Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-09
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
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 which certain principles are applied whicl they have adopted for their benefit and pro tection; and it is never better administered and it's true spirit is never better observed than when the peoples taxation for it's sup port is scrupulously limited to the actua necessity of expenditure and distributed ac' cording to just and equitable plan.
 The proposition with which we have to deal is the reduction of the revenue received by the government, and indirectly paid by the people from customs duties. The ques tion of free trade is not involved, nor 1s there now any occasion for the general dis cussion of the wisdom expediency of ( protective system.
 Justice and fairness dictate that in any modification of our present laws relating to revenue, the industries and interests which have been encouraged by such laws, and il which our citizens have large investments should not be ruthlessly injured or destroy ed We should also deal with the subject in such manner as to protect the interests of American labor, which is the capital of our workingmsn; it's stabil ity and proper remuneration furnish the most justifable pretext for protective pol icy.
 tion should be made in our customs revenue. The amount of such reduction having been determined, the inquiry follows, where can 1t best be remitted and what articles can best be released from duty in the interest of oul citizens?
 I think the reduction should be made in the revenue derived from tax upon the ina portant necessaries of life. We thus direct ly lessen the cost of living in every family of the land, and release to the people in every humble home a larger measure of the re- wards of frugal industry.
 CITIZENSHIP AND NATURALIZATION.
 The inadequacy of existing legislation touching citizenship and naturalization de mands your consideration.
 While recognizing the right of expatria- tion, no statutory provision exists providing means for renouncing citizenship by an American citizen, native born or naturalized, ner for terminating and vacating an improp- CT acquisition of citizenship. Even fraudu- lent decree of naturalization cannot now be cancelled. The privilege and franchise of American citizenship should be granted with care, and extended to those only who intend in good faith to assume it's duties and respon- abilities when attaining it's privileges and benefits; it should be withheld from those who merely go through the forms of naturali- zation with the intent of escaping the duties of their original allegiance without taking upon themselves those of their new status, or who may acquire the rights of American citizenship for no other than @ hostile pur- pose towards their original governments. These evils have had many fragrant lustra- tions. I regard with favor the suggestion put forth by one of nay predecessors that provision be made for central bureau of record of the decrees of naturalization grant ed by the various courts throughout the United States now invested with that power. The rights which spring from domicile in the United States, especially when coupled with a declaration of intention to become citi- zen, are worthy of definition by statute. The stranger coming hither with intent to remain, establishing his residence in our midst, contributing to the general welfare, and by his voluntary act, declaring his pur pose to assume the responsibilities of citizen ship, thereby gains an inchoate status which legislation may properly define. The laws of certain States and territories admit dom- iciled alien to the local franchise, comforting on him the rights of citizenship to degree which places him in the anomalous position of being citizen of State and yet not of the United States within the purvlew of fed efal and international law It is important within the scope of national legislation to de- fine this right of alien domicile as distin- guished from federal naturalization. ----sz---s.- THE SILVER PROBLEM.
 Nothing more important than the present. condition of our currency and coinage can claim your attention.
 Since February, 1878, the government has, under the compulsory provisions of law, pur- chased silver bullion and coined the & same ns at the rate of Rnors= e1s-@- 91,oVo,Voo every date 215, ,759, ,431 silver dollars have been coined.
 A reasonable appreciation of @ delegation of power to the general government would limit its exercise, without express restrictive words, to the peoples needs and the require ments of the public welfare.
 Upon this theory the authority to "coin vn crivan to HODOraaa Inv fhA nonstifu- tion, if it permits the purchase by the gov ernment of bullion for coinage in any event, does not justify such purchase and coinage to extent beyond the amount needed for a sufficient circulating medium.
 The desire to utilize the silver product of the country should not lead to misuse or the perveTsion of this power.
 The necessity for such an addition to the silver currency of the nation as is compelled by the silver coinage act is negatived by the fact that up to the present time only about fifty millions of the silver dollars so coined have actually found their way into circula- tion, leaving more than 165, ,000, 600 in the possession of the government, the custody of which has entailed 8 considerable expense for the construction of vaults for it's deposit. Against this latter amount there are out. standing silver certificates amounting to about $93, ,000, 900.
 Every month two millions of gold in the public treasury are paid out for two millions more of silver dollars, to be added to the idle mass already accumulated.
 If continued long enough this operation will result in the substitution of silver for all the gold the government owns applicable to it's general purposes. It will not do to rely upon the customs receipts of the government to make good this drain of gold, because the silver thus coined having been made legal tender for all debts and dues, public and pri- vate, at times during the last six months 5S per cent. of the receipts for duties have been in silver or silver certificates, whi;s the aver age within that period has been 20 per cent The proportion of silver and it's certificates will probably increase as time goes on, for the reason that the nearer the period ap- breaches when 1t will be obliged to offer sil- yer in payment of its obligations the greater inducement there will be to hoard gold against depreciation in the value of silver or for the purpose of speculating.
 This hoarding of gold has already begun.
 When the time comes that gold has been withdrawn from circulation then will be ap- parent the difference between the real value of the silver dollar and dollar in gold, and the two coins will part company. Gold, still the standard of value and necessary in our dealings with other countries, will be at a premium over silver; banks which have sub- stituted gold for the deposits of their GUS toners may pay them with silver bought with such gold, thus making handsome profit; rich speculators will sell their hoard ed gold to their neighbors, who need it to li- quidate their foreign debts, at a ruinous pre- mium over silver, and the laboring men and women of the land, most defenseless of all, will find that the dollar received for the wage of their toll has sadly shrunk ia it's purchas- ing power. It may be said that the latter result will be but temporary and that ulti mately the price of labor will be adjusted to the change; but even if this takes place the wage worker cannot possibly gain, but must inevitably lose, since the price he is compel led to pay for his living will not only be measured in a coin heavily deprecisted and fuctuating and uncertain in it's value, but this uncertainty in the value of the puIchas- ing medium will be made the pretext for all advance in prices beyond that justified by ac tual depreciation.
 The words uttered in 1884 by Daniel Web ster in the Senate of the United States are true to-day: "The very man of all others who has the deepest interest in a sound currency and who suffers most by mischievous legisla- ton in money matters is the man who earns his daily bread by his daily toil."
 The most distinguished advocate of bimet- allism, discussing our silver coinage, has lately written:
 ''No American citizens hand has yet felt the sensation of cheapness, either in recciv-