The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-02-14
SILVER AVID GOLD AND THE
VETO POWER.

It is still asserted and denied that
the President will veto the silver bill.
We had supposed that it would be
presented for his signature tomorrow
or Thursday. Its amendments in the
Senate will be appended without de-
bate in the House, and there is NO
ueed for delay. If the President veto
lhe bill, the Republicans will present
substitute in the House authorizing
the immediate coinage Of silver dol
ar Of greater weight than 412 12
grains-the dollar of the daddles-and
make this heavy coin legal-tender for
all sums below $1,000. The Republi-
cans must do this or submit to oyer
Whelming defeat in every Western
nd Middle State. This supposltion
as based on the assumption that the
President will veto the Bland bill.
The World and Herald and other East
ern bondholders' organs assume that
he will veto the measure simply be-
cause he stated in his MESA 90 that he
opposed any change of the present
contract with the bondholders. On
the contrary, the President may think
he has done his duty in this behalf
when he presented to Congress and
the country his opinions and wishes.
lie sees that the people everywhere
differ from him, and il he be an old
Wing in principle, he will bow before
the majesty of popular opinion and
interpose no veto. 1t 10 therefore
probable that the silver bill will be-
come the law and its enactment will
be the signal for a slow and steady
change in the country's financial con-
dition. Popular industry will be
stimulated as rapidly as coined silver
may 60 out from banks and from towns
and cities into the farming districts.
1t will speedily take the place OF paper
in interior villages and among farming
populations. 1t will be absorbed and
disappear as rapidly as coined. How
much the country can hold without
shopping over" remains to be seen,
hut there will be no such superabun-
dance as anticipated until each of half
a million homes in the United States
has its hoard of 500 or $500 or $1,000
IN silver. NIsers hoard gold, farming
populations silver. There need be no
apprehensions of danger. The mints
cannot coin enough in two years to
make any appreciable difference in the
purchasing power of silver. Wells,
Fargo 3 Co. state that during the
past year the product of silver has
been $47, 20G, 957, of gold SAG, $780, 47.
Nevada produced $51, 5s3, 300, or more
than ell the rest of the continent. CAL
ifornia produced SIS, ia, 716 and Utah
IS, lib, 75G, while Mexico produced less
than q million and a half. These
show that il the whole volume
of silver produced during the past year
were coined tomorrow and made legal
tender for all sums and all public and
private debts, and were properly dis
tributed over the country, there would |
be less than o dollar and ten cents for !
each citizen of the United States.
These simple facts show that there |
is as much gold as silver produced, and |
that there is no domestic or conner
clal or official necessity requiring the
President to veto the silver bill. 1t is
not violative Of the Constitution. On
the contrary, silver is the money Of the
Constitution as it was Of the old Arti-
eles Of Confederation, and If the Presi-
dent adhere to Wing principles and
policy, as expounded by Henry Clay,
be may wholly disappoint the Herald
and other bondholders' organs and re-
fuse TO veto the silver bill. But before
he week closes our dispatches will
,olve this inquiry.