The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-02-16
THE CENTRAL POINT.

Iof "sngcd cat'-Or, to change the fgurc, Il
PHILOSOPHER whiting ,kcwcrS-in his occupa-
lion of publisher of u little onchorse patent
inside country newspaper lie seldom lets
himself out in a heavy editorial, but when he
does is apt to give Us something considerably
above the grade OF the company he Is H. IN
his article in last weeks Gazette on THE Sill
yer Debate" however, he is off in his attempt
To define the one central point upon which the
whole debate ultimately turns That central
point or "fuct," he define, to be, that the par
ties who purchased United States bonds did 50
with the full understanding that they were
payable in gold of all denominations and sill
yer dollars of Apr, Grains. This Is the con
tract If Government fultilS its contract to the
letter it is all that can be asked
We beg leave to say that this is not the cen
trail or most material fact orpoint involved, If,
as the Ga.ctte says, "a first party purchased Il
bond at sixty-tivc cents on the dollar, ana Il
second party bought it of the first party at one
hundred cents on the dollar, it would be inc
quitablc for the government to break It's faith
and pay the bond in deprecated coin, except
for the fact that the original agreement with
the government was that the bond was to be
paid in that coin 1t was SO nominated in the
bond. That settles it and there is no escape.
4 Bat suppose, Mr.. Gd:ette, after the govern
ment made that agreement, it proceeded dclib-
cratcly to Join with certain European states to
depreciatc the value of that coin by dcmonc-
thing 1t, would it then be right to pay the bond
in base coin: Or suppose our own govern
mcnt continued to make the silver dollar OF
4l2l3 grains legal tender, but by reason OF
silver being discarded by the nations Of the
world generally it should fall so low IN value
that the dollar of 412l3 grains was worth but
GO cents, would it still be honest or manly in
our government to insist on paying its bonds
in silver, simply because it was so nominated
in the bond?
The central point IN this controversy, it
strikes us, lies in Il very different direction
Silver at the time of its demonstration in 1873,
was worth per cent. more than gold at the
rate OF 1G to /. Its simultaneous dcmonctiza-
ton by Germany and the United States caused
its depreciation to some - per cent below
gold from which since then it has partly re
covered,) or rather the appreciation OF gold
above silver to nearly that extent, for really in
South America and Asia, where silver is the
only coin in general use, there was no such
change in prices as to Indicate that silver had
! fallen even one per cent. in value. The central
fact or point in this controversy, then, is, the
| injustice to the debtor class throughout the
world by adding enormously to their indebt-
e.ness by wipng out rat least greatly depre-
ciatinc in value, one of the precious metals,
and thus contracting by onc-half the basis of
the metallic standard and doubling rs real val
uc or purchasing power, The whole world is
supposed at present to contain about $1,000
100000 worth OF gold and about $4,000, 100000
worth of silver. The universal demonstration
of silver would be equal to the destruction Of
nearly five thousand millions worth of proper
ty, rs cilcctually as if it was burnt up by fire
or sunk to the bottom of the sea, and this fear
full destruction would fall almost entirely upon
the producing and debtor class, and enure to
the benefit of the credtorclass, that class which
holds the bonds of the empires, Kingdoms, ma
tons, states, cities and municipalities, and the
mortgages of corporations and individuals.
All this Indebtedness, to the extent of thous
ands on thousands Of millions, would be in
creased 90 to 80 per cent. to add 10 the boards
of the rich, and to the oppression and enslavc-
ment of the poor and struggling. And why?
That the world, say the Shylocks may have
in gold standard of value which will not
fluctuate like silver-which is Il lie, for silver
in the worlds history, has tluctuatcd less than
gold.
This, Mr.. gazette, we take To be the central
or vital point in this controversy, and not the
comparatively tritling matter of paying the
holders of our national bonds few dollars
more or less in silver than they would get by
being paid in gold. For we solemnly believe
that in three months after our government re-
monetizcs silver it will rise to par with gold
If we did not believe So we should oppose the
reconciliation of the dollar of 4l21s grains
and insist, with Blaine on Il silver dollar of
t2J grains, or even more, TO makeit equal with
gold. 1t is not cheap money the west wants
not "A debascd coin-ln its demand for the re.
monetiZatlon of silver but a coin rs good As
gold-as silver always had been the world over
and such an enlargement of the basis of the
standard of value, that it shall not so increase
in purchasing power as factitiously TO in
crease the Indebtedness of the people, who have
already been fleeced all they can bear by the
appreciation of the grcenhack and other low
priced money in which their Indebtedness was
originally increased.
L,SALLE COUNTY JAu.-Whilc IN Ottawa
recently, we had the pleasure oftaking walk
through the above institution, with Deputy
sheriff Stevens aS our guide. 1t was a good
...,,.. No., ,,ras,t,,t tir,,.