The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-10-07

payments can never be practical and absolute
reality. They admit that their doctrine is a nc
dence OF the peopse by false pretenses The near
est approach 10 actual specie basis ever made In
ANY aSyyon country SI IRON, has been the eiIsI-
lars in paper for every one dollar held In
coin for their redemption. No one pretends to
The entire civilized void. The doctrines Of spe-
Gle payments in banking pre-suppoSes that the
people will not want spt Gle t pre-supposes that
they will be content with the promise of specie
without getting II, IL proceeds upon IN sup
manded for the currency. A banking house
with 100000 In gold in It's vaults and SaO,UOJ
paper circulation can keep its sign con
cuiation In gold, just so long as the holders of
It's circulation do not demand the gold and not
and every intelligent mind knows IL never will.
The so-called specie-paying bank therefore puts
in circulation, supported by public conhdence,a
paper money as completely irTedeemable in
specie as any other rag money ever known TO
exist But even TO reach this spurious and
fraudulent specie basis, a con raction OF our
present circulation OF nearly S8O,OO0JO Is 10
take place IL we are to have three dollars OF
held for their redemption, and label that imposi
ton return 70 specie payments, even TO do that
It's present volume has to be made When that
is done, whether il comes this year or next,
whether IL comes now or In 1873,
THIS WHOLE LAND WILL TREMBLE
with commissions more disastrous than the
the windows be darkened and mourners 90
about the streets and the high ways, but the
laboring masses and the toiling poor will cry
for bread in tones that will never be forgotten
when once heard Do we want illustrations OF
the theory of specie payments put in practice?
California is the Boosted LAID of gold. She Is
the Ophir of modern ages she has assumed TO
herself a lofty superiority in the traffic OF the
world She has Wanted herself that she did
business upon the gold bass. The open mouths
OF her yellow mines supply her with the precious
metals, and she has Knocked and laughed
at her sister states for doing business on
a paper currency. When. however, the
great Bank of California, g0ld-bOttOmed, gold
beamed and goId-roofed fell to the earth a few
weeks ago, and alarmed the financial interests
of the Pacific coast, and shook the confidence Of
the people, the specie basis of all her banks of
issue vanished in an hour. The banks of Cali
fornia aud Nevada, proclaiming from year To
year that they redeemed their currency In coin,
suspended in q single day. When the holders oil
the circu alton took alarm, and demanded the
coin, the faliacy stood exposed and confessed.
ing to the people for renewal OF confidence
ami forbearance. But this Is nothing new. Ihe
California has been the history of every similar
banking institution in the wor d. Banks
promising to pay specie and not doing 1t
An examination of their career is Instructive az
his time. During the last siAty years the banks
throughout the United States, promising 10 pay
specie, have suspended specie payments ten
times, an average OF once every six years. Even
the arrogant specie-paying Bank of Eng
land has suspended specie payments, practically
and officially, with almost equal regularity.
from lI9I to ls2S, period OF twenty,slX years,
institution, and IL has at no time, until very re-
Gently, had more than one dollar in gold in its
ton. Does this history of the specie paying
banks prove that the gold basis secures a
in not rather proc that in has heretofore ben
prolific source of financial disturban ces pantcs,
payments by the banks is always the signal for
a crash in business and the ruin of ind lvidual
fortunes, as we'll as the cruel deprivation OLA
boring people.
THE WORLDS MONEY FALLACY.
Gold is called the worlds money" by some.
This would imply that the commercial world
does its business upon gold. Nothing could pos.
sibIy he more false. since the mines of Cali
fornia were opened, in 1919, there have been
taken from them about fifteen hundred mill
lions of gold. lift was all in existence to-day in
the United states il would not suffice to transact
the business of the country Tor six months. 1t
would not pay our national bonded debt if every
Dust was applied to that purpose.
II has been estimated by BOnamy Price, a
bullion authority, that there is not more than
one dollars worth of gold in England for every
tion against her people. The same is true in
the United States. Hence, however much it
may conflict with old prejudices aud party ira
ditions the truth is that a paper credit accom-
panied by public and private confidence con-
sti ute the worlds medium of exchange, the
worlds money. We also hear in this cOnnec
ton that the precious metals constitute the
worlds standard of values. This Is an asser-
ton that the true value OF commodity can
only be asceTtained by its purchase or sale
in gold or silver. Look steadily, however,
at two lactS that now exist. In the pr &c cur
rents, as published in every mercantile journal
in the United States, the price of every COM
silver, but in legal tender notes OF the govern
ment. The precious metals themselves, the
boosted standard of values are quoted like other
their prices as they are hawked on change by
the auctioneer from day to day, gold and silver
time in their markets; nor do their fluctuations,
their rise and fal in price now have the slight
est effect upon wheat, corn, iron, salt and
% When aa article Is oT tried by % stand
ara, and the standard itself is con-
stantly shifting, becoming higher or lower,
broader or narrower, the article must make cor
responding changes or else the standard is no
proves beyond the reach OF controversy that
coin is not the standard of value in this couu-
cry, but that every thing In trade is quoted
tire resources, good faith and existence OF the
republic. 1t appearing Tn us that the specie basis
is in fact "Darren ideallty" when applied to
the practical business transactions of the world.
let us next observe the manner which the re-
publican party has devised in congress, by which
to attain this Iallaclous and impracticable
end. Our legal tender note circul alton, before 1T
amounted ns to about 100000. Against this
whole volume OF currency the republican party,
through its leaders in congress and its PRESIDENT
declared that it must perish from the face of the
earth. Their engine of destruction is known as
THE sH3RMAN BILL,
now in operation as a law. Under its
provisions between now and 1879, this
favorite currency of the people. which has
served them so long and so well, must disappear
This is one of the steps that has already been
taken towards the resumption of specie pay
ments, and as, in cant phrase, there is TO oe
no step backward, 1T is fair to assume that
the authors OF this destructive measure will
never consent to its repeal. But this cur
rency is a debt against the government held by
the people, in what way does the government
intend to liquidate il? b. issuing Interest
ahv xvhfc