New-York tribune., 1878-02-01
yngy 1rlUS STAND tRDs or MORlLS.

JGNN StLLS SIIND1hDS OT MONILS'
Mr. Henry Carey Baird herewith sets forth
about as good a defence rs is generally made
of the Bland bill and kindred schemes.
To the Editor OF The Tribune.
SIR: In your paper of Monday, in discussing
the Matthews silver resolutions under tlo caption OF
"Tho Lesson Of Dshonor." you say that many Of the
foremost men the Senate can read such sentences as
these which we cut from a London papcr-
Americans should be- pslnly told that what is pro-
posc In this silver business distinct fraud decidedly
In tbe ,niure of .windng; that II The honest payment
~ nubc debts II departed FROM United states credit In
Europe l. ruined; aud that the ultimate loss to the
American people IS certain 10 be great dca moro tha
they by any posslilllly gam,
and they 90 not blu,h'
Now viii YOU kindly inform your readers how far the
British from 1907 to 1922 kept faith with
lis credtorsi Did It keep it well propose to do
under the Matthews resolutions or did 1t pay its interest
p irredeemabe and deprecated Bank Of England notes.
wheu the creditor fairly and honestly entitled t
c.iyc gold or silver its equivalent for interest
loans made In gold or silver. or its equivalent
Let me here say that the fact that the British Govern
mont failed to keep faith with its creditors is jus
ca on FOR our doing but II should at least be
toppel 20 all Enslishmen who would throw mud at
hccau,c OF our selecting the coin In which will pay
our coin" debts
The fact is Jonn Bull has 10 s;ancards OF morals one
Of which be sets up the rest OF mankind the other for
himself ana therefore, before judge % the sOundcsS
Of his opiuions upon subject. must know how FAR
he Is himself an nterc tcd party; for tn the words OF
DE Iocq Icyc. Ii the Of the English that cause
which i, mos, useful 10 England is always the cause OF
u.,icc The man or the government which serves the
interests oi England has all sorts OF good qualities; he
VINO hurts all sorts Of defects 80 that 1t
would seem that the criterion Of what j. right or NOBLE
or lust Is t. found in the degree OF favor q: opposition
70 English interests"
Tur truth is we have too long. ~ half century been
d. s.fl,, 4 ,h. IT. ,itsnE itg a
y should act independently OF her opinions and Of the
effect of what wc do upon our credit IN the London
money market. Last OF all should you be concerned
about our credit there, since you insist that We are sur
cging from ovcrproduction, and in merchandise alone
do debtor countries receive returns for their bonds
and other evidences Of debt. But II you dispute the
soundnc,s oil this proposition. your ease Is not m-
,rov.1 FOR you are equally vehement claiming that
we have too much money aud shall have no more but
even less HENRY CAhLf BAIRD
Ncrp1rt. n. l., Jan. 20, 1873.
This letter is a good illustration of thc ma
hiity of any advocate of the silver swlndle to
defend his delusion with even an apparent re-
spcct for morality and common-scnse. There
i not a convict ut Sing Sing who Will not
J..lioht 10 make excuses for his own fclOnes
by dilating upon the prevalence of dishonesty
in business circles; and all the imprisoned
b,nl,rr5 and insurance officers whom we have
lately sent TO jail thought it II paiation Of
thcr Guilt that others who have not yet been
found ont are constantly committing the same
,hcfts ncriuries and Irregularities" Mr..
R,ird confcsscs I" that the fact that the Brit
- ish Government failed to keep faith with its
"crcditors is no justification for our doing So"
WHY. then, does he intcrpose tho plea
The fact is, tho forced suspension OF
spccie payments by the Bank of England
from 1877 to 1921 is condemned in the
strongest terms by English financial authorl-
ties. 4 late writer on the subject says: The
"creditors OF every antccedent contract, land
"holders whose estates had been let on lease,
"stockholders and annuitaDts of every de-
"srription-all in short, who could not raise
"the nominal value of their claims or incomes
proporlonally to the fall i'll the value OF
"money. were to that extent losers. The in
"iustice that would have been done to the
"cre,litors of the State and of individuals,
"who had made their loans IN gold, or paper
"eonivalent to gold, by raising the denomina-
"tion Of the coin % per cent, however gross
"and palpablc would not have been greater
ethan was actually done them in 1914 by
"compclling them to receive payment of their
"just debts in paper deprecated to
"that extent" Encyclopedia Britain
"nca." 9th ed, art. Banking.) The suspension
was ordered in time of war and political panic,
under the pressure of what was believed to be
dire necessity; but long before the period of
suspension had passed nearly all English states
men became convinced of the impOlicy and
immortality of suspension, and the Bank of
England voluntarily anticipated by two years
the time fixed by law for resuming. Our pro-
posed action is much worse than that of Eng