The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-03-06
SILVER COINAGE.
President Cleveland's Letter De.
filming His Position,
He Favors Suspending the Coinage
Of the Silver Dollar

Shortly before his Inauguration President
elect Cleveland was written to by a number
OF Democratic Congressman concerning his
views on the suspension of silver coinage
The following is the reply addressed by Mr.
Cleveland to the silver advocates in Con
gress:
'To the Hon. A. j. Warner and others. men,
bers of the Forty eighth Congress
GENTLEMEN The letter which l have
had the honor to receive from you invites,
and, indeed, obliges me TO give expression to
some grave public necessities although in adj
vance of the moment when they would be-
come the objects of my official care and
partial responsibility. Your solicitude
IhaU my Judgment shall have
been carefully and deliberately
formed is entirely just and | accept the sug-
gestion in the same friendly spirit in which it
has been made. 1t is also fully justified bv
the nature of the financial crisis which, un-
DER the operation of tho act of Congress of
February %, 1878, is now close at hand By
a compliance with the requirements Of
that law all the vaults of the Federal treas
ury have been and are heaped full
OF silver coins which are now worth less than
eighty five per cent. of the gold dollar pre-
scrlbed as the unit of value" in section II
OF the act of February II, 1873, and which,
with the silver certificates representing such
com, are receivable for all public dues
Being thus receivable, while also constantly
increasing in quantity at the rate of SOS. OOO.-
100 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 dis
placing gold, and the sum Of gold in the
Federal treasury now available for the pay
ment of she gold obligations of the United
states and for the redemption of
the United States notes called green
backs" If not already encroached
upon, is perilously near such encroachment
these are facts which, as they do not admit
Of difference of opinion, call for no argument.
They have been forewarned to us in the
Official reports of every secretary of
the treasury from ISIS till now. They
are plainly affirmed in the last Decem.
Der report Of the present secretary
Of the treasury to the Speaker of tie
present House of Representatives. They APP
pear in the official documents of this Con
gress, and in the records of the New York
clearinghouse of which the treasury is a
member, and through which the bulk of the
receipts and payments Of the Federal gov
ernment and of the country pass
These being the facts of our present condi.
ton, our danger and our duty to avert that
danger would seem to be plain. | hone that
you concur wish me and with the great ma
lorlty of our fellow-citizens in deemng it
most desirable at the present iuncture to
maintain and continue in Use the mass OF our
gold coin as well as the mass Of silver already
coined. This is possible by present suspen.
sion of the purchase and coinage of silver.
! am not aware that by any other method
1t is possible. 1t is of momentOus importance
to prevent the two metals from parting COM
pany; to prevent the increasing displacement
OF gold by the increasing coinage of silver:
to prevent the disuse of gold in the custom
houses of the Unite States in the daily bust
ness of the people; to prevent the ultimate
expulsion of gold by silver. Such financial
crisis as these events would certainly precipi-
tate We're it 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. The revival of business
enterprise and prosperity so ardently desired
and apparently So near would be hopelesslv
postponed. Gold would be withdrawn to its
hoarding-places and an unprecedented con
traction in the actual volume of our currency
would speedily take place. Saddest of all. in
every workshop mill, factory. store on every
railroad and farm, the wages of labor. al.
ready depressed, would suffer still further
depression by scaling down of the purchas.
ing power of every so-called dollar paid into
the hand of toll From these impending ca.
Ialnites it is surely a most patriotic and
grateful duty OF the representatives of tho
people to deliver them. am, gentlemen.
with sincere respect, Your fellow-citizen.
GROVER CLEVETAND