Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1898 — REPUBLICAN CURRENCY REFORM. [ARTICLE]

REPUBLICAN CURRENCY REFORM.

Ib nay lost communication I undertook to show just what the Repnbltoa* platform means by “comprehensive and enlightened monetary legislation.” This legislation is not a matter for the Republican leaders to settle in the future. Even if it were not fully determined on, the people ought to be taken into their confidenoe more than this vague, smooth sounding platform declaration does. But they have fully decided on this “currency reform” and it is embodied in house bill No. 10,289. This is the bill which was favorably reported by the house committee at the last session, and ki this letter I want to briefly discuss that feature of the measure that makes our coined silver dollars redeemable in gold. (See Sec. 6, H. R. No. 10,289.) As the law stands today, there is no provision for free or even limited ooinage of silver dollars (exoept the provision in the Bond hill for coining the seignorage, which has been absolutely ignored by the treasury officials), but there is an amount of silver coined already that is full legal tender standard money. There is no statute that permits their redemption in gold and there has been no policy adopted or attempt made by the treasury officials to redeem them in gold. They have the equal exohange or money value of gold, simply beoauae they pay as much debts and taxes in this country. In any event, the $425,000,000 of coined silver dollars enlarge the volume of our standard money that much and in a certain way have the effect of that muoh gold oolned. Bat if tiie law is to be changed so that this silver is legally redeemable in gold, at least two vicious results follow: 1. The volume of standard money is contracted, for instead of being part of our standard, legal tender money, our silver dollars will become mere currency. Our ooined gold will be left the sole standard money; it will be the sole money of redemption and the money in which government bonds must be paid. A large part of this funded national debt was created on a paper basis when greenbacks were legal tender and would have paid it. It has been refunded on a coin basis, when under the law and under the terms of the contract, it oould be paid in either gold or silver dollars. Now they propose to make the public debt payable only in gold. This purpose was foreshadowed in the defeat of the Teller resolution in the last house, and in the declaration of President McKinley in his speech to the American Manufacturers’ association, Jan. 27, 1898, that “no matter what the language of the contract, the United States would pay Its obligations in the money recognized as the best at the time of payment. ” And, as this purpose cannot well be carried out by refunding our debt and issuing gold bonds in the place of ooin bonds, it is to be done by making silver mere currency and gold the sole money of payment. If there ever was danger in making our public debt payable in gold, that danger has increased in recent years. The injustice and unwisdom of gold payment has grown since McKinley voted for the Matthews resolution in 1878, which declared that our ooin bonds Could be paid in either gold or silver dollars. The inorea sed demand for gold ns standard money, here and elsewhere in the world, has caused its value to Vise aud has correspondingly oaused property and prioes to fall. A wise economist would not increase that' demand.

Besides, oar debt has grown ia the lost few years, $460,000,000 (largely due to the attempt to maintain gold redemption), making gold payment not only jnore ditfloult bat more anjast than ever. Again, if we take away the money funotion from $425,000,000 of silver, we not only reduce the volume of standard money that muoh, but by making this silver redeemable in gold we add that new harden to gold. This is an experiment we need not try. 3. The hypocrisy of the proposition can be seen on a moment’s reflection. If silver is to be mere ourrency, redeemable in gold, it amounts to mere promises to pay the gold back of it. It stands just as the redeemable paper dollar does, and if this be true, why not have all paper ourrency or paper promises to pay gold? It ia a sheer waste of good material to use silver to stamp these promises on When we can use paper to print them on. Why not dispense with silver? It is because they do not oare to alarm the people by such a proposal. Ev'en in the bill the plan of gold redemption is veiled in the sentence: “Pay oat gold coin in exohange for silver dollars.” They are seeking to do by indirection Ethey may not propose directly, are seeking to surreptitiously i this legislation on us. H. H. Hanna says his poll of the house shows tI)M all the “sound money” members Ihvo* it and yet they come back to their constituents and talk of “honest dollars” and “comprehensive monetary legislation.” Not one word to say in defepi le or explanation of a bill to which, if Mr. Hanna speaks the truth, they have committed themselves. .These speakers and papers are silent, but the work is ready for the next congress if it be Republican. And Mr. Hanna says, in his open letter of some . weeks ago, that they were encouraged to believe that the war would enable them to oarry the elections and control I the next oongress, and then their pro- I posed legislation would become a law. Heaven forbid that under the gnise and 1q the name of patriotism they shall secure our oongress for sack nefarious purposes. Henry Warbmm.

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