Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1896 — SEN ATOR TURPIE [ARTICLE]

SEN ATOR TURPIE

Exposes a Gold Standard Scarecrow. Tells Why Silver Will Speedily Reach a Parity With Gold at 16 to 1. Senator Turpie made a "rest speech at Indianapolis last Saturday night. He maae many tnings plain about which there had been doubt in the minds of the people. THE RATIO OF 16 to 1. Senator lurpie made the best argument in favor of, restoring free coinage of silver and gold at the ratio 16 to 1 that we have yet hoard He said: “This was the ratio of the coinage between the two metals for many years and during ail that time the silver dollar on this ratio was at par, and on the day of its demonetization it was on this ratio above par and was never below it. Hence it will be seen that this phrase is not without meaning, but is grounded upon the best elem snts of reason, prudence, safety and experience. Oar opponents say that free coinage is an experiment, an experiment fraught with great danger. Nevertheless this policy prevailed for more than eighty yeai sos oui history. Three- Iths of the present wealth, population and resources of the United States accrued to us under the policy of free coinage. All the vast acquisitions of territory which we have made to that of the original thir; teen states, from Mexico, from France, even Alaska from Russia we made during the period of free coinage. All our wars waged and gloriously concluded with Great Britain, with Mexico, with tne great rebellion, occurred during the era of free coinage. New Orleans, L alo Alto, Chapultepec, Pittsburg Landing, Gettysburg and Die Wilderness, were fought and won not under the single standard oi gold, but under the two fold standard of gold and silver dosenbed by tlj2 constitution. The single gold stanaard is the experiment —not free coinage. This ex-* periment of the single standard of gold we have tried now for about twenty years. We have tried 1‘ patiently, fairlv, imparl lally. It has wholly failed.

COIN OBLIGATIONS. “Tne opponents of the policy of free coinage frequently ask if the United States can accomplish this purpose alone. Most certainly we can. W e can do it solitary and alone if we could by any means rid ourselves ot the numerous company winch would come to our side aud to our aid in doing this act of sincere good fa.th and simple justice. The total public and private indebtedness of the United States is estimated at 820,000,000 000. Of this sum those versed in financial statistics, many of them say that one-half is held abroad; others say threC-fifths; but all agree that at least one-third of this total indebted; ess is held in Euiope.— This debt, or meet of it, is now as par. Some of it may be below par, but its prices are well fixed and long established. This debt is payable in coin, not in gold, but in gold or silver. A large poriion cf this debt is in the shape of bonds of the United States. There is no bond or obligation of the UnitedStstes which is not lawfully payable in standard silver dollars. They have often tried to change the word ‘coin’ to the word ‘gold.’ Even m the last se ate they did this, but he senate said ‘no ’ They tried it in this canvass up to and until the presidential election before the people, but the peopli will say ‘no.’

A COIN INDEBTEDNESS. “Thisjindebtedness is a coin ins What will be the attitude of the holders of American securities when we have passed the act for the free coin’ge of sil v'r ? What will be their action? Our opponents eav they will immedi* ately charter the swiftest steamer of the ocean lines, will load it with all their bonds, bills, notes and coupons, serd it to this side and discharge the cargo into the open market for sale at any price on any terms. They will glut and wreck the market and a panic will ensue such as has never before been seen or heard of. Is this prediction rational? “These holders of American securities reside principally in four countries: Great Britain, France, Holland and Germany. They are either the clients or members of great financial firms there. Men of wealth and influence, political force and tact, much more closely related to their respective governments than such persons are here in the United States. They have held these|securities man/ years. They intend to carry and hold them until maturity. They prefer these

American investments to investments in other countries. If possible tney will at once cut these se-, curites in two, sell them at any sacrifice, make a loss of 81,000,000,000, merely to gratify the whim cf a small m nonty on this side or the other side of the ocean who desire that the United States government shall jmaintain and continue the single gold standard? “These fereign creditors will not entertain such a proposition for a day; not for an hour. They will instantly become the most ardent, earneet, c iligent supporters of the standard silver coinage of the United States. They will thunder at the doors of every government in Europe; they will demand that neither the securitiesjin|their hands nor the money in which the securities are payable shall be depreciated nor disparaged. They will cla’m that the coin which is a legal tender for payment of debts in the United States, for taxes, for imports, for the purchase ot all the great staples of American industry and agriculture—that this silver dollar shall be honored and recognized. Every holder of national debt in Europe, the holder of bonds of other governments will make common cause with these foreign creditors of the United States. They wi 1 insist that the silver money of the bond must be received at par; that any’uther course will bankrupt the fa.th and the credit of the national loans and will dest. oy the business of lends ing money to governments. This lliis course and this following will be irresistible. ■ The American silver coinage the dollar of our fathers, the dollar of tkese securities will be sustained. There will be no repudiation of the bonds or their securities. There will be no depreciation of the silver money in which they are payable. There will be repudiation of the single goid standard. Every dollar of this immense indebtedness held abroad, every dollar of United btates bonds held any where is aeld in pawn, is i pledge tonight to guaranteed honor.the honesty, tee soundness, the solvency of the American silver dollar. These parties wil say, ‘We tried to get gold put into the bonds in place ot the word coin, congress defeated that,, we tried to destroy silver money &s a money of final payment so that we should get gold anyway; the people of the United bta’es defeated that. They stand by the com of their bargain. What, then, remains for us to do? Nothing except to make the American silver dollar as good as the gold dollar, the same as it has been uut aer every law.’ PHILOSOPHEk OF finance. “then the philosopher of finance, he of the go. den breath and brand, may ask What effect wiil this have on the price of silver bullion ? And he may be answered, ‘lt will largely increase and appreciate that price. But it may be certainly answered wLat effect it will have upon the silver bullion in the American dollar. It will make the silver bullion in that dollar equal in value to gold bullion in the gold dollar, and thus our task is accomplished, our work is complete. No co- tract is broken, no faith is violated,no revolution has taken place; but there is a restoration of the silver dollar of our fathers to its former place and values in our comage rystein. ”