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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1898)
r Tllti OMAHA DAILY B.EE : T1UDAV , SEPTEMBER CHAMPIONS OF FIAT MONEY Advocates of Irredeemable Paper Issues Hare Their Day at Conference , GENERAL WARNER STATES THE CASE I'rcnlilrnt iif < ho American Illitictnlllc Union I'rciilileN nnil Ien dm Oft with nn K.xitnMtloii of III * on 1'iifiur Mono' . It was with Bomc difficulty that Congress man Charles S. Hartman of Montana , who presided over the sessions of the third ami last day of the national currency conven tion , could keep In order the middle-of- the-road flatlst editors of the Reform I'rcsa association , who were clamorous to bo heard and could hardly wait for the order of the program as arranged to be carried out. The most obstreperous of the flatlsts were L. II. Weller of lown , the original "Calamity" Weller , as ho Is willing to be called , and N. II. iMotslnger of Indiana. Jllalng to a question of personal privilege Motslnger openly accused General Warner KTW of being nn objectionable leader of the discussion on behalf of flatlsm on account I of his bimetallic views and his connection with the sllverltes. Warner promptly squelched him , though , but assured him v- . that both lie and Weller would bo heard nt some time during the progress of the debate. . The affirmative for nn unlimited Issue by tlia government of an Irredeemable ) paper currency was taken by General A. J. Warner of Ohio , president of tlio American niraetalllc union. Ocneral Warner con curred In the opinion of the gold standard npologlsts for falling prices with the ex ception of farm products , of which Iho labor cost has not been materially reduced , and with the further qualification that fixed charges , such as transportation rates , debts nnd taxes , remained the same , notwlth- Btandlng the lowering of the gen eral level of prices. The debate , ho said , would be divided Into , llrst , the advocacy of n bank currency ; second , the plna for ft government Issue of paper money to cir culate concurrently with the metals . and to bo based upon them ; nnd , third , the affirmation of nn unlimited Issue by the Kovornment of an Irredeemable paper cur rency , or absolute flatlsm. ( CMCnil AV'nriH-r'x I'ri'fnct * . Leading up to his own paper General Warner discussed the prices and debt ques tions as follows In nn endeavor to answer the cold standard position : It was asserted yesterday that the fall of prices has been duo to inventions nnd the Improved ni9-hod3 of j roauuion , nnd Is. therefore , a blessing to the world and a great gain to civilization. In that opinion wo entirely concur Insofar as tl-e fall of prices has been duo to u reduction of thf labor cost of production. If 100 pout.dj of steel ceil bo made now for the sain : labor cost required to produce ten poun-'r. twenty yeais ago , the fall of prices In steel and steel products , that Is a good thing nnd the whole world may share It. So with nil things tha cost of production of which has been reduced nnd In consequence of their Increased qi'nn- tlty the prices of these things relatively to prices of other things have gone down , that is what we desiro. Hut It does not follow that farm products , of which the labor cost lias not been mateilally reduced , should neil for less money , while taxes , fares and debts remain fixed ; I ray it does r.ot follow that they 'should bo forced down by n contraction of the i-Vney volume by which the general level cf prices Is lowered One overpowering reason why the general level of prices should not be permitted to fall Is that the earth c mes to each genera tion burdened with Ll.oiibands of millions uf dollars of debt. If the general level of prices keeps going lower and lower you'll soon reach the level where the holders of bonds , an < mprtgages- } take everything , leaving to the puditcors only a bare living. We arc 'dangerously ' near that line now. I say that the dead hands should not bo i permitted to reach forth from the grnvo and I claim everything. The dead should have been satisfied while living with the servco they received as an equivalent to what th ° y gave. It Is proposed by our g-ild standard I friends that by the contraction of the volume * I ume of money prices should bo restricted to the burdens left to us by the dead past , but It Is the living and not the dead which are entitled to the benefits of labor nnd ex I change. Ail vocal I'HNC | | | | y. He then read the paper ho had prepared es the Initiatory ono In advocacy of an clastic circulating medium , of which the following Is the substance : The measure of the effect of paper money f on prices nnd on other money does not depend upon whether or not It Is covered 1 by coin , dollar for dollar , any more than upon the color or texture of the fiber of the paper on which the Insignia of money Is stamped , but entirely on the quantity ol such money put Into circulation. The prin ciple ! s the same , whether applied to paper inonoy or ta gold and silver coin , or to gold alone. No economist surely will dispute the proposition that If the stock of gold tdiould bo nt once largely Increased by new ilnda of gold , while the world's needs for money were unchanged , that the value ol gold everywhere would bo decreased am 1 ! prices would rise. This would amount tu a virtual alteration of the existing standard , The effect , no doubt , of the restoration ol silver to unrestricted mintage would lowci the value of all money , Including gold , as would bo evident by a general rise of prices , On the other hand , should the supply ol gold for money bo cut off by reduced produc tion and Increased demand for It for the arts or for other non-monetary puprposes , whllo tlio world's needs for money contlnm the dnmo and no other money was sub stituted for the gold , the value of goli d would bo Increased , and prices would fall This Is exactly what has taken place Ir the last thirty years. By the demonetiza tion of silver nnd the extension of the golc standard to countries theretofore using llttli or no gold for money , the demand for gok relatively to Its supply has largely Increase ! and Its value correspondingly augmented I. Dut the point I wish especially to emphaslz e hero Is this : That the effect of the In . crease or decrease of paper money , to th < extent that It takes the place of or adds It metallic money , or to the extent that II docs the work of metallic money , has tin same effect upon general prices , and on gok Itself , or on so-called standard money , a : would HO much additional gold obtalnec : from altogether new sources ant ! put Intc circulation. The creation and u o of other kinds ol money does affect the value of gold , and I1 Is necessary therefore that the currency o n country should bo dealt with as a wholi and not by parts , and therefore the Issui e nnd' regulation of paper money belong ! naturally to the hands that control colnagi of the metals. The only automatic rogula tlon of money Is through the production o lf the metals , and when this principle o lf regulation Is departed from , governmen , . nlono Is competent to sat up another , other v lso the power will be given to others ti practically nullify the power over coinage placed by the constitution In the hands o if the general government , for he who has tbi power to Issue paper to circulate ns moncj has the power to drive out the metals eu tlrely. But what is claimed by the advocates o if so-called "sound money" for nn "elastic currency" Is far more than Is here Indicated. It Is claimed for nurh n currency ns Is now proposed that It will expand and contract nt nil times in rcsponno to business wants. A currency that would automatically ex pand and contract so as to always supply just so much currency as Is wanted and no more , might be nn Ideal currency , but In fact no such currency ever existed and none such Is possible. The Issue at last lies between n currency Issued by five , or It may be , 10.000 banks , ns their own Interests may dictate , nnd with drawn when It becomes their Interest to withdraw It , and a national currency Issued nnd controlled by the government , In ac cordance with established principles and under fixed rules of law. That Is the real Issue In this country , and ns n part of the whole money problem Is paramount to any other. In advocating n national currency Issued and controllc" ov the government we make no war on banks or bankers , but the business of banking la ono thing nnd the right to create money Is a very different thing. COIIKI-OIIMIIMII Kmvlcr Hcpllcn. The reply to him was made by Congress man Fowler of New Jersey , with a care fully prepared paper giving the history of i monetary evolution nnd replete with figures to substantiate his support of a bank cur- i rcncy. Before proceeding with It , though , { ho found It necessary to meet pithily some 1 of the propositions of General Warner nnd tbo bimetallism. Said he : When our silver friends Insist that both metals shall be admitted to the mints under free coinage they shall also be accompanied by an enforced legal tender , they admit they arc going to infuse value Into something by law. Hut If by law you can Infuse value Into something Into silver then you can take n piece ot paper and by law you can Infuse value Into It of a hundred cents , and If n hundred cents , then n million. There fore , the only logical position for them to | take Is that of my friend , Warner , that of f'ttlsm. 1 The Bank of Frinco , with n capital of ' 135,000,000 , Is authorized by the French gov- I eminent to Issue notes to the amount cf $1.000,000,000 , but by the law of France these I notes nre only legal tender Insofar ns they I can bo rcdctmed by gold coin. I say gold coin , for Frnncn Is carrying her burden of 1 silver , and If the demand should come and ' the test ever made do you suppose France would say : "We will only redeem In sil ver ? " If so , Franco would go to n silver basis. As It Is , the Hank of France has not Issued more than $700,000,000 or $750,000,000 or $775,000,000 nt the utmost. According to General Warner's theory the bank would rngrtny go ahead and Issue the whole bil lion. Tim banks of Canada , with a com bined capital of $01,000,000 , hnvo a right to Issue notes to that amount. Hut do they ? No. Only in the fall to meet the demands of the crops do they Issue an amount not exceeding $28,000,000. Then $ S,000,000 of these notes are retired , being a range of rise and fall amounting to $8,000,000 , ns the demands of business rcqul-e. This has been the cnr.o with Sec'land ' for 200 years , nnd she has hnO only three failures In all that I time. I am In favor of bank currency , not bank money. Continual I.ONH .SiiMtnlncil. Ono Important point In his paper was the pioposltlon that the government of the Lnlted States Is suffering a net loss of 3 per cent every year on the silver hoarded In Its treasury , owing to the decline of silver. The government has Issued $363.- 000,000 of notes at a cost to the government of $101.000,000 paid out for silver , which at the nresent prlco of silver Is worth only $273,000,000 , resulting In a net loss to the government of $189,000,000. Ills main ar gument was In favor of bank Issue as against government paper money. Sub stantially bo said : The marvelous material progress of the last fifty years has been duo to n cath olicity of spirit nnd a freedom from prejudices nnd traditions. To such an ' amazing degree has It spread that it would seem that but little more could be devel oped for tbo benefit of man , If only he might reap the largest profit out of the fa voring circumstances. The world has be come ono vast mart , each producer con suming every year something made by every cljiss of labor In every part of the world. The tremendous economic problem of the twentieth century springs from the stubborn contest for higher wages and cheaper com- i modules and If the ono great factor ot I cost , transportation. Is to bo reduced Its essential element , u medium of exchange must bo considered. : The Irrepressible Inquiry then arl es I What shall the medium of exchange be' Law and custom have constituted checks bills of exchange , drafts and letters ol credit as the mediums that perform at Icnsl nine-tenths of the commercial work of the world , hcnco the particular Inquiry musl be. What Is the best Instrument to per form the remaining tenth ? Discarding all abstractions It may he stated that money Is made of a commodltj i of commercial value , bearing n stamp as tf I quality and quantity , nnd Is used to meas' i uro values , although It may bo employed tc transfer property. The standard of valui I of the United States Is gold , hcnco goli coin constitutes the only money In tfii United States. All other mediums of change arc merely representative of money or. In other words , currency. What , then , Is the best form of currency bank notes or the demand obligations o the government ? Such a currency shoulc bo safe , adequate to the requirements o trndo and as Inexpensive ns checks , whosi place , for convenience It tnkcs. Currency Is a tool upon which In fairness no ta : I can bo laid. A currency meeting these cs sentlals can only be created out of the V.T ricd products of American toll. Hut li such a currency safe ? As much safer thai n government currency than n , 000,000,001 erf liquid wealth is greater than the goli reserve. Government Issue Is the dream o perpetual motion applied to economics. It ; Intimation that a worthless piece of papr Is now and ever shall be Its own redeemc leads to an increased price without reference enco to exchangeable value , nnd EO on nm on to repudiation. A government canno create something out of nothing , as Eng land's1 experience with clipped coins , Law' ; career In Franco and the story of our col onlcs , our struggling states and the Incom prehcnslblo louses from 1893 to 1893 nl prove. A government Issue falls to race j any of the essential requirements of a cur . . rency of trndo ; It has no Inherent com I mcrclal value , It bears no relation to any j thing else of value. It Is spent money , n de mnnd for payment nnd when reissued a re celpted bill. The proper currency of trade , on the con trary , conies Into existence nnd does It work just as the currency of commcrci docs. The safeguard that will Insure the curren convertibility of every note Issued by th banks into the measure of value of th country will bo nn absolute guaranty to th ppoplo that that bank currency Is as gooi uj gold coin , If the standard of the coun try Is gold. This has been proved by over leading country outsldo the United State and can be readily nnd safely adopted her by giving the banks the right of note Issu against their assets upon condition tha these notes shall be convertible Into goli t coin nd placing upon them the burden o . finding the gold necessary to adjust ou a commercial balances. , Hut It may be objected that banks wouli withhold their notes for the purpose o o I making tholr money scarce and forcing ui the rates of Interest. Such Is not the ex pcrlence of the world , for where n practlcall ; unlimited note Issue Is granted there th rates are lowest. Tbn rotes of interest HELPS WHERE of concentrated Malt cmuw nourishment for Nursing Mothers , whose weak , nerv FAIL ous , over-taxed systems are incapable ol producing pure nourishing milk for the babies. Mother ? who drink it daily during Nursing period will always have excellent food ( or baby and enjoy good health themselves. A NON-INTOXICANT , . VAL.BLATZ BREWING Co. MILWAUKEE. U.S.A. For Sale by Foley Broi. , Wholesale Dealers H12 Douglas Street. Omaha , Neb. Tel. 1081 for Instance. In Canada , nro practically uni form , ranging from 5 per cent to G per cent , while our country exhibits u range of rates from 1 per cent to 36 per cent. The truth Is that the bank which has the largest amount of capital to lend will make the most money , and that rates will be lowest ( where the deposits are greatest. There Is ' not the slightest difference between the lending the notes of a bank nnd lending the deposits , or granting credits , except so far aa the habits of the people require ono In stead of the other. Cnli ( lie KlntlNln Out. After Mr. Fowler concluded Horace White of New York took the floor for a few min utes to deny the bfatement attributed to him the day previous by Senator Allen. From this time on the discussion was In the na ture of a three-cornered debate , with the atlsts somewhat In rho cold. The first speaker of the afternoon session as President Thomas E. Wills of the Kan- an Agricultural college. Ills position was n argument In favor of public control of loney as a public utility as against private ontrol. "Time was , " he Bald , "when noney might ) have been left to private con- rol. Then the people were serfs , nnd a ew aristocrat ! ) on-tied all the land and even he highways and the machinery ot produc- Ion. That day Is past. The social move ment nt present Is away from private con- rol of all public utilities. In fhe past In- Ivlduallsts opposed public control of edtl- atlonar Institutions. Highways were once ndcr private ownership. The postofTlco Is n Illustration of the advantage of public ontrol. Shall we say that ) the most 1m- ortant of public utilities , money , shall still omaln under private control ? " He arraigned the bonking element for eglslotlon Inimical to the Interests ot the icoplc , and wlfh expanding and contracting ho money volume nt will. Ho charged the lankcrs with the destruction of the grcen- iack , demonetizing silver , producing the lanlcs of 1873 nnd 1893. and with being en gaged In a Bchemo for on International gold itandard and the destruction of all gov- Tninpnl ) paper money. Ho hoped a Btatls- cal determination of prices would bo made authoritatively by the government and Eomo process bo found for their regulation. The miking element , ho said further , Is wedded .o the old aristocratic notion of exclusive cont'rol by the few ot the Interests of the many , and , ho concluded , the time had come 'or ' the whole banking system , as now con- tltuted , to be routed from Its dictatorial position In the affairs of the people and Its nenaco to fhe producing masses of the great vest and south. "Calamity" Wollfr'n Ar oiiiuMi < . j. H. Weller of Iowa followed for twenty minutes with un arraignment of the money lower and , taking the Declaration of Inde pendence for his itcxt , ho declared It to be : ho "fiat on paper of the American people decreeing their government of , by and for the people , ' ' and asserted that he Is proud of his position as a flatlst from the govern mental point of view. "All money , " he said , "Is flat. " Ho dwelt upon the preambln of the Declaration of Independence as be ing a prelude .to the United States constitu tion and labored to show that what "we the people , " had declared Is In direct con tradiction to what the bankers Insist upon The bankers ho accused of being wedded to Urltlsh aristocracy. Then going on with his discussion ho said : Gold Is not money per so. Will my friend the enemy , from the village of New Jersey leny this ? Silver Is not money per se. Wll : ho advocates of th3 gold standard deny this' ' I'aper Is not inonoy per BO. The constltu tlon expressly conferred upon congress the power to create money and regulate Its value. The remainder of his speech , which he read very rapidly BO as to get as much o U as possible before the audience In hi limited time , was devoted to his contention for the legal tender function of money ant his claim that the monetary function wa entirely dependent upon Its legal tendc potency , conferred by the expressed will o the people throuch legislation. To demonstrate 'that value could be leg Islatcd Into thlmrs Weller produced tw half-dollar coins , a standard dollar and trade dollar. The two half dollars com blncd , he said , contained only 381 grain , of silver , the standard silver dollar 412' , grains and the trade dollar 420 grains. Ye the 384 grains In the two halves were equa under the law to the I12M. grains In th standard dollar and worth moro than th 420 cralns of the trade dollar. Kept HIINV Aimvt rriitK QiiPHtloiix. It was'expected that Congressman Jamc T. McClcnry of Minnesota would explal the provisions of the currency bill gener ally known as the McCleary bill , reports at the last session of congress by the com mltteo on banklnc and currency , when he was called to the platform. He had tc answer so many Interrogatories fired at him by tbo flatlsta In the audience that he did not pet to It during the forty-five minutes allowed to him In the program order. These queries , though , brought out some vlewa from Mr. McCleary on the subject of coin age. His views may bo best given In hie own words as follows : As to the statement that silver has beer demonetized. It Is not true. Silver hat never been demonetized In any proper senst of that term. To demonetize means to re fuse to use It ns money. What has taker place ? There has been a change In thf policy of coinage. Coinage may be on gov ernment account or on private account. We can take for Illustration the old method ol converting \\heat Into flour by the crude custom qrlst mill or the present method ol buying it up and grinding It by the moderr immensely capitalized merchant mill. Yoi observe the parallel between this and tin methods of coinage. Here Mr. McCleary gave a history of th < coinage system of the country and ex plained why the ratio between silver nm gold was chanced in 1834. Said bo : How did 371 1-4 grains of pure sllvci come to constitute a silver dollar ? Thi fathers of our country found that the wolghi of the old Spanish milled dollars varied , sc they put n number of them In the scale : and took the average weight. Then the ) based their mint ratio upon the markei ratio. This was 15 to 1. It never dawnei d on them that the mint ratio would govorr the market ratio. In 1S34 It was found thai silver was falling In price so the amount o ' pure gold constituting the dollar was cui down to 23.2. After this silver rose Ir price ; that Is , sixteen ounces of sliver be came worth more than one ounce of gold and so the people bought It up and sold II by weight because they could make a profll by doing so. The men who owned the sil ver would not take It to the mint and have It coined Into dollars , so congress established the coinage of gold one-dollar pieces In 184 ! ) But gold Is not a fit metal out of which tc make dollars and the smaller change , there fore the people said : "Give us silver del lars. " Uncle Sam , acting on the prlnclpli of Miles Blandish , that "If ever you wont i thing well done , do It yourself , " said to tin people , "Very well , attend to the coining o : sliver dollars yourselves. " But they dKln'i attend to It. Therefore In 1SJ3 the Unltcc States government adopted the policy of go ing Into the market , buying the silver am coining half dollars , quarters and dimes. A voice How about dollars ? About Half Dollarn. Mr. McCleary We'll come to that. Ir- stead of putting 52 cents worth of sllvei Into half dollars the government reduced the half dollar from 208 to I''l ' grains to remove - move the temptation to melt the money again Into bullion and sell It by weight , anil for fear the richer classes would attempt to load down the poor with this kind ol money and their houses should burn down ! and their silver be melted , the government limited Its legal tender quality to 15. ThU has been our policy ever since 1853 and 1 expect It will continue to be our policy. There has not been during the century any considerable number of silver dollars coined on private account. Thomas Jeffer son stopped the coinage of silver dollars In IS05 and very few of them were coined In the 30s. In coining silver all the govern ment does U what the miller does with the wheat that comes to his elevator first tests Its quality and then determines Its quantity by weight. The sliver miners found It con venient to take their silver to tbo mints seas as to get the stamp of the government on It. hat mount It as nine-tenths fine , and that liver was theu for r.lr and not for clrcula- oa. Since the year 1800 It Is hardly nn xaggeratlon to say that there has not been olned n solitary silver dollar on private ccount for circulation. What becomes then f the charge of striking down ono ot the metals and of the tale of the dcmonetUa- Ion of silver with all Its train of evils ? Now , my populist friend , you say coining noncy Is a governmental function , yet you pposc the coinage of silver by the go-em- nient. ( Cries of "Not No ! " ) With a Uryan Illustration about eggs lie roceedcd : The fre coinage ot silver Is simply the olnagc by the government of silver on rlvate account without any charge for coin- ng. That's where the freedom comes In reo to the Individual on private account , upposc you were lo put up dozens of eggs i sacks and label them "A dozen , " would iiat affect the prlco of eggs ? Weller Suppose It was made a legal ten or ? Whnl "lOKnl Tender" Cnii Do. Mr. McCleary Well , suppose It was but will come to that. The demand for eggs vould not bo any greater than tlm demands f business , So free coinage would not In ho slightest affect the demand far silver , 'ho government simply attests by stamping ow much silver there Is In the dollar. My riend speaks of legal tender. 1 wish to say hat the legal tender quality can affect ransactlons already had , but It Is abso- utcly powerless to affect transactions which urn to be. The law by making a thing thcr than what the obligation was con- racted In a legal tender may enable me to heat you , but It cannot compel you to do luslncss with me again. Another thine , ou can't put quality Into a thing by just .jiving It a name. If you want your boy to ; row up a soldier you can't' make him ono iy calling him Ulysses S. Grant. The meaning of the word , "dollar , " depends ab- olutely upon the thing with which It Is as- oclatcd. The United Slat congress , by ho power vested In It , has full power to all an Inch a foot , but that would not add a single Inch to our stature. Again , calling wo things by the- same name won't make hem so , You can call a chip a dollar. It ' 111 bo a dollar with the purchasing power f n chip. Weller Dut It demonstrates the sover- lun power of congress , Mr. McCleary No moro than the Bover- clan power of your mother when she called oil Ly your first name. Weller I have been called by my other name ( "Calamity" ) so long that I have al most forgotten the name my mother gave me. me.Mr. . McCleary And so has the rest of the vorld. ( Roars of laughter at Weller's ex pense. ) Uncle Sam can say a piece of paper Is a lollar , and It will bo a dollar with the pur chasing powpr of a piece ot paper. An order for a cow Is good for the cow , but If you get thirsty win you stop nnd milk the order ? ( Loud Iniishtor and applause. ) A reference was then made by Mr. Mc Cleary to the hairless Mexican dog to dem onstrate that because hair Is generally as sociated with dogs and legal tender with money It does not necessarily follow that by the mere dictum of the government legal tender could add anything to the recognized value of gold as nn accepted standard. He also alluded to the transac tion recorded In Genesis of Abraham's pur chase of a burial place for " 100 shekels of silver , current money with the merchant , " which silver Abraham "weighed" out , and observed that long before money was coined gold and silver were "current money" with the merchant , by weight. The English pound sterling originally meant a pound of silver , likewise the French llvre. But the Inconvenience of testing nnd weighing the metals In every transaction made It neces sary for the people to have their govern ing power look after the testing and the coining of the metals Into convenient forms for use ns money. "That's nil there Is to coinage , " he said. CrnHH-Hxiiiuliicil by WllllnmN. At this point there was something of an uproar. Mr. McCIcary's tlmo had been ex tended somewhat to enable him to conclude and several of the flatlsts complained that nil the tlmo of the paper money day was being frittered away In discussion of the metals and coinage. George Fred Williams also came forward with a formidable array of questions which he wanted Mr. McClearj to answer. Others desired to hear Mr. Mc Cleary explain his currency bill. The up shot of It all was that Chairman Hartman allowed Mr. Williams to propound a long scries of technical questions to Mr. Mc Cleary concerning the operations of his currency bill. Essaying to answer some o them Mr. McCleary replied : "Under our system the government will continue to control the volume of money. " Williams In other words , la It your posi tion that the government shall continue to control the volume of metallic money nnd that the Issue of paper money shall bo on private account ? Mr. McCleary The government shall con tlnuo to allow frco coinage of gold ; the coining of silver will be on governmen account. The Issue of paper Is purely a private transaction. ( Applause. ) Moro complaints followed from the flat lsts about their time. Its \ no fault ol theirs , one of them sail , that the gold and silver men have failed to state their case and maintain their positions In the two days respectively devoted to them. Chair man Hartmnn explained that he Is elmply carrying out the program. W. W. Clay of Chicago took the plat form to say tint money Is not money by virtue of Its substance , but by virtue ol the law behind It , and that he was opposed to the free coinage of either gold , sllvei or paper ou private account. .Tolln 1 * . Irlnh'N Vlowii. A short speech from John P. Irish ol San Francisco In support of the gold stand ard came next. Mr. Irish fold : My friend Williams has said that for the single gold standard there has not been made any showing of defense. Perhaps II Is because the gold standard needs no de fense. Andrew Jackson Bald , "Gold Is the only unlverslal and honest standard ol value. " Thomas Jefferson , who wrote thi Declaiatlon of Independence and my frlem ! Weller loves to quote that document and the constitution of our country Bald : "II y Is a commercial problem that could nol it be affected by statutory law , as our stand- nrd of value must be the same as'that ol the country with which we have the mosl t commerce. " Now , twenty-seven nations ' : with which the United States docs business have the gold standard , and , according tc "Old Hickory" Jackson and Thomas Jetfer- son , wo must have the gold standard. An other of the fathers of our country said that for the government to Issue papci money IB the same as to steal. Scnatoi Allen said yesterday "Money Is a creature of law , " but money Is a creature of ueces slty. The government cannot enforce standard of value that Is not universal ! accepted by the world. He explained that It wae not tbo price that went up or down , but the purchaslo power of money which roae and fell. Next to that of General Warner , the ef fort of Mr. Towne , who followed Sir. Irish was the ablest at ault upon the thcorlc of the gold standard and bank Issues o paper money. Substantially he said : The gold standard advocates hnja BJ'S tcmatlcally evaded every question. Wo ex peeled Mr. McCleary would glvo us som explanation of the purposes of his bill , but although he took up forty-five minutes' tlm ho did not say a word about It. I jus want to say a few words In answer to Messrs. Fowler , McCleary and Irish. ThCB gentlemen tay and It has been repeatei here with parrot-like persistence that yoi can't by law Infuse value Into anything Wo don't eay that you can create value b ; law , but you can affect value. These mei are all protectionists. If you can't affec value by law what do you want with a protective duty ? ( Applaube and Laugh tcr. ) You create opportunity by law. Al we ask Is that silver shall have the same privilege as gold. As to the Bank o France , It Is a government Institution. Mr Fowler tays he wants a bank currency , bu not bank money. He wonts a bank sub stance sufficiently current for you to ge Into debt with , but not to get you out ( Laughter and from the flatlstB effusive ap plause. ) The only value money has U Ita ex change value. Everything has lt particu lar value for the purpose for ttulch It m y bo used , and money Is valuable only as a medium of exchange. These men say you can take bank credit , a piece of vitalized vacuum , and put value Into It for exchange tirposos , but that you can't with silver. Mr. Irish has n seizure as to the uulver- allty of the gold standard , but It docs not xlst absolutely In any country except England In every other country It Is only halting experiment. You can't extend ho gold standard throughout the world ccauso you can't extend It to India. India vlll not go to the gold standard or It will ' uln the British empire. Robert Glffen ays so. The president of the board of dl- cctors of the Bank of England says so. Ir. Gage says he will have the gold stand- rd established In this country In the face f the fact that It would destroy half a ullllon ot our money. I quote Carlisle gainst Carlisle ns to the disastrous effect f the gold standard. Mr. McCleary has omethlng to wy about hairless Mexican ogs. Nnttural history Is his forte. In a pcech against mo In congress ho ran In n elephant , and ho 1ms had It on his hands vcr since. Ho says If you have nn order or a cow you can't milk the order , but upposo you have the gold for the cow uul you got thirsty , could you milk the old ? ( Loud laughter and applause. ) He poke ot Abraham weighing out 400 shekels if silver. Why did not Abraham weigh out inly 2007 Why did ho weigh out so much ? n that very illustration Mr. McCleary ad mitted the quantitative theory. ( More ap- ilauso nnd laughter. ) SmulU'jIlcnilN CoriMvoll'H I'liprr. The secretary of the National Sound Money League , E. V. Smallcy , read a brief taper on deposit currency by William C. Cornwell of Buffalo. This deposit currency , onslstlng of bank notes , had Increased torn $1,100,000,000 In 1875 to $3,300.000.000 n 1S97. According to Mr. Cornwell deposit currency Is the Invention nnd choice of the > uslncss world ; n bank note Is a title to dual property held by the bank ; n govern ment legal tender note Is not a title to any- hlng , being simply a forced loan which can only bo paid by taxing the people for the money to pay with. The quantitative theory was discounted jy Mr. Smallcy. From figures computed by William Dodsworth of New York from the reports of the director of the United States nlnt ho stated that within twenty-three years , from 1873 to 1893 , an Increase of (4,078,000,000 ( of metallic money had been added to the world's volume and yet prices have generally fallen. Two of the middle-of-the-road flatlsts were permitted , or rather tolerated , by the chair to bo heard. These were N. II. Mot slngcr of Indiana and All Heed of Iowa. The former had several diagram charts with which he expounded the theory that value Is not a material thing , but an estimated quantity of Intelligent human sacrifice and that money Is simply the legal representa tive of value ; also to demonstrate that , whllo the aggregate of the country's wealth had Increased from $30,000.000,000 In ISGfi to $60,000,000,000 In 1898 , the volume of money In the country has been reduced from $1,800,000,000 to $1,600,000,000. Al ! Uccd asked during his talk If money lying Idle In treasury and bank vaults Is In circulation. He thought ho and the other editors of the Reform Press association had not been treated right , accused the gold standard advocates with being the paid hirelings of the money power and the bankers and wound up by challenging them all to a joint debate with the fiatlsts in Crelghton hall at any tlmo they got ready. Mr. Fowler considered Reed's charge a personal one and asked how he ( Fowler ) was getting paid for his advocacy , nnd there was almost a scene. Reed replied by his having been elected member of congress and that bo dare not advocate any orher than the gold and banking system. Motslnger roasted Chairman James K. Jones of the democratic party and pro nounced Benjamin Franklin the first popu fist of the nation. A recess until evening was Cakcn amlO considerable confusion. What ilie Kvcnliifv Itroiinlit Kurth. An hour was consumed In the evening b ) A. W. Wright of Chicago , arguing for a free banking system without government supervision. Prof. J. Allen Smith of the Washington State university at Seattle reasoned that t'ho quantitative theory prop erly recognized would bring about stabil ity of prices. Judge Sheldon of Connecti cut said the general level of prices depends upon the quantitative theory , whether the money bo coin , legal tender paper or any thing , such as checks and drafts and bank currency , ndopt'cd as a substitute for money or all combined. Then Congressman David A. Do Arnonc of Missouri went after Messrs. Fowler am McCFcary. Mr. Fowler correcting him to say silver was being redeemed In gold In stead of being merely "redeemable , " Mr Do Armond accused him of parading a shameless violation of law , and asserte ( that there Is no law warranting the redemp tion of silver with gold. Mr. McCleary's parallel of the custom mill and the mer chant mill with free coinage nnd govern ment coinage , ho sold the parallel broke down at the point that the great govern ment mill refused to coin the people's sil ver , and ho asked why ? Also , "where Is the philosophy of the argument ) based upon the proposition that the government should con trol the volume of silver money but woulc allow Individuals to go to the mints and have their gold freely and unllmltcdlj coined on their private account ? " Gold , he said , could never supply enough of money The gold dollar by unjust ) and dlscrlmlnat Ing laws has been growing bigger and big gcr. To Mr. Smalley's position on depost money ho satirized that gentleman's nega tlon of the quantitative theory , consider Ing the expansion of the volume of this klm of bank currency. Ho presented a gruesome picture o the possibilities of fhe future with only a ti-pcr-cent reserve fund In golt for redemption purposes In the even of a panic nnd general bank fall uro and he alleged that the advo catcs of the present banking system repre Edited a scheme fathered by Interested per sons In New York and Chicago Interested In the wholesale Issue of substitutes for mono for circulation at remote distances at home There was vastly more bank credit money than gold to redeem It with. If the gov crnment Is denied the power to create mono he could no'j conceive how It could delegat to the bankers a power It did not possess. Mc-Cl Mir > - Ha lM < I'niMT. Mr. McCUary was allowed fifteen minute In which to glvo his reasons for the bank ing system and the purposes of his bill. We are told , and told truly , that th United States never had so much mone ns It now has. Wo nre told , and tel truly , that every dollar of that money 1 today as good as gold. Why , then , shoul there bo any talk of currency reform ? Two great facts stand out Impresslvelj First Is the fact that In 18 % moro tha 6,000,000 American citizens voted for change In our monetary system. To thos of us who have faith in and respect fo American citizenship this fact Is In Itscl suggestive. After the monetary battle hai been fought out and the verdict of the tial lot hod been rendered a notable conventio of business men from all sections of th country assembled at Indianapolis to devls ways and means for the reform of our cur rcncy. Briefly stated , the problem of currency re form la to furnish to every community li the United a States a currency whoe qual Ity Is beyond question , ample in quantlf ) but not redundant , responsive to the de niandn of business In each community , t equalize and lower the rate of Interes throughout the country , to make bank fall urea almost unknown , to minimize the e verity of commercial crises , and banish the possibility of a financial panic. IK It possible to bring about this condition of affairs ? Is It possible to equalize Inter est rates throughout our vast domain ? Mos emphatically , yes. In Franco today the In teresl rate at the foot of the Pyrenees Is the same ns that at Paris. What France has done America can do. Is H possible to lower very materially the ire Ion ( hwoi'biTii'eu ' ' , Depressed , THEN TRY lE-The Famous Tonic for Body aod Brain , FROM THE PHYSICIAN TO MAIUANI WINE His Imperial .Majesty , the Sultnn. . gives STRENGTH to Overworked Men , Delicate Women , Sickly Children and Dispels WEAKNESS from whatever cause. Marlnnl Wlno gives power to the brain , Ftrengtli nnd elasticity to the imiHcles and richness to the blood. It la u promoter oC Ylltllz 1'ulaco Constantinople. good health and longevity. It Is a BU- Sworn enemy "f the ninny proprietary premely great tonic , which Imx received llm lodlclno.s which luivo of Into yearn Invaded endorsements ho world , uml whoso only object In gainer of moro than 8,000 American or the proprietors * . I mnke nn exception physicians. n fnvor of olio preparation as meritorious s It has boon far-reaching In Its good. 1 i-fer to Vln Marlanl , which owlni : to lt To thuxo who will kindly wrlto to Mnrlnnl altnililo fortifying qualities haw conferred .t Co. . 52 West 15th Street , New York City , leiietltH upon weak and milTcrlng hutnnnlty. will bo sent , free , book containing portraits therefore mlil my approval ami pralso to his highly meritorious prepaintlon , with endowments of Kmpororn , KniproHK , MAVHOGKNY PACHA , 1'rlncen. Cardinals , Archbishops and other 'liyslclaii-ln-C'lilef to the Sultan of Turkey. Interesting matter. I'nrU II Boulevard Hatissmann ; Ix > udon S3 Mortimer St. ; Montreal 28-30 Hospital St. In spite of the "Stamp act wo are Hiill foiling Drugs at cut prices and buyers who are Prices looking for any thing in the drug line , whether Iho 'ommonest ' Patent Medicine or the rarest Chemical or Drug will do well lo visit our store. "Wo mention a few articles below. Terms spot cash. 'alder's Tooth Powder 2. > o Plerce's Cioldcn Medical Discovery 7 ! > o Cascarcts , lOc , 20c nnd 40c Plerco's Favorite Prescription 7Bo Castorl.i " "c Pasteurlno Dimtrlflco 20o 2utlcura Resolvent SOc Pond's Kxtrnct , 40c , SOc and JUHO Carlsbad Sprudcl Salt S.lo Hublfonm 20o Sloctric Hitters , 40c and 7 , " > c Plnkham's Compound KOu Electro Silicon 12c Pozzont's Powder . .jo Espey's Fragrant Cream 20c Pyramid Pile Cure , 40o nnd sflo Sly's Cream IJnlm JBc Pear's Unsccntcd Soap 1 0 Holmes' Frostllla 20c Plnnuds' Eau Do Quinine , 38c nnd 73o lem Catarrh Powder 40c Plnaud's Vegctals ( violet , lilac , etc , ) . . Olu Gargling Oil , 20c , 40c and SOc 1711 Soap Ido Garficld Tea , SOc , 40c and 80e Sheffield's Dentrlflco 20o Grandpa's Wonder Soap O'Jc Shlloh's Consumption Cure , 0cI0c and Sflu Hire's Hoot Deer IGc Steam's Wlno C. L. Oil 75c flood's Sarsaparllla 75c Syrup of Figs 40o Hood's Pills nnd Tooth Powder 20c S. S. S. , SOc and $1.40 Hall's Catarrh Cure 60o Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets , 40c anil . . . . 80o Humphrey's Remedies , 20c , lOo nnd . . . . SOc Scott's Kmulslon , 40c and 75o Hamlln's Wizard Oil. 40o nnd SOc Sozodont f > 0o Hind's Hon. and Alm'd Cream 45c Swansdown ( Tetlow's ) Ilk : Hobb's Asparagus Pills 40c Gossamer lo ! ) Hosteller's nitters 75o William's Pink Pills 40o Jaynes' Kxpectorant 75o Warner's Safe Cure OOu Kwl'B Clover Root 20c Wlno of Cardul 75u Lyon's Katbnlron . . . . ' 40c Woodbury's Facial Soap ISo Kalamazoo Celery Co 7Sc Madam Yale's 25c articles 17o Kemp's Cough Syrup 40c Madam Yale's COc articles 40u Kendall's Spavin Cure 73o Madam Yale's $1.00 article ; ; 71 > u Kilmer's Swamp Hoot , I3c and SOc Madam Yale's $1.50 articles $1.2f Plerco's Pills -Oc Madam Yale's $2.00 articles $1.73 9 Write for Catalogue. 1513 Dodge St. , Middle of Block , Omaha , Neb. ORCHARD & WILHELM CARPET CO. Draperies. Rope portieres in the now shapes dou- bio and slniflo cord. A heavy typhon cord , suitable fop G-foot openings any color , $2.75 , SU.OO , $3.5O. A hard twist cord for 0-foot openings , at $ t.50 , $5 , $5,50 , $ ( > . ( )0 and up to $8.00. Bagdad cord portieres , oriental colors , for 0-foot openings , $5.00 , $6.00 , $7.00. S8.00 nnd $10.00. Tapestry "portieres , heavy va'anco ' fringe , all the new and popular colors and designs , $2.50 a pair. Bagdad tapestry portieres , four and flvo strips these are such a close Imitation that they can hardly bo told from the real Bagdad tomorrow only $4.50 a pair. The real Bugdud our own importation handsome as ono could wish genuine hand woven no two alike but can bo used together from $5.00 each up to $ G , $8 and $ ! ) . Algerian Tapestry Portieres. Something entirely now beautiful yet odd and nov elty patterns such as the Algerians alone can weave $0.00 a pair. Something really fine in portieres the indosoriblo high art must bo seen ranging In price from $7 to $15 a pair.Cecil Cecil silk portieres beautifully figured , exquis itely colored , reversible and changeable- background $10.50. Lace Curtains. Wo are showing an assortment of laces this season such as wo have never before gathered to gether beautiful patterns in all the popular goods , with a price range of 75c to $75.00. You should inspect this line while It is yet complete. Fine Frilled Goods. The line and coarse bobinot with insertion in a great variety of patterns , made by the best makers In the coun try many of them Imported the price goes from $2.00 tort.0npnlr. ( ) 1414.Ki.18 Douglas Street. Interest rate In the United States ? I answer that a commercial rate approximat ing 2 per cent Is for this nation entirely practicable \\lthln the comparatively near future. Two per cent IB thr usual commer cial rate of Franco nnd England today. In deed , hero In the market roporl of the MlnncupollH Tribune of September 2. under the head of "London Money , " I read the following : "Haio discount , open market for three-months' bills , 1 % to 1 7-8. " The United States IB the richest country in the world. It possesses moro capital and moro cash than either Franco or England. With a properly organized currency gyntcm a 2 per cent commercial rate In the United States ls entirely practicable la the not very distant future. IB It possible for us to have euch a bank system as to do away with bank failures ? Practically , yes. In Scotland only thrco banks have failed In 200 years. In Canada there have been only two bank failures within the last ten years. In it possible to have a currency and banking system EO strong that at a tlmo of commercial crisis no man In n bolvent condition need fall ? Most assuredly It Is. When the great banking house of Daring Brothers fell In 1800 the crash was felt all over the world. Hut. though their affairs required a long perlcnl for liquidation , not for a Mnglo day did any bank In Kngland lefueo Its cus tomers their usual discounts. mi r'T.T mu The closing argument for flat money was made by General Warner. Mr. Warner ridiculed the position of the advocates of bank issue on the quantitative theory. When they want to contract the money vol ume , ho said , they deny the quantitative th ory , but when they want to expand It they affirm that theory. With Homo sarcasm ho Inquired Uow with $5,000,000,000 worth of liquid credits of the bankers their assets the bankers expect to maintain the gold standard. Cold , ho Bald further , did not glvo to tbo American colonies their Inde pendence. Greenbacks carried on the civil war without the help of the national LanUs. Hdward Atkinson ho accused of having the reputation for knowing more things that are not so than any other man In the country. Ills conclusion was that whllo the suporten of bank Issue denied the quantitative the ory they had practically adhered to It because - cause they could not get away from it Kx-Govcrnor Horace Holes of Iowa wan called upon but owing to the lateness of the hour ho declined to make any iddrfna , and after a statement by Secretary timallcy of the Sound Money league as to the plan for printing a report of the full proceeding ! ! ot the convention , It adjourned slue dio.
