Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1898 — THE DISHONEST DOLLAR [ARTICLE]

THE DISHONEST DOLLAR

Silver Good Enough For the Soldier, but the Bondholder Is Paid In Gold. The Government For Tears Mad# and Circulated "Dishouest Dollars,” Oolj to Find It Out In 1873, and Five Tears Later Went Into the “Dishonest Dollar” Bnslness Again. If the people of Indiana, believe the half, or the 100th part of one-half of the moothings and vaporings of the gold bags and their henchmen about the silver dollar, they mast conclude that the government, from its foundation, has been engaged in coining “dishonest dollars,” and that when it was not coining “dishouest dollars” at its own mints, it went into the business of making Mexican, Spanish and the dollars of other nations “dishonest” by affixing a dishonest value upon them and made them pass current at such value in the United States. Under every administration, from Washington to Orant, this thing of ooining “dishonest silver dollars” proceeded unquestioned, bat, in 1873, that paragon of integrity, John Sherman, saw the monstrous dishonesty of coining silver dollars of 412 % grains of standard silver, and by perpetrating a fraud in the interest of Judas Iscariots, the money bag holders pf the nation, pat an end to the coinage of “dishonest dollars. ” No one knows, or will ever know, the amount of swag John Sherman secured by this act of treason to the people. It is only known that, on $6 ,000 a year, he became a multi-mill-ionaire, was kicked out of office by William McKinley and left, in his old age, to reap a more abundant harvest of obloquy than has fallen to the lot of any native American since Benediot Arnold set the example of selling his country for British gold. The fraud perpetrated by John Sherman delighted every goldbng In the land, just as Arnold’s treason won the applaooe of the Tones in the war of the revolution. Bat, it appears from the records, that the people of the United States were so enamored of the basin— of ooining “dishonest dollars” that in 1878, after living five years with the mints closed to the ooinase of “dishonest; dollars.” a

fearful epidemic of dishonesty settojW upon the people and swept over tigM country. And again the mints went] opened to the coinage of “dishonest! dollars,” and this swelling tide of iqnity and astounding cussedness roUfllH on till more than 400,000,000 of honest dollars” were coined—doUanM which in the high wrought indignatidfl of a Republican campaign openers imm dared to be “two-fifths lies,” and aoeSJ no reason why the government may nofe'J go to the extreme and coin a whole st|9 ver dollar lie, upon the ground, that isl the government puts in circulation Sj dollar which is “two-fifths” a lie, it may ] with equal propriety put in circulati.Q||| a dollar five-fifths a lie—in fact, go intol the counterfeiting business under thflj constitution and laws enacted in coals formity with the constitution. If any one will go to the trouble ot 1 reading the campaign opening addretotj of Hon. Albert J. Beveridge at Tomlin-j son hall, delivered some weeks since, ifc ] will be seen upon what sort of oratorio-1 cal rations the distinguished speaker fedJ his audience. It is not to be assumed that the Be- < publican campaign opener, though regular Yesuviau orator, made any converts from the ranks of silver Republicans, or in any wise demorafimm Democrats, bat hto to the w* honest American dollar indicates qoitt£ conclusively the kind of financial litersture that suits the Republican party, fl The American dollar, which the gold* bags delight ia debouncing as dlshqpMn and “two-fifths a lie,” if these epithets were warranted, would present tte United States before the world as a nation of knaves, coining dollars “two** fifths” a lie. and compelling the people to accept them as if they were honeri dollars. To quote Mr. Beveridge verbatim* he said: “If the government stamp can make a piece of silver which yoe can buy for 45 cents pass for 100 bento * * * aud if the noreminent lies two-fifths in decaf-*, ihg illdt 45 cents is 100 cento, why not lie thi'bg'fiftltt and declare that nothing at all is I<3o cefifs?” This sort of rant is accepted as finaa-' cial gospel by the Republican press »mI the Repnblican managers of the paign, and yet, when their attention ia called to the fact that the dollar theyv denounced as dishonest, and as lies, are paid ont to soldiers, they are then compelled to accept the Democratic pari- '; tion relating to the honesty of the silver dollar, that it is a standard coin, irredeemable, sound as gold, constitutional and primary money, a legal tender for all debts, public or private, and that its coinage now, as in 1792, meek* every reqnirement of sound money. To this the Republican goldbngs are driven, or be compelled to admit they have paid ■oldiers in “dishonest” money. Bat this fact in no wise relieves them of the odium of mendacity which they have earned by their puerile and studied slanders, heaped upon those who have sought with patriotic persistency to temonetize the silver dollar in the interest of all the people. Bat the Repnblican party, by paying silver dollars to soldiers and refusing to pay them to bondholders, has placed itself on record as a party making a distinction between soldiers and bondholders. The party regards silver as inferior money and gold as superior money. In paying the bondholders it surrenders its option and pays them tot gold. In paying soldiers it exercises its option and pays them in silver. If ri!» ver Is good enough for soldiers, it to good enough for bondholders, and this, if the case were submitted to the people would be the verdict. And the Democratic party does submit the question to the people of Indiana and asks for their verdict at the polls on Nov. 8, 1898. The facts are as stated. The government is placed under obligation to soldiers of a higher character than its obligations to bond holders. These soldiers performed patriotic service; they placed, their health and their lives in peril to serve their country. It has been said, end truthfully said, “There is nothing too good for soldiers.” If the Republican party believed that, it most pay las soldiers in gold, because it says “gold to the best money.” It is the money whldk it pays to bond holders, but U does not pay the soldiers in the money it pays to bond holders. Bond holders will not have silver which Mr. Beveridge characterises as “two-fifths” a lie, bnt it does peg such silver coins to soldiers, and dose not permit them, as it permits hoed holders, to qfeoose the kind of money they will aocept. If, as they are compelled to do, admto that silver dollars are “sound mangy," sound enough to pay soldiers, why nek pay it to bond holders? Let Republicans answer, if they can. Indeed, the Democratic party of Indiana insists they shall answer, or sit as dumb as an many bronze dogs on the front steps at S plutocrat’s palace. The Rothchiids proclaim that they have nothing to do with silver, that their transactions are all in gold. The same Is equally true of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, the Wall street Shylook. Theae speculators in gold have no nse for stiver, the money of the producing ulsssa*. J who rarely if ever 493 • told coin,