Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-01-21
The Dollar OF the Fathers.

In the Senate Mr.. Brown called up Mr.. Beck's
silver resolution and addressed the Senate on
IL. The officers of the Treasury, he said, should
treat all public creditors alike If they paid the
bondholders in gold alone, they should pay the
laborer in gold alone AS to the accumulation
of silver dollars in Che Treasury, Mr.. Brown in
sisted that il was the duty of the Secretary Of
the Treasury to pay them out to the public
creditors whenever anything was due, and IL
enough bonds on which the people are paying
interest to absorb the silver dollars, and
so stop the interest payments, II the
100000 OF silver dollars their endeavor would
be to keep up the value of silver; il paid in gold
alone their endeavor would be to depreciate the
value OF silver-to make it represent less prop
erty. If it were said that it was not honest to
pay them in silver, on the ground that the silver
dollar was not an honest dollar, Mr.. Brown
would reply that it was always honest to pay
debt in the very currency which the creditor, by
his contract, had agreed to take. The creditors
had secured several successive changes in the
contract, and the contract as it now stands, was
that the bondholders should be paid
in gold dollars or silver dollars, at
the convenience Of the Treasury. Though
they had thus agreed to take payment in either
gold or silver, they were being paid in gold
alone, while everybody else was paid in silver.
This was neither fair dealing nor common hon
esty Mr.. Brown advocated the issuance of
silver certificates to represent the silver in the
Treasury. Every surplus gold and silver dollar,
he said, not part Of the necessary Treasury re-
serve, should be put into circulation by a gold or
silver certificate. Instead OF having too much
much silver coin, business would be much inn
proved IL we had more OF it in circulation in the
form of paper certificates. II the national banks
attempt TO practically demonetize silver said Mr..
Brown in conclusion, and II the officials who now
represent the people in the different departments
OF the Government will not take the matter in
hand, then the people, at their recurring cleo
tons, should take it in hand and fill all the de-
partments Of Government with men who win
apply the corrective and forfeit the charters of
such banks abuse their privileges.
Mr.. Maxey followed ON the same subject. He
said the raid ON silver was a European raid, and
IL successful would inflict incalculable injury
on the United States. The bugbear of sill
ver SO terrifying to the European money
changers had no terror for the American
people. The people of the South were not
grievously burdened with silver or any
other money but il they should by chance find
themselves hampered by great weight Of sill.
yer they could exchange IL for paper certificates,
which, when based on coin, dollar for dollar,
were better than coin for active use, Mr., Maxey
expressed himself as utterly opposed to an irre-
deemable paper currency, and declared huctu-
ating currency inconsistent with healthy trade,
while a sound currency, based on the precious
metals and convertible into coin, was a blessing
10 civilization. The silver advocates he con-
tended, repelled the imputation that they
wanted to take any advantage of their cred
dollar. fou1er lie had never been uttered
against a brave and industrious people. The
| people knew that the fall OF silver was the re-
suit OF q conspiracy Of combined capital TO de-
stroy silver as money metal and the gamblers
were but reapng the fruits Of their own folly
The suspension Of silver coinage was but an
other name for the total stoppage of the coinage
and such suspension or stoppage would be
| fraught with most serious consequences TO the
people. What we needed in our dealings with
the bondholders, Mr.. Maxey insisted, was
strong, vigorous enforcement of the contract
made with them.