The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-12-14

TUE ItSUlullUU was Que VI law, ne re
funding act Of 1870 declared the bonds Il
he redeemAble in coin oI the then stand
ard value; that Ia, when the bonds became
due they would be payable in whatever
might be the coin Of the United States
but that coin must be Of the STANDARD
value OF 1870. Should the coin OF tht
United States then be silver tie bond
would be payable in silver Of the stand
ard value OF 1870 The whole thing de
pended oil the coinage law which nigh
prevail in the United States at the malu
rity Of the bonds.
Mr.. Matthews said: Surprising thai
on the day Of the passage OF the act o
1870 gold dollar contained % Sl(
grains. How many grains of gold mus
a dollar contain TO pay bond when il
matured should gold then be the coin o.
the country?
Mr.. Hills s 10 grains, OF course
That is simple question.
Mr.. Matthew5-Then il silver should
be the coin, how many grains must be in
n dollar?
Mr.. Hill-4l2!, Of course.
Mr.. Matthews-Then what objection i.
there 10 making silver Il coin?
Mr.. Hill replied that he was not will
ing to say now what should he coin thirty
years hence. With all due respect to the
Statesmen Of to-day he thought this work
that Congress was engaged in was mere
child's play. This Congress had no right
to say what should be the coin of the
country thirty years from now. Congress :
was now endeavoring to settle in advance
what kind Of coin the country should
have thirty years from now, which was a
great mistake. The Congress which
should be in session then could settle the
question. Changes in the standard OF
value might he made from time 10 time,
but the creditor was protected, no mstter
whal changes may be made. II this ma.
tion chose to disgrace itself il could do
~. lie could not vote for the resolution
because il asked him to declare that the
bonds were redeemable in silver, but in
truth they were redeemable in whatever
may be coin at their maturity. Should
silver be the coin then they were redeem
abe in that coin.
Mr.. Allison said he regretted exceed
lngly that the Senator from Ohio MAT.
lhews) had thought proper TO antagonize
His resolution 10 what be conceived to be
the main question before the Senate,
namely, What should be done with
silver" Unless silver should take its
place "a money, the bonds Of the United
States must be paid in gold. All argu-
ments thus far against the resolution Of
the Senator from Ohio were based upon
lhe idea that It wa5 the intention Of the
senate and country to pay the bonds in
coin oi less value intr insically than gold
Glin. The argument oil the Senator from
Delaware (Rayard) was based wholly on
The idea that il we restored tho silver
dollar Of 4l21 grains, it would not be
fqnal in value to the gold coin
now in circulation. That Senator
BAyard) asked the question whether
there wRs any place in the world where
il24 grains Of silver were worth % and
10 grains Of gold2 lie (Allisou) could
point TO place where 400 grains OF
standard silver were equal to % and s 10
grains Of standard gold; that was the
Bank Of France. The standard Of silver
now proposed here was = standard OF l6
10 |. He favored such legislation Az
would place the two melAla practically at
par with each other on some sure basis.
As to the obligation Of the government to
pay its bonds in gold, that depended
greatly on what should be the coin of the
country at the maturity Of the bonds, bur
in the meantime the government had in-
terest TO pay on them, and it should be
paid with the money contemplated in the
when the bonds were Issued.
lie argued that silver was the money Of
accounts and the unit Of value under
The law OF 1892. Was not the great
debt, incurred on account Of the war
with Great Britain in lSl2 paid in SILVER?
Silver was money Of accounts in all trans.
acliOnao OF the Government as we'll as those
Di Indebtedness. As far Hs the law was
the purchasers Of our bonds
understood that they were payable in
either gold or silver coin. lie also he
lieyed that the country could 90 on coin
ing silver for years to come at the rate Of
500 100000 year, without disturbing at
all the relation between silver and gold.
lie believed that with proper Limitations
aud demonstrations OF the silver dollar
silver could be maintained at par with
gold at a ratio Of Is! to !. The re-
noneliEatiOn Of the silver dollar with
proper restoration, would have the effect
of making silver equal 10 gold. Who
was there who did not believe that II gold
should he demonetized by all nations It
would fall in value? And ghould
all nations demonetize ailvcr il would
decreaae more than now even. The val.
ued oil these two metals ~ money depend.
cd on their Use as such.
MIR. Dawes said that he Represented
a State as loyal to thecrcdit Of the nation
~ any State in the Union. The peoplc
OF Iowa intended that the obligations of
the Government should be fulfilled TO the
letter Of the law; that there should be no
population, But il would not do TO say
that the section OF this country that pro.
posed 10 renonetire silver proposed TO
violate the National honor.
Mr.. Dawes quoted from the remarks Of
Mr.. Beck, delivered in the Senate few
days ngO, in regard to the Democratic
having Rn increase because that
party declared It would not lcgislatO in
the inLcreat Of bondhOldCrs, and said hea
did not think that any party could bo
built up by war on the public credit,
whether II be covert or open.
Mr.. Beck said ho intended no war on
the public credit, hut As for the faith Of
I he nation 'being pledged 10 all the in.
famous acts which Ia | been passed by the
party in power for the past fifteen years
he denied 1t, II was because tho Demo.
Gratis were opposed to thesc acts that their
majority had increased, aud he referred
TO tariff and Southern legislation RS wrll