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PEOPLE’S PARTY TICKET.
FOR PRESIDENT,
JANIES B. WEAVER, of lowa.
FOR VICE PRESIDENT,
JAMES G. FIELD, of Virginia.
For Presidential Electors,
At Large—A. L. NANCE, of Rail.
W. R. KEMP, of Emanuel.
1. GEORGE H. MILLER, of Chatham.
2. A. It. JONES, of Thomas.
3. JOSEPH J. STEWART, of Sumter.
4. J. W. F.. LITTLE, of Troup.
5. W. O. BUTLER, of Fulton.
6. W. F. Sill TH, of Butts.
7. A. F. WipOLEY, of Bartow.
8. GEORG IE T. MURRELL, of Clarke.
9. J. N. TWiITTY, of Jackson. ~ /
10. D. N. SANDERS, of Taliaferro.
11. R. G. HYMAN, of Johnson.
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N. E. Patterson,
County Chairman.
FREE COINAGE OF SILVER.
March 24, 1592, Hon. Horace F.
Bartine, of Nevada, delivered a nota
ble speech in the House of Repre
sentatives, in behalf of free coinage of
silver. The following extracts com
prise a considerable part and are
commended to those who would
study the question from a philo
sophical standpoint:
* * * We ask that silver shall
be restored to the position it ©occu
pied for 4,000 years prior to 1873;
and when we make this just demand,
the sanctimonious souls of the bond
holders and the money-lenders are
shocked at what they deem our
moral depravity. [Laughter.] Their
Christian virtues that have been
sleeping in sweet repose for lo I these
many years, are all aroused, and in a
flood of pitying tears they beseech
us to have pity upon the widow and
the orphan, and the hard-working,
poorly-paid servant girls. It is per
fectly astonishing what a wealth of
sympathy the Eastern bankers have
for the servant girl whenever the
silver question happens to be men
tioned. And yet I fancy that the
cases are by no means rare in which
those same servant girls can be
found toiling like slaves in the kitch
ens of these same sympathetic
bankers for the magnificent stipend
of $2.50 per week. [Laughter.]
But, while conceding that the sil
ver producer is actuated by a desire
to improve his condition, is it not
equally fair to assume that there is a
little, just a little, selfishness behind
the virtuous demand for “honest
money” that comes rolling up in
thunder tones from Wall street? Is
it quite reasonable to ask the people
of the country to believe that the
money-brokers and the stock-jobbers
are the personification of all that is
honest in American finance? The
money kings of the East, as such, are
engaged in no productive industry.
Their business is simon pure specula
tion. Their dealings are very largely
with things that have no tangible
value except for speculative pur
poses. They organize corporations
and joint stock companies upon a
basis scarcely more substantial than
the ethereal frostwork of a winter’s
morning. They water the stock so
as to multiply the number of shares,
thus giving them a wider field for
speculation.
Then the “bull” exerts all his en
ergies to force the prices up, while
the “bear” labors with equal vigor
to force them down. They build up
great mountains of credit, and when
the collapse comes it carries ruin in
to every quarter of the country.
There has never been a “Black Fri
day” or any other paralyzing com
mercial panic in America that cannot
be traced directly to the wild specu
lations of the money kings, who
have in the main dictated the finan
cial policy of the United States ever
since the outbreak of our great civil
war. [Applause.]
Is there a gentleman in this House
who really believes that in presenting
a united front in opposition to silver,
the great money centers of the world
are actuated by a desire to benefit
the poor man ? If so, that gentle
man presents a picture of innocent
credulity as beautiful as it is rare. I
assert that the great money centers
of the country have never given
their sanction to any monetary law
that has had the slightest tendency
to ameliorate the condition of the
poor. Every scrap of such legisla
tion which has been placed on our
statute books with their approval has
been in the interest of the national
banks for the enhancement of the
value of our bonded debt, national,
State and municipal, for the benefit,
in short, of every man with a fixed
income, or an accumulation of money,
and the injury of every debtor and
tax-payer thoughout the length
and breadth of the land. [Ap
plause.] * * *
WHAT IS THE SLVER QUESTION?
What is this “new-fangled scheme”
of finance, as our opponents term it?
Before the year 1873 the “silver
question” was unheard of in America.
Through innumerable centuries of
time gold and silver had the
two great money metals of the
world. In some countries gold was
the principal currency and silver oc
cupied a subordinate place. In
others, and indeed in most of them,
silver was primary and gold was
secondary, while in a third class the
two metals were used upon equal
terms at a fixed ratio to each other.
The first were called gold standard
countries, the second silver standard,
and the last double standard.
But these terms are misleading.
The action of the bimetallic coun
tries that is, those in which both
metals were freely coined and en
dowed with full legal tender func
tions, in linking them together, had
the effect of h 4din<* them at a fixed
o
ratio even where, <uid a 1 uati ns
comroercia ly connected transacted
their business substantially on the
basis of the double standard. For
example, when England adopted the
gold unit it 1816 it made no differ-
ence in the value of an ounce of
gold. It remained, as formerly, just
equal to 15|- ounces of silver, and the
prices of commodities were not af
fected. Silver was no longer avail
able for currency purposes in Eng
land, but it continued so available
almost everywhere else. Hence this
action on the part of England oper
ated simply as a local currency regu
lation.
She sent the silver aboad to ex
change for commodities and kept
gold at home for use as currency.
But wherever that silver went it con
tinued to form a part of the world’s
stock of standard coin and weighed
in the great balance against the gen
eral stock of the world’s commodi
ties. For this reason the change of
the monetary unit in England pro
duced no disturbance of values, and
property of every species in the
United Kingdom continues to be
measured by the double standard, as
before.
So I lay down the broad proposi
tion that at the beginning of 1873
the great mass of gold and silver
coin, linked together at the ratio of
ounces of silver to 1 ounce of
gold, made up the aggregate volume
of primary money of the world.
This metallic money constituted not
only a large part of the currency in
actual circulation, but it was also the
foundation of that immense struct
ure of credits which modern business
methods had brought into existence.
I now take a second step and lay
down the further proposition that at
the date mentioned there was not
even a pretense, publicly expressed,
that this aggregate mass of money
was any too large for the business
requirements of the world.
When the great gold discoveries
of California and Australia were
made some writers thought that gold
might become super-abundant, thus
destroying the ratio of 15| and in
juring creditors, who, it was assumed,
would be paid in the cheaper metal;
but so far as I know n®t one ever
took the position that there was at
any time actually too much money.
That was not the idea which induced
any country to demonetize either
metal. England adopted the gold
unit upon the advice of Lord Liver
pool, in the interest of what he
deemed to be commercial con
venience. The double standard was
thought to involve slight fluctuations
that caused more or less trouble to
merchants engaged in the foreign
trade and interfering with the close
prevision of accounts.
The question of aggregate volume
was never considered in the matter
at all. The same is true of Germany.
Whatever the shrewd and cunning
financiers behind the scenes may
have intended, the reason given was
that Germany ought to be in accord
wi h the monetary policy of England
because of their close commercial re
lations. In the United States the
matter was not discussed at all. The
silver dollar was just dropped out of
the coinage and nothing was said
about it.
So, I repeat, that up to the begin
ning of 1873 there was no such
thing as a claim that there was any
too much metallic money in the
world. If this be true, it follows as
a logical and inevitable conclusion
that anything which deprived the
world of a considerable portion of
the money which it then had, left it
with an insufficient supply. It is
impossible for any man who has a
logical idea in his head to get away
from as plain a proposition as that.
If you have none too much of a
given thing, and a portion of that be
taken away, it must leave you with
too little; nor can it make any dis
ference, save in degree, whether the
result be brought about by actually
destroying a portion of the thing or
by depreciating its quality so as to
render it less effective in satisfying
the popular demand. The law of
supply and demand applies to money
just as perfectly as it does to any
thing else.
DEMONETIZATION OF SILVER.
In 1873 the German Empire and
the United States of America both
demonetized silver and adopted gold
as the sole standard of value. About
a year later France and the other
States of the Latin Unim 1 mit d
the coinage of silver, and in 1878
ceased its coinage altogether. Silver
was not completely destroyed as
money by this action, but its efficiency
was greatly impaired. It was rele
gated to a secondary position. It
continued to pass from hand to hand
iu cash transactions, but gold became
substantially the sole support of the
great fabric of credit, by means of
which, perhaps, nine-tenths of the
business of the world is transacted.
At the time of this demonetization
gold and river were used in just
about equal proportions, and the dis
carding of stiver a iiouuted in effect
to the virtual destruction of nearly
one-'i. It of the money supply of the
wo<l If it be true that the law of
supply and demand applies to
money the same as to other things,
what wt Uid be the natural effect or
thus reducing the supply? Mani
festly each remaining unit of full
standard money would become more
valuable. That is to say, its pur
chasing power would be increased.
Other things would become the
cheaper. That is precisely what
took place.
Upon this point there is no dis
ference among economists. No mat
ter which side of the silver question
they may take or how much they
may differ as to the cause, they are
agreed upon the fact that the period
extending fron 1873 down to 1890
has been one of almost constantly
falling prices. The Economist’s In
dex Numbers show a decline of
about 26 per cent; the table of Dr.
Soetbeer shows the same decline.
The figures of Prof Sauerbeck show
a fall of 31 per cent; of Robert
Gridin 37 per cent; and the Ham
burg Tables indicate an average de
cline of 33 1-3 per cent. These are
the most eminent authorities who
have investigated the subject. The
Economist, Soetbeer and Griffin are
strong advocates of the gold
standard, while Sauerbeck and Pal
garve lean to bimetallism. The
feeling of the compiler or compilers
of the Hamburg table I do not
know. A fair average of these
figures shows a decline of 30 per
cent., which indicates that gold has
appreciated about 30 per cent.
It is proper for me to add, how
ever, that these figures are only
brought down to the beginning of
1887; but the fact is generally
recognized that the decline has con
tinued since then, save as it was
checked temporarily by the momen
tary legislation of this country in
1890. The Economist Index num
bers, though, have been extended on
to 1892, and they show a decline of
3 per cent, more since the date I
have given. And it is fair to assume
that prices will continue to follow
the same downward course until the
cause is removed, subject, of course,
to ephemeral spurts which may re
sult from short crops or other causes,
materially diminishing the supply of
commodities.
THE CAUSE OF THE FALL.
While these facts are generally
admitted, there are many who deny
the conclusions, stoutly contending
that the demonetization of silver has
had nothing to do with it, and in
sisting that gold has remained con
stant while the other things have
fallen. This is the sheerest nonsense.
I would be justified in using a much
stronger term. The value of any
thing is what it will exchange for.
The money value of anything is the
amount of money it will exchange
for, and the value of money itself is
the quantity of commodities or prop
erty that it will exchange for.
To say that a gold dollar will ex
change for more of other species of
property than formerly, and at the
same time assert that its value has
not changed, involves about as fiat a
contradiction as it is possible to ex
press in the English tongue. Still it
is one of the stock arguments that
have rung in our ears ever since this
agitation began. It lies at the foun
dation of all this cry about the
“dishonest 70-cent silver dollar.”
The only way on earth that our op
ponents can figure out a 70-cent dol
lar is by supposing that gold has
remained constant. In the light of
the figures that I have given, the ab
surdity of this supposition ought to
be apparent to any man of ordinary
intelligence. It is a matter of per
sonal knowledge to most of us that
the value of the silver dollar, con
sidered as mere bullion, has never
been materially, less than 70 cents in
gold. This shows a relative depre
ciation of 30 per cent., almost ex
actly the same as the average decline
in the gold price of commodities.
The testimony with those familiar
with the conditions existing in silver
using countries is all to tbe effect that
in such countries there has been no
material change in prices since 1870.
That money and goods continue to
exchange at the same rates as before.
It can, therefore, be safely affirmed
that silver has remained stable or
nearly so, while gold has risen more
than 40 per cent. And such a result
was perfectly natural. The demand
for gold has enormously increased.
Robert Griffin candidly admits that
the divergence between the two
metals has been caused by an in
creased demand for gold rather than
a diminished demand for silver.
As a matter of fact, Germany
reached out and seized upon $400,-
000,000 in gold. The United States
gathered in $700,000,000 and Italy
$100,000,000— about $1,201,000,000
m all. This is very nearly one-third
of the total amount of gold coin
known to exist. To deny that this
extraordinary demand for gold coin
enhanced its value is to repudiate the
law of supply and demand. To ad
mit it is to completely destroy the
whole argument leveled against the
silver dollar as a dishonest and de
graded coin. To acknowledge that
tte' divergence has been mainly
caused by an increased demand for
gold ex; lodes at once and f. rever the
claim that this metal is a fixed and
unchangeable quantiiy in economics.
WHAT HARM HAS IT DONE?
The fact being established that
gold has been greatly appreciated in
value, manifesting itself in a general
fall of prices, tbe next question is,
what harm has it done? My answer
is that the resultant injury and in jus
lice have been simply incalculable.
The primary business of the world
consists in producing tho.-o things
which are necessary for the susten
ance and comfort of man. Speaking
generally, it may be said that the
people of the world are divided into
two classes—producers and non-pro
ducers. A fall in the price of tbe
product, therefore, means an injury
to the producer for the benefit of the
non-producer.
Again, every debt must be? paid
out of the products of labor. If the
price of the product fall it is the
same thing as an increase of the
debt. Hence, a fall in prices means
the injury of the debtor class for the
benefit of the creditor class. A fall
in prices diminishes profits, checks
productive enterprise and causes
business stagnation. Regardless of
what any economist may have said
or written, it is a matter of common
every day knowledge that low prices,
depressed markets, and dull times
are inseparable companions.
When the margin of profit is un
duly narrowed, money is withdrawn
from the legitimate business of pro
duction, and naturally floats into
what are called the “money centers,”
where it becomes, at times, super
abundant and interest ranges low.
One class of money-owners seeks
permanent investments, while an
other plunges into those wild, specu
lative ventures in which a few gigan
tic fortunes are amassed through the
destruction of innumerable small
ones. A diminution of the money
supply makes it easier for a few men
to control it, and widen the gulf be
tween the rich and the poor. [Ap
plause.]
Accordingly, the period extending
from 1873 down to the present time
has been one of wide spread, almost
universal, complaint among the pro
ducing classes.
This fact is recognized by nearly
all investigators, and with scarcely
an exception they draw the line
sharply at or abont the year 1873.
In 1885 the Queen of England ap
pointed a commission to inquire into
the reason for the depression of in
dustry in that country. This com
mission consisted of twenty learned
and distinguished men, of whom
Lord Iddesleigh was the chairman,
and its investigation was of the most
exhaustive character. The evidence
elicited w'as simply overwhelming
that depression existed to a degree
that was without a precedent. The
witnesses were practically unanimous.
They were further agreed that it was
the producing classes who were the
most seriously affected through the
general and.continuous fall in prices,
in its final report the commission
clearly recognized these facts, as the
following quotations plainly indicate :
Paragraph 3: “ Those who may be
said to represent the producer have
mainly dwelt upon the restriction and
even the absence of profit in their re
spective businesses. It is from this
class, and more especially from the em
ployers of labor, that the complaints
chiefly proceed. On the other hand,
those classes of the population who de
rive their income from foreign invest
ments, or Irom property not directly
connected with productive industries,
appear to have little ground of com
plaint; on the contrary, they have
profited by the remarkably low prices
of many commodities.”
Paragraph 55: “We have observed
above that the complaint proceeds
chiefly from the classes who are most
immediately and directly concerned in
production; and there can be no doubt
that of the wealth annually created in
the country, a smaller proportion falls
to the share of the employers of labor
than formerly. The view, therefore,
which we are disposed to adopt is that
the aggregate wealth of the country is
being distributed differently, and that
a large part of the prevailing com
plaints and the general sense of de
pression may be accounted for by the
changes which have taken place in re
cent years in the appoitionment and
distribution of profits. The reward of
capital and management has become
less; and the employment of labor is,
for the time at least, not so full and
c mtiuuous; so that,even where the rate
of wages has not been diminished, the
total amount earned by tne laborer has
been less, owing to irregular and par
tial employment.”
Paragraph 71: “Another element of
great importance in the situation is the
serious fall oi prices to which we have
above referred. There can be but little
doubt that production and commercial
enterprise are stimulated to a greater
extent by rising than by falling pneas.
Whatever may be the inconvenience
of a rise in prices, it certainly encour
ages a greater activity in production
and au extension of credit. When
prices are rising, capital is constantly
endeavoring to find new means of em
ployment; and a spirit of enterprise
animates ail classes engaged in com
mercial operations, m times when
prices are falling, on the other hand,
speculation, even of a perfectly legiti
mate kind, is checked, and production
tends to diminish. buppo»e a manu
facturer to borrow a fixed sum at a
fixed rate of interest. This he has to
repay, whatever the result of the oper
ation may be. Meanwhile prices may
fall. Not only does he buy nisraw ma
terial at tne higher price and sell his
goods at the lower, but he has also to
pay interest and repay principal on
the higher value; and in addition to
this, it is found that wages uo not re
spond to such movements as quickly as
tne price oi commodities.
The trader, u.o, is afiecled in the
same way, and he does not know what
the value oi his stock will be at the
year’s end, or what profit he will be
ab Ie to sec ur e u P«« b ‘t ca *****’ I | -
when trade is crippled lrf " Aji o f
production should halt The
prices, which has been m pro*rt
during the greater part of ihe te
years has become much more » iark ™
in the last two, and its full eflec .
checkiug production and depressing
trade has therefore scarcely become ap
parent. But the slight diminution in
the production of some of our left ding
industries, which we have noticed
above (paragraph 41), afr °rds some evi
dence that this influence is begmning
to operate, and should prices continue
to fall we think that a tUj ; tbe r. oU Z^ t l ”
ment of production can hardly tail to
ensue.”
These extracts fully confirm the
statement which I have made that
the producing the men who
arc engaged in building up and de
veloping the world, have been the
sufferers by this change, while the
non producers, those in the enjoy
ment of fixed incomes and possess
ing accumulations of money, have
been the principal beneficiaries. For
the purpose of connecting this testi
mony with the affairs of our ow n
country, it is proper for me to say
that the Director of the United States
National Bureau of Labdr, in his re
port for 1886, expresses the opinion
that the industrial depression exist
ing in this country was exceeded by
that of none other except Great
Britain. Many reasons were given
for the general decline in values.
The commission did not feel itself au
thorized to go into tbe silver ques
tion, and its inquiry was not extend
ed into that field. But that it had
an important bearing upon the ex
traordinary industrial situation was
fully appreciated, In its third re
port the matter was referred to in
the following language :
In recent years the purchasing pow er
of gold has increased, or, in other
words, the prices of commodities in
general, as measured by a gold stand
ard, have fallen; and this appreciation
of gold, taken in combination with
other circumstances, has disturbed the
relations between the two precious
metals.
An inconvenient depreciation of sil
ver, as measured in gold, has for some
time prevailed, and is still proceeding.
Without going into minute details, we
may point out that these changes re
sult from a twofold set of causes. Not
only has the supply of gold
but the demand for it has increased.
That is to say, the actual production
of gold from the mines has declined,
while the demand for it has been
largely increased by its substitution
for silver in Germany aad other coun
tries; at the same time the supply of
silver has been increased, »uth by the
somewhat larger production of the
mines, and by "the ueiafonetiaed silver
thrown on the market by Germany and
Holland.
Then the commission proceeds to
advise the creation of another com
mission for the express purpose of
investigating the causes which have zJ
produced the change in the relative I
value of gold and silver. Now, in I
my opinion, while particular I
causes may have had certain local I
effects, the primary and general cause I
has been the legislation of 1873, I
which, to a great extent, destroyed I
silver as money and practically made I
gold alone the stmdaid by which I
everything else is measured.
In my advocacy of the free coin- I
age of silver I do not occupy the po I
sition of a croaker. For the man in I
public life whose sole argument con-1
sists in picturing the calami' ies of the I
people, I have no special admiration. I
Certainly not enough to iiduce nifc I
to follow his example. I recognise I
the fact that during the last twenty I
years the wealth of the country has®
greatly increased, that the population■
has increased, that the volume of®
business has increased, and that the |
census returns indicate a degree of®
national prosperity unequaled bytbt.i®
of any other country in the worlutß
But the aggregates of national wealth®
and growth are not the only things®
to be considered. The welfare of®
the individual is even of grealerim-®
portance ; and the manner of the dis-®
tribution of wealth is vital to that®
welfare.
The era of which I have beeni
speaking has beheld an accumulation®
of individual fortunes ®f which wej
find no parallel in the history of any!
other period. The whole
of the times has been towards the!
concentration of wealth. Nearly alls
the important industries of the coun
try, outside of agriculture, are now
in the hands of great firms, corpora
tions, syndicates and combines. A
few years ago a millionaire was a
curiosity. To-day a five millionaire
commands scarcely a passing notice,,
and the cases are by no means rare
in which we find ten, twenty, fifty
and even a hundred millions of dol
lars in the hands of a single indi
vidual. And while this has been go
ing on the whole country has been
traversed by armies of tramps look
ing for work or begging for bread,
and one long cry of distress has gone
up from the ranks of legitimate in
dustry in every part of the civilized
world. [Applause.]
I mean no discourtesy to any fair
minded opponent when 1 state that
I have never heard what strikes me
as a valid obj< ction to our demand
for the free coinage of silver.
*****
IECREASED PRODUCTION. J
It is claimed that the reason why
prices have so fallen is that i produo-