Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1898 — REPUBLICAN CURRENCY REFORM. [ARTICLE]

REPUBLICAN CURRENCY REFORM.

bi my last communication I under* took to show just what the Republican platform means by “comprehensive and enlightened monetary legislation." Thia legislation is not a matter for the Ba* publican leaders to settle in the future. Even if it were not fully determined on, the people ought to be taken into their confidence more than this vague, smooth sounding platform declaration does. But they have fully decided on this “currency reform" and it is embodied in house trill Na 10,289. This is the bill which was favorably reported by the house committee at the last session, and in this letter I want to briefly discuss that feature of the measure that makes our coined silver dollars redeemable in gold. (See Sea 8, H. R. No. 10,289.> As the law stands today, there is no provision for free or even limited coinage of silver dollars (except the provision in the Bond bill 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 redeemthem in gold. They have the equal exchange or money value of gold, simply because 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 much gold coined. But if the law is to be changed so that thia silver is legally redeemable in gold, at least two vicious results follow:

L The volume of standard money is contracted, for instead of being part of oar standard, legal tender money, our silvfer dollars will become mere car* rency. Our fibined 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 could 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 coin 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 coin bond* could be paid in either gold or silver dollars. The increased demand for gold as standard money, here and elsewhere in the world, has caused its value to riae and has correspondingly caused property and prices to fall. A wise economist would not increase that demand. Besides, our debt has grown in the last few years, <460,000,000 (largely due to the attempt to maintain gold redemption), making gold payment not only more difficult but more unjust than •ver. Again, if we take away the money function from <425,000,000 of stiver, we not only reduce the volume of standard money that much, but by making this silver redeemable in gold we add that new burden to gold. This in an experiment we need not try. 2. The hypocrisy of the proposition can be seen on a moment’s reflection. If silver is to be meth currency, redcotna blaingold.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 currency or paper promises to psqy gold? It is 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? Ik is because they do not care to alarm th* people by such a proposal. Even im the bill the plan of gold redemption in veiled in the sentence: “Pay out goldl coin in exchange for silver dollars.”

They are seeking to do by indirection what they may not propose directly. They are seeking to surreptitiously fasten this legislation on us. H. HL Hanan says his poll of the house shown that aU the “sound money” member* favor it and yet they come back to their constituents and talk of “honest dollars” and “comprehensive monetary* legislation ” Not one word to say ha defense or explanation of a bill to which, if Mr. Hanna speaks the troth, they have committed themselves. These speakers and papers are silent, but the work is ready for the next comgross if it be Republican. And Mr. Hanna says, in his open letter of someweeks ago, that they were encouraged to believe that the war would enabl* them to carry ths elections and controlthe next congress, and then their proposed legislation would become a tew. Heaven forbid that under the guise and to the name of patriotism they shall secure cur congress for each nefarious purposes. ' Hbxry Wabrum. With wheat at 4* coats a bushel th* tomsMS who have hogs might profitably dfeporoof itasfted, white waiting fire ttoMeßmtey wave of prosperity. Buffalo BUI may find it mote dMßtete than he anticipates to dose a ocatraak with McKinley’s catenet to mate tk m. **** * _ *