ential to the success of any measure proposed, and in the hope that
our efforts will advance silver to its legal ratio with gold, and induce
the great commercial nations to join with us in maintaining the legal
parity of the two metals, or in agreeing with us in a new ratio of their
relative value; and third, to secure a genuine bimetallic standard, one
that will not demonetize gold or cause it to be hoarded or exported, but
that will establish both gold and silver as standards of value not only
in the United States, but among all the civilized nations of the world.

Believing that these are the chief objects aimed at by us all, and that
we differ only as to the best means to obtain them, I will discuss
the pending propositions to test how far they tend, in my opinion, to
promote or defeat these obtects.

And, first, as to the amount of currency necessary to meet the wants of
the people.

* * * * *

It is a fact that there has been a constant increase of currency. It is
a fact which must be constantly borne in mind. If any evils now exist
such as have been so often stated, such as falling prices, increased
mortgages, contentions between capital and labor, decreasing value of
silver, increased relative value of gold, they must be attributed to
some other cause than our insufficient supply of circulation, for not
only has the circulation increased in these twelve years 80 per cent.,
while our population has only increased 36 per cent., but it has all
been maintained at the gold standard, which, it is plain, has been
greatly advanced in purchasing power. If the value of money is tested by
its amount, by numerals, according to the favorite theory of the Senator
from Nevada (Mr. Jones), then surely we ought to be on the high road
of prosperity, for these numerals have increased in twelve years from
$805,000,-000 to $1,405,000,000 in October last, and to $1,420,000,000
on the 1st of this month. This single fact disposes of the claim that
insufficient currency is the cause of the woes, real and imaginary, that
have been depicted, and compel us to look to other causes for the evils
complained of.

I admit that prices for agricultural productions have been abnormally
low, and that the farmers of the United States have suffered greatly
from this cause. But this depression of prices is easily accounted
for by the greatly increased amount of agricultural production, the
wonderful development of agricultura