Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-01
TIJEspAY....DECEMBER l, lSs
The Power OF Power.


Senator BECK, Of Kentucky, is re-
ported as having said in recent inter-
view:
81 want to hear the Presidents mes
sage before | express any opinion.
Until have heard it do not care to
commit myself to statement which
might be brought up against me as
member Of the Finance Committee here
after. have not expressed my views
on the subject to any one."
Coming from q man who has hereto
fore been so decided silverite that he
might almost have been truthfully
STYLED silver monometallist, the above
declaration is significant. We do not
mean to condemn Mr.. BECK, by any
means. II is right for him to remain,
il possible, in Judicial frame Of mind.
We expect that the President of the
United States will in his annual mes
sage present the whole silver problem
in o new and striking light. We trust,
however, that he will not try to brighten
the country from its propriety by
making CAssANDRA-like predictions
of the terrible consequences that would
flow from = failure by Congress to agree
with him in his opinions.
General GRANT once said that the
best way to get rid of an Objectionable
law was to enforce it rigidly. Per-
haps the act providing for the coinage
of silver dollars might be got rid of in
that way. Or, reversing the process,
the silverites in Congress might agree
to stop the coinage of silver dollars for
twelve months, and thus afford the peo-
pie an opportunity to see whether it
would or would not ruin the country
to have q single standard Of values,
and this a gold standard. There is
perhaps not per cent. Of specie, whe-
Their silver or gold, used in commercial
transactions. The other day there were
ffty.five millions of dollars worth Of
stocks sold in Wall street in one hour.
Not one dollar Of either silver or gold
changed hands in those transactions. 1t
does not, therefore, seem reasonable to
us to expect results disastrous to trade
to flow from the adoption of any mea-
sure concerning silver and gold that Con-
gress may favor. Congress is impotent
in the presence Of natural forces-when
that body undertakes to legislate
in disregard Of the natural laws
OF finance. Some years ago it
passed q law forbidding the sale of
gold for greenbacks or bonds u; or, at
any rate, seeking to stop speculation in
the precious metals. The consequence
was an immediate heavy rise in the
prices Of those metals. Another con-
sequence was the immediate repeal OF
the unwise law. 1t lasted but very
short time. Not only was it repealed
at the very session at which it was
passed, but only few weeks after its
passage. Perhaps it would be well for
Congress to legislate before Christmas
on the subject Of the finances, so that
its legislation, if it should be found to
be injurious, might be done away with
before the present session should end.
We would discourage and discoun
tenance alarmists. Wewould not have
the public expect panic to result from
either monometallic or bimetallic legis
lation by Congress. On the one han'
the country could get along comfortabl,
with the two hundred millions Of silve
dollars already made if their coinag
hereafter should be prohibited. On tn
other, it could get along comfortably
the existing coinage law were continue
in force for another year.
Lot us oil hope for the best. Tn
world will not come to an end any tn
sooner because Of anything that Cor
gress may do.
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