New-York tribune., 1877-08-22
SILVER RECONCILIATION.


LETTER FROM THURLOw WEED.
ru~ npfr.rt,xs To A nlVRLE STANDARD Not
WILL POUNDED THE BoNDHoIDER AMPLY
"pRorytrrp"-wFAIrH OF TIE COUNTRY IL
suvgg-A TIME TO PROFIT BY TOUR CREDIT
ABROAD.
70 fhe Edpor Of Thc Tribune:
SIN; Tho discussion Of the silver question, "a
hope and believe, progresses satisfactorily Inc
strong positions taken 10y the advocates OF the SILVER
Standard have not been shaken or weakened by It's
opponents The fact that the Constitution dcslg-
mated silver AID gold as the legal currene' OF oui
country. authorizing Congress 20 determine the
weight aud value of coins aud prohibiting the states
from making anything but silver and gold legal
standards. s neither denied nor questioned Nor Is
the further fact that the laws Of Congress, from the
Inauguration Of the Government. with unimportant
executions. provided for the payment of principal
and interest Of the public debt in coin, denied Nor
will il be asserted that there is any constitutional
power 20 impair the obligation of the contract
which entities the public creditor TO the payment OF
los debt principal and interest, IN silver or gold.
SO clearly ncontrovertihle Is this point, that II
the Secretary of the Treasury should tender pay
mcnt of a debt contracted before the law OF
1873 in silver, and the creditor refused IT,
the question if carried 10 the Supreme Court OF 'he
United States would be decided in favor of the Gov
H..
power 10 impair the obligation of the contract
II il not perhaps to be regretted that the consider
alton of the bill remonetzIng silver which passed the
House Of Representatives 10y a large majority, was
postponed bv the senate. The merits OF the ques-
tion will Doe better understood when Congress reas
sembles Those who saw Resumption and prosper
~ IN the near future by repeal OF the law OF loIo'
will not long be stigmatizcd as "Infatonists." We
are enjoying In the subsidiary silver which mas
quietly taken the place Of paper stamps. crafty
ing nstalment upon the full measure of the bless
ing winch return of the silver dollar as leGal
tender win confer upon the people. And yet these
bright half and quarter-doars and dimes arc held
by the advocates Of single standard az parts OF
policy calculated to dcbase the currency
Meantime the one-staudard theory. as the discus
sion progresses grows weaker. The one standard
advocates until their positions had been ventilated,
earned every thing by storm. i have carefully eN-
amned their side Of the question. The argument
Is narrowed down TO two points, viz: the Latin Gov
emments insist that a double standard is inconVen-
tent: and second that America produces too much
silver For these reasons Northern Europe requires
the adoption Of q gold standard. In the dawn oi
civilization and for many succeeding centuries there
vras bnt a single standard. and that standard was
silver " silvcrhas been standard mthe language
Of a distinguished. statesman, "sinoe the days OF
Abraham Ifduring the last thousand years single
standard had been deemed advisable that standard
would have been silver
Tho law Of 1873 dcmonetizing silver was quietly
but skilfillv worked through Congress. The pur-
pose and effect were not understood by one out OF
i've Of the members who voted for II. Nor, until
this discussion commenced, was the existence oil
erch law known 10 any considerable number oil
our citizens. II was passed simply 70 promote the
Interests A the hondhoders usurer aud spectators
I'm gold ts effect has bcon 10 cripple industry and
cypress ehor There seems in the minds of the adyo-
caos II tle gold standard bat one interest entitled
20 public consideration. Everything must yield TO
the hondi oidcrs. No matter what amount OF loss
or suffering reaches other interests and other classes,
the bondhodcr must he protected. The hondholders
are not only wards of the Government, but ENJOY
the sympathy of tire Press. Every other depart
Incnt and branch ~ business may suffer Labor
may seek in vain for employment. but the bond
holder must have his interest IN gold which he I'M
mediately converts into grecnbacks at premium
The vigilance Of the Government and the press IN
their defence Of the hondholdcrs suggests an III
quiry which Is certainly pertinent and may possibly
prove useful Foreign capitalists naturally took
advantage Of our necessities during the Rebellion to
,vrcLoee ot,r hands at a law hpure