The Republican journal., 1885-07-30
The Bland Act Must Go.

Seven years ago what is known as the "Band
act' became a law. This measure enforces an
obligatory coinage of two millions of silver
dollars every month. 1t was the greatest tinan-
clal b!under ever made-if. indeed, it was ever
anything more than disgraceful Job executed
In the interests of particular ring to the serious
detriment of the welfare of the entire nation.
There is no use in mincng matters. Unless
the baneful effects produced by that silver bill
are arrested before next winter the country
will find itself stalking with rapid strides
toward bankruptcy. Something must be done,
and that quickly. The intelligence of the peo-
pie must be enlightened and the conscience of
our legislators must be aroused in order that as
soon as Congress meets in December there may
be no hesitation in Immediately repeating the
'Bland act"
The truth is that the country has been taken
somewhat by surprise in this matter. When
we first began to coin annually $24,000,000
worth of silver,-or rather, to speak more
correctly, silver of that nominal value-the
amount of silver thus coined and boarded away
In the Treasury vaults was too insignificant to
do much harm. But this has now been going
on for seven years, and while silver which
nobody wants has been accumulating, the
treasury has been gradually depleted of its
gold. Only few days ago disaster would
almost certainly have occurred had not the
New York banks-reluctantiy of course, but
IN order to avert a great financial catastrophe
come forward to aid the Treasury by offering
10 lenu III twenty mllllOnS IN SOlu IN exchange
for the same amount in silver
On the LIST of July the United States Treasury
held but twenty million dollars in gold in eX-
cess OF the legal tender reserve. Custom dues,
which are almost the only means by which the
Treasury can get gold, are now paid only to
the amount of One-fourth in gold, the balance
being settled in silver and silver certificates.
The New FORK banks say that the gold reserves
of the government were getting so low that
unless they came voluntarily to the rescue the
Treasury would be obliged shortly to com
mence paying interest on the national debt in
sliVer-a step which would be at once the
signal for an immediate premium on the price
of gold, for universal disturbance in business
and for panic everywhere.
Happily. owing to the prompt action of the
banks, this danger will probably be averted
until next December. when it is earnestly to be
hoped that the first action o: Congress will be
to repeal the perncious act of 1873.
Let the people refuse to be deceived by the
crafty representations of ''siiver men" and
lnfiatlonists Let the delusive idea be forever
dispelled from our minds that abundance of
Inflated money i, all that is required to start a
"boOm" in trade. There is in fact plenty of
money lying idle at this very moment, and
filling the banks to repetion, and when business
is pnenomenally depressed what is wanted is
plenty of comGdeaCe, which can only come from
the exclusive employment of sound money.
New York Herald.
The Herald has been some time In finding out
what was apparent long ago to all who have
examined the question on its merits. lndeed,
the absurdity of coming silver dollars which
were not wanted, to which fact the Overlooking
vaults of the Treasury and sub-treasuries
abundantly testify, ought-cyen if there were
no serious consequences to follow - to have
caused the repeal of the Bland act long ago
There have been repeate naming of the evils to
which the Herald now calls attention. from Re-
publican Congressman and the Republican
press. In this connection the speech of
Senator Sherman, from which extracts were
published in the Journal a few months
ago, may be proftably read. The Democratic
idea of craftsmanship, however. has been to
oppose everything emanating from Republican
sources; as witness their opposition to the re-
sumption of specie payments, and their sur
render to the soft-money craze at time when
the Republican party was fighting the battles
of honest money. We are glad to see even at
the part of a portion at least of the Democratic
press. as shown by this article from the New
York Herald, and by the following statement
from the Albany Evening journal: The
Bland act, which provided for the compulsory
coinage of silver has utterly failed to put silver
In general circulation. 1t is on the verge of do
ing Just what was predicted as the result of its
passage-driving gold out Of circulation and
establishing new basis of values with all the
decentralization aud destruction in the CONNER
cial world that that implies"