Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1896 — A PLEA FOR MONEY. [ARTICLE]

A PLEA FOR MONEY.

CAPTAIN ELI F. RITTER ELOQUENTLY ADVOCATES REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLES. Extracts From,a Speech Delivered at the Opening of the Campaign * „ at Greencastle, Indiana.

Captain Eli P. Ritter of Indianapolis delivered the first speech of tho campaign at Greencastle, Ind., on the evening of July 81. The closest attention Was given for an honr and a half to the speaker and to hla exposition of sound and sensible money ideas. Captain Ritter has a strong following, over the state, and he has never been accused of anything but earnestness and sincerity in any position ho takes. Among jMr. Ritter’s hearers wore a number of prominent Democrats and heretofore Prohibitionists. Captain Ritter began with a review of the present condition of business affairs, alluding to tho widespread interest of the people in politics and pleading for a dispassionate consideration of the questions at issue. "The question before us,” said the speaker, “is presented in the proposition that tho United States government, by an act of congress, shall proceed with tho free and unlimited „ coinage of silver at tho ratio of 16 to 1 with gold, independent of the action of any other government. " The production of silver has boon so phenomenally large forsevoral years in this country that tho market demand for silver metal has been glutted. Silvor miners and owners of silver metal are fully at liborty to go into tho markets* of tho world with their product and sell at the highest Juice. These men have oxamined tho markets of the world and cannot dispose of their metal, and becauso they cannot sell their silvor at all, or cannot soil it for a satisfactory price, we find this combination leading groat hosts of men in an effort to force the United States government to make them a market by an act of congress at atime when it cannot use their production in its own market, or anywhere else, yot they propose to oompel this government to coin and use silver at a greater prico than if is worth in any market on the face of the earth. There is a determination expressed, and in violent terms, to compel, the government to eater upon tho unlimited froe coinago of silver at a ratio of 16 ounces of silver to 1 ounce of gold. This presents the question I shall attempt to discuss on this oepasion. This oan bo and is often mudo a discussion so complicated with figures and fractions and extracts from tho history of tho world’s financial transactions that It gets beyond the oomprshonsion of ns common people. Let us see if we cannot find a few plain, simple rules and facts upon which wo can act with intelligence and confidence. I shall not attempt to exhaust tho subjoct; neither shall I make protonsoof profound learning npon tho snbjoct. “The United States government, in 1702, whdn tho government was about throe years old, was oalled upon to act upon tills question. Alexander Hamilton is recognlzod by all students os the greatest financier tho, nation had at that timo, and perhaps has ever had up to this day. As Our constitution had provided that the government should coin gold and silvor, tho question then arose, at what ratio it should bo coined. Hamilton carofully examined tho commercial value of each in the markots of tho world, and declared that tho substantial relation of tho two metals then Stood of about tho ratio of 16 ounces of silver to 1 ounce of gold, and he favored tho coinage of the metals upon that ratio.

JeflV iHouV Vicwa. “Washlugtou and Jefferson and other great men of that day investigate that qaostion and reached the saino conclusion.Jl quote Jofferson’s language. He said: ‘The proportion between the values of gold and silver is a mercantile problem altogether. Just principles will load us to disregard legal proportions altogether and inquiro into the market price of gold in the several count trios with which we shall principally "be connected in commeroo, and take the avorage of them. ’ The government began the coinage of these two metals at that time upon that ratio. Those great and good men, all of them, made ono mistake in that action, tho first in the history of our government on that qaostion, in that they undertook to fix an inflexible ratio and adhere to it for the coinage of these two metals. That action worked badly v It drove gold out of tho country; so seriously had the workings of this action disturbed tho financial affairs of the nation that In 1806, 14 years aftor this policy had been established, Thomas Jeffer- - son, seeing the mistake, as president of tho United States, by an executive order to moot an emergonoy In tho absence of congress,"stopped the coinage of silver. Our government proceeded upon tho order of Jefferson in thiß regard until 1884, when congress passed an act changing the ratio of coinago to 10 to f. To this action Jackson, Calhoun and Benton, and tho Democratic loaders of tho day, gave their full support. The reason that controlled Jefferson in stopping the coinago i of silver was because silver, in the mar- j ket of the world, was not worth what j tho action of the government made it ! worth in coining it at 15 to l--that is, 15 ounocß of silver, at that time, in the market were not worth ono ounce of gold. The reason that controlled congress in the act of 1834 in providing for the coinage of silver at 10 to 1 was because that was about tho ratio of the two metals in their commercial relation St that time. From tho timo that Joffarsou stopped tho ooinago of silver in 1806 to 1836 no silver was coined by our government. The act of 1703 overvalnod silver and drove away or into concealment the gold, The act- of 1834 overvalued gold and drove away or into concealment tho sliver. 'From 1834 till ~ 1878 wo had no silver, except subsidiary coin—that is, pieces loss than a dollar. During tho war, uhder tho emergencies, greenbacks and national bank paper went Into circulation and for sev-

era! years we had no gold or silver in circulation, only paper, from the greenbacks down to scrip. During that period, especially at its beginning, many party leaders, conspicuous among whom was DUniel W. Voorhees, cried aloud for gold and denounced greenbaoks as rag money; prophesied that such stuff would become wholly worthless; that tho government’s credit and business generally would be ruined, by that action of the' government and that wo were rushing into the hands of bondholders, capitalists and bankers. That cry was more than 30 years ago. These men proved to be false prophets. After tho war, in the ’7o’s, came a' loud cry from all over- the land for greenbacks and paper money, irredeemable paper money, to bo issued by the government and lots of it so that we might be relieved from the hard times and the pressure upon us. Now the land is filled with the clamor for silvor, denouncing gold and sneering at paper money. A Sound Proposition. “The proposition I ask yon to consider is a sound proposition, safe for this day, for any day in the past and for any day in the future. It is this. That the United States government shall proceed to coin and put in circulation by every proper means, gold and silver, at a proper ratio, and paper money. We noed them all; the gold, the silver and the paper. We hear very mnch angry talk and declarations against the act of 1873 npon this subject. It seems to give the greatest relief to mauv persons to call it ‘the crime of 1873.’ The truth of history is that this act was a revision of all the currency acts of the government up to that date—a most carefully prepared act, by John J. Knox, then deputy controller of the currency, and presented to tho senatoof the United States by George S. Boutwoll, then secretary of the treasury. The bill was most carefully considered and acted upon. This measuro is more extensively misrepresented and misunderstood by the masses of people than any measure I over know. I dare not entor upon the details of the bill, bccauso of its length; but hope it will be printed in some form and circulated among the people that they may understand it. Upop the passage of this act in 1873 Senator John Sherman voted against it; but you have hoard him abused upon the streets by mon who are in favor of free silver as a traitor to his country. Senator Stewart of Nevada voted for the act of 1878, but he is revered as a saint by the friends of freo silver. This bill was supported almost unanimously by the congressmen from tho extreme west. It seems to be the impression that by the act of 1873 silvor was demonetized and its coinago stopped. The act suspended the coihago of the standard silvor dollar, but it did not stop tho coinago of subsir diary silver; that is, pieces less than a dollar. Tho report of the director of the mint shows that more silvor was coined into dimes alone in five years, from 1878, following that act of -4878to 1878, than ■ had boon coined into standard dollars in all tho years of our government before that. The coinago of standard silver dollars was resumed in 1878, and has continued from that day unto this, and thoso standard dollars are legal tender to any sum. It will be seen upon a careful examination of the reports of the director of the mint that silver has never been demonetized. Tho mints are running today and have never ceased, to grind since 1873, as before, coining silver as well as gold. When Paul was preaching in Ephesus, and teaching that there' was but one true God, Demetrius, tho silversmith, who mado silver shrines for the goddess Diana, seeing that his business was being affoctod, raised a mob and cried, •Great is Diana of Ephesus,’ aud thoy rushed on Paul and beat him. Wo witness a like scene today, figuratively speaking, when men who are engaged in tho silver business fearing thatffhoir business, will be interfered with, stirred up under tho leadership of Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina, are rushing pollmoll upon ‘the president of the United States and all enemies of their cause, armed with pitchforks.” Flat Cannot Make Money. Captain Ritter’ then considered at some length the laws governing the commercial world, showing that uo one nation can establish aud successfully maintain auy given rute of coinage as a fixed rule between gold and silver. “There must,” said the spoakor, “bo a ratio and a rule, but both must be flexible.” Ho closed this part of his speech by challenging auy man to name any government of respectable standing that is attempting to maintain a double standard. Ho continuod: "I hold up before you now in my right hand a gold dollar and in my loft hnnd a silvor dollar, each coined by tho United States government. This gold dollar is so small that many of you in this lurgo audience cannot seo it from your seats. This silver dollar is large enough .to be seen a square away. Tho metals out of which theso coins ore mado are of different value. Tho ! United States government <fid not make them so; uo other government mado them so; the business world made them so. These two pieces of money are of the same value; but what makes them ! so? The silver dollar is more than 10 j times the size and weight of the gold I dollar. It is not the government stamp 1 that makes either 0110 of these a dollar, i Tho government stamp placed upon these metals is only evidence, nothing ; more, that each of these contains an amonut of metal sufficient to make it a dollar's v&luo. If the same stamp, in all respects, even with the goddess of liberty, the eaglo, the name of the United States and the words ‘in God wo trust'-r if all those were placed npon a piece of | iron tho size of either of these coins the irou would nevertheless be wholly 1 worthless as money in the markets of the world and would bo spurned by oftr

own people. If our government, Independent of other governments of the world, irrespective of tho market value of .these metals in the commercial world, can' determine and fix their ratio as 16 to 1 when the commercial value is 31 to 1 and make such a law effective and promote, business upon it, then the government might Say they shquld l>e coined upon the ratio of 1 to 1. ounce toounce, and defy the rest, of the world, ’•‘l read two extracts from tho Chicago platform, as follows: ‘Recognizing that the money question is paramount to all others at this time, we invite attention to the fact that tho federal constitution named silver and gold together as the monoy metals of thoUnitcd States, and that tho first coinage law passed.by congress under the constitution mado the silver dollar the unit of value and admitted it to free coinage at a ratio measured by the silver dollar unit. * * * We demand the free and unlimited coinago of gold and silver at the present ratio of 16 to 1 without waiting for the aid or consent of any othor nation. ’ I am sorry that tho boy orator from tho Platte and Tillman and Altgeld and SLtowartand Jones wild Teller caiTifWmfr a minute. They can’t wait .on old England, that has for 1,000 years boon considering and testilig this financial question, and Germa’ny and Franco, especially Franco, whore this identical question ha? boon more thoroughly tested than .in any other government. In France during 100 years coming into the 14th century that government changed tho ratio between gold and silver about 160 times by legislation; but France long ago settled down to the gold standard as a fixed order. Thpy can’t wait on the leading commercial, the educated, the intelligent nations of tho earth; composing three-fourths of the whole number of the governments in the world. They can’t wait on these governments; they are trying to caioh up with China and Mexico and the Congo state. These aro new leaders of civilization and financial learning. Thoso new and fresh leaders of the Democratic party have pushed the old and tried and recognized leaders of that party out of tho procession; have defied their conservative leadership afid viows, and aro rushing pollmoll into tho arms of the great statesmen in China and Mexico.’’ Tho speaker then proceeded to show that the business enterprises of this nation cannot bo successfully conducted without doing business with othor nations, aud this business cannot bo transacted without some Common basis. J ‘Whatever men may say,” said ho, “the unimpeachable fact stares us in the faoe that there is uo such a thing in tho world today as a double standard of value; either tho gold or silver standard is the basis for business transaction in ©very government. This government was on a silver basis from 1792 to 1834, and has been on a gold' standard as a ( basis every since that day, and is today in harmony with the great commcrical nations of tho world. The proposition that this nation can go to a silvor basis or a double standard without waiting for the other governments in the world is a heresy and promulgated as a political issue by' a party large enough to bo respectable, for the first time at tho Chicago convention, that nominated the ’boy orator from the Platte. It is exactly what might bo expected under these conditions, that Democrats, real, for sure Democrats, should repudiate this action as findomocratic aud scandalous, and call a convention •to put a Democratic ticket in the Cold.” Tho speaker then compared tho condition of workingmen in gold standard countries with that of tho same class in silver standard .countries, greatly to tho advantage of the former