The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-03-05
THE SILVER QUESTION.

ALBANY, February 28.-The fol-
lowing is the reply addres 3ed by Pres
ident-elect Cleveland to the silver
coinage advocates in congress:
To the Hon. A. j. Warner and other members
of the forty-eighth congress:
GENTLEMEN-The letter which 1
have had the honor to receive from
you invites, and indeed obliges me,
to give expression to some very
grave public necessities, although
in advance of the moment when
they would become objects of my of
fetal care and partial responsibility.
Your solicitude that my Judgment
shall have been carefully and delib-
erately formed is entirely just, and
accept the suggestion in the same
friendly spirit in which it has been
made. 1t is also fully justified by the
nature of the financial crisis
which, under the operations of the act
of congress, of February %. 1878, is
now close at hand. BY compliance
with the requirements of that law all
the vaults of the federal treasury have
been and are heaped full of
silver coin, which are low worth less
than 85 per cent. of the gold dollar
prescribed as the "unit of value" in
section IA of the act of February IL,
1873, and which with silver certificates
representing such coin are receivable
for all public dues. Being thus receiv
able, while also constantly increasing
in quantity at the rate of $28,000,O00 a
year, it has followed, Of necessity, that
the flow of gold into the treasury has
been steadily diminished. Silver and
silver certificates have displaced and
are now displacing gold, and the sum
OF gold in the treasury now available
for the payment of gold obligation of
the United States, for the redemption
OF United States notes, called green
backs" if not already encroached upon
is probably near such encroachment.
These facts, while they do not admit
of difference of opinion, call for no
argument. They have been fore
warned to us in the official reports of
every secretary of the treasury from
1878 until now. They are plainly af-
| firmed in the last December report of
the present secretary to the speaker of
the present house of representatives.
They appear in the official documents
of this cong eSs, and in the records of
the New York clearing house, of
which the treasury is member, and
through which the bulk of the receipts
and payments of the federal govern
ment and the country pass. These be-
ing the facts of our present condition
of danger, our duty to avert that
danger would seem plain. 1 hope you
will concur with me and with the
great majority of our fellow citizens
in deeming it most desirable, at the
present juncture, to maintain and
continue to use the mass of our
gold coin as well as the mass of silver
already coined. This is possible by
the present suspension of the pur-
chase and coinage of silver. am not
aware that by any other method it is
possible. 1t is of momentous import
ance to prevent the two metals part
ing company; to prevent the increas-
ing displacement Of gold by increas-
ing the coinage of silver; to prevent
the disuse of gold in the custom house
of the United States in the daily busi-
ness OF the people, TO prevent the ulti-
mate expulsion of gold by silver,
which financial crisis,as these events
would certainly precipitate, were now
to follow upon SO long period of
commercial depression, would involve
the people of every city and every
state in the Union in prolonged and
disastrous trouble, and the revival of
business, enterprise and prosperity
so ardently desired and ap-
parently go near, world he hope
lessly postponed. Gold would be with.
drawn to its boarding place and IN.
precedented contraction in the actual
volume of our currency would speed
lily take place. The saddest of all, In
every workshop, mill, factory, store
and on every railroad and farm the
wages of labor, already depressed
would suffer still further depression
by the scaling down of the purchas-
ing power OF every so-called dollar
paid into the hanf of toll. From
these impending calamities it is surely
most patriotic and grateful duty Of
the representative of the people Sc
; deliver them.
am, gentlemen, with sincere res
pect, your fellow citizen,
lSigned1 GROVER CLEVELAND.
ALBANY, Feb. "a, 1885.