Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-02-04

1t is a somewhat distressing thing that
no representative Of a genuine American
policy Of accrcditing silver, distinct
lively American product, can manage, by
hook or by crook, to become Secretary
OF the Treasury Of the United States.
The national ADM Illustrations of the past
thirteen or fourteen years have antago-
nized this vital American interest, not
withstanding the fact that Congress has
had the wisdom to enact laws which, il
carried out in good faith, would give a
new impulse to silver production in this
country. The bondholdcrs Of New
York and the other leading Eastern
cities never had q more facile tool than
Secretary Folger, who does his utmost
to discourage the coming Of standard
silver dollars, and who shows an even
greater disinclination to circulating
them. He points to the large accumu-
lations of silver in the national treasury,
conveniently ignoring the fact that
much of this silver has been deposited
in the Treasury vaults as the basis Of
silver certificates that are circulating as
currency. There can be no question OF
the fact that the capitalists of the
United States have adopted the English
propaganda Of establishing the single
gold standard. The reason is very
simple one. Given the proposition that
the bondholder is entitled to receive the
interest on his security in gold, the
higher value you impart to that interest
the greater is his profit. He will do
anything in his power to increase the
purchasing power Of the medium in
which he receives his income.
Nothing would please him better
than to see gold go up to
a premium Of fifty per cent. He is
ready to unite with England aud Ger
many in a calculated crusade whose OBJ
ject is to benefit the creditor at the ex.
pense of tho debtor classes. IT. is not
long since silver ranked relatively equally
with gold and even higher, and it did
SO at time when the production of sill
yer as compared with gold was much
greater than now. The change is q
purely artificial one, and it has been
brought about by cunning manipulation.
Now, rs of old, silver is the currency of
five-sixths of the human race. A genu-
inc American policy would call for the
repeal OF the infamous and sneaking
legislation brought about by John Sher-
man twelve or thirteen years ago, in
which the interest of the public debt
was made payable in gold alone, and the
restoration of the original contract
which stipulated that this interest wa,
payable in lagfm money Of the Uaiteo
States. Thaddeus Stevens. who was
chairman of the committee that drafted
the bill regulating the payment of the
interest on the public debt, repeatedly
declared that at the time the law was
made there was no pretence but that il
meant just what it said, viz, that the
interest was payable in lawful money OF
the United States. With the infamous
Sherman bill repealed, and men in power
ct Washington who would be really in
sympathy with the silver interests oil
the United States, this country, in con,
junction with France, could defeat the
conspiracy of England and Germany to
make gold single standard Until n
few years ago the world got along very
comfortably with the double STANDARD
of gold and silver. The double standard
gave larger measure for values and in
sured more elasticity in the currency.
Let the government of this country
once put its foot down firmly and the
man who has devoted his brain, Drawn
and industry to digging silver out Of
the bowels of the earth will no longer
have to submit to discount of thirteen
per cent. before he can grasp the hard.
earned reward OF his labors. To accom-.
plish this salutary revolution the first
stepis to get rid of slavish Secretaries Of
the Treasury, and of Republican admin,
istrations which delight in responding to
the slightest beck or nod of the Wall
street bondholders.