| Show EQUAL RIGHTS FOR GOLD ANDr 0 SILVER j When this Government was organized by the consolidation of the different provinces into a union of the States one of the4Crst things necessary was to establish estab-lish a monetary system Thomas Jefferson Jeffer-son the philosophic Statesmanthe I prophet of the peoples rightswrote out our system of weights and measurements H and devised our monetary system True to the wisdom that characterized his life he saw that the soundest money that the world ever had was gold and silver He made the silver dollar 412J1f grains the standard of value Congress adopted his suggestion and gold and silver became the constitutional money of the country It was not one to the exclugion the other but both had equal rights under the law they were made legal tender for all debts what I one could do as money the other could I doas money From 1793 down to 1873 t these two coins went side by side in the national history and in the commerce off of-f the nation Each did its work and each did the same work No man questioned the wisdom of our fathors until by a trick a thief entered at night and stole I away the right of silver as money It is well known that this trick of legislation by which silver was demonetized was done directly in the interest of and you might say by the hand of fixed capital by those whose money is in bonds mortgages mort-gages and consols By this act the fixed capital of the country was raised 15 percent per-cent in value because it decreased the ability of the producing interests in-terests of this country to pay their debts Congressmen and even the Presi I dent who signed the bill claimed that they did not know of such a clause in the bill Had there been a free discussion it would have been impossible to nave demonetized silver Now what do silver men ask what do business men of the I I country ask what does common justice I ask this and this only that silver shall be reinstated under the law where it L stood for eighty years This law must be reenacted Undoubtedly there will be a clause in the new law which will I grant the issue of gold and silver bills so that the standard bars of gold and silver may be kept in the vaults of the Treasury while the bills or certificates are issued against them I and go into general circulation In the advancement of civilization common I conviction decides that it is not necessary neces-sary to carry about gold or silver in dollars dol-lars or in eagles a bill that stands as the representitivc of the coin is what the people want they know that it is the safest money they know that it is the r best money that the rorld ever had and they know thisbecause it represents coin Now how is it with a National Bank I bill No one doubts that a National Bank bill is good money does any one believe that it is better money than a I silver or gold bill In what is a Na tional Bank bill to be redeemed by what I is it secured It is secured by a bond of p the UnitedStates and how is the bond to bo paid In gold or silver coin at the option of the Government I Does it make a National Bank bill better I to have it removed thus from direct payment pay-ment in gold or silver coin in case of an emergency Not at all ilJOmmon sense teaches us all that gold and silver are the best foundations for currency Now then letus have a reenactment of the law by which gold and silver shall have equal rights under the law wherein they shall both be legal tender for the payment of all debts Let us have a law wherein gold and silver bills representing gold and silver standard bars or coin shall be treated alike under the law and thus be of equal value in all commercial transactions transac-tions |
