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: S. SENATOR DAVIS' ' VIEW.
'
* &
. .f '
> , if The Demooratio Platform Strikes
f f ' at the Government's .
f ' If- Foundation
, • - ,
I H FREESILVER NOT BIMETALLISM ,
• < . * - y
& | Condition of Affairs Worse than War
* . | f > Would Result from Dem-
v- ' " w ] ocratic Success ,
S In a speech delivered at St. Paul Au
gust 4 , Senator C. K. Davis pointed out
very clearly the fact that free silver is
not bimetallism and showed what evil
results would follow Democratic suc
cess. He said that for the first
time since the election next preced
ing the great Civil war , we are
required to guard the very foundations -
* tions and bulwarks of national stability ,
of commercial honest } ' , of financial con
duct. The Democratic party which met
- at Chicago in convention in July suffered
a wonderful change iu that convention.
I \ The old oracles and guides of the party
were rudely turned aside. It was occu
pied and demoniacally possessed by a new
' spirit something which has not raised
its head in the political conventions of
either party for thirty years. If there
was any one thing which the 2,000,000
I of men who went out to defend this country -
! try thirty years ago thought that they
i j had entirely obliterated when they returned -
" turned , it was the malign doctrine of
| state rights , which lay at the bottom
and was the impetus of the greatest
rebellion which ever reared its head
against a civilized government. Lo and
I behold , in that convention , from the
state of South Carolina , as of yore , you
find the declaration of the same state
rights , in the same spirit as in the an
cient time , and done in a connection , my
follow citizens , which must appeal to the
resentment and repugnance of every lib
erty-loving and country-loving man. Ev
eryone who knows anything about me
knows that I am not a political admirer
I J of Grover Cleveland ; but if there was
any one act of his administration which ,
after the contentions of history have
ceased to rage about his acts and his
memory , that will remain star-bright
forever , it was his action , when the
1 pulse of business beat low , when com-
t mercial intercourse was cut off by rioters
I in Chicago , by which , upon principles and
\ precedents laid down by George WashIngton -
! Ington 100 years before , he evoked the
f 6trong arm of the United States to re-
S store law and order in this country.
[ Applause and cheers. ]
| This act is covertly ( and covertly is
I I too mild a word ) denounced in the Chi-
1 _ cage platform. More than that. If there
{ is anything in this country or in any na-
j tion upon which the stability of the gov-
| eminent depends , the very keystone of
8 the great arch upon which the ranged
I i empire stands , the ultimate principle of
| ! absoluteism 'that must exist some > vherc
; a i in all governments , it is the courts of our
II ' land , where men sequestered from politi-
i \ cal concerns and political ambitions ,
§ holding the scales of justice even be-
i | i tween contending passions and contend-
I I ing rights , decide for their fellow citizens
I | what the law is. And for more than 100
M I years the Supreme court of the United
H , States has sat in that exalted position ,
H < midway in the capitol of the nation be
lt tween the Senate and the House of Rep-
j resentatives , a typical object lesson of
B I their position and of their sublime ca-
} I pacity to restrain either , and has done
i more to conduct the government to the
I high plane which it occupies , I was going
H B to say , than all the statesmen which this
H I country has ever produced. ( Applause. )
H j The Chicago platform strikes at that
If court , strikes at all courts , and enun-
1 dates its malign prophesy of the reor-
1 j ganization of that court and of any other
1 court if necessary , to register the fitful
If and passionate and repudiating edicts of
I [ mistaken and misguided men , of mistaken
I \ and misguided parties.
11 ; A Crisis is Impending.
11 And worse than that , my fellow citi-
II eens worse than that ! If there was
I * another thing which the veterans of the
| last war thought they had achieved and
HI which the loyal sentiment of the North
II thought it had achieved , it was the obliteration -
literation of alj sectionalism in thisroqn-
try ; we were to have vie South , no North.
no East , no West , any more. The whole
country was to be a unity. But in these
later days , we see the solid South coming -
ing up to the banks of the Ohio and the
j Missouri as before the war , and with
E \ sectional demands upon an economic issue -
sue , precisely such as was made before
j ti.e Rebellion. And now , with the phch-
Jl fork of Tillman stirring up the doctrine
I of state rights , with the bomb of Altgeld
1 in the denunciation of our courts and of
JI President Cleveland thrown under the
HI v ry faDric of our government , they have
JI chosen to put forward as an issue some-
Jl j thing which touches more immediately
JI I the conviction , the passions , the cupidity
JI and the honesty of men. and which in it-
JI self contains more disintegrating influ-
Jf I I ences to our prosperity than all the
HI i causes combine that I hare mentioned.
*
HI e Dem ocratic convention , or the
HI I Pfmocratic party , as now organized , has
HI i i ° Wv t ? Populist party in bonds of un-
| ijoly wedlock upon the demand that the
United States shall take a position upon
the currency of this country which L
speaking to you under the responsibility
of a man who is speaking to his neighbors -
bors , say that I believe is fraught with
more disaster to this country than the
greatest foreign war could possibly bing
about ( Applause. )
I And that is the subject that I have
been asked to talk to you tonight about.
I am going to do so , as I said in the beginning -
ginning , not with any attempt at decorative -
rative speech , not denouncing any men
who may choose to differ from me , for
I tell you , my fellow citizens , that many
. and many a thousand men who differ
| from us today on this matter one year
pij | from now will be wondering why and
H 1 how they came to do it. ( Applause. )
And so I shall go on. I may be tedious.
I I am going to give you facts and fig-
ores. I am not going to draw on my
own imagination for my facts at all.
PBBJ • The facts that I shall give you will be
impregnable. It is for you to judge
J whether the deductions I shall draw
PbH from them can be refuted.
JbH Now what is the question ? For a cor-
PIH rect understanding of the question is always -
) ways the first step towards the solution
K , of the controversy. The question is not
J whether there should be the free and
j unlimited coinage of silver in the mints
piH of all the nations , by the consent of the
piBj principal commercial nations of the globe
PBBJj upon a ratio to be agreed upon. That is
PBBfi not the issue. We all might agree that
when this is brought about , as it will be ,
J ; if the United States conducts itself with
PIB i judgment upon this question , I say we
B- I might all agree that that would be an
BBS excellent thing. The Republican party
SV ha3 pledged itself in successive platforms
H to labor to bring about international
H , .agreement The most advanced think-
PVS ers upon financial questions in both
J hemispheres arc advocating , especially in
aW I foreign lands , the resumption of the coin-
PIH * I age of silver , by united action of nations
B BJ i who , before we did , long ago , independ-
sjj I ently of us , and uncontrollable by ns ,
T J suspended or limited the further coinage
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of silver ; and I want to say one thing
to you that not one of these professors
in foreign universities , not one of these
economists whose name and fame are
world-wide , and not one of those great
financiers who have given days and years
of thought to this subject , not one , and
nobody except the readers of the modern
Democracy and Populism , has ventured
to advise his own country in Europe to
undertake that task alone. ( Applause. )
The question is this , and nothing more :
Shall the United States , alone , under
take the free and unlimited coinage of sil
ver at a ratio of 10 to IV ( A few cries
of "yes" and "no , " and repeated cries of
"no. " ) Now , sec y"bu gentlemen over
there who called "yes , " and you gentle
men here who called "no , " shows the
difference of opinion upon this subject
( laughter ) , and to you over there who
come to listen to me , you will listen dis
passionately , you will digest my argu
ments , and I hope finally that by the
time you have done so thoroughly that
you will be inclined to shout "no" with
the gentlemen who responded when you
responded. ( Cheering and applause. )
Now , let us be entirely good-natured
about this. I am going to try to give
you the facts , and I repeat it , the issue
is whether the United States shall at
tempt to do that thing alone , in the
face of the controlling fact that every
civilized commercial nation upon the face
of the earth , except the Central Amer
ican and South American states , years
ago and before we did abandoned it ut
terly. And if I shall succeed in con
vincing any of our friends that we are
not in position to do it without inflicting
upon the country and Upon us all injuries
which it will take a generation to re
pair , I shall be more than rewarded
for the pains that I have taken , the ob
servations that I have made , the studies
I have gone through and the reflections
which have brought me to my present
convictions. ( Applause. )
Shall "We Go Backward or Forward ?
Shall we , for our own interests stand
along with those nations with which we
have classed ourselves and who are lead
ing the march of humanity , or shall we
go with Mexico , South America , China
and Japan , the rearward half of the
great army of human progress , and join
those imperfect and rudimentary civiliza
tions , which are an occular demonstra
tion that no nation ever undertook alone
the coinage of free silver that did not de
prive itself of gold entirely. ( Applause. )
And you have but to glance upon the
map of your school boy or school girl ,
your little son or daughter , to see the
fact recorded there for the education of
youth , to know that every one of those
nations stands upon a lower scale of
progress than the nations which have
declared the policy upon which the Unit
ed States now stands.
My fellow citizens , the warnings of his
tory are all against it. The present ex
amples of nations who singly are endeav
oring to sustain themselves under a single
standard forbid us to enter upon a voy
age upon , I was going to say , untried
waters , but no , upon a voyage which we
can plainly see other nations are making
at the present time , where we can plain
ly view rocKs of distress , the shoals and
quicksands of their course from the se
cure mainland upon which the American
people now stand , and from which our
opponents are attempting to lure them
by false lights and false alarms. ( Ap
plause. )
Now we have got to take facts exactly
as they are. We are not dealing with
glittering and glowing generalities. We
are administering society and human con
cerns ; society , a being perfectly concrete ,
infinitely practicable , somewhat selfish ,
( and I am going to appeal to the selfish
ness of this audience to know whether
they will assist in bringing about that
which I think I can prove will result
from the arts of the gentlemen who are
attempting to mislead them.
Now , my friends , the world is divided ,
just as sharply as it is by oceans and
mountain chains , between the gold coun
tries , who employ concurrently with gold
more silver money than all the silver
countries contain or circulate. ( Ap
plause. ) I say that the gold countries
of this world , including the United States
( and I call them gold countries for the
purpose not of definition , but of clear
ness of expression ) , employ and circulate
more silver than all the silver countries
of the world employ , contain or circulate.
I make another proposition. I appeal
to history and to contemporary facts
which no man can dispute , that every
free coinage country is on a silver basis.
Isn't that so ? ( Cries of "Yes. " ) I make
another statement for you to think of ,
for I am not going to elaborate it I am
going to get into the figures pretty soon
every gold country uses silver and gold
in amounts pearly equal by money na
tions. Isn't that so ? ( Cries of "Yes. " )
Isn't that so in the United States ?
( Cries of "Yes. " ) In France ? ( Voices
"Yes. " ) I make another statement for
your calm and cool reflection , that no sil
ver standard coTTntry has any gold mon
ey whatever. ( Applause. ) Don't take
my word for it Go and investigate this
subject I say that no silver country has
any gold money whatever , and you can
search from Jlexico to Cape Horn and
find that this statement is correct
Another statement and I make it up
on a sense of my responsibility after an
exhaustive examination of statistics , in
vestigations and records that in every
silver standard country wages are pressed
down to the very minimum of a wretched
subsistence. It is so in Mexico , it is so
in Japan , it is so in South America. I
say that in every silver country wages
are pressed down to the very minimum
of a wretched subsistence.
The Reasons.
Now if it is true ( I will not go into
the reasons for it ) , but if it is true as a
concrete , absolute fact , that no silver
country , no country which has adopted
the silver standard has any gold circula
tion whatever , I say that it follows that
the only practicable bimetallism on the
planet is by the nations with which the
United States has classed itself , and it
is this bimetallism in the United States
which the new Democracy and Popu
lism are endeavoring to destroy by sub
stituting a silver monometallism. ( Ap
plause. ) The bimetallism which this
country and the nations of which I have
spoken enjoy is the bimetallism of fact
and actual enjoyment extending to that
full extent which human judgment , hu
man experience , human apprehension
call it what you will teach is the pro
portion in which the metals can be em
ployed in a degree that one will not de
stroy or drive out the other and that
both can co-exist together. ( Applause. )
For there is , my fellow citizens , an un
questionable dividing line I shall prove
it further along , though it is not neces
sary for men who have read history ,
even cursorily , for me to prove it there
is a dividing line beyond which you can
not pass in the employment of the metal
of less value without its driving out the
other and entirely supplanting it. And I
sav that he who insists ( I say it logical
ly ) " that the United States shall or can ,
acting alone , coin silver without limit ,
as required by the Democratic and Pop
ulist platforms , is not a bimetallism he is
a silver monometallist , who , after spend
ing vears in attacking what he deems
the idol of the dark idolatry of mono
metallism , ends by immolating himself
upon its altar. ( Applause. )
Now let me right here not exactly in
the logical connection throw out a
thought which to me has a great deal of
consequence. It is represented that gold
has become a tyrant , that its power has
become omnipotent , absolutely selfish and
cruel ; that it has become a metal which
great combinations , perhaps of nations ,
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perhaps of capitalists , hoard and gather
for the oppression of mankind. Now let
me call your attention to one fact The
free-coiners assert , when they arc told
that the increased output of gold is going
to tend very much and by natural pro
cesses to solve this question , that from
one-half to one-third of the gold annually
produced in the world goes Into the arts.
This htatement is probably an exaggera
tion. It is probable that one-quarter of
the gold of the world produced annually
goes into the arts , and it has been doing
it for centuries. Consider for a mo
ment , my fellow citizens , what an enor
mous sum , enormous aggregate three
billions , perhnps four billions , of dollars
are lying in the shape of golden orna
ments , thousands of dollars of them in
this room tonight. Now I want to ask
you this question , if there Is a gold fam
ine , if the power of gold is so absolute
and tyrannical as it is claimed , if its
possession in the shape of coin gives its
owner such sway over the destiny and
fortune of his fellow man , how is it
that this enormous amount of gold , per
haps one-third of that which is in exist
ence , has not shown the least symptom
yet of going into the melting pot to be
turned into coin ?
But we hear a great deal about the de
monetization of silver , and one would
think to hear our free-coiner friends de
claim that silver had been entirely de
monetized , that by some malign influ
ence the money function of silver
throughout the world had been entirely
abrogated , and it is a very .catching
phrase. It has been a very catching
assumption , for I will not call it an argu
ment
Now , I say. my fellow citizens , that ,
properly considering facts , that state
ment is inaccurate , not to say untrue. I
assert that silver has never been demon
etized in the sense in which that charge
has been made. ( Applause. ) Demone
tization means to divest of standard
value as money , and I say this has not
been done with any dollar of silver coin
that was ever minted at any mint. ( Ap
plause. ) It is true that many nations
who have approached the danger line of
which I spoke a few moments ago , when
one metal drives out another , that many
nations have told the owners of silver
which lay concealed in the earth we will
not longer buy it at a certain ratio and
at a certain price. Even that has not
been entirely done , and I repeat my
statement that the assertion that silver
has been demonetized is one calculated
to mislead , and is not true in fact.
* "The Crime of ' 73. "
All our woes are dated from 1873 , the
period when the free-coiners persuade
their disciples that , to use their stock ex
pression , silver was demonetized , or that
one-half of the aggregate wealth of the
world was struck down at a blow. Now
let us bring this statement to the crucial ,
absolute test of figures , of what records
and statistics say upon this subject , and
not trust to the vague declamation of
any person. The value ( and I will give
you my authority for this statement in a
moment ) , the value of all silver coin in
the world in 1873 was § 1S77,000,000.
In 1S95 it was § 4,100,000.000. The
value of all the gold coin in the world in
1S73 was $3,015,000,000 ; the value of all
the gold coin in the world in 1895 was
$4,200,000,000. Of this quantity of sil
ver current in the world in. 1S95 , $3,439 , -
300,000 was full legal tender. Now at
tend to me for a moment while the math
ematical deduction is made. By this
statement it appears that the quantity
of gold in the world increased , between
1873 and 1895 , only $1,200,000,000 ,
while the increase of silver coin for the
same period was $2,283,000,000 more
coined in the twenty-three years since
1873 than remained up to that time of
all the coinage of the world since Noah
left the ark. ( Applause. ) And nearly
double more silver has been coined than
gold since 1S73. What becomes , then , of
the assertion of the equal and equable
production of silver and gold from year
to year since time began , and of the de
monetization of silver since 1873 , in the
face of this showing that , between 1873
and 1895 the coinage of silver was near
ly twice greater than that of gold ? They
talk of the demonetization of silver since
1873 in the face of a silver coinage
throughout the world since that year of
over $2,000,000,000 , of which $538-
444,467 was minted by the United
States ! ( Applause. ) And of gold the
United States minted during the same
period $937,460,633. And here , also , is
answered a statement confidently made
and plausibly maintained , and yet erron
eous in fact , that there has in all this
time been an enormous contraction of
the currency all over the world , yet
these figures conclusively demonstrate
that that statement is not true. Now ,
my friends , I have not taken this from
the statistics of any other speaker or
from any other book. I know where the
statistics are gathered with the care
which commands the respect and confi
dence of the civilized world , and on the
29th of July ( only a few days ago ) I
telegraphed to the director of the mint
regarding information upon these sub
jects , and he answered me :
"Hon. C. K. Davis , St Paul , Minn. :
The total .value of all silver coined in the
world in 1873 I estimate to have been
$1S17,000,000 and 1895 $4,100,000,000.
The world's stock of gold in 1S73 is es
timated to have been $3,045,000,000 and
1S95 about $4,200,000,000. R. E. Pres-
tonf director of the.mint" . And these
figures I have just given you are the fig
ures which I have just read in the tele
gram of the director. The greatest busi
ness transactions in the way of-finance
on the face of the earth are made upon
statements like that , and when what I
have said is discussed the only answer
that will be made to it is probably that
Mr. Preston and the United States gov
ernment is one general universal gold
bug. ( Laughter. )
Now let me give yon another state
ment The coinage of the nations of the
world in 1S92 , 1893 and 1894 was as
follows : Gold. $172,473,124 ; silver ,
$155,517,347 ; 1S93 , gold , $232,420,517 ;
silver , $137,952,690 ; in 1894 , gold , $227 , -
921,032 ; silver , $113,095,783. A total in
three years of $1,039,389,498. With all
deductions for recoinace this output of
coined money is of immense volume.
Now I have thrown out these sugges
tions and will pass from that branch of
the discussion and call your attention to
another assertion of the free coiners ; I
alluded to it cursorily a few moments
ago , but I propose to now treat it in
the same manner in which I have treat
ed the last preceding question. The free
coiners assert that contraction has in
flicted all the financial and economic
miseries that mankind has endured since
1873. Now I say that they themselves
coolly propose to bring about a contrac
tion of currency in the United States un
exampled in the world's history. I say
that they propose to bring about a con
traction in the United States unexampled
in the world's history and fraught with
more evils than are , recorded in the an
nals of human woe. In that case , if that
is the logical result and inevitable des
tiny of what they propose , I want to
know wherein the goldbug is worse than
the silver eel ?
Hero is the Proof.
Now you ask me for my proof and I
will proceed to give it The unlimited
and free coinage of silver in this country
will drive out the gold. This is as indis
putable as any law of physics , such as
the law of gravitation. It has driven out
gold in every country which has unlimitedly -
edly coined silver. Do you want the his
torical and clear proof of it ? In fact ,
there is not an enlightened gentleman
who will talk to you in advocacy of free
coinage of silver who does not ndmit that
this will be the inevitable result , but they
say it will only last two or three years ,
that the patient will probably Burvive
. • ' nwwJWl ' ' * w _ _
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twp or three years , and will probably
survive to take the new medicine in
abundance. But I say that they admit
themselves any intelligent speaker upon
that subject admits that the inevitable
and irresistible tendency and result of
the free coinage of silver in this coun
try will be to drive out the gold. Now
let us see how they propose to obviate it
It has always struck me that one of
their most enlightened champions was
Mr. St John of New York. He has been
largely and copiously quoted by them
he was president of a national bank and
was president of the recent silver con
vention at St. Louis , and by the bill
which he procured to be introduced in
Congress and which had the endorsement
of the silver and Populist sentiment
there , they proposed to bridge over this
yawning chasm which they themselves
admitted would open beneath their feet
by issuing interest-bearing trensury notes
of the United States , secured by deposits
of uncoined silver or gold bullion , or by
deposit of United States bonds to be is
sued of course for that purpose. Now let
us look at this coolly and calmly and fig
ure upon it a little , like men of sense who
are infinitely interested in this matter
as one of business concern and let us
see how this project would work ; wheth
er it would not merely
.in , nml fllm tlc , ulcerous sore.
Whilst rank corruption mining all beneath
Infects unseen.
We have $620,000,000 of gold in the
United States. I think more. It would
disappear at once in the face of free
silver coinage , or even the certainty of
it. Let this election go Democratic *
Populist , let the American people record
their will that the coinage of silver shall
be free and unlimited , long before Mr.
Bryan and his cohorts could place the
edict into the form of law , the just finan
cial fears of mankind , of people here
in this audience and of people every
where , at home and abroad , would draw
that gold from every vault wherein it
lies protected and it would sink into the
earth as the waters which came down
from heaven last night I say it would
disappear at once. This bill of Mr. St.
John so admits , and that disappearance
is the very ailment which he proposes
to remedy. But in this universal ab
sconding of gold tliere would be no gold
bullion to deposit , people would not take
it out of hiding to exchange it for any
paper money whatever of the govern
ment which proposed to make all these
obligations payable in silver. ( Applause. )
This remedy is counteracted so far by
the assumption and admission that gold
will disappear.
Now as to deposits of silver bullion.
The world's product of silver in 1894
( commercial value ) was $210S92,200.
If we could get the world's entire pro
duct ( as we could not ) , it would take
three years to fill the void of $020,000 , -
000 of vanished gold. The nations of
the world will not melt down their
coined silver to deposit it in the United
States treasury and receive merely a
silver certificate.
Some of the Evils.
But the third alternative is one of
most malign portent. It is proposed to
use the interest-bearing bonded debt of
the United States in order that the miner
or owner of silver may take his bullion
to the mint meanwhile and get evidences
of public debt two for , one a privilege
not granted to or claimed by any farm
er , artisnn , manufacturer or producer
upon God's heritage. I say it is pro
posed to use the interest-bearing bonded
debt of the United States. Now , what
does this mean ? It means an increase
of the bonded debt People who have
got their bonds as investments to get
their living from in the way of their an
nual income , or anyone else , are not
going to put their bonds on deposit in the
treasury to get a treasury certificate.
And so the chasm could not be filled
in that way. neither by gold , by silver
or by the illimitable issue of bonds.
So this chasm could not be filled. They
admit it will last three years. What
will take place meantime , in the very
face of the danger of it ? We are in
the midst of commercial distress almost
unexampled in our history ; a panic such
as the world has seldom seen. It would
throw 3.000,000 of men out of employ
ment It would depress and starve the
wage-earner , and it would deprive him
of being the best consumer and purchas
er that the American farmer has , and
by that reflex action inflict unexampled
misery upon our agricultural population.
( Applause. )
In that state of things the abyss must
be filled. No nation could stand such
a contraction. The most radical remedy
would be absolutely necessary to re
store it , and there would only be two
one is to get back to the honest , solid
standard on which all the comniercial
nations , including the United States ,
stand now , or to use an irredeemable
paper money , perfectly limitless or il
limitable in its ajpount And when that
comes to pass silver will vanish in the
face of paper as gold vanished in the
face of silver. ( Applause. ) And then
yoit would have another chasm , another
issue of money. The wreck is complete ,
and the United States stands entirely
on an irredeemable paper money basis ,
precisely the place we occupied before
the war , and from which we struggled
with so much passion of honesty and
love of national honor to emancipate
ourselves. Do you want that again ?
( Cries of "Np , no. " )
But my friends , to look a little deeper
into this subject The misery goes tur-
ther that would be inflicted. I have been
talking heretofore about lawful money ,
and I mean by that , money issued by the
governments of the world , the United
States included. But did you ever think
how little of the business of this world
or of any community like St Paul and
Minneapolis is done on what is called
lawful money ? Statistics would seem to
show that 95 per cent of the transac
tions between man and man in civilized
nations , especially in the United States ,
is by way of checks. In cities they are
balanced against each other in the clear
ing house , and a few thousand dollars
balanced money closes the day's transac
tions. Where clearing houses do not ex
ist I mean in towns and villages the
depositing of the checks in the banks , and
the collections of the banks adjust bal
ances in the same way.
Now , this is the greatest currency of
civilization. Numbers are inadequate to
express its infinite superiority in numeri
cal relation to the lawful money of
which we have been talking. This is the
currencv that no statutory fiat can ex
pand , although it can contract it. But it
is a currency which will contract instan
taneously to its very minimum bv the
operation of the Democratic and Popu-
listic theories as announced in their plat
forms. Now what does that mean ? It
means simply that the merchants , the
manufacturers , the employer , the man of
everv kind who pays out money 'o his
fellow-men for labor , or for material will
cease so far as lie is concerned to emit
that currency which rules all business
The lack of confidence will produce that
contraction in that currency. The clear
ings in the United States last week were
$811,000,000. In the clearing houses
alone , mind you , and not through the in
fluence of interposition of the banks
where there are no clearing houses. The
clearances of the city of St. Paul last
week were something over $4,000,000.
Does any man think that such nmount
of monev ns that was used in St Paul
last week $4,000,000 or in the nation ,
$ S11,000.000 , to transact their business ?
It was done by this currency of civiliza
tion which no nation can produce , which
no nation can regulate or control , and I
say that this currency , more important
, than silver or gold or national paper ,
_ -rW-TgrJLMjiJijix fB -J- "
- - , - - . r
* -w- " > " . i i \ a
will be struck down at a blow if the shal
low projects of the Democratic and Popu
list platforms be realized.
But j-ou have heard from our free
coinage friends here that other nations
have done this. And there are many good
people who believe that France is doing
it , and that the Latin union so-called is
doing it. Now , I would like to know why
they can't tell the entire truth about this
matter. Let us not deceive each other
and let nobody deceive us. The Lit in
union is composed of France , Belgium ,
Italy , Switzerland and Greece. It was
formed in 1S65 by treaty between those
powers , whereby each agreed until the
year 18S0 to take the coins of the other
powers at the ratio of lo1 . to 1.
But Germany demonetized silver ; she
had ceased to coin it , and so , in 1S73 ,
those great nations , headed by France
( the most scientifically-governed country
in the. world , and the one which has the
most accurate financial ideas ) , I say those
countries , after Germnny had demone
tized silver in 1S73. limited their silver
coinage , and by 1876 they suspended it
entirely. They , those great European
nations France , the strongest monetary
nation in the world , with her allies un
dertook with all their power to do pre
cisely what the free coiners of the Unit
ed States are asking this government
to undertake in the light of such con
spicuous failures of other nations.
Invariable Stnmlaads Needed.
Now , everybody admits I think the
most rampant free-coiner declaimer
would admit that the money unit should
remain as nearly invariable as possible.
Now. I say gold has so remained. Sil
ver has fallen commercially like other
articles. This is denied. They say sil
ver has not fallen , that gold has risen ;
Now , that is the way you look at it
You can look at it through the deluding
glass of idealism , and it may appear that
way , but it is an optical illusion. Now
let me put an illustration from nature.
The waters of Lake Superior , that great
inland sea which floats so much of our
commerce and is such an clement in our
prosperity , have for many years been
falling , until now they are lower than
they have been at any time for fifty
years , and everything on their surface
has fallen. The waters of Lake Supe
rior , like the universal , spread-out plane
of humanity , bearing everything upon its
surface those waters bear the fleets ,
vessels and craft of all kinds , and ves
sels and craft and fleets of all kinds have
fallen with the water. What would you
think of a man standing on the deck of
one of those vessels saying. "This ves
sel has not fallen ; this vessel stands just
where it did. but the universal shore of
Lake Superior has risen ? " [ Laughter
and applause. ]
Now , I say , my friends , that since the
Latin union , from 1S73 to 1S76. aban
doned free coinage , there has existed in
European nations and the United States
the only practical bimetallism. Let me
repeat this. I feel that I cannot bear it
into your minds too often or too urgently
that these nations , including ours , are
the only nations on the face of the earth
that have any bimetallism whatever.
And why ? Because they went to the
danger line , as we went , and then
stopped. [ Applause. ] The universal
teaching of history demonstrated that
there was a dead line , beyond which
silver couid not be pressed without the
immediate annihilation of its companion ,
gold , as a useful , working money medi
um. And when any man gets up and
dreams and soliloquizes and philosophizes
before me and tells me he knows it won't
be so if we try where others failed , I
tell him that an ounce of fact is worth
a ton of theory , and that something bodi
ly is worth a million of disembodied
ghosts. [ Applause. ]
What is Jtatio ?
And yet these gentlemen favor , in. the
face of these historical examples and
warnings , that the United States shall
make the unit of coinage the silver dollar
lar at the ratio of 16 to 1.
Now , what is ratio ? It is not $16 to
$1 , as some people claim. ( Laughter. )
Ratio means this : That there shall be
sixteen times more silver in weight in a
silver dollar than there is weight of gold
in a gold dollar. Or , to put the definition
in another form , that sixteen ounces of
silver , when coined , shall be the equiva
lent of one ounce of gold when coined.
When gold measured by silver is worth
$16 per ounce , no disparity in value can
exist ; but when measured by silver tiie
ounce of gold is worth $31 an ounce com
mercially , disparity results. Such is the
present condition , and yet the free silver
men assert that it will lie no such thing
in case legislative fia' endeavors to make
two and two five instead of the old-
fashioned result two and two four.
The trouble is that our friends have
confused the ratio of weight with the
ratio of value , and are trying to confuse
the people with it The rsjtio of weight
and the ratio of value were once the
same , but they have changed. They
changed more than thirty years ago.
Other nations saw it and obeyed the im
perial behest of that change before we
did , and the ratio is now throughout
the world 32 , or about 32. to 1.
Now I say that no legislative fiat what
ever it does not lie in the power of man
( I was about to say something more ex
treme than that , which it would not be
proper to say ) it dees not he in the
power of man to enact that a given di
mension , volume or capacity shall be a
hair ' s breadth greater than the laws of
the Almighty have fixed it from the be
ginning. ( Applause. )
It is necessary that the ratio or proportion
tion of value should be invariable. It is
necessary for the pioduction of the thing
itself called money , speaking of it in its
gieat volume , as the volume of money in
the United States. We see analogies
everywhere : we see an analogy iu nature.
Take the air we breathe. It is a com
pound substance , made up from oxygen
and nitrogen at the ratio of about 77
to 23 , and while this ratio lasts it is from
it we all draw our lives and have our
being. But change to any material de
gree and. instead of being the vital , life-
giving air , it becomes a deadly and de
structive miasma.
But the free-coiners assert that unlim
ited coinage of silver will restore it to a
parity with gold. It has been tried by
many nations of'thw world. Has it done
it in " a single instance ? Not one. They
said the same thing when Congress
passed the Sherman act of 1S90. They
said buy of us freely 4.500,000 ounces a
month , or 54.000.000 ounces a year , and
you will see that silver will go up to
$1.29 an ounce immediately. In the face
of clamor , in doubt as to what might be
the result , in willingness , ( it went too
far ) to give such claims every oppor
tunity to be demonstrated whether they
werecorrect or incorrect , that legislation
was enacted. And silver did go in the
course of about ten days to $1.19 an
ounce ( Applause by one man ) and the
free-coiners were exalted , and said , "I
told you so. " But , my friends who ap
plaud at that delusive statement it last
ed but a short time. Silver proceeded to
fall lower than it ever fell before. ( Great
applause. )
It did not take it long to do it The an
nual average production in the United
States for ten years before that act was
passed was 44.000,000 ounces , in 1S91 it
ran to 54.000,000 ounces , and in 1S92
to 62,000,000 ounces , nearly 20.000,000
ounces more than we produced in the
average of ten years up to the time when
that bill was passed , and it was then
seen by all wise men , by all men who
had the stability of the currency and the
prosperity of their country at heart , .vith
intelligent vision , that that immense vol
ume would break down indeed it did
break down the very theory upon which
the bill was passed. ( Applause. ) It pro
duced the panic of 1S93 , put distrust into
the minds of men. The silver men said
before we passed that bill in 1890 , that
infiMtimnmmummMna * * * * * * " * " " * * l
nrmrrinfiMtim S
silver would go at a parity with gold if fl H
vou will only give us a limited purchase i i l
of 54,000,000 ounces a year. It did not l H
go to a parity. How can they say now , < l H
and look the American people in . he taco 4J H
with steady eye , that where it failed then /Hl H
it is going to work entirely different and i l H
satisfactorily now ? H l
BKYAtf ( KN TIIE EATIO. fH
He Sang a Different Song on thb 'IS H
Subject When He was In Ml H
Congress. S H
On the 16th of August , 1S93 , on the 3 |
floor of the House of Representatives , /M l
Mr. Byran said : l a H
"In fixing the ratio we should select that vl l
one which will secure the greatest ad- Jj l
vantage to the public and cause the least "Vji l
injustice. The present ratio , in my judg- H l
ment , should be adopted. A change in < J l
the ratio could be made ( as in 3834) by M H
reducing the size of the gold dollar , or { 4 H
by increasing the size of the silver dol- J H
lnr , or by making a change in the weight ' , | ( H
of both dollars. A larger silver dollar - H
would help the creditor. A smaller gold ( , -j H
dollar would help the debtor. It is not , 4 H
just to do either , but if a change must ' il H
be made , the benefit should be given to ' H
j
the debtor rather than the creditor. Let J I H
no one accuse me of defending the just- , - 4 H
ness of any change ; but I repeat it , if T VJH
we are given a choice between a change " • ; TH H
which will aid the debtor by reducing ) 'j H
the size of his debt and a change which i 'l H
will aid the creditor by increasing the ul H
amount which he is to receive , cither by „ ) > * , H
increasing the number of his dollars or * v H
their size , the advantage must be given H H
to the debtor. " ' S H
Legislation in favor of debtors or of "l H
creditors , as a class , would be class leg- I H
islation and wholly unjustifiable. Ques- f ; H
tions between debtors and creditors are H
properly settled in the courts ; and every H
court will hold that what is right for the i H
one is right for the other also. Mr. Bryan - • > H
an , therefore , did well to disclaim advocacy - ; H
vocacy of any change of the existing ' |
ratio. Should a change be made at any H
time hereafter it cannot and ought not ; H
to affect contracts antedating such H
change. |
But in advocating the unlimited coinage - H
age of silver bullion , at the present ratio , H
for the owner and without cost to him , H
Mr. Bryan does propose a change of the H
entire basis upon which business is trans- / H
acted. We are informed by him that H
there are three ways by which the ratio H
between gold and silver coin can be altered - M
tered : 1. The shrinkage in size of the M
gold dollar. 2. The enlargement of the M
silver dollar. 3. Making a change in the M
size and weight of both dollars. Either M
of these three methods contemplates a v " M
nearer approximation of the coinage ratio - ( M
tie to the commercial ratio and is so far i J
forth honest If this approximation of M
the two ratios were carried to the point M
of ideality , the change suggested by him M
would be absolutely honest nrovided ' |
that it is not retroactive in its application , |
to outstanding debts. ' |
This is not. however , the change which v ; H
would follow the adoption of free coinage - H
age at 10 to 1. There is still another i H
possible change to which Mr. Bryan H
made no reference in his speech , namely , H
the shrinkage of the silver dollar. A ' H
silver dollar containing 371/t grains of .HH
pure silver , worth 53 cents in gold , which H
nevertheless passes current for 300 cents ' > H
in gold , is an anomaly in finance , unless ' H
explained. The explanation is simple. t H
Fifty-three cents of the current value of , " | H
this dollar is visible : 47 cents of its value J | H
is invisible , and consists in credit Free fS H
and unlimited coinage would destroy this / * , H
credit In advocating free coinage at ' j H
16 to 1. therefore. Mr. Bryan proposes to H
make the silver dollar smaller not to the _ j H
eye. but in fact \ H
This would be a change of ratio in the " H
purchasing power of the silver dollar , ns H
compared with a gold dollar , from 16:1 B
to 31:1. H
To avoid this result Mr. Bryan gravely H
proposes that we should do one of two j M
things : double the weight of the silver H
dollar , or else coin gold dollars half their V
present weight Anybody can sec that //M
one of these would have to be done , in ' Herder
order that identity should be established H
between the coinage ratio and the commercial - < H
mercial ratio. H
Which of these two expedients does H
Mr. Bryan favor ? He tells us that en- J M
larging the silver dollar would help the " ' |
creditor. It could only help him by M
maintaining the present standard of | H
value. He also tells us that halving the M
gold dollar would help the debtor. If so , M
it would be by a change in the present M
standard of value. Finally , he tells us , H
that he prefers the latter expedient , because - H
cause the debtor has rights superior to S
the rights of the creditor. * H
v
The Lesson of 1892. " " * •
What happened in 1S92 ? Everybody
had money , plenty of money ; and then I
they came to you and whispered in your , H
ear that although you had plenty of " 1
money and plenty of work that you were ' fl
not buj-ing what you bought cheap 4m
enough ; that they were taxing the many f
for the benefit of the few , and too many 1
of the American people listened to it V
It was the arousing of the class of employers - '
ployers against the employed ; and the
employed against the employer ; and we
had the change. They gave us the cheap
stuff , but in what condition did they
leaT'6 the American people ? 9
It reminds me of a colored gentleman |
who wanted to cro s the Arkansas river , '
and had no means. He sat down awhile * fl
upon a log and waited until someone r f |
should come up. Shortly a white gentleman - / " • * I
tleman approached. He says : "Boss , / - fl
I want to cross this river : will you ' H
please give me two cents ? I haven't a J I
cent in the world. " "Well , sir , " he said , 1
"if you haven't a cent in the world it I
don 't make a damn bit of difference T
which side of this river you are on. "
And so it is with all cheap goods that
these gentlemen furnish us. They fill
the stores with their clothing , made of
shoddy , brought in under an ad valorem
law by which the importer is made to
swear that it is worth nothing , and it
is worth nothing. It is made out of
old hats picked up out of the streets m >
and alleys of our foreign cities , of rags
from Switzerland and rotten socks from
Italy. It is sent over to be placed upon \
American backs. That is not the civilization - t
ization we want. We want American
wages , American clothing and Ameri
can civilization. Now , in 1896 they
came to us. We had plenty of money
before , now we have no money. They
come to us and say they are going to
give it to us ; and they propose this
doubling of the face value of silver.
From a speech by Congressman Fowler
of Netf York at Milwaukee. ,
'
Carlisle's Five Points. :
x-
"There is not a free coinage country - \ IK
in the world today that is not on a silver %
basis. il
II. *
"There is not a gold standard coun- S (72
try in the world today that' does not use * ! * jf
silver as money along with gold. * r * \
HI. * }
"There is not a silver standard country flH
in the world today that uses any gold ' HI
as money along with silver. - B
"There is not a silver standard countrj ' flfl
in the world today that has mdre than WM
one-third as much monev in circulation * WB
per capita as the United States. / * j
. "There is not a silver'standard country I
in the world today where the ' ' ffl
laboring > >
jam receives fair pay for his g S J * M
two yH
' " ' ' / - * * r t lN i H