Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1885-04-02
The Democrats and the Silver
Coinage.
THE Nation.)


and coinage Of two millions Of silve
dollars per month from this Time for
ward will rest upon the. Democratic
party. Whatever mischief it may
bring upon the business Of the coun
try, whatever encouragement it may
entail upon the incoming.4Adminis
tration, the Democrats sin Congress.
will be answerable for. They have
sufficient votes in both houses to aus.
pend the coinage. The Republicans
dare not oppose such measure. Ex
cept the Senators from Colorado and
Nevada, no opposition need be looked
for on that side Of the House. Iisany
other opposition should be met, il
would have to reckon with all the
great commercial interests Of the coun'
try. These interests are mainly Re
publican in their political attachments
and they will not fail to visit with
their indignation any Senator or Rep.
resentative who shall stand in the
way of remedial measure which, in
the belief of the great body of bust.
ness men, is absolutely necessary to
restoration Of confidence and a re.
turn Of prosperity. 1t is only few
months since the commercial commu.
nifty was agitated By the apprehen:;:
sion Of gold crisis. The Treasury
Department, alarmed by the running
down OF it's gold balance, had asked
the clearinghouse Committee what
action it would take if'silver were
rendered in the settlement of the Gov
ernment balances. The answer was
returned (unofficially) that the banks
would loyalty acquiesce in whatever
the Government should deem needful.
The crisis passed away, however, and
the situation remains as before, with
only the difference that there, are
eight or ten millions more Of silver
dollars on hand than there we're then,
and that the present Administration
will pull through, leaving the crisis
with all that it implies, to the Demo
cratic party.
The economical reasons for discon-
tinuing the silver coinage have no ef
feet upon Mr.. Bland and his follow
ers, because, if the worst should hap
pen that anybody can picture or i'm.
agine, it would be the very thing
which they want to bring about. They
are not bi metallists at all. Their
ears are closed to the arguments Of
the bi metsllistsnboth at home and
abroad us tightly as EggarusT rruss I
the "gold bugs" What they want j
the poorest money attalnable. Thi
happens to be silver; consequent.
they are silver mono metallists.
anything less valuable could be foun'
which public opinion would tolerate
they would be for that as agains
either silver or gold. When SO reso
lutte bi.metalist as Judge Buckne
urges The n, n,cessity OF suspension 9
the coinage in order to pave the wa,
for another International Conference
they oppose him with motion TO re
move the existing limitations upo
silver coinage. Aninternational agree
ment is exactly what they do no
want, for if it should have the ehrc
which the bi metallists claim, it woul'
defeat their main purpose, to depre
Gate the money standard Of tn
country. :
But The Democratic party canno
avoid the political consequences OF
money crisis coming within Presiden
Cleveland's term of office. Nor Gel
they escape the financial embarraea
ment involved in the expenditure
100000 per month for, useless in
gots to be buried in the vaults Of tn
Treasury. When the crisis comes, a
it will come, it WALL be no answerst
aay that the way for it was prepared
before hand, that the explosive mate
rial was collected during the years
Republican rule. The public will no
draw fine distinctions. They will hol'
the party which shall be in power 9
the time responsible for the n. schiet
Even if they should take pains t
weigh iudicialiy the. responsibility
they would find that the Democrat
party had furnished the larger sbar
of the votes which have fastened th
silver misery upon the country; AM
refused any measure Of relief.
But this is not the whole Of tn
trouble. The estimates Of the Secre
tary OF the Treasury for the comipt
fiscal year show surplus Of onl!
$G.000,000 over the regular expense
of the Government and the sinking
fund, as against a surplus Of $57i
100000 the past year.. II the. reye
nue. continues to fall off as rapidly. a
it has fallen off during the past fou
months, MIR. Cleveland's Secretary o
the Treasury will have deficit star
ing him in the face before he gel
fairly settled in his Office; and instea
Of announcing to the country in hi
monthly bulletins a decrease OF tn
,,hl;o 1oht bo mill ha cnrced tn az