FREE COINAGE OF SILVER. 507 



interest on them. The United States, for the privilege of 

 keeping these bonds in the vaults of the treasury without 

 charging a cent, gave John Doe and Richard Roe 90 cents 

 on the dollar of the face value of the bonds to loan to the 

 people, and make the latter pay ruinous interest. The 

 excuse for this proceeding was that the credit of the gov- 

 ernment was not good money, and it was argued that if the 

 United States could get both John Doe and Richard Roe 

 to endorse its paper we would have a sound and reliable 

 circulating medium. " 



"If this contraction continues ten or twenty years 

 longer, what in your opinion will be the result?'* 



"Universal bankruptcy and ruin. The symptoms of 

 it are everywhere. Unrest among the people, paralysis in 

 every enterprise, cheaper labor, and starvation and misery, 

 are inevitable, unless a change of policy is immediately 

 adopted." 



"What is the remedy?'* 



"Use both money metals gold and silver, stop the 

 contraction, give us more money per capita. It has been 

 reduced more than one-half by contraction. Double it, 

 and do it at once, and you will have no more strikes, no 

 more attempts to reduce wages to starvation rates. All 

 existing enterprises will be revived; new enterprises of 

 every description will be brought into existence, wages 

 will be enhanced in value and restored to the standard of 

 twelve years ago before the demonetization of silver. 

 Return to the good old times of high wages. When 

 labor is well paid and the laboring man is content, pros- 

 perity is assured. Plenty of money ; plenty work. L/ittle 

 money; little work. That's the whole story. " 



Perhaps the question most naturally occurring to the 

 reader is: "Why do we not have free coinage of silver?'* 

 The answer is the "same old song." The leaders the 



