The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-09-19
THE SILVER QUESTION,

Ii the friends of sound currency expect
that the advocates of the continued coinage
OF the silver dollar are going to throw up the
sponge without bitter struggle they are
doomed to disappointment. The combina-
ton which is fighting for the retention of the
coinage law is made up of selfshness
and misrepresentation One division of it
comprises the bonanza men who want the
law continued because it gives them a
steady market for the product of their
mines, while the other is composed largely of
men who as rule are ignorant of finance,
but are firmly convinced that the move
ment to stop the coinage is entirely in the
interest of the gold bugs" and money
sharks" of Wall street. There are great
many people in the country who are still
suffering from the effects of the doctrine
so widely and persistently preached in the
Greenback era that cheap money, that is
money with little intrinsic value in it, pos
sesses some special advantages to the poor
man and that the effort to get the Scent
dollar out of the circulation is step to
grind him down.
Within year the opposition to the COIN
age of the silver dollar has no doubt been
strengthened. Business men all over the
country are practically unanimous that the
law ought to go at the earliest possible mo-
ment. That is said to be the view also of the
President and his Cabinet. 1t may be argued
that in matter affecting the currency the
views of business men who are naturally
best informed on the subject are likely to
exercise controlling influence over con-
4l,aka
practically unanimous in opposing the coin
age law congressman are likely to be so
too. Such ought perhaps to be the case, but
we very much fear that it will be found that
such is not the case. The average congress-
man in all his votes looks quite as much to
the effect they are likely to have upon his
denomination as to their effect upon the
general welfare. If a majority of his con-
stituents are business men he is pretty GER
tain to pay very close heed to their wishes
in matters of finance and currency. If the
majority of them do not like the Scent dol
lar he can be depended ON to give expression
to their dislike by his vote, no matter what
his own convictions on the subject may be.
If the business men of the South who have
recently condemned the Bland dollar threw
a majority of the votes which elect congress-
men there would be no doubt that their
wishes would be needed and the Southern
representatives be found voting en- ndsse for
the suspension of the silver law. But it is a
fact that as a rule a very small part of
Southern congressman's constituency is
made up of business men, and it is fact also
that it is chiefly if not entirely among this
small part that there has been any marked
awakening to the danger of continuing the
silver coinage The great mass of the Dem
ocratic party of the South is as daft on the
silver question as ever. 1t is pretty certain
therefore that the Southern congressman will
stand in the same attitude in this matter in
the next Congress as they did in the lastunle
they are willing to run the risk OF misrep-
resenting their constituents. In some parts
of the West also the silver sentiment is still
strong among the people and the bonanza
men are certain to WELD a strong influence
ON the congressman from certain sections.
The prospect is therefore that when Con-
gress meets it willbe found to contain very