Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-05-24
SUNDAY.............MAY "a. 1885
Not a pemocrntic Measure.

The attempt of . western Republi-
can to hold the Democratic party re-
sponsible for the vsgsrics Of the mono
metallists 10 like General MAHoNE's
attempt to hold the Democrats Of Vir-
ginia responsible for the "repudis-
ton " of the State debt. Mr.. HAL
STEAD, however, like General Ma
HONE, does not mince matters, but
says:
There is q disposition to get up q
panic about the scarcity Of gold, when
the National Treasury and the New
York banks each have over one hun
.dred millions stacked away. This gold
panic will be strictly a Democratic
measure"
1t will be strictly . monometallist
measure, but as there are twice as
many monometsllists among the Re-
publicans as among the Democrats, the
charge made by DIR. HALsrEAD against
the latter might with much more rea-
son be made against the former. He
himself let's out the secret in the fol-
lowing paragraph, which we clip from
the same column of his paper that con-
tanned the paragraph quoted above. He
says:
"In France they have double the
amount Of legal-tender silver on hand
than, we possess, and it is valued in
gold 3 per cent. higher than we value
it, and yet there is no alarm about it.
The secret is, the French fnanciers do
not make it point to be the enemies
Of silver
That paragraph tells where the
trouble lies-nsmely, in the unreason-
ing hostility Of eastern monometallists
to q bimetallic currency; in their con-
stantly-repested prediction that gold is
soon to become a commodity in this
country, or else all of it be shipped to
other countries, and that silver is soon
10 become the sole standard Of value.
1t Is this foolish war upon the money
of the people that has caused all the
uneasiness to which the monometallist
organs are day after day calling stten-
ton.
II Is amazing TO have to fear depre-
citation Of silver when the facts Of the
financial situation of the country are
stated. Look at the figures. On the
LIST of November last there were in the
hands Of the people, according to SPoF-
FORD, s307, s26, 9lS in gold, s492, 1885,
$40 in paper, and only s9O,722,9O3 in
silver. In the United States Treasury
and in banks there were e2Y7,7S4,954
in gold, s1s5, 0l2,530 in silver, and
sls7, 5O4, 997 in paper. Here is nearly
s700, 100000 Of paper, and not one
third as much silver; and the silver is
worth intrinsically in gold five-sixths Of
its face value, whereas the paper has no
intrinsic value whatever, and yet the
country is agitated from one end Of it
to the other because Of the vast amount
of silver in the Treasury, and yet nobody
has any fear that the absolutely valueless
seven hundred millions Of paper will hurt
the country. Why not? Because the
Government promises to redeem this
vast volume of paper in gold. In the
name Of common sense, then, why not
make the silver coins redeemable in
gold, and be done with your agitation'
The gold-bugs are modern SAMsoHs.
They have the strength to pull down
the financial temple upon their own
heads. and they have no better sense
than to do it. They ought to have
nobody's sympathy. 1t is the suffer
ing poor that ought to have the sympa-
thy Of the public.