The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-12-18

act demonetizing silver was to increase the
value of government bonds and correspon-
dinghy increase the public burdens by secu-
ring the payment of these bonds In gold
when BY their term plainly expressed on
their face they are redeemable in coin of the
standard value Of the United States on July
IA, 1878, when silver dollars as well as gold
dollars were lawful tender 10 payment of all
debts public and private; that in order to
secure to the bond holders this advantage
to which they are in no wise entitled, the
people have been clandestinely robbed of
the legal-tender quality of one-half their
metallic currency, thereby greatly enhan-
cling the difficulty and danger of the pro-
posed resumption Of specie payments and
unjustly increasing the burden of every
individual debtor in the nation, as well as
that Of the nation at large.
RESOLVED that while we have full conf
dence 10 the integrity and patriotism of
the president and his earnest desire to full
fill the duties of his high Office and pro-
mote the welfare Of the nation, yet we view
with just alarm the position taken By him
on this question in bis late message. and
we have good reason to believe that his
judgement has been warped and mis-
guided by the bad counsels of his constitu
tional advisers into the adoption Of line
of policy which would give the bondholders
an undue and unjust advantage greatly to
the detriment of the people. We have
searched in vain through his message for
any word of true comfort for the struggling
masses by whose labor the money must be
earned to pay these bonds. We regard his
suggestion that by yielding to demands of
yublic weditors these bonds may be ex-
changed for others at reduced interest o
delusion There are two parties intere sted
in this question, those who are to pay and
those who are to receive the payment.
We demand that justice be done both by
restoring the old time. honored standard
measure of values. The burdens OF the
government will then rest lightly upon the
shoulders of prosperous people, but we
see no hope of returning prosperity in this
financial policy of the president and his
maladvisers.
| ResolUed that holders Of government
bonds not only have no right, legal or
equitable, to demand payment otherwise
than according to the express terms, but
the government cannot with due regard to
1.-The rights of the people waive its option
to pay in gold or silver and restrict itself
to pay in gold only, and that when the
attempt to do this is made by legislating
out of existence the whole silver coinage
of the country as legal tender, and at the
same time depressing the value of one OF
its most important products in the markets
of the world. the consequences of this
nefarious scheme are SO far reaching and
disastrous that it calls for unmeasured
ldeDunciation.
ReSolUed that the proposal to pay bond
holders exclusively in gold which their
bonds do not call for, and at the same time
demonetize silver so far as to make it legal
tender to some small amounts for all other
kinds of Indebtedness, would be partial
legislation of the very worst description.
We emphatically reject all such com
promises. The money that is good enough
for the people is good enough for the
Concluded on next page.l