Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-01-26

7
But will the fulfillment OF our obi.
CATION destroy our crcdit2 IL may
! be injuriOusly affected for time,
not because Of the fulflllment Of the
obligations of the contract in their
essence and spirit, but because OF
the disappointment OF unreasonable
| expectations. But when time shall
have cooled the passions excited by
these disapp0intments, and the de.
liberate Judgment of mankind shall
be pronounced, the sentence will be
reversed, and our credit will be
strengthened by the firmness with
which we have resisted these ap-
peals.
1t seems TO Tne, however, that
these gentlemen overlook the fact
that the object In remOnstizing the
silver dollar Is not alone 10 furnish
money for the payment Of the pub
Tic debt. The main purpose IS 10
arrest the movements inauQurated
in Europe and blindly followed I'm
this country to destroy great part
OF the wealth of mankind; II Il TO
restore the silver dollar to the SER
vice Of the world TO give assurance
to our own people that some day
we may be able to resume the pay
ment of debts upon specie basis,
and after having initiated resumr,-
ton maintain IL. The remonetisa-
tiOn of silver aims at the restoration
of commerce, Manufacture, and ag-
riculture and an eur Industries 10
their former prosperous state. 10
proposes TO check the advance I'M
the value Of gold, and to cheaper
money; to furnish basis for the
payment Of six hundred millions Of
taxes imposed each year upon the
people of the United States, and for
the payment of the thousands of
millions of dollars of public and
personal indebtedness of our people.
Ii all this shall be accomplished
we can afford TO pay the Rl5,OOO,0O
per annum interest ON our bonds.
/ have stated, Mr.. President, that
the adoption Of these resolutions
will be regarded a. indicating the
probable action of the Senate upon
a bill now before il to amend the
coinage laws. The passage Of the
resolutions will he a mere br7RlHU
JtiB'en unless followed by legislation
that will make them effective. /
for one would not cast my vote for
them if / did not believe their spir-
il and import would be ingrafted
into the body of our laws, and there
fore ] propose, as briefly as / can,
to show why i'm my judgment the
proposed change i'm our coinage laws
should be made.
At the very beginning of our Gov
ernment the question was made
whether we should adopt silver or
gold or both metals as legal tender.
Both had been used by European
nations and both were well known
to the American people. The pro-
duction of silver had been near
threefOld greater than the produc-
tiOn of gold, but legal enactments
had tied them together and the
preceding one hundred years had
witnessed but slight changes in
their relative value. Looking back
from the standpoint of to-day, and
instructed by experience, we see
clearly how the ligature that bound
them served to maintain their es-
tablished values. Without Il they
would have been subject to all the
fluctuations Of merchandise, with
it, both were money. Their val
ues were established by and depend
ed upon law.
The founders of our Government,
after the most mature consideration,
finally adopted the double standard,
fixed the relations Of thetwo metals,
and down to 1873 both gold and sill
yer were legal tender money.
From 1893 To 1884 gold was under
valued and the greater part Of our
was carried away Ia meet
the wants of other people, leaving
the silver 10 perform the chief func-
tions of money. But in 1884
change was made In our coinage
laws, whereby silver was slightly
and then IL took flight
to countries where il had more pur-
power, and gold quietly
took its place. When gold left at
one period It was not lost, but sent
us silver in return. When silver
left i'm the other period IL made NJ
adequate compensation, and what
was of greater importance both at
all times continued TO be part of the
worlds money. The sum total was
not lessened by the fact that we did
not use both we were not impON-
eriShed nor was our business disturb
ed by the changes.
SO when England, in 1916, adopt
ed the gold standard, and Holland
the silver, i'm lS47, the aggregate
mass of money was not diminished;
values We're but slightly
no inconvenience to i'm
ternatiOnal commerce was OCCASION
ed, nor loss To accumulated wealth.
Why, sir, these changes suggested
by policy or dictated by local nece--
5ity, have been made by nearly
every European state. Austria,
Germany, France Holland, Belgium,
and England from time to time
have changed their standards Ia
suit their convenience, sometimes
having gold and silver, at other
times silver or gold, a. legal tender,
and vet the discarded metal freely
accepted by other nations and
stamped by them as money has not
deprecated i'm value. II is true
hat when Australia and California
with each recurring year were pour
ng into the money marts OF Europe
md the United States one hundred
md fifty millions of gold some un-
sasiness was felt and apprehensions
we're expressed that gold was becOm-
ng too abundant and would de-
Dreciate i'm value. IL was said that
'or more than three centuries the
Of silver has been three
old greater than gold and now
he production Of gold IL five-fOld
greater than silver. Yielding To
he alarm excited by these appre-
tensions, and To guard against the
opposed danger, Austria, Germany,
lIN Belgium adopted the silver
standard. But these apprehensiOn-
we're grOundless /; there WAS ample
room for the intruder. England,
France, and the United States glad
" received IL. Ia less than twenty
years more than two thousand mil
ions of gold was added 10 the
wealth and money Of the world.
Commerce and varied industries at
Jnce appropriated II and brought IL
I'D into the service OF mankind.
And who that lived In that peri
ID can forget its wonderful effect ?
And at once, as II by magic, men
we're prompted To new enterprises.