Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1890-02-08
TaE wuSDom SILVER sCHEME'

ECnCult ahu Nhe~h
the strong endorsement OF President
Harrison's Administration and in fact OF
vast majority Of the Republican party
both East and West. There are even
Republican members Of Congress from
the Pacific Coast, notably from Califor-
MIA and Oregon, who will vote for
it if ever it comes up on its final passage.
We declare emphstically that the scheme
is q cheat and a fraud OF the rankest
character. The most insidious part oil
the swindle lies in the fact that the Ad-
ministration is seemingly posing as the
friend Of silver while striving to admin
lister a blow from which this metal and
money Of the people can never recover
Stripped Of all ambiguity, the Window
bill would stop the coinage oil silver ana
reduce by the sanction OF law the metal
to a commodity pure and simple. THIS
is precisely the position maintained by
the Republican party from the time 1t
destroyed silver in 1873 down to the
present. Harrison and Sherman and
Blaine and all of the leaders believe In
il. They want silver stacked up in bars
and then allow London to fix the market
yalue OF the certificates that shall be
issued against il. The monetary feature
the money function Of silver-is what
they want to get rid Of. They want
to convert the Treasury Of the United
States into q mere warehouse to issue
receipts at the market value (London
markell for bullion deposited, these re.
ceipts to figure in the currency OF the
country as money at their market value
Iondon market) as compared with gold.
This is all the most v~irulent goldbug has
ever commended for. He has never asked
more than to reduce silver to a commod-
ity, the SAINT as beeswax and cheese,
and then measure its value by the gold
standard. But if Secretary Window
and the Administration and the Repub-
lican party, in Congress and out OF it,
want to go into the business Of issuing
warehouse receipts IN commodities why
not carry the doctrine to a logical con-
clusion and provide also for the utterine
of a "currency" based on wheat and
barley and peanuts and putty. II we
are to have commodity money let us
have plenty Of il. II silver is only a
"~commodity." like pig iron, or sheet
tin, or sorghum sugar, why give it the
preference over any other commodity
in this most wonderful scheme Of this
wonderful flor smalD Administration Z
By singing it out, they unconsciously
class II as Of a higher type than any other
commodity. As a matter Of fact, silver
is the money Of three-quarters OF the
people of the globe and has been since
Moses squelched the golden image in the
wilderness. He who spoke as never man
spoke was betrayed for twenty pieces Of
silver The Republican party betrayed
the country in 1873 when II struck down
silver, and il has been pursuing the same
policy ever since, but II gets more for IL
than the thief who betrayed the Savior.
1t gets the Wall street sack TO currupt
the voters Of every doubtful State in
the Union at all important elections.
But let us examine the Window In.
EQUITY q little further and see how ID will
work in practical Aperation. John Smith
deposits to-day with the Treasury one
thousand ounces Of bullion, worth. say,
e5 cents an ounce. He gets Q certificate
on this basis. The certificate recites
that the holder is entitled to one thou.
sand ounces on application and surrender
at the Treasury Department. Suppose
then that silver should advance to one
dollar per ounce Ia violent superstition
until the Republican party shall die for
the good of the country what will be
the natural course OF the holder OF the
Smith certifcstef He will either pre-
sent it and get his thousand nee Of
silver and resell oil rehypothecate ii to
the Government at the advance, or he
will be entitled to demand a premium on
his certificate equal to the advance. In
like manner IL silver should depreciate
in the markets of the world, measured
by gold. the certificates issued on any
given number of ounces would be dis.
counted in all ordinary commercial
transactions. II there was much huctu-
alton ii would take a force of ten thou
sand clerks to adjust differences. There
would be an army of brokers and specu.
lators constantly pulling out and putting
back silver to realize the difference in
the daily quotations and the United
States Treasury would become q simple
adiuster OF values from day to day. 1t
requires no gift Of prophecy to f~oretell
that a fuctuating currency of this char.
acter would soon fall into contempt
among business people everywhere, and
rightly so. A sliding scale, which the
Window scheme i~nsures, would realize
the dream Of the goldbugs. Then we
would have gold as the single measure
and standard Of all values in this
country. Silver would be absolutely
driven from the monetary field in dis
grace. If the proposition Of the Repub.
lican Administration means to accomplish
anything more than this we confess
our inability to see it. This Admins
tration is ten thousand times worse,
its weak capacity considered, than
Cleveland's as affecting silver. Cleve.
land anka=l.:--I