Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1886-01-03
eureka Dailp 9entinel.
HOW THEY ABE TALKING EASE


HOW THEY ABE TALKING EAsr.
The manner in which the New York
Herald and other goldite papers Of the
East speak of Senator Beck silver speech,
of the "S0.cent dollar" and of the bond.
holder, who, when he invests in Govern
mont securities, "'takes a risk which he
does not take when he lends to a private
debtor" shows the ridiculous desperation
now epidemic among the eastern enemies
of silver. The following editorial is clip.
ped, in full, from the Herald of last Sun.
day. We copy it as O specimen OF the
sentiment that an attempt is being made
to cultivate there ostensibly in favor OF
the working masses, and OF the dreadful
peril the Government b%ondholder is To-
in, and at the same time of the Herald's
would.have.it-appear lack OF interest IN
the latter in the matter at issue:
In that queer middle of a speech by
which Senator Beck forced Senator Nor
rill to express his : regret that the Sena
tor from Kentucky should represent the
Secretary OF the Treasury as being little
better than a common thief. and allege
that the President of the United States
and the Secretary have been bought up by
the bon%dholders," Mr.. Beck mixed up
two matters which he ought to see have
no relation to each other-the currency
and the national debt. We remark upon
this confusion of ideas because it is very
desirable that the debate on the currency,
in which Congress will presently engage,
shall be conducted, if possible, with
reason and without confusing the public
mind.
In what the b~ondholders shall be paid
off is one question; what the people Of
this country shall use as a medium of ex-
change and receive AS pay for their labor
is another, very different and entirely dis
tinct. There is no connection between the
two.
Mr.. Beck, indeed, incidentally aud un-
consciously showed this. He quoted with
approval a letter in which Senator Sher-
man years ago thought the b~ondholders
ought to be paid OFT in greenbacks--by
the help Of u printing press, SO to speak.
Congress can order the bonds to be re-
deemed in anything it pleases-in small
oblong pieces OF leather, for instance.
Every bondholder knows this; he knows
that there is no court or other power
competent to compel payment at all.
Congress may, when it reassembles, repu.
diate the entire debt, and the bondhold.
ers will be powerless to resist. When q
/, lan1a ~anN 20 - 1ra D,ank Ln
does it knowing that ne cannot compel
repayment. He takes a risk which he
does not take when he lends TO a private
debtor.
But that question has absolutely moth
ing to do with the other, and, in our judg-
ment far more important question, What
shall be the character and value of the
currency used by the American people
and paid to laborers rs wages? 1t is pos
sible that we should r~epudiate the whole
debt outright and yet retain for our use a
currency for working men and women.
In such a case we should be guilty of
robbing those who CHANGED to hold the
evidences of our debt. but we should not
necessarily rob the millions who work for
wages, nor expose every workingman and
woman to daily loss.
Mr.. Beck and Mr.. Warner want the
public creditors paid in SO.cent dollars.
If Congress wishes it can order their pay.
ment in Accent, oil 20, cent or l0.cent
dollars. But it ought to decide that
question separately and not mix it up with
the quite other and more vital question,
whether it will decree for the working
people of this country an S0.cent dollar
instead of the 100 cent dollar they now
receive for their toll.
Whoever in Congress votes against the
suspension of silver coinage will vote to
pay the workingmen of the country in
so. cent dollars. and whoever does that
thing will feel deservedly the just indig.
nation of the robbed w%orkingmen and
women of America before he is very
much older.