Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 July 1896 — Will We Ignore Experience? [ARTICLE]

Will We Ignore Experience?

The advocates of free silver have got beyond the reasoning stage. They are not willing to -learn—anything from the light of experience, says the Crawfordsville Journal. They affect the belief that the United States is so great that it can do what no other nation has ever been able to do. When we point to Mexico and "India typical free silver states their argument in reply is substantially that this nation is so great that it can do anything. What free silver has done for Mexico is thus describedI’by 1 ’by Mr. H. C. Waters, president of the bank of England of the City of Mexico, who is now in this country:

It is an old story of how President Diaz brought Mexico to the silver standard. At the time this country is in the midst of a silver and while every sound money politician cites Mexico as an example, no one makes it strong enough. If gold were the standard in that country at the present time, along with the rule of President Diaz, without a doubt it would be one of the greateat countries in the world. Silver alope has kept it down; and if the United States expects to remain “the nation it is at present and has been for years, it wants to let silver alone, or it will only be a short time until it will lose its proud standing. Bishop Thoburn, who has had many years of missionary services in India, thus speaks of the results of free silver in that country: They have the sliver basis in India, have had it for centuries, and it has had a fair trial. It would ruin this country and bankrupt everybody. The foundation of business is stability, and with a silver standard you can never have it. In Calcutta I can buy this suit of clothes for forty dollars today, and perhaps twenty dollars tomorrow, and the next day it will be fifty dollars. You can never tell from the number of dollars yon own how much you are worth. The country is at the mercy of the money changers and speculators. The idea of going to a silver standard from a gold oue is too ridiculous for serious consideration. I have seen enough of this in India. These are stubborn facts, and such as is the experience of India auci Mexico will that of the United States be, if wd adopt their standard. '