Nebraska Newspapers

    THE FARMERS' ALLIANCE, LINCOLN, NEB., THURSDAY JAN. 28, 1892.
G5t larafW 3UUana,
rH m Saturday y
Turn Auxufct PcBUsunro Ca
Cm. UUurf H -. Llaooln, Keh.
Editor
'.BuiMt Bianr
la the beauty of tb lilliea
C&ris was bora acroas tbe sen,
With a gtory In his bosom
That treajfigurea you and ma.
Ac ha strove to make men holy
Let ma strive to make tbem free,
Sim God ia inarching on."
Julia Ward Bow.
aari crowns cleave to deserts.
And power to him who power exerU.'
A ruddy drop of manly blood
The aarring tea outweigh."
Erne run.
nb who cannot reason la a fool
He who will not reason is a coward.
Ha who dare not reason la a slave "
N. tt P. A.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
all taM,eBBuaioanoiia.io
.of'pabik.atlon to Kdltor
UltanM
AU
irtM written on both Sides of the Pper
rmTm . vlao eommuiiioatloiie,
aearak. eaaantheueed. ' - -
TDE FAliMEhbS' ALLIANCE
rvBUsaxo wiiaxr at
ejOftXEK 11TH AND M STREETS,
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.
T. BUSBOWS, Editor.
J. IL THOMPSON. Business Ma'gr.
Tha treat Mianee Weakly Lu4ln
Meaeedeet Paper at the lisle.
SEVEN COLUMN QUARTO.
' It will always be feued oaths side of the
sopli aa4 wholly devated te theadfooaov of
fetai sftaatales la itote and nation.
IT IS YOUR PAPER. '
CtmETE HI EVERY BEPARTKENT.
abeertptloB, $1.00 nor annum, invariably
Vtre annual subsorlattons WW.
OUR I00K LIST.
The best reform literature obtainable ean
a and by rdertat any of these books,
The BaUway Problem (new) BUokney . . . . I SO
VsaUnf Backward, Bellamy H
,new) Donnelly so
lOolams, " 60
A Eaatnoky OoloneL Reed (0
Sartrea from Sea to , Post, 10
A Trasnp la oolety Oowdrey 10
i '8 Orewa, Weaver.... 10
I Bed Dragee, Woolfolk 50
e's financial Oateehlsm. Brloe 10
' Monopoly, Baker 85
lienor and Capital, Kellonr
i and John Sherman, Mrs, Todd... H
iPlaanelal Conspiracies.... lOots.l
The Hectare Circular, Heath... ." r
Mantes aad Bread, Bouser 10 " J
Hat Bepnblieaa Monarohy, Voldo H
IbjeOomlat Cllmatla tte Destinies of
aasarlea by Lester a Hubbard K
Alttaaoo and Labor Songster too, per doe 1 10
Mew Mvsleedl'n, paper oover too, M (00
. board M Mo, " 160
Tan saunas' AL-UAaoa one year and any
Bast, book on our list for II. aV
esse and aay Mot. book on our list for f 1.16.
Address all orders aad mass an remltt-
sis payable to
THB AUAAHOB FCBLISHIWO CO.
Llaeoln, Nebraska.
AN INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN FUND
SEEDED.
A Proposition to Raise it, By The Alii-' nee
Publishing Uo.
The most exciting and important po
litical battle ever fought in the west
-mill take place In Nebraska daring the
present vear. It is none too soon to
make preparation for that campaign
A state committee cannot carry on
a successful political campaign without
asoney. The only dependence the com
sxiltee has for money is upon personal
. voluntary contributions. This is not a
aafe and reliable resource, and even
when it succeeds results in putting the
burden of the fight upon a few Individ
was who are patriotic and devoted, but
often least able to bear it.
.We do not believe in assessments
upon candidates or officials. They are
oorrapUng in their tendency, and un
just in their application. All the people
should contribute to needed campaign ex
rentes.
The Alliance Publishing Company
rill now make a proposition for the
caisinx of a campaign fund which shall
eW a harden to no one, and shall be lim
ited only by the efforts of the lndepen
dents of this state, via:
For every new subscribe sent to
m from this time until election, at our
regular price of $1.00 per year, we will
may 30 cents to the treasurer of the In
dependent State committee, and will re
quire of the Committee vouchers show.
ins; the proper expenditure of the
jnoney.
One thousand new subscribers will
raise two hundred dollars for the cam
yaign fund. There are one hundred
thousand people in the state who ought
4o have Thk Alliance, and who will
take it if properly approached
The Independent committeemen
Of
emry county and precinct in the state
should take hold of this work
once.
at
The opposition te tho independent
-cause will be fiercer and more unscru
yalous this year than ever before. Ev
ejrytbing depends upon this fight. Elec
4ora,U. tt. Senator, congressman, legis
lators, are to be elected.
Tho Independent state committee
snssf Asm money. We show the way a
bondant supply can be obtained with
mo burden to any one. ,
iJf owls the time to begin. A fund of
Iwentf thousand dollars can he raised by
U&t moans tcithin the next two months.
. Do you believe in itf
km pom do UT
Alliance Publishing Co.
By J. Bi-BBOWS, Editor, j
AS EDUCATIONAL ITCH) GEEATLT
JEEDED.
A Grand Proposition by J. Burrows.
It is coming to be a common remark
that the Alliance has r-erformed a great
educational work in Nebraska. The
superior knowledge of Alliance mem
bers upon economic questions, finance,
current political history, parliamentary
law, etc., is attracting wide attention.
The Alliance meetings are debating
clubs, institutes, schools of parliamen
tary ussge, and schools of current his
tory, all in one. Ia addition to this they
are schools of business instruction, from
the fact that business enterprises are
discussed in tbem, and business schemes
broached and carried out. Through all
these agencies it is coming to be no
ticed that the average Alliance farmer
is bettet informed and more intelligent
upon all current topics than are the
.business men of our towns and cities
The latter are driving their business
fourteen hours a day. Their reading is
confined to the surface skimming of a
dady paper. The great economic ques
tions so vital to them are neglected. As
rule they know nothing about the
principles of finance or the intricate
problems of political economy. The;
farmers, on the contrary, have their
evenings tor study and reading, and
their Alliance . meetings for discussion
and Inquiry. I
The editor of this paper is proud of
the paft he has bad in establishing the
Alliance in this state. He has given
ten years of almost constant labor to
the work. He Is also proud of the part
this paper has had in the last two years
In extending and strengthening the Al- i
liance, and he wishes to make the pa
per still more useful in the same direo
tion.
It was supposed that the late state
meeting would establish an Alliance
educational fund, for the purpose of
furnishing Alliances with books, reform
literature, etd , not only In the English,
but in such other languages as might be
desirable. Mr. Burrows made this re
commendation, but it was not acted
upon.
I propose now to remedy this neglect.
and establish, through the agency of
Tub Farmkhs' Alliance newspaper,
an abundant fund for the purpose spe
cified. 1 can do this with the help of tho
present subscribers to the paper, and I
now make them the following preposi
tion:
For every new subscriber sont us at our
regular rate of 11.00 per year, aad
marked "educational fund," we will set
apart twenty cents for an
ALLIANCE EDUCAUIOKAL FUND,
to be expended under the advice of the
President, Secretary and Chairman of
the Execatlve Committee, for the pur
poses specified above.
Now, see how great a work a little
effort by each subscriber will accom
plish. One new name sent by each sub
scriber will raise a fund of nearlg three
thousand dollars for. this work. With
that amount of money judiciously and
constantly employed, ire can cover We-
braska will reform literature we can
have books published in the German,
Bohemian and Swedish langunges we
can form an Alliance in every school
district in the state.
Will you help us?
I pledge myself personally to the ju
diciou and energetic use of the fund
tor the spread of Alliance work.
ONE NEW NAME
from each present subscriber will ac
complish this great work .
AKE YOU IN FAVOR OF IT?
WILL YOU DO IT?
Yours for the good cause,
J. BURROWS.
ENOUGH TO MAKE A HORSE LAUGH.
We copy the following from the Bee
of the 25th. It was headed "Give them
an object lesson:"
Two or three rural republican leaders nro-
roK to dc deeply concerned over tne allowed
Inactivity of the state central committee.
They warn that ootvmlttee of Impending dla
aator next fall unless an educational oam-
palpn li bepun at once. The Uee seconds the
motion. Let the educational oarapaipm bcajin
witn an otjeoi icsson to me emoauiea rariu
era.
A reduction ot 'relent rates ny tne state
Board ef Transportation wsuld be a more ef
fective aryument for restoring; their party to
power and popular oonDJeuuo thau any
amount of oheap talk by political educator".
Hut why don't the men who clamor for an
educational cairpaltrn begin oa their own
book, and live the dtaeonteutod republican
farmers someming- to mioa aoouir
There is notblna- to oloder any man who
wields a ren or weirs a tongue from enlisting:
on behalf of the party, providing- always
that be ia sincere and brainy enouch to in
struct those who are on the off side how to
reach sound eoacluslons on the living- aad
viuu issues.
Rural republican leaders" is good,
That must mean Church Howe ftidToui
Majors. But whoever it means, they
are quite right about the "impending
disaster." There isn't a shadow of doubt
about that. But the idea of a republi
can "educational campaign" is some
thing to make a horse laugh. The Bee
ought to establish a lecture bureau at
once. Church Howe's subject should
be "how to paddle your own canoe.'
The inimitable Tom should instruct the
grangers in the intricacies of brewing
turnip bitters, and how to come it over
Church. John M. Thurston, the grand
iloquent, should take for his topics the
art of lubrication, and how to spit on
your bait. Doc Mercer should instruct
in the use of a watering pot and the fine
stock (railroad stock) business. Doctors
Roggen and atson can have the medi
cal department. Roseycan descant on
the money question, as viewed from
Wall street. The members of the state
board of transportation can talk about
the injustice or lowering freight rates
Mr. Gere will want a place In the bu
reau, and he can talk about drawing-
room quarters for American hogs, and
incidentally explain to farmers the Uaia
mus flag business. And tben there's
Brad Slaughter, Walt Seeley, and the
balance of the jittle fry. They can be
bill stickers and doorkeepers. By all
means let s nave a republican educa
tional bureau at once. The farmers
want to be assured that the tariff isn't
tax, and that the McKlnley bill is re
sponsible for the unprecedented high
price of products and. the prosperity
that is overwhelming tbem. Senator
Paddock can deliver one or two spe
cials, and how bow a mortgage is an
evidence of prosperity just such pros
perity as we have now.
The proposed "object lesson" will
hardly materialize as long as a majority
of the state officers insist that any re
duction of freight ratea would be an in
justice to the railroads. And Roewater
can safely keep asking for reduction,
juxt to fool the grangers, so long as bis
railroad bosses have their fingers on the
buttons that work the board. As a mat
ter of fact, the only "living and vital
issue" the "rural republican leaders,"
or the city republican leaders, care
about, is how to get their snoots ia the
poblio crib.
UNCLE JAKE,
Uncle Jake (Jacob Beck) thinks the
following syllogism and resolutions
should be difcusf ed at the convention
to be held Feb. 22 ad. His syllogism
reads thus: All men are equally en
titled to what God has created; God
crea'ed the earth with all its mineral
wealth, therefore all men are equally
entitled to the earth and all of lis
minerals.
He holds that there is land enough
for all and mineral enough for all if all
had access to it. But monopoly pre
rents that access and thereby fills the
land with idleness, poverty, vagrancy
and crime. As a remedy for these
evils, he proposes that laws be enacted
embodying the principles set forth in
tne following resolutions:
Resolved, that the government take
steps to acquire title to all lands in the
United btates to the end of leasing the
same in limited quantities to her citi
zens, who shall be required to pay an
nually to the government not less than
one per cent on the amount the govern
ment expended .'or each citizen's hold
ing; said leases to be perpetual and de
scend as an inheiitence to holder's pos
terity. 2. That citizens of the United States
be permitted to enter upon any lands
for mining purposes by simply paying
to lease holders t he damages done to
their agricultural interests.
8. lhat steps be taken to build a
double track railroad across the conti
nent from ocean to ocean with branches
extending wherever needed; and that
the same be operated by the govern
ment at tho lowest cojt to the public
4. That a sufficient amount of green
back money with the exceptional clause
left out be Issued to accomplish all that
contemplated in the above resolu
tions.
Uncle Jake argues that such a scheme
would circumvent money sharks, rail
road sharks, land sharks and all other
sharks that ever cursed the earth.
It will be seen that Uncle Jake does
not propose to do things by halves. He
toutiy argues that his scheme would
give employment and homes to every
body mat it would force billions or
money to ciroulate and be a source of
revenne to the government.
With an order of things such as Uncle
Jake proposes, what would become of
money loaners, mortgage dealers, land
lords and land grabbers &c. Uncle
Jake says they would cease to eat
bread in the sweat of other men's faces,
but could if they would lease a piece of
land of the government and earn u liv
ing by honest toil or if they prefered it
they would have access to coal beds, salt
mines or rock quarries.
WHY NOT COAL ALSO?
Under the caption of "another vision
ary scheme." the Sunday Bee criticises
the Alliance resolution asking that mu
nlclpal coal yards be established, and
coal furnished citizens at cost. The Bee
plays tho whole gamut of objections to
what it calls paternalism, but the clos
ing sentence of its article is a non sequi
tar of tho first water. It says, "All
wo can hope for at best In the way of
Nationalism is to have our cities own
and operate their own gas works, elec
trio lights and water works, and in the
more distant future their own street
railways "
Iho Am is getting there, sureenougn
when it admits that it "hopes for" these
things. But why not Include the coal?
lias works, electric lignt works and elec
trio railways imply an enormous pur
chase of coal. Why not buy a few more
car-loads and sell it o.t at cost to those
persons the Bee terms "the common
people!" The foregoing is a favorite
terra with tho Bee. We are perfectly
willing to include the "uncommon peo
ple" in the benencences tne Bee "hopes
for" if It will accept the coal,
That
will let the editor of the Bee in.
THE CHILI IN MESSAGE.
We publish this week the message of
the President on the Chilian embroglio,
sent to congress on the 25th. The mes
sage gives a very fair resume of the situ
ation. Tho correspondence accompa
nying it was very voluminous, and much
of It of little interest. .
There will be no war with Chill. Popu
lar sentiment is against it. Chili can be
very easily brought to terms by repri
sals, commercial and personal, that are
within our power, without a resort to
war. At tho same time all agree that
the persons and property of our citizens
should be protected to the fullest extent
in every part of the world.
JASON EDWARDS. AN AVERAGE
MAN.
The above is the title of a new book
from the press of the Arena Publishing
Co., by that rising young author Ham
lin Garland. It is an intensely real
istic story of the struggles and failures
of an average man. Its portrayal of
the life and home of a Boston mechanic,
and afterwards, when he had trans
planted himself and family to a Minne
sota prairie, of the scenes and character
istirs of a speculator's town and prairie
home, are S3 intensely real and lifelike
that they put action utterly out or coun
tenance. We have experienced both
phases of life to the full. We fought for
many years the self -same battle in which
Jason Edwards was slain. We fought
it to win, but many a better man has
gone in that tight. We quote:
"Edwards' daily walk was down a
narrow street, a drear, desolate, gray
crevice, bot and joyless. The hot dusty
gray ef the cobble stones, the brown
gray ot the sidewalk, the sullen drab of
the houses which lined the way, form
ing a desolate searing attack upon the
eyes,, unrelieved by any touch ot cool
ness.
harmony or grace.
rrHittA "
Out in Boomtown, Minn., in the office
of a land syndicate agent, occurs the
following:
"Hello!" said Frank. "Happy Elliott's
in town no discount on that lautrn "
Elliott came to the door, and bracing
his hands against the door-frame, looked
in and laughed.
He was a fat man. with red face and
sandy whiskers.
"Hello, you old porpus," said Frank,
as he st down again. "How do joe
stand the healf
Tuny nigh unsolders me," answered
Elliott. "Hello, Judge. Judge always
look to me like a red beaded, slice-bellied
of spider waitin fr flies. Elliott
chuckled till he was forced to sit down
on the door sill and mop his face.
'Sweat some these days!" asked
Frank.
"'Bout 'noagh to keep me from I
inr-H?"
"All brake up on my wheat "
"You look it," put in the Judge.
taitoit looked at mm comically. "AU
that keeps me alive is the hope o' dyin'
some dsy. an' goin' t' heaven an' bein'
able to letdown chunks of ice at a thou
sand dollars a pound to cool the Judge
below." ,
"He looks cool and sweet now."
"Yes; notbin' like boldin' the money
end of a mortgage eh. Judge?"
"No, except holdin' two," the judge
replied coolly, geing on with his work.
e
Wo cannot spare space for quotations
to give an adequate idea of the book
The bot winds, the hail, the land-end of
a "mortgidge." over-work in the land
of free homes at 110 per acre, were what
at last best Jason Edwards. Of course
there Is a delightful love story running
through the book, and the triumph of
a hero comes with Edwards' failure
The book is dedicated by the author
"to the Farmers' Allianee, whose high
mission it is to unite the farmer and the
artisan, the north and the south, the
blue and the gray, under one banner,
marching in a continent-wide battle lioe
agiinst the denial of equal rights."
Every member of the Alliance should
read this book. For sale at this office.
Paper covers, 60 cents, postpaid.
OUR EDUCATIONAL AND INDEPEND
ENT FUNDS.
We invite special attention to our
proposition for an Allianee Educational
Fund and an Independent campaign
fund. The work of raising these funds
should be systematised throughout the
state. Selected men in each county
should be put in charge of the work.
and they should see to it that good men
are at work in each precinct.
Think of this. Ten new subscribers
will put two dollars in one of those
funds. Energetio work on these funds
will carry the state for tie independents
next fill.
Remember, while you are raising the
funds you are extending the circulation
of this paper, which has been an impor
tant factor in the reform movement
HON. J. W.EDGERTON.
We invito the attention of oar readers
to the professional card of Hon. J. W.
Edgorton in this issue. The persistent
efforti f certain parties in Omaba to
break down his business becauoe be
presumed to be a candidate for office on
the independent ticket should mako him
hosts of mends among tne independ
ents. Any one wanting the services of
a first class lawyer in any pait of the
state should apply to him.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES.
Tho state press teems with conjectures
as to republican nominees for governor,
U. S. Senator and congressman. If the
two propositions made by this paper
this week are met with the right re
sponse, very few republican "candidates
mil be "in it" this year.
Support Yeui Own Paper.
Rlshville, Neb., Jan. 11, 3
Editob Alliance: I mean no flat
tery when I say that, for sterling merit
your paper has no superior and very
few equals. It is in an exalted sense
the true and fearless friend and able
champion of the multitude who by their
toil produce the home-making, comfort
giviug, joy -bringing blessings of civili
zation the world over. I fear the mas
ses do not, yes I know they do not in
anything like a sufficient degree, ap
preciate and to a reasonable extent sup
port it financially, nor for that matter
the many other reform journals which
aro engaged in an unequal struggle with
the money power for equal rights and
justice for the people. The common
laboring people left to themselves would
in a short time be shorn of every politi
cal right by the plutocrats, and their
sojial status as wage slaves hopelessly
established.
In bo rue things. they are to bo severe-
blamed, for they are not brutes, des
titute of reasoning facilities, much as
they do sometimes act after the manner
of the lower animals. Instead of sup
porting to the fullest of their power the
papers devoted to an honest and vigor
ous defense of their most vital interest,
political and social in a word thoir
friends they are, the reformers, divid
ing their money ana time between their
known friends and known enemies, and
giving much the larger share to the
latter. This is what they the down
trodden, debt-burdened, bond-cursed,
interest-eaten, poverty stricken, igno
rant and hardworking wealth produc
ing "mudsills" ' of our haughty and
domineering modern aristocracy are
actually doing doing every day of the
week, month and year.
I said ignorant, and though it may be
harsh and disagreeable to say, it is some
times a good thing to arouse a sick pa
tient by using some means like a slap in
me race to excite anger.
Yes. he or she. a proposed reformer.
who will habitually take, pay for and
read, at the present time, a clas of
newspapers or other publications which
have beon instrumental in bringing
about the present deplorable conditions,
and are well known to be still exerting
themselves to perpetuate them, must
be not only ignorant but likewise brut
ishly stupid.
Those people inherited liberty and
tho right of franchise to maintain it.
Will they prove themselves worthy of
their new inheritence by retaining it?
We shall see. But of one thing we may
be sure, and that is they will not re
tain it if they continue to give more of
iuuu suuuurb w luuu viz: mtj
old party press, than to their friends
the reform press.
Independents, reformers and Alliance
men, think seriously on this matter and
don't take a great monopoly, metropol
itan subsidized sheet simply, as some of
you are wont to say when remonstrated
with for so doing ' I have to, for The
Alliance and other independent and
reform papers dont furnish the news.
Now don't you see it is patronage on
the one hand and starvation on the
other that makes tho difference? Look
to this question at once, and act before
it is too late, and for want of patronage
and fiuancial holp, to which they are
alone entitled, the papers supporting
tne people a causo are driven from the
field.
i 1 J - T
L. P. Cummins.
Shall We Have Free and Un
limited Silver Coinage.
JOINT DISCUSSION BY EDWARD
BOSEWATEB AND J. BUEEOWS.
First Article, by E. Rose water.
I- the primitive social state men
made exchanges of the natural products
of the earth and sea, the cereals, fruits.
fowta fistoesand animals by barter. The
products of haniicraft redely fashioned
from stone, metal and wood were all ex
changed by barter. The relative value
in trade of these commodities and pro
ducts depended not merely upon their
scarcity or abundance, but also upon
individual caprice.
2. As man became more civilized it
was found convenient to have a recog
nized medium of exchange. This medi
um which perfermed the functions of
money, was always chosen from com
modities or products that had a barter
value within themselves. Thus wheat,
tobacco, furs, dried fish, fruits, horses
and cattle constituted mediums of bar
ter and passed current in various coun
tries the same as money does now- One
pound of tobacco for instance, exchang
ed for three bushels of potatoes; one
beavdrskin exchanged for two bushels
of wheat or ten pounds of beef. Among
American Indians horses were a favorite
medium of barter and a dozen ponies
weie sometimes turned over in payment
for one squaw.
s When men began a nomadic lite
precious metals were found to possess a
superior barter value. They were com
pact, small in bulk, indestructible, read
ily divisible and not liable io depreciate
in value by use as ornaments or as me
diums of exchange. . They had aa in
trinsic value based upon the labor to
mine, smelt, refine and polish them.
When Abraham bousht a plot of land
for a family burial ground he paid for it
witn 40w shekels or sliver, "current mo
ney." That is the first barter in silver
currency we have any record of; and
the value of this silver money was com
puted by weight For greater conve
nience the metallic barter medium was
divided into pieces of a fixed weight and
quality and these liecos of metal be
came money, to protect people who
used this metallic barter medium against
fraudulent alloys and counterfeiting,
mints were established under govern
mental supervision, Their function
was to coin pieces of silver and gold of
uniform weight and quality ana stamp
them with figures denoting their value.
This is the prime and only object of
coinage. The government stamp upon
any coin merely certifies to its weight
and quality but does not add any value
to the coin, uutside ot the-countries
wi ich issue them gold and silver coins
only pass current at their market value
as metal. When a coin does not contain
metal worth in the open market the
sum stamped on its face it is known as
debased coin. Debased coins have at
various times been issued by govern
ments whose treasuries were depleted
by exhaustive wars and reduced reve
nues. England debased her coin in the
year 1300, and the French, German and
Spaniah governments have at various
times issued debased coin ai a last re
sort when the tax gatherer was unable
to wring any more contributions from
the people. The issues of debased coin
have always proved disastrous to the
credit and prosperity of every nation
that has resorted to such means to in
crease its volume ot money.
4. Of the two money ruetaU gold
always has commanded greater pur
chasing power, and its relative value to
silver has varied in proportion to their
relative abundance and cost of produc
tion. At the beginning of the present
era one ounce of gold exchanged for
eight ou.ecs of silver. When America
was discovered, four hundred years ago
it required from ten to eleven ounces of
silver to buy one ounce of gold. In
the seventeenth century the ratio be
tween gold and silver fluctuated be
tween 15 and 16 to 1. In 1717 Sir Isaac
Newton, the master of the British mint,
fixed their ratio at 15 1-5 to 1 In 1782 ten
years before the United states com
menced the coinage or money, Kobert
Morris, one cf the most eminent finan
ciers America ever produced, advocated
the use of silver alone, becauso in his
judgement gold and silver could not be
used as a standard on account of the
variation In tho ratio of the two metals.
After soveral years of discussion the
proposition to adopt a double standard
of silver and goid was carried into effect
by Alexander Hamilton, the nrst secre
tary of the United States treasury, in
pursuance of an act of congress, which
placed the ratio between gold and silver
as 1 to 35. in other words the American
standard silver dollar was to contain 15
grains of silver for every grain of gold
contained in the American standard
gold dollar. By the act of 1793 free and
unlimited coinage was decreed and the
srold and silver coins issued from the
United States mint wore made a legal
tender.
5. In due time it was found impracti
cable to maintain the double standard or
free coinage of both metals. Early in
the century Gresham's law, which enun
ciates the principle that "bad money
drives out good money," began to exert
its influence on American coined metals.
On the average gold was worth three
per cent more as compared with silver
than the value stamped on the ;old coin.
Goid began to disappear from circula
tion as early as 1810. In 1814 the gold
coinage of the United Ststes mint was
1 77.C00; in 1815 it was only $3,000. Three
years later the circulation of gold coin
was almost completely extinguished in
the United States.
6. The first experiment ia the United
States with the free and unlimited coin
age of gold and silver closed in 1834. In
that year a bill was passed by congress
changing the ratio. During the discus
sion of that bill on the 11 or of the senate
Thomas 11. Benton Is on record as say
ing: "The false valuation put upon
gold has rendered the mint of the Uuited
States so far as the gold is concerned a
most ridiculous and absurd institution.
It has coined, and that at a large ex
pense to the United States. 2.263,177
pieces of gold worth 111,854,81)0, and
where are the pieces now? Not one of
them to be seen. All sold and exported!
And so regular is the operation that the
director of the mint in his latest report
to congress says that tho new coined
gold frequently remains in the mint un
called for though ready for delivery un
til the day arrives for a packet to sail to
Europe."
"To go to work at the right
place to effect the recovery
ot that precious metal which their
fathers once possessed which the sub
jects of European kings now possess
which the citizens of the young repub
lics to the south all possess which even
the free negroes of San Domingo pos
sessbut which the yeomanry of this
America have been deprived of for more
than twenty years, and will be deprived
of forever, unless they discover the cause
of the evil, and apply the remedy to its
root."
7. It wonldthus seem that in the days
of Benton the people were crying for
the gold dollars ot the daddies. The
coinage act of June 1834, fixed the legal
ratio ef gold to silver as 1 to 16. This
was the first radical departure from the
ratio fixed by Alexander Hamilton. In
the sixteen years after 1834 the com
mercial ratio ot silver to gold fluctu
ated from 151 to 1 to 15 9-10 to 1, conse
quently the silver as coined by the
United States was relatively to gold
worth mora than its coined value
Gresham's law again came into play and
silver disappeared from circulation. The
silver dollar was rarely used as money
after 1840. An emioent authority on
finance wrote, in 1870: "It would pro
bably be safe to assert that one-half of
the citizens of our country born since
1840 had never seen a United States
silver dollar."
8. In 1853 the want of silver currency
had become so pressing that congress
enacted a new law to prevent the melt
ing down of the half dollar pieces,
whieh contained just one-half of the
quantity of silver in the standard silver
dollar. By the act of 1853 be standard
silver of the half dollar was cut down
froni .20(ij grains to 1U3 grains, wit h the
smaller coins in proportion. No tree
coinage of these subsidiary coins was
allowed. Their legal lender value wrs
limited to 15. Thus the act of 1854 re
duced the uilver of the fractional coins
about 7 per cent, and as the silver dollar
was only worth about 3 per cent more
than the gold dollar all profit in melt
ing the subsidiary coins ceased. At this
period the silver dollar had practically
gjne outof circuletion. The total coin
ago of silver dollars in 1850 had been
47.5t0; in 1851. $1,300; in 1853, $1,100.
In striking contrast the total gold coin
age of 1853 was over $50,000,000, of
which 8,000,000 was in the little gold
dollars. W hy was there no clamor then
for the dollar cf our daddies? Simply
because there were no builionaires and
silver mine speculators interested in
clamoring.
- By the act of February 21, 1851, a
coinage charge of i per cent was im
posed upon all gold and silver bullion
presented by individuals for coinage at
the mint. This fact incidentally goes to
show that absolute free coinage of both
metals had been repelled by the act of
1853. In reality there is no valid reason
for the free coinage of either of the two
metals. The actual cost of coining a sil
ver dollar is computed at 3 cents and
the same expense is incurred for the
coinage of every gold coin. While the
expense of coining a twenty-dollar gold
piece is no greater than the coinage of a
silver dollar the owners of the metal,
even if gold and silver were on a parity
at the old ratio ot sixteen to one, ought
to bear the expense of coinage. The
coinage of 1,000,000 silver dollars would,
if free coinage were established, cost the
government $20,000; whereas the coin
age of 100,000 eagles ( 10) costs the gov
ernment $2,000, and 50,000 double eagles
($20), or $1,000,000, would only cost tho
government $1,000 to coin. When it is
borne in mind that the United States
mints have coined over 400,100,000 sil
ver dollars within the past thirteen years
at a cost to the government of oyer $8,
0OOJIO0, or $2,000 each working day, the
magnitude of the cost of sliver coinage
becomes very striking.
10. Although the coinage of the stan
dard silver dollar of 371; grains of pure
silver continued without let or hindrance
from 1793 to 1873, it was very limited
during the firt fifty years of the repub
lic. From 1702 to, 1805 the total coinage
of silver dollars in the United States
mints was $1,439,617, or $110,732 a year
Computing the population at 4,000 000
the silver dollar coinage amounted to
less than three cents per year per capita.
From 1805 to 1835, during a period of
thirty years, not a single standard sil
ver dollar, or any other silver dollar,
was coined ia the United States. In 1836
only 1,000 standard silver dollars were
coined. In 1837 and 1838 the -United
States mints did not coin a single silver
dollar. In 1839 only 300 silver dollars
were coined Froai 1810 to 1857 the to
tal coinage of silver dollars was $1,328,-
823. In 1858 not a single silver dollar
was coined.- From 1850 to 1873 the total
coinage of silver dollars aggregated
$5,285,198. The total coinage of silver
dollars from 1792 to 1873, covering a pe
riod of eighty years, was only $8,054,838.
Assuming that this whole stock of silver
was retained in circulation up to 1873,
which we know is not the case, and com
puting the population (or 1873 to be 44,
000,000, the circulation of silver dollars
was less than 20 cents per capita. To
day, in spite of the hue and cry about
the alleged conspiracy against silver,
we have moro than $6 per capita in stan
dard silver dollars and this is exclusive
of the silver certificates issued in ex
change for the silver bullion now on de
posit in the vaults of the national treas
ury, lu other words, within tho las;
eighteen years we have coined fifty
standard silver dollars for every single
dollar that had been coined during the
eighty years preceding, and we are issu
ing more silver dollar certificates for
the silver bullion delivered at the mint
every sixty day s than all the silver coined
by our mints from 1792 to 1873. But the
clamor for unlimited coinage is sti'l
kept up by the silver mine builionaires,
mining claim speculators and their
dupes.
11. Let us now go back to 1873, when
congress struck the standard silver dol
lar from the list of American coins.
That act has been denounced by free
coinage advocates as a great conspiracy
in the interest of foreign bondholders
and money loaners. This is a fiction
gotten up for political effect. The truth
of history contradicts it most emphati
cally. In U70 tho American silver dol
lor of 412J grains was worth 103 cents
in tho metal market, lhese silver dol
lars had nearly all gono out of circula
tion, being absorbed in the silversmith's
melting pot.
12. Tho only mp'rilllc dollar in circu
lation at that per t a- the little gold
dollar. In order to unit,) our monetary
system, John Jay Knox, comptroller of
the treasury, recommended to congress
to drop the 412i grain d6llar out of our
coinage list and substitute a subsidiary
dollar coin weighing 384 grains in silver
for home circulation. This recommen
dation was embodied in a bill that was
introduced on April 25, 1870, and did
not pass until February 7, 1873.
13. What is the true explanation?
The fact is that in 1873 silver had de
monetized itself. The coin in the silver
dollar was still worth a little more than
a dollar, and it has been estimated that
there were not, at that time, a thousand
standard silver dollars in existence. All
had been melted or exported. For twen
ty eight years the ounce prlpe of silver
had not fallen below $1.30, whereas its
ratio to gold was $1.29; and in 1873 it
still stood within one-fifth of one cent of
$1.80. The silver producers wero indif
ferent as to the law of 1873 because, un
brokenly for forty years, silver had been
worth more than its coinage value. Be
ginning with 1870 the gold product be
gan to increase enormously. In 1874
the Latin-Union, noticing the down
ward tendency of silver, withdrew the
privilege of freo coinage of the silver
five frano pieces to a moderate amount.
Silver in 1874 fell to $1.27 nn ounce. In
1875 to $1.24 an ounce. In 1876 to $1.15
an ounce. Then, and not till then, be
gan to be heard the cry of "the con
spiracy of 1873." Silver has boon struck
down, but not by the Mil of 1873, nor by
any bill concocted by mrvn. Tho hand
which struck down silver is the hand
which will strike us all down in time,
the hand which nothing can withstand,
the irresistible hand ot nature. Silver
has been struck down b one of the nat
ural forces, by the great law of demand
and supply.
MR. BURROWS' REPLY.
I dismiss as immaterial all the history
as to the or gin and nature of money.
The bare question we are to disci'ss ia
the expediency of the free coinage of
silver, as it affects the welfare of our
people. The real question involved ia
ene of volume of money. This involves
the question of prices, or the relative
purchasing power of products, or labor,
and money. In this issue the interests
of the money-lenders, or the fixed in
come class, or the creditor class, are at
variance with the Interests of the pro
ducers, the met chants, the mechanics,
the debtor class. This is really the only
ii-sue. All the talk about silver being
unfit for money, too plentiful, too cheap,
is mere idle by-play. The quicker the
real issuo is understood by the people
the belter.
Mr R wewater makes some statements
in his history, however, which are in
accurate. In speaking of government
mints he says they were established to
protect people from counterfeits, and
that ' their function was to coin pieces
of silver and gold of uniform weight
and quality and stamp them with fig
ures denoting their value." He tben
adds, "This is the prime and only ob
ject of coinage. The government stamp
upon any coin merely certifies to its
weight and quality, but does not add
any value to the coin." These state
ment are peculiar. As there was no ac
cepted government coin before mints
were "established," and as there would
be no counterfeits before there was a
legal coin, isn't it just possible that Mr.
Rosewater has made a mistake as to
the function of mints? Law first fixed
the amount of metal iu the coin, deter
mined its form and the insignia or de
vise that should be placed upon it, and
then coined the money to show to the
people, as well as furnish for their use,
what the law bad provided should be
money. The function of th9 mint is far
different and higher than Mr. R. states.
If simply amount and fineness were to
be certified, bars would have done as
well as coin. '
Mr. Rosewater says the government
stamp "does not add to value." This
we deny. If Mr. R. had said "intrinsic
value" we would have agreed. The
least reflection will show the falsity of
Mr. R. 's position. Take 871 J grains ef
silver in a lump and offer it to your
creditor. Will it pay the debt? No.
Take exactly the same number of grains
in the form of a coined dollar and offer
it to your creditor. Will it pjy the debt?
Yes. Are 871t grains of silver which
will liquidate a debt more valuable than
871 grains that will not? If I under
stand the term valuo, they are. What
is the difference? One bears the evi
dence that the law has said it shall pass
current for a dollar. The other does
not. Consequently coining has added
value.
Take the case of the nickel 5-ccnt
piece. Has or has noi, minting added
value to the metal?
Mr. R. now innocently says, "outside
of the countries which issue them gold
and silver coins only pass current at
their market value as metal." True,
and why? Because the fiat or legal
power of the countries which issue them
d es not extend beyond their own bor
ders. Within the countries which issue
them they pass at the tace value put
upon them by law as money. Outtide
they pass at their commodity or intrin
sic value. Mr. Rosewater plainly re
futes hinisolf.
He now utters another reckless state
ment which shows hew superficial has
been his study of the subject. He says:
"When a ooin does not contain metal
worth in the open market the sum
stamped on its face it is known as de
based coin."
A debased coin is a coin which con
tains less metal than the standard
amount fixed by law. This may be
caused by abrasion, or by fraud of the
ruling power at the taint. But in the
nature or things the value or the mate
rial of money has nothing to do with its
legal value. The latter value is deter
mined by law alone. As a matter of
policy it may be desirable to have the
nominal value of coins correspond with
the value of their metal in the open mar
ket. But a coin cannot be iaid to be
"debased" unless it contains less metal
than the law requires.
Suppose the silver and gold coins of
this country should be diminished just
one-half, what would result?. Prices in
this country, measured by our coin,
would be doubled, but it would have no
effect whatever upon our foreign trade.
Gold and silver would pay balances on
exactly tho same basis as before, viz:
Their commodity value.
These slips of Mr. Ros3 water arc not
very important, as no part Of the argu
ment hinges upon them, nor upon the
long history reviewed by him. We
merely quote them to show how loose
his analysis of the subject is.
Beginning at his fourth paragraph,
Mr. Rosewater quotes a great deal of
the early history of coinage in this coun
try; but the exact application he wishes
to make of these quotations I an un
able to say, unless it is to try to show
that any double standard is impracti
cable. If that is his object the argument
is as much in favor of silver as gold.
The supply of silver in the United States
having increased 50 per cent in the last
ten years, and the supply of gold hay
ing decreased or remained stationary,
it would seem, if we are to have money
of only one metal, that silver is the best
for that purpose. As a matter of fact,
whatever deductions Mr. R. would make
there can be no historical parallel in
monoy matters drawn between the ante
bellum period and the present time,
only in the fact that then as now the
intricate problems connected with coin
age puzzled statesmen and baffled schol
ars. But that a double standard at &
fixed ratio can be maintained with a
greatly varying supply of both metals,
with a scarcely appreciable variation
in the coin value of either, I have am
ple historic facts to prove. I quote from
the address of Wm. P. St. John, Presi
dent of the Mercantile National bank
of New York, delivered before the
Western Commercial Congress at Kan
sas City, April 17, 1891:.
Tacts, read together, report bxperiencb
especially telling- as to France. After 27
years of wisely varying average relative
prices of gold and silver, under moderate va
riations ot relative production tarcly averaging-
g per cent., the mints of franco alone
for a period ef 82 years to 1865, under varia
tions of relative production exceeding 19 per
cent., maintained a practically unvary.ng
average relative price in market lor gold
and silver in spite of divergent coinage laws
all elsewhere. Thus, in ooin value, in ItiiB:
production, 76 per cent silver; relative price,
15.61 to 1. In 1855; production, 78 per cent,
gold : relative price, 15.78 to 1.
-Coder equally free coinage for gold and
silver, owners oi either bullion sought the
mints of F.aneo at a value Hied for tbem,
price paid for them In purchasing power de
creed by law. In consequence in tno period
1821 to itU0,U2,00e.00uor the world's abun
dant silver was welcomed Into tbe legal-ton-der
"liver coin of France. Ia 1H51 to 1850, with
gold almost alarmingly abundant, $818,000,000
of gold were minted Into legal tender ooin of
France. Under sueb widely varying condi
tions th free mints of Fraaee maintained
the average relative maiket price of gold and
silver for tbe world between 1 to 16.75 and t
to 15.80. Thus trnctDtur bv Francs
Al.OWS, THB VAlA'K P0S8IS8KD V BI1HSU
MBTAL IS ITS BCSKC1TT WAS IIKbTOWED UPON
THK OTHRK1N ABOVDAKCK, BV DECRKK. Such
were the means she adopted, such the aehtev
went by which Franco ingle-haned and for
62 years, '-put a dollar's worth or sii.vkh
in thb dollar," and maintained It constant
ly at 100 cents. - Under such automatic opera
tion of her continuously open minte, in spite
of tbe extreme variations in production no
ted, France thus obtained so great a volume
of coined money in circulation that no em
barrassments were possible from occasional
low of either metal In international tra-ic
' Franoe was not a producer of gold ana sil-