The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1886-01-27
ion. and lhat il is high time to call 3

by fictitious means Keep -sitset ~lll i10u'
nally equal to gold, it may staye OH a
financial crash. It could do the
same if the so.called silver dollar
contained only half what it does, or
were even coined from copper or iron.
But it has already had to resort TO
what may be termed extra-legai
measures in its arrangement With the
New York banks, to obtain sutn-
cient supply Of gold for its purposes,
and to avoid having to resort to
forced silver payments. Silver ana
silver certificates being now admitted
in payment of duties at the custom
houses the government has not SUI
icicnt gold income to continue pay
ments in gold indefinitely, and If the
silver coinage be continued much
longer, it will be compelled to resort
to silver payments Whenever 1t
does the crisis must inevitably come.
We will have the tumble from tie
sound and fixed gold standard, which
is the standard Of the commercial
world, to the deprecated and unsta-
bic standard Of silver. At that mo
ment gold and silver will part com
panv. Gold will be boarded by
capitalists, chief among them these
very "silyer kings who are now
urging on the crisis, and sold at q
premium or shipped abroad where it
will be more appreciated. We will
thus at one stroke lose about $600,-
100000 of our present circulating
medium, that being about the amount
of gold in the country. Car any man
of common sense suppose the country
can bear such a contraction OF its
currency and that of its best and
sonndest, without undergoing a tre-
mendous crash? At the same time
all our paper currency-our green
backs and national bank notes, about
500, 100000 in ell, will be reduced
over 20 per cent. in value, 10 the sill
yer standard, which will be contrac-
ton of at least $150,000,000 more.
Let those who are madly pushing US
on TO the silver standard stop and
reflect what dangerous crisis they
are bringing on the country, and re.
verse their steps in time.
At the same time all our govern
ment bonds will be deprecated to or
below the silver standard, those that
are held abroad will be sent back home
at once, and our government credit,
which has of late stoo second to none,
| not even to that of Great Britain, will
be completely disgraeed at home and
abroad. And all this will occur in
time of profound peace, with 3 large
surplus income of the government,
and no possible reason for such a
crisis except the ignorance and stu.
pidity of our legislators. Let our
Scotchman reflect on what was the
fate Of the other Scotchman of whom
| l have spoken, and what must inevi,
tably be bis as. well as that OF his
party, should lie, as its financial
| leader, bring such dire calam,
ity on the country as must in.
evitably result from descent
to the silver standard. Let US hope
regardless of any party feeling in the
matter, that the Democratic party in
Congress will repudiate such unsafe
| guides, and will follow the advice OF
| its safer and better leaders, such as
President Cleveland, Secretary Man.
ming, Secretary Bayard, Senator Nc
Pherson and others who foresee the
danger and are endeayoring 10 ward
it off.
But who among our people would
be the chief sufferers bysuch crisis!
The silver advocates would have US
believe that the national bankers, the
eastern capitalists and the bond
holders are chiefly Interested in
maintaining the gold standard, while
silver is the peoples" money, es
pecially the money Of the laboring
classes. Let US examine this ques,
tion little and see if it will ''hold
water" Daniel Webster, Americas
greatest statesman, perhaps, once
said: The very man Of all Others
who has the deepest interest in a
sound currency, and who suffers most
by mischievous Legislation in money
matters is the man who earns his
daily bread by his daily toll" Pres,
ident Cleveland said in his famous
letter to certain Congressman last
spring, before his Inauguration. that
'Saddest Of all, in every workshop,
mill, factory, store, and on every rail
road and farm. the wages of labor,
already depressed, would suffer still
| further depression by a scaling down
of the purchasing power of every So
called dollar paid into the hands Of
toll" This argument the President
IGDCdGS III SfSA oSlOuSSA SAo .>-SA y
convincing language in his able mes
sage to Congress. Whose authority
is best on this subject, that of Massa-
chusetts' greatest statesman and that
of President Cleveland, or that Of
Senator Beck and the interested sill
yer millionaires of Colorado and Ma
vada?
But let US examine this question q
little further. The interest on our
national debt is now about SOL, l,000,-
600 per annum. Twenty per cent.
reduction from this amount, from
gold to silver, would be about $l0,-
100000, which may be said to be the
amount of loss to the "bond holder
from the change. But who are these
much maligned ''bond holders?" 1t
is well known that a very large por-
tion of our government bonds are
held by savings banks as guarantee
of the deposits OF the poor, and by
nersnns Or limited means In New