The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1886-01-13
TREARURY DEPARTMENT,
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SEcRETARY's OFFICE.
WASHINGTON. ID. C., Nov. !, 1881
Until further notice the exchange of silver GER
tcates for gold coin deposited at the Office Of the
United States Assistant Treasurer at New York
IS, Of SEPTEMBER Is, 1880, is hereby modified
cordingly, II. T. FRENCH,
Acting Secretary.
Subsequently this restriction was removed
for time, and over $50 0OO, 900 of silver GER
tificates were taken, principally by the peo-
pie of the South and West, in exchange for
gold coin- The privilege was finally with
drawn in January, 1886. / ask, in view of
these facts, how it can properly be charged
that the people will not use silver coinage;
that they are boarding gold; that the depre
ciated paper will soon greatly impair the
purchasing power Of the poor mans wages
and that we are on the verge of financial
crisis unless we bring all our transactions at
once to gold basis?
1t must not be forgotten that all the gold
coin deposited for silver certificates became
at once the property of the United States; il
was not held in the Treasury for their re-
demption. An equal amount of silver coin
took its place for that purpose at once. Men
who owned gold all over the South and West
in Louisville, Indianapolis. Nashville, and
other places, as well as those cities Lamed in
the report, sent their coin at their own ex-
pense to the Assistant Treasurer in New York
in order to have silver certificates delivered
to them for use as currency at home. Yet
during all that time, the bullion value of
gold in London was at least Is per cent
more than silver, and the country was being
periodically alarmed, and Congress advised
by our officials that gold was leaving the
country; that silver was degraded standard
OF value, and that its coinage must be
stopped or its weight increased, OF ruin
would speedily be upon us because of its de-
probation in the London market
The facts / have stated overthrow all the
LOT ~ tho ricfo I'm hr1Ci
men gladly exchanged their gold coin for
silver certificates and did not ask any better
security for the paper they took than the Sill
yer dollar deposited in the Treasury. So far
from boarding geld because of its greater
bullion value in a foreign market, they sent
paper we are advised is dishonest
money because it is deprecated 10
or 20 per cent. below gold in Lon
don. L have thus imperfectly outlined the
reasons why can not sustain at this time a
policy which seeks to withdraw either our
legal tender notes, the silver certificates, or
stop the silver coinage, and see no silver
coin beyond the standard value fixed by law
in July, 1870, under and by which all our
outstanding bonded Indebtedness is regu-
lated. / am convinced that we can no
longer look with safety to the National
Banks to furnish the country with stable
currency.
/ insist that every creditor of the Govern
ment is by law entitled to be paid IN the
same coin, and that our Treasury officials
should be required to pay silver as well as
gold when received for custom dues to our
bondholders, as they do to all others who
have legal demands upon the Treasury: that
done there will be need, at least for years
to come, to strike down silver in any form.
The country is BOw rallying from long
period of depression. All railroad securities
recently fell 90 per cent. on the average in
eighteen months. Wheat cotton, cattle hogs,
all farm products, are even now so depressed
that they leave no profit to the producer,
even after he pays the lowest wages for
which he can obtain labor in their produc-
ton. Foreign Nations are closing their ports
against our leading exports and throwing
all obstacles possible in the way of our COM
merce.
Our carrying trade is gone and is in the
hands of our foreign competitors. We need to
use all our resources on both gold and silver,
and their paper representatives, to enable us
to regain our lost prestige and to develop
our resources in the most economical way.
Contraction or destruction of any part of our
means is, in my Judgment fatal to our labor
ing and especially to our debtor classes. So
believing, am opposed to it.
Mr.. President, will only add that / have
no interest in the silver question other than
my conviction in regard to the best interest
of the country. L never owned dollars
worth of stock, directly or indirectly, in any
silver or other mine. The people represent
here are not specially interested in it. We
are in the central portion of this great con-
tineDt, and our prosperity depends upon the
prosperity of every section. IL hereafter l
ascertain that am wrong and that the pub
lie good requires me to change my views,
hope | will have the courage to do so, and
state the reasons therefor as frankly as
have given the reasons for my present con-
victions.