avas so desirous of seeing done, that is,
the rapid return of silver to our circu
lation, a thing he unconsciously pre
vented by signing the act of 1873. But
for this fact Ave Avould have resumed
specie payments much earlier than Ave
did and without the disasters accom
panying it. Indeeded, it may Avell be
doubted whether we Avould have resum
ed at all except' for the aid of silver
coinage provided for in the restoration
act of 1878.
If the partial restoration of silver has
been beneficial as far as tried; if all the
prophecies of evil concerning it have
proven false, Avhynot give it full scope to
do its perfect Avork? if a part of it is fit
for coinage why not the Avhole? Here
again avc are confronted Avith objec
tions, not by the gold men alone, but
also on the part of professed bimetalists.
One objection is that free coinage Avould
give the silver miner the benefit of the
difference betAveen the Aalue of silver
and gold. That difference being near 30
per cent, it is claimed Avould be a great
boon to the silver miner. If free sih'er
coinage Avould do that it Avould first have
to do just Avhat these same objectors
strenously insist it would not. and can
not do, to:A it: Restore the parity of the
two metals.
, THE ONLY OBJECTION.
The only serious objection to the free
coinage of silver that has been urged,
and is now urgcd,isthatitis depreciated
as compared to gold. .Unless the free
coinage bridged over the difference in
the value of gold and silver the. conten
tion that the sih'er miner avouUI profit
to the extent of the difference ninv ex
isting betAveen the tAo metals, cannot
be maintained. It can, however, Avell be
maintained that he would not be the
gainer to that extent, admitting that the
partiy AA Ould be thus restored Unques
tionably the free coinage of silver Avould
gh'e a greater demand for that metal
and greatly lessen the demand for gold,
consequently 'silver would appreciate
and gold -would depreciate. It may
bo assumed, for illustration, that
silver would appreciate 15 per cent, and
gold depreciate 15 per cent, thus meet
ing each other half way. In that case
the gold miner would lose 15 per cent,
and the silver miner gain 15 per cent.
There is as much reason for saying that
the "great reduction in the demand for
gold caused by silver competition would
reduce the value of geld 30 per cent, as
to say it Avould increase the value of silver
30 per cent, yet if gold fell 30 and silver
rose 30 this would, bridge over a differ
ence
of 60 per cent, and 'place silver 30
cent aboA-e crold. That the sih'er
per cent
miner Avould gain is certain aud that the
gold miner would lose is equally as cer
tain, out m Avnat proportions is matter
wholly in the region of conjecture.
in this connection it should oe noted
that in so far as anything can be estab
lished by statistics and patient investi
gation, the fact that silver lias not fall
en at all, and will buy as much of com
modities uoav in all silver-using coun
tries, as ever, is fully proAen. In fact. I
do not know that it is anywhere disput
ed, llie AA-eight of testimony shows that
there has been a slight appreciation of sil
ver, notwithstanding its demonetization
by the countries heretofore named. On
this point AAe give statistics found on page
17 of ' 'The Final Report of the Royal Com
mission" appointed to enquire into the
recent changes in the relative A alue of
the precious metals, year 1888.
The tables are arranged to sIioav v?ie
prices of commodities measured in go'd
at different periods. 1 shall confine my
self to that portion bearing.directly up
on prices in 1873, the date of sih'er de
monetization, and the last years ''given,
to-wit, 1887 and 1888. One hundred is
taken for the average price ajid basis or
index number. .
The Economist gives prices in 183 at
134; in 1888 at 101, a decline bf-J3 per
cent. Dr. Soetbeer gh es in 1873, 138;
in 1887, 103, a fall of 35. Mr. Palgrave
gives in 1873, 104: in 1887, 73, a fall of
31. Mr. Sauerbeck gh es in 1373, 111;
in 1887, 78, a fall of 33 per cent. Mr.
Griffin gh-es prices of British exports in
1873 nt 132; in 1886, 82, a fall of 50 pel
cent. The same author gives British
imports in 1873 at 107; in 1886, 74, a fall
in price of 33 per cent.
Most, if not all, of these statisticians
are-: advocates of the gold standard.
Their figures cannot be claimed as haA
ing been brought forward by sih'er ad
Aocates, The fall in gold prices since
1873 is here shown to be on the average
of over 33 per cent. Commodities, there
fore, as measured by gold, have fallen
in price over 33 per cent, or, in other
Avoids, gold has appreciated 33 percent.
Silver, as compared to gold, has not
fallen below . 30 . per cent. This fact
confirms the A'ieAV elsewhere admitted
in this report of the royal commission
that silver, as measured by commodi
ties, has not fallen. See page 18, para
graph 52.
SILVEIt HAS APPRECIATED.
It also shows the truth to be as
claimed by some of the writers that sil
ver has slightly appreciated, measured
by commodities. In other Avords, the
testimony is OAerAvhelming that, not
Avithstanding the suspension of its coin
age by Germany, I ranee and the Uni
ted States, silver Avill purchase more
noAV than in 1873. It is claimed, and I
think abundantly shoAvn by the facts,
that prices are loAvcr noAV than at any
time in the present century. Thus sil
ver Avill buy more of the necessaries of
life than at any time for a generation
past. See same report, page 17, para
graph 51...
These are startling facts and must go
far in disabusing the popular mind of
the fallacy that silver is cheap that it
has depreciated when in truth and
fact it has, not depreciated, but just the
reverse. ,
Why, then, should Ave be frightened
out of our Avits by the selfish cry of the
money poAver that silver is cheap de
depreciated!' that free coinage would
drive us to the silver standard, etc.?
Why, bless you, Ave had the silver stan
dard for three quarters of a century,
the sih'er dollar Avas the standard of
A alue, not the gold dollar as noAV. It is
true that during the later years of this
period Ave coined more gold than silver,
and gold constituted the greater part of
our metalic money, but this occurred
by reason of gold at our ""ratio being the
cheaper metal for xm to use. If silver
is now cheaper than gold, the same rea
son would noAV no doubt cause us to
coin more silver than gold, and to use
more of it than gold. But what of that?
It is better than gold as a standard so
shown by its not v arying like gold has
fluctuated and is fluctuating.
fhee coinage demanded.
But we do not insist on'the single
standard of either metal. We demand
the money of the constitution, the free
coinage of both gold and silver. If
more sih'er than gold is coined we are
not hurt, for there are more than five
times the number of people of the
world who use only sih'er as money
than use only gold. All our debts, pub
lic and prh'ate, are legally and morally
payable in silver. We haAe no gold
debt, nor silver debt, exelushv-ly, but a
debt payable in gold or silver, at the
option of the people.
The fact that the silver miners Avould
be benefited by free coinage cuts but a
very small figure, comparatively, in the
case. But Avhat figure it does cut is all
in the interest of the argument. SilA er
mining constitutes the greater part of
the Avealth of the vast regions of our
mining states and territories. We have
a set of people in this country Avho, in
season and out of season, cry them
seh'es hoarse demanding "protection to
American industries." Yet many of
them raise their eyes in holy horror and
shout "bonanza kings" the moment Ave
broach the subject ofcfree coinage. Con
trasted with this spirit I Avas struck Avith
the manner in which the Royal Com
mission, .before eited, alluded to the
gold miners of Australia and other
British colonies. This commission Avas
singularly constituted. It Avas com
posed of twelve members, one-half of
Avhom faA ored bimetallism. The other
half favored no change for the United
Kingdom. 47,Af-and-"af" is not an un
popular English mixture. But that
part of the commission that favored no
change, while they did not seriously dis
pute the correctness of the other half
that by international agreement silver
might be coined free at par with gold,
one of the particular reasons for not de
siring that result Avas that free coinage
of silver AS'ould bring down gold and
the English miners would suffer. Tak
ing this view of it, they remark as fol
lows: -
The interest of our Australian and
other gold producing colonies, at which
Ave have already glanced, must also be
considered. Their deposits of crold are
one of their principal sources of wealth,
filLiKi lllCilSUlU W IllCil lUillLCll. LU cuecjv
gold mining or depreciate that metal,
Avould in all probability injuriously af
fect the prosperity of the colonies and
react upon the trade of the mother
country with them. Same report; page
90, paragraph 129.
- Are avc to adopt this idea, too? Shall
Ave refuse to coin silver free because it
Avill cheapen gold and thus injuriously
affect the prosperity of the "Australian
gold miner and react on the trade of the
mother country Are Ave to shut up
our silver mines to protect the interests
of the English colonies and the mother
country? Our crold miners do not ask
it: They join in the general demand
tor equality ot silver Avith gold. As a
mining question, free coinage of gold
and silver places the miners of the pre
cious metals on equal terms.
HOW TO PAY MORTGAGES.
Again, A'hy should our government
liin'.t the coinage of silver for the ery
purpose of depreciating it and buying it
at this depreciated price? The feAv mil
lions of gain as seignorage annually
credited is a small matter compared to
the great harm visited upon the people
by the .withholding from them a circu
lating medium that would no doubt
check the fall of prices and once more
set millions of idle people to Avork. That
would revh'C our languishing industries,
pay off our farm and other mortgages,
lift the country from the slough of de
spondency, set the wheels of prosperity
once more in motion and add millions,
yea. billions annually to our Avealth.
e are rapiuiy paying ou ui "."
al debt, on which the bank note is is
sued. National bank notes arc being
.it , , tlio basis foi
V v 7
shy ci is neccsMiijr i v o ' , ri.. hi li
the certificate to take tne piace
mThe subject of debtor and creditor
and existinroontracts . must netnlv
enter into this discussion. Io go mi
nutely into it would exhaust my time
and your patience. I will say, howev
er, that the free coinage of silver would
not have the effect of greatly disturbing
the equality supposed to pertain to ex
isting contracts and to the relation of
debtor and creditor. We are not in the
same situation as England aud most
other gold standard countries. We are
not, strictly spcaking,on the gold stand
ard. We have halted mithvay betAveen
the gold standard and bimetallism.
We coin silver that is full legal tender
for ail debts, public, and private. We
haA-e no obligations that are not pa Aa
ble legally and morally in sih'er. Sih'er,
therefore, performs part of the func
tions, at least, of measuring the value
of our standard of money.
a limping standard.
Our standard has been antlv stvled
the "limping or halting standard" by a
distinguished loreign Avnter upon this
Subject Henri Cernuschi. We haA e in
circulation about $350,000,000 of full le
gal tender sih'er coin and the certificates
together. In this vicAv of the case avc
Avill not see any great or sudden rise in
prices. All that is desired and all that
is necessary to give us greater prosper
ity is to check falling prices and start
them steadily on the..up grade instead
of the doAvn grade Ae are uoav Avitness
incr. What is further to be noted is that
it is the totality of our money volume of
gold, silver and paper tnat measures
the A alue of property or controls prices.
It is this fifteen hundred millions of
money, not the six hundred millions of
gold alone, nor this gold aided by three
undred and fifty millions of sih'er, that
measures prices or property. Thus
must be taken also into the account our
three hundred and forty millions of
srreenbacks and one hundred and sev
enty-iive millions of bank notes. These
figures are given as onh approximates,
but they are not far from shoAviner the
the true amount and character of our
circulation. The full restoration of sil
ver could not, therefore,, seriously af
feet the relation of debtor and creditor
in this country
It is not denied that by free coinage
of both metals France Avas able to main
tain the parity of the tAvo metals at her
ratio of 15 to 1 for over 70 years, nor
can it be seriously doubted that had she
continued free coinage the parity Avould
have remained till noAV. France's ter
ritory is not so large as some of our
states. Our population is nearly double
that of France and is distributed oa ct
an area of 3,000,000 square miles. Our
population is increasing at the rate of
1,000,000 annually. 1 think I am Avar
ranted in saying that, taking into the
account our A'ast territory, our great
Avealth and demands for monej' for il
limitable development, Ave are stronger,
not only than France, but Germany and
Great Britain included. . We need no
aid or monetary league with them. Ge
ographically Ave are fortunately situated
for bimetallism.
On this continent to the south of us,
and to the Avest in Asia, there are 800,
000,000 of people Avho use only silver as
money. They are the best customers
for manufactures and the chief source
of foreign trade. We ought to have
this trade. Proper legislation on the
silver question will greatly aid us in
securing it.
The product of our gold mines Avill
answer the demands for our commerce
with Western Europe aud our silver
mines with South America, Mexico and
the Asiatics.
Nature has been bountiful in supply
ing us with great riches in mines of sil-
ver. and gold. By the free coinage of
both, JNeAV York and not London or
Paris would be the money centre for
the exchanges of the world.
What is needed is the courage of men
statesmen not the timidity of mice.
Let the sih'er cord be loosened, the
golden pitclier bi'oken at the fountain
ot free coinage for both metals. The
desire of the nations of the earth for
money aviII not fail
It is said that'Francc Avas quite able
to maintain tne ' parity ol oo.tn metals,
anil no doubt avou Id haA e done so had
she not discontinued the free coinage of
siiA er. mit it is quite a dinerent thing
to maintain it, Avnue tne par was intact,
from restoring it, . now - that the link is
broken. It is true that a boy maybe
able to carry a load put upon his shoul
der that he would be unable to place
there. But that is no reason Avhy a
strong man may not easily shoulder the
burden and Avalk complacently off Avith
it. France is a small boy compared
to Uncle Sam. Applause.
Gentlemen of the convention, I want
to' and but one word more to what I
have said in that paper, and that is up
on the subject of limited coinage. As
long as there is a limit, I don't care
Avhere you place it, upon sih'er going to
tne minis or mis country it aviii he at
a discount necessarily. Applause.
lhe great theory of bi-metalism is that
nature add not the legislature furnished
the volume of money. Loud Ap
plause. That theory cannot be ac
complished or fulfilled until the mints
are open for the supply unlimited sup
ply, of nature loud applause; and if
we are to haA e metal money Ave must
have it on that theory or it is a failure
in its entirety. Cheers. Now, I said
that to place a limit upon the coinage
of silver necessarily depreciates it, be
cause the mint under free coinage is the
market. It is a market for your pro
duction, for one man takes his bullion
there and gets his dollar for it, and
Avhen that is the case it can be bought
for no less than the dollar that he gets
for it at the mint. But Avhen any por
tion of it is denied that right when any
part of it cannot be thus received at the
mint and exchanged for a dollar, that
part of it is depreciated right then and
there. Cheers. I haA e instanced in
this paper that I haA e read the fact that
notwithstanding the demonetization of
silver by Germany first and by the Uni
ted States afterward, that it did not
lose its parity Avith gold until France,
through the latin union, placed a limit
they did not suspend it but limited
its coinage for such an amount for three
years in eA ery four; but the very mo
ment the limitation placed upon its
coinage .was removed it began to seek
poAver and equality with gold and be
gan to rise. It AA'as it 1879 that it AA'as
finally suspended in France, but that
limitation broke the chain and eAery
limitation, however slight it may be,
will continue that broken link. I say,
let this great government, constituting
as it does more intelligence, more acti
A'ity, more courage in population, more
dominage in its will, more aggressive
in its prosperity and ability than all of
Europe combined are where our mines
are situated, rich in gold and silver, in
the name of a martyrl say let it be free at
the mints and let it be treated alike.
Loud applause.
In An Apple Cellar.
Rod, and russet, and yellow,
' Lying here In heap
pippins, rounded und mellow;
Orceningrs, for winter keep;
geek no furtheni, whose blushingr
Tho soul of a saint would try
Tilt his face showed the crimson Hushing
The cheek of a Northern Spy.
Hid from the winter weather,
Sate from the wind and sleet,
Here In a pile together,
Russet and Pippin meet.
And ki this dim and dusty
Old cellar they fondly hold
A breath, like the grapes made musty
By the summer's radiant gold.
Each seems to hold a A-agrant
Sunbeam, lost from the sky
When lily blooms Avere fragrant
Wells for tho butterfly ;
And when tho snow is flying.
What feasts in tho hoarded 6tore
Of crimson and yellow lying
Heaped high on the sandy floor!
Fruitage of bright spring splendor,
Of leaf and blossom time,
That no tropic land can mend or
Take from this frosty clime ;
Fruit for the hearthstone meeting.
Whose flaA'or naught can destroy,
' Hoav you make my heart's swift beating
Throb with tho pulse of a loy!
Apples scarlet and golden,
Apples juicy and tart.
Bringing again the olden
Joy to the weary heart.
You send the swift thoughts sweeping
Through the wreckage of time and tears
To that hidden chamber, keeping
. The gladness of youth's bright years.
Good Housekeeping.
We call your attention to our free
1889 offer, Avhich applies to all subscri
bers, whether hcav or reneAvals. Let us
Hear from you promptly. Hoav many
subscribers from your Alliance in 181)0?
Mr. James Slote, of Sherman county,
remitting for neAV subscribers, says:
"Will send in yearly list soon. I am
satisfied if The Alliance was in every
farmer's home Ave need have no fears
for the future welfare . of t he count ry.
It receives nothing but praise.
Mcbraska's Delegates at St. Louis.
The instructions to the Nebraska del
egation which ha Ae been sent in from
all parts of the state have not only
shoAvn an unanimity of sentiment in
favor of a closer union of the various
organizations to be represented at St.
Louis this Aveek, but have also shoAvn a
perfect Avillingness to leaAO the details
and terms to the judgment of our dele
gates. BALANCE. OF 18S9 FREE.
A good many trial subscriptions will
expire Avith our next issue, and all those
Avho remitted for six months when The
Alliance was started, should renew at
once, that their names may be retained
on the books and no copies of the paper
missed. All persons sending us one
dollar for a year's subscription, will be
credited to January 1, 1891, and receive
TiiE Alliance for the remainderof this
year free.
The most "productive field in Avhich
the labor agitator can work is that of
the unorganized. It is an undeniable
fact that men are Avithout the fold more
because of ignorance of our principles
and aims than for any other reason.
Wonderful would be the result if organ
ized labor everyAvherc would enter up
on an energetic campaign in this direc
tion. We knoAV what benefits are to
come from increased organization, and
why should Ave be so sIoav to embrace
the favorable opportunity? Craftsman.
-From a private letter Ave learn that
the people were triumphant in Perkins
county, and in spite of the fact that
some of the party leaders objected to
alloAving a farmer in the treasurer's of
fice, elected Mr. E. M. .Harrison county
treasurer by a majority of 76 votes. We
congratulate Mr. Harrison, who is our
county organizer, and the people, on
this result, and predict that the affairs
of his office Avill be conducted in a man
ner that Avill give more confidence tAvo
years from uoav than ever before in
"farmer candidates."
Inquiry is made as to Avhether our
friends should solicit subscribers outside
of the Alliance ranks, and Ave answer
yes, by aa means. We shall try to
make The Alliance an educator in
every sense of the word, and will not be
satisfied until every" farmer in Nebraska
and adjoining states is reading its col
umns. Business men and all others
should read it also, for Ave shall tell the
truth about men and means, dealing
only in facts as revieAved f rom the stand
point of earth's toilers, and especially
the farmers of Nebraska and the United
States.
Are You Doing All You Can For Your
Paper?
A day or two ago a prominent Alli
ance man asked us the question: "How
is The Alliance prospering, and how
many subscribers have you from our
Alliances?" When told that only a few
of their number had sent for the paper,
he replied, "Well, now, it is just care
lessness in many cases. I c mid have
got a good list at our last meeting, as
several members said they avc re going
to subscribe, but I thought they Avould
send the money themselves, so did not
ask for the dollar just then."
We do not tell this Bro's name, as he
promised to look after this matter clnem
in the future, but Hoav many Alliances
are there in the state that for Avant of
some one to do a little Avork and insist
on taking name and .money right noaa
haA e only tAvo or three subscribers on
our list Avhen they should have fifteen
or twenty and often more.
Do not depend on tho secretary to do
this, but resolve yourself into a com
mittee of one to see that eA'ery farmer
in your toAvnship has an opportunity to
subscribe for The Alliance.
Tnis paper is the best advertising
medium west of the Mississippi river.
The Sioux Kfservatlon.
PllANKLIK, NEIK, NOV. 1'0. To f
Editor of The Bee: Will you ph ase
plain the extent of the Sioux veser
lion, to be opened to settlement, t .
character of the soil, and what road
run through it.'' O. M. Vai'oiian".
Tho Sioux reservation in Dakota i
the largest in the United States outshh
of the Indian territory, comprish c
twenty-two million acres. Under t
law passed by congress and accr
by three-fourth of the Indian t-
one-half of this vast area, or ci
million acres, an empire laiger t
Maine or Indiana, will be added to
public domain and open to settlerae.
The land will be sold for not less tt
two dollars and n half an acre, but .
purchaser is required to fulfill the
quirements of the homestead law befoi e
a patent is issued.
At present there are no roans in the
reservation and none will be permitted
until tho president isMies bis proclam
ation, which is expected before the Vinl
of the year, declaring the laud open to
settlement. The law grants right of
way, depot ground's etc., to two rail
roads which are to build from the Mis
souri river westward to the JJlack
Hills, and theso selections are given
preference over those of settlers. A'
present the most convenient route tfc
the resen'ation from the south is by
way of Niobrara, Neb.
Three-fourths of the land lies in
South Dakota. It extends from tin?
Missouri river to the Black Hills and
north into North Dakota. Along the
Chevene aud Milk river and south to
the Nebraska boundary the soil is mi
surpassed in fertility, and is equal to
any in the west. The high bench lands
and the foothills to the west aud north
are largely worthless except for stock
raising and mining.
Intending settlers, however, should
not accept the glowing stories of mar
velous fertility as literally true. The
experience of the thousands who rush
ed headlong to Oklahoma, impelled by
false accounts of boundless riches,
should not lo repeated in Dakota. The
land is undoubtedly superior to that of
Oklahoma, but no one should be de
ceived with reports that it is above the
average in adjoining states. It will take
years to place county governments in
running order, to organize and build
schools establish markets, open roads,
and construct bridges, all of which in
volves heavy taxes, so that even if the
land is secured cheap, it will, in the
end, cost as much as improved farm
can be bought for in old established
counties. The farmer who disposes of
the old homestead to secure a new one
will inevitably harvest a full crop of
disappointments and hardships. Bee.
Keep a crcp iitr-fZ.
From the Christian Advocate.
I advise eA'ery bo3' and girl to keep
a scrnpbook. If you are ten, or
fifteen or twenty years old, keep a
scrap-book. Let me tell you why '
and how: Hundreds of things you
see. that you would like to keep, but
if you lay them nwny you will never
be able to find them when you want
them. When I was a boy I did not
have senso enough to keep scrap
books. I began some but did not
keep on long with them.
My memory was good, but I can now
remember many tilings that I can't
remember. What I mean is this: I
remember reading a beautiful r piece
of poetry, of which two or three linen
I can call up, but the whole I can't f
recollect. In some cases I do not
know tho name of the writer.
I have seen many fino pictures in,,
magazines and papers that would
noAV be valuable and interesting.
Some I cut out, but they tiro lost.
Charming stories, Avise remarks, pro
yerbs, directions for doing a great
marry useful things are also lost.
So much do I feel sure that I have
lost that I Avould gh'e $50 apiece for
the scrap-books of each and every
year that I might have made from
the time 1 was ten till I began to pre
serve things only a few years back.
There is a gentleman wjio has kept
a scrap-book since he Avas eight
years old. Ho is now forty, and linn
been arranging them in volumeswith
an index in the back of eacli one.
YouAvould hardly think that the
earlier would be of much use to htm.
But they are. He often amuses him
self as he reads them for he sees how
little he knoAV Avhen he was little; but
also finds a little he still thinks val
uable. Besides, his children ore
much interested to see what their
father had collected and pasted in
books.
The older hegrows the more useful n
the books become. He can go to Iih '
books, and in a.feAv minutes get in
formation about everythingthut ha
happened in his whole life -tell you
about tho civil Avar, the Crimeadxvar,
the Italian war, tho overthroAV of
Louis Napoleon, and a great many
other things, just as they were pub
lished in the papers at the time the
event happened.
His scrap-book also contains man'
funny things, which provoke . a smile
and often a merry laugh, as he reads
them to his family in the long Avinter
evenings. The children would rather
hear him read from the scrap-book
than lrom the newest story.
If you have no scrap-book, get one
and put in it whatever pleases you.
You can buy one very cheap. Some re
quire paste, and one invented by Mark
Txvain and sold in the book stores is
arranged like postage-stamps. All
you have to do is to wet it and lav
on what you wish to gave. If you
have the money get one of this kind.
It is cleaner and less troublesome.
The others, however, will do well
enough. A bottle of muscilage is all
you need. Only you must be care
ful not to drop any of the sticky snufl
on the pages, or they will stick to
gether; when you open thsm
the surface of the paper will pull off
and deface tho reading.
It is a good idea to keep tho scrap
book handy. When you cut out
something lay it in till there is a con
venient time to paste them all in.
But the best way is to paste them in
at the time. If I can persuade you
to do this for twenty years, or even
half the time, from now, you will feel
that VOU havo lenrnnil onnfi.:
valuablefrom this article.
f
