Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 August 1896 — OHIO CAMPAIGN OPEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHIO CAMPAIGN OPEN

HEPUBLICANS fire their first GUN AT COLUMBUS. Senator Sherman, Senator-Elect Foraker and S, L. Woodford of New York Di scobs the Issues of the Political Battle and Eulogize McKinley. , ~ ... 'Asliis. Sherman*® Hot Talk. The Republican campaign in Ohio was formally opened by two mbnster mceU logs in Columbus. The orators were Swiutor John Sherman, Senator-elect J. B. Foraker of Ohio and Stewarjt L. Woodford of Brooklyn, N. Y. Gov. Bushnell presided at the afternoon meeting, being introduced by Henry C. chairman of the Franklin County Republican Executive Conimittee. The Governor made st brief speech, in which he expressed him-, self as-faaving too much friith in the.people to think tpey will defeat a Republican jcandidajf this fall, of all times. He rejninded his hearers that four years ago the Democrats gave Grover Cleveland and promises of tariff reform; now after four years of suffering they ask the people to accept Bryan and unsound money as a cure for al! ills to which flesh is heir to. He, for his part, could not imagine sueh effrontery. Gov. Bushnell then introduced Senator John Sherman, vy-ho prefaced his speech by saying that inasmuch as he wished to discuss questions of vital importance to every citizen i,n ftie United States as well «s Ohio'he would read his speech, in order to be exact 1 in his . statements. Contim t.iitg, he said: Air. Chairman and fellow-citizens: A cltltsen of Ohio has bedn selected by the Republican National Convention as their candidate for President of the United States, and we are here to ratify and support his nomlna-

tion. We take pride In William McKinley, not only for the honor conferred upon Ohio by the convention, but because we know him to he lilted for Hint great office. It so happens that at the coming Presidential election there will be submitted to your Jiulg4;Ueiyt-.i»x>...qacstloJl.s,.„o.Jlg_.Qf. I Jvhlch Is whether any bolder of silver bullion may deposit It In the mints of the United States and have it coined for his benefit and without cost to him into sliver dollars, each of t he weight of 412% grains of standard silver nine-tenths tine, and may tender them for any debt public or private. The other question Is whether In levying duties or taxes on Imported goods we should only consider the revenue required, or whether while raising the needed revenue we should seek also to protect and encourage domestic Industries; the one is called revenue tariff and the other a protective tariff. Both the silver and tariff are vital questions of domestic policy of equal Importance, but I prqpse on this’pccaslon to confine my remarks mainly to what la known as the free coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen parts of silver to one of gold. We are brought face to face with a proposition .which. If agreed to, will make silver the sole standard of value for ail debts and credits, for the wages of labor and the purchase anti sale of property. The Democratic party at. Its recent, convention nt Chicago adopted n resolution lit favor of tin* free coinage of sliver at Ute ratio of sixteen parts of.silver to one of gold. We know that In the United States and in all countries In the world thirty ounces or more of silver can be purchased by one ounce of gold. With the free coinage of silver gold would be demonetized. Nothing cun be more certain than that the cheaper money only will circulate. The United States lias thus far maintained Its silver coins .lit parity with gold coins only by its exclusive monopoly of coinage and by limiting I lie amount, but with free coinage of sliver there'could be no limitation. Silver bullion in every form will be pressed upon the mints, and with the mandatory duty of free iwlnnge silver dollars will soon 1111 the channels of circulation, and the gold dollar will be hoarded, or will be quoted and sold as commodity at about 11)4 cents nt the silver coin. Silver will stand ns the par value and goid will be quoted tat its commercial value. Det us contemplate the inevitable result of the free coinage of silver. It would violate every contract for the payment of money made since Jun. 1, 1879. The resumption net. which went into operation on that day, provided for the payment In coin on demand of all United States States notes presented for redemption. All forms of money, whether sliver or gold or paper, were then maintained -At par wjth each other, and have been so maintained ever since. During all this period gold and silver coins at. par with each other have been the. standards of value of <il,l loans, contracts, or purchases, and the faith of the United States was pledged for their’ maintenance at parity with each other. Although silver Uhllion declined in market val'ne, the coins made-from it have been kept at par with gold coins at the legal ratio of 16 to 1. •* But If t|m free coinage of silver Is authorized. thep the market value of silver bullion becomes the standard for payments on all contracts made in the past, the present, or the future; 412% grains of standard silver * bullion, worth now 53 cents, can with free coinage be coined Into a dollar upon the demand of any bolder of such bullion. This dollar is delivered to the owner of the bullion. and is not supported by the flat of the Government. The Government does not undertake to maintain its relative value with gold. The Government stamps It “This Is a dollar/ 1 Its purchasing power is 5.3 cents, but Its debt-paying power is one dollar. It Is to be a legal tender for one dollar of debt, but In the purchase of any article it is only worth 53 cents, for the seller of the article can, tlx his price according to the kind of money offered. It is the doctrine of the Populist and anarchist, but is in direct opposition to the traditional policy of Thotnus Jefferson. Andrew Jackson and the Democratic party. But by far die greatest injury resulting from the free coinage of silver will fall upon the workingmen. Their wages are now based upon money of the highest value, upon gold coin of standard valrfe. Under free coinage of silver the value of the silver dollar will fall to 53 cents in gold. or. as I have already said, the hundred cents of the gold dollar will bo worth 191 cents of the silver dollar. The struggle between workingman and employer will then commence, and no one knows better than the workingman how difficult It Is to get nn advance of pay. XV e have strikes and strife enough now, when the workingman gets his pay in gold coin, or Its e<piiviil»tit. but what will be the condition when he Is paid lu cheaper money of the aame nominal amount, but of less purchasing power? . , The matter of free coinage of silver and the degradation of the staifflard of value Ini Tulve not only Questions of money, but of

honor and good faith. When their honor Is Involved, the people never *r!l to respond. They have compiled with every promise and paid every debt t>f the national Government as It has become due. They have paid fourfifths of the debts contracted during the civil war, and the prospect’ was hopeful that all of It would be paid before the close of this, century, but this reversing of our standards of value has, like the fire bell at night, startled and alarmed our people. Let us settl e It. by following the actions of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson. Benton, Hunter. Lincoln and Grant; let us maintain silver and gold at par wlfh ejch other, at the legal ratio of Ig. to 1 "mint a conference among nations! fan prescribe common standards of value. In the meantime. let no act .be done, no policy be adopted, no expedient resorted t$ that will tarnish the honor of this great republic. Senator Sherman was frequently interrupted by applause. Gov. Bushnell next introduced Senator-elect Foraker, who said: We have a new question this year. The Democracy has started a ne\t Issue; they made a new issue. I will tell you why It Is we have a new issue. They have ruu completely out of the old. They were whipped to a standstill before they started on the tariff, and they were defeated before they started into the tariff, because, unlike 1892, we now, all of us, understand the tariff uestion. You cannot find a laboring man anywhere In the United States who does not now understand it without an argument; that if you make a product across the water, in some other country, you do not have to make it In this country. That if you make it over there, there is an increased demand for labor—over there, anil that much less de mand for labor over here. That is what the laboring man has learned. The farmer has learned something, too. Times have been pretty hard on him. He Is selling hip products at the cheapest price ever known since the war. He has found out that to have a good demand and to get good prices for his product he must have a good home market. And, then, there Is Uncle Sam himself. He has found out something. In the twentyseven years the Republican party controlled this country, after the close of the war down to 1892, we paid off and canceled forever more than one thousand and seven hundred millions of the public debt. During the three years and a fraction of Democratic freetrade rule, thev have paid off nothing, but have Increased the public debt by more than $262,000,000. I wdUld rather follow the leadership of the

gallant Gov. McKinley, with all these great representatives of sound money, sound protection, sound patriotism and sound everything else, supporting him, than to take the “boy orator of the Platte'' with all of tllese people controlling him. I read the speech made by “the orator of the Platte” when he was notified In. New York, arid when I got done with It I thought I knew why he was called “tne boy orator of the Platte.” Geography tells us that the Platte Is a very peculiar river. They say It Is 1,000 imles long and only six luehes deep. I saw mat they were selling Mexican dollars on the streets to-day, and I thought I would like to see them. I do not want to palm any of them off on anybody, but I sent down and got a couple of them, and I bought them for one United States sliver dollar. There are six grains more of pure sliver In each of these Mexican dollars than there Is In this one United States silver dollar. These Mexican dollars down In Mexico are a legal tender. They are worth down In Mexico, where they are a legal tender, just what they are worth up here In the United States. You can buy In the City of Mexico with one of our silver dollars two Mexican dollars, or practically few cents difference. Why Is it? Is It because the Mexican dollars are legal tender? No. It Is because the Mexican dollar has no redeemer. When yon get the Mexican, dollar yon are nt the end of your business transaction. That Is money. That Is the highest money thev have In clr-

eolation. But when you get tnc silver dollar or- tlie United States you find it worth a dollar In gold, because, If you wa"nt the gold, aj you have got to do is to ask for it, That It nil you ever bad to do under Itepubllcau rqle. - , tow, my follow-citizens, has it or not been wise that we have pursued this policy? Haven't you been proud of the currency of tl;e United States during ull these past years'? Ir.asn’t it been the pride of every patriotic! American that as our gold would travel around the globe, w, too,would every dollar o’ our paper money, being redeemable In g}ld, travel everywhere at;d bi- everywhere honored at Its face? Wo have had a stable currency. There has not been any trouble with It until during the last two or threp yyars; until Mr. Cleveland came Into power tie second thne, you did not' lient*any complaint about our money, did you? You did not he ( nr of an}- trouble with the gold reserve. Ail this trouble has arisen sliico then. Why? Simply because, as every intelligent rc.an knows, they adopted a policy of free tfade as contradistinguished to a protective tariff policy, and the first result was the paralysis of business, and the second result was deficient revenues to the Government. Now. my fellow-citizens, the best remedy for this whole trouble Is to put the Republican party back in power: restore the policy of a protective tariff; rclnaugurate the policy of reciprocity, and. give to the American people nn economic admlnlsmltlonunder which the Government would have enough revenues to live and everybody engaged in business in this country and every laborer in the country find something to do. Lieut. Gov. A. W. Jones presided at the evening meeting, and made a brief speech, in which he characterized |]te Democratic national platform as one of anarchism and bankruptcy. He said the stole rhe Populist platform in order to be admitted to the Populist church, and characterized Watson as one of the horns

of the Democratic dilemma. He then introduced the speaker of the evening, Stewart L. Woodford, who said: ~ The honest fulfillment of Populist pledges would put us on a paper basis, redeemable in paper and in paper along, and just where no civilized land is to-day. It would be a currency of soap hubbies, redeemable In soap babbles, affording no basis or foundation for any superstrqcture Of business, farming or labor. Irredeemable paper&oney always begets '■ and compels speedy and continuous Increase. Anu-such increase has always ended In repudiation. The world has had thre«

experience of Populist finances within the last 200 years. Gen. Woodford then reviewed John Law as Minister of Finance in France during the reign of the Bourbons in 1720. When the French tried the experiment again in 1789 Talleyrand said: “You can arrange it so that the people shall be forced to take 1,000 francs in paper, in-stead-of 1,000-francs in specie; but you can never arrange it so that a man shall be obliged to give 1,000 francs in specie for 1,000 francs in paper.” Continuing, he said: Mr. Bryan Is the candidate of the Democratic party apd of the Populist party. The Democrats declare, just as do the Populists, that all paper which Is made a legal tender shall be issued by the Government. <Hore their agreement with the Populist party stops. The Democracy declare that such legal-tender paper shall be redeemable In coin. By no possible Interpretation of the Populist platform ain I able to find either purpose or willingness on the part of the Populists to redeem such paper In coin. The difference, If honest. Is radical. Courtesy requires us to believe that rhe difference la honest. The fiat moiiey Populists trust M". Bryan, and, therefore, I dare not. They have read the Democratic platform, with Its promise to pay money in coin, and yet they who believe in constant and Increasing Issues bf Irredeemable paper believe tn Mr. Bryan The fact Is there Is cousinship between the sliver dollar worth 53 cents and the paper dollar’worth nothing. Brief speeches were also made by Senator Foraker, Congressman Watson, Judge L. W. Ixjing of Youngstown and Eminett Tompkins of Columbus.

SENATOR JOHN SHERMAN.

GOVERNOR BUSHNELL.

SENATOR-ELECT FORAKER.