Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-16
THE FINANCIAL QUESTION.

uo CstlupdlSu VI cotCotlOu WILL 81
on and the financial question will not
down at anybody's bidding. The Dem
ocratic party will have to drop from the
platform the anti-national-bank plank
or let the people know what is to take
its place. II it proposes to go back to
original principles and abolish all Fed
eral bank charters and rely on gold
and silver alone as circulating med
ium the people must know that this is
intended. Men who wish to honestly
advance the interests of the people and
Democratic party or to get in and stay
in congress as representatives Of the
party and the people must specify.
No doubt if Mr.. Gibbs had presented
the national bank bill verbatim with
out the two material changes he made
the criticisms would have been about
the same, as not one out of ten even
among well informed citizens would
have recognized it, never having read
it. The bill and the criticisms caused
thereby will set the people to thinking
and reading. They will familiarize
themselves with the history of finance
from the days of Moses down to the
present national bank act
1t is intended to have the next Demo-
cratic national platform in full accord
with the wisdom and necessities of the
Democratic masses. The people will
demand for their consideration specific
information and measures. The Demo-
Gratis, when the national convention
meets, will abide its wise discretion.
In the meantime they will more easily
and quickly excuse a public man who
presents to them even All imperfect
measure, than one who hopes to be-
guile them with glittering generalities
and empty defamation against the
things that are. Men who aspire to
leadership and Office will find the peo-
pie well posted and impatient of school
boy defamation or evasive declarations
on important issues. For instance,
many, yes great many, of them know
that the John Law scheme and circula-
ton was based on monopoly OF GER
tain franchises and commercial chan
nels, and not on agricultural land OF
certain value.
From this time on the people and
press of Texas will expect politicians
to be sufficiently we'll informed and
sufficiently explicit to interest the pub
lie. They will in their clubs ask of
politicians, not opinions in a general
way, but copy of the bill they propose
to advocate on a given question of i'm
portance. The Democrats want to get
their representatives in a position
where they can hold them to stricter
account and better understand them.
The public must not be left to take so
much for granted as to intentions. If
the government is going to furnish
banking facilities as it does now, the
people want to know on what basis. If
we arc going back to an exclusively
gold and silver basis, aspirants for
Office must say so. Mr.. Gibbs informed
The GAZETTE that by fall he intended
to prepare one or more bills on other
questions, and that no amount of skin
ming would prevent his submission of
them. In every instance the people
will discuss them, until something bet
ter and equally as specific is presented
for their consideration. The tendency
of political thought is to positive and
specific measures.
No rational man expects the govern
ment to give him something for moth
ing, but many congressman expect the
government either to issue no notes at
all, or enough with which to do the
legitimate business of the country, on
basis OF low interest and good security.
If the national banks are to be abol-
ished, what then? If they are to be
perpetuated they must be limbered up
to answer the demands of the legit-
innate business of the country. The
commercial and productive interests of
the country stand more in need OF
banks of circulation than of banks of
deposit. Human ingenuity and polit-
ical wisdom can surely suggest sys-
tenn that will be both safe enough and
elastic enough to meet reasonable de-
mands.