St. Landry democrat., 1885-03-07
CLEARLY DEFINED

Mr.. Cleveland. in Replying to the Silver
Coinage Advocates, Defines His Position
On the Question, Favoringa Suspentlon OF
the Coinage of Standard Dollars.
ALBANY, N. Y, February 23.-The fol-
lowing is the reply OF President-elect
Cleveland to the silver coinage advocates
in Congress:
ALBANY, N. Y, February q, 1885.
To Hon. Il. j. WGsne7. and others members 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
advance of the moment when they would
become the objects OF my official care
and partial responsibility. Your solicit
tude that my judgment shall have been
carefully and deliberately formed is entire
ly just; and accept the suggestion in the
same friendly spirit in which it has been
made. 1t is also fully justified by the nature
of the financial crisis which, under the OPP
Grafton of the act of Congress of February
2sth, 1878, Is now close at hand, BY com
pliance with the requirements of that law
all the vaults of the Federal Treasury have
been, and are heaped full OF silver coinsr
which are now worth less than
scribed as the ''un!t of value" in sec ion IA
of tie act OF February tn, 1873; and wlIch,
with the silver Ger III, ates Tepres mt n such
coin, are re evabIe for all puoli dues. Be-
in thus re eigab e, while also cons antly in
cleasing in quantity at the ate Of 81, 100000
a, ca, it has foil wed. OF necessity, Tat
has been steadily diminished. Silver and
liver certificates have displaced and are
now displacing gold; and the sum of gold in
the Federal Treasury now available for the
payment of the gold oblp atioEs of the United
tates and for the redemption Of the United
States notes, called "Greenbackh" if not al
ready encroached upon, is perlouSly near
such encroachment. These are facts which,
as they do not admit of difference of
opinion call hdon for forwar no targ1menit
the official reports of every Secretary of the
Treasury from 1875 till now. They are plain
ly affirmed in the last Decemberreport of the
Secretary of the Treasury to the Speaker of
the present House of Representatives They
appear i'll the official documents OF this Con-
gress and in the records OF the New York
Clearing house, of which the Treasury is a
member, and through which the bulk OF the
receipts and payments of the Federal Gov
eminent 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. l hope that
you concur with me and with the great ma.
jorty of our fellow citizens in deemin9 it
most desirable, at the present juncture, 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 pres
ent suspension of the purchase and coinage
of silver. ] am not aware that by any other
method it is possible.
1t is of mentOuS 1m)orGan[ g to prevent
the two metals from parting company; to-
prevent tie increasing displacement OF gold
by the increasing coinage OF silver; to pre-
vent the disuse of gold in tie Custom
houses of the Unit d States and in the daily
business of the people; to prevent the ui-
innate expulsion OF gold by silver Such q.
financial crisis as these even would GER
tainIy pre- iptae, were it now to fol;
low upon so long a period OF commerce iasr
depression would involve the people of ev-
cry city and every State in the Union in pro.
longed and disastrous trouble. The revival
of business enterprise and prosperity. so
ardently desired, and apparently SO near
would be hopelessiy postponed.
Gold would be withdrawn to
its boarding places, and an
contraction in the actual
volume of our currency would speedily take
place, and, saddest OF all, i'll every work
shop, mill, factory, store, and on every rail
road and farm, the wages. of ,laborers,
already depressed, would suffer still further.
depression by a scaling down of the pur-
chasing power of every 500 called dollar paid
into the hand of toll. From these impending
it is surely most patriotic and
grateful duty of the representatives, OF the
people to deliver them.
l am, gentlemen, with sincere respect
your fellow citizen,
GROVER CLEVELAND