The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-04-08
THE SILVER QUESTION.
A Mastery ard EntertaininG Discussion
by Hon. C. q. Reeve.


he is an ardent Democrat. too), published in
leading metropolitan journal, contained
in an open letter addressed to the cashier OF
a national bank who is well known in fnan-
cial circles
1t has seemed strange to me that in the
various reviews and opinions on this subject
by public men, in and cut OF Office, no one
of them ever touches upon a prominent
point, too plain TO be overlooked; and that
is, the discrimination between the obliga-
tions of Government made in the laws
throughout the entire national legislation
on financial affairs. It has seemed to be an
imrossibility for Congress 70 formulate q
bill for On act relating 10 finance IN any re.
spett that does not discriminate against one
or ore obligations of government and in
favor OF another or others. From the first
act by q Republican Congress up to
the last one the same conditions obtain, and
these legislators snd their friends, called
Democrats snd acting with that party organ
izRtion who favor paternAl government and
class laws intended 10 favor one industry By
q tax upon all others, have fellsn into the
ditch. inst being inevitable when "the blind
lead The blind"
1t is one of the forces belonging TO M after
that thing in ialse position can make no
in true position. The movements may be
natural, but they will be distorted So men
in false position can take no step Eitnout
IluDging into more fs'sities, and, having
taken false step, they must continue to so
wrong until they get bacE to correct posi-
ton.
In relation to this silver question, our GOV.
eminent is in false position and must get
into true one before il can take any action
that will be right. Every wrong move
neoessitstes more wrong ones for each
creates new evils tbst must bs met,
and they inIese in disastrous proportion.
More than one.hslf OF the legislstion-Stat
and acknowledgements in making patches TO
cover up old sores made by preceding legis.
latiCn. Each patch makes new cores which
the succeeding Legislature makes more
patches for. The statutory enaetments be-
come so numerous aud complicated that no
court or lawyer can keep 10 with or reconcile
them, or, finally, understand what the Law
really is
The early history of Legislation in relation
to the finances beginning with the war of
1861 discloses the frst false step necessitat
irg Others; and they have followed each
other in succession down to tins time, while
there has never been an effort made to get
into a true position. This compulsory coin
age of the "buzzsId silver dollar is only one
OF the patches originally intended to cover
sore made by previous patches on another
sore, and most of the Republican politicians
with some Democrafs-in opposition to
the business brains of the country, advocate
the retention Of the patch, although new
sores are breaking out all around
IL, and there is a certainty OF iadolent and
incursb,e ulcers if il is continued.
When Congress wanted money for the war
instead Of going into the msIkeis of the
world for lean On its Government cradit
ii went into the markets at home at first aud
then into the general market, on obligations
issued under laws that Disseminated Ia favor
of one and against Others. II ignored The
fact that gold dominated and eli over the
weird dictated the units of value-or the
standard ell other measures must come to.
1t vas blind to tbs fact that this had come
to be so by common consent of mankind, aud
nothing short Of common consent could
change ii.
First, they made treasury note redeem.
able in gold. Then they made a bond fee
from taxation, with interest and principal
payable in gold, for "coin" meant gold, ss
every other coin would be measured by gold
in fixing the actual current value. Then
they made another treasury note
not redeemable st all, and declared
it to be legal tender. except for interest on
the bonds and tariff duties. Then they
made national bank note, and made 1t re-
deemable in these irredeemable treasury
notes Finally, they made gold do Lar the
unit CT value, fixed the standard bstveen
gold and silver Tor recognized one) and
tbs Sc made silver dollar worth 10 10 per
cent less than the gold dollar b. its own
standard, and declared that a loyal tender.
List becaUse this eighty-tiye cent dollar
would not circulate for one bundled cents,
and bseause the gold dominaied-as it al
ways has and always will snd must, By force
of natural law while ii is used as money
they seek to force it into circu alton By
means of compulsory coinsge, silver certii-
ates and unfriendly legisiatIon TO ward thee
banks. In other words, having created an
iDdolent ulcer on the financial corpus it
seeks to cure 1t by creating more incident
ulcers. Or, having taken and m ain tanned
false position it proposes to continue plung-
ing into more falsities rathsr tLan assume
true position.
Experience rs dear school as it is, seems
10 teach these advocates nothing. They have
not learned and will not learn in any other
school, and they seem to be an exception to
the class who alone learn in that one,
They have before them the results OF the
first and bssquent Determinations. Be-.
tween gold and their legal tender notes. the
former went to go premium aud the latter
to So discount. Their bonds, with gold, went
into the market as commodities, and univer-
sal gambling eDsued on Government obliga.
tons OF every class, and Government itself
was compelled to go down into the monied
centers like Wall street, and take a hand
with the gamblers she had made and fur
nished with the capital to beat her. and &C.
tually gambled on her own obligations, put
ting up pots of millions, and not unfre.
quently playing for 'iack pots" 1t was
powerless to project Itself. Once in a great
while it would make small scoop by over
sizing the pile of the other fellows, but not
often; and most of the time they had it
their own way and the people paid expenses
Congress led along on this line, in one
way and another, until at the end of the
war Of four years it had expended immense
sums and created National debt of about
three billions OF dollars. SINGS that time,
in about twenty fours, it has received from
various sources as revenue actual money to
the amount of about eighteen billions of
dollars, while under this false system OF
financial legislation 1T has paid off only
about enc billion Of that debt. 1t has
funded 1t and prolonged the payment at
large annual sum for interest, and continues
10 struggle with other existing and con-
stsntly arising evils by the same course OF
action.
Bearing in mind that this compulsory
coinage of silver is one of the outgrowihs of
the discriminating course OF legis.
lation I have briefly traced, the
silver question is in nutshell.
In relation to it we must be governed by the
universal law that requires us to recognize
and deal with facts as we find them. Then
- ho hat a. NM