The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-07-07
.prrRmAsTER GENERAL" FIELD
w oN THE SITUATION

sooocb M Midlothian on July 4th'
...u,oe,er General" Field Is re-
nor,ed as saying that President Oie'e-
iord had failed 10 execute the Sue''''''''
49,. hut IN the contrary had deliberately
,~.orod tho most important part OF H.
mr.. roint he made against the president
&c that he redeems the certlhcateS
u,hich the Government issues Wheh It
purchases silver in gold coin. Inc ''u"'
...,os,er General" thinks he should
redeem with silver. Now TO appreciate
.ho Ouartermaster Generals point we
must understand just what the sherman
law provides for. 1t directs the secretary
% The Treasury 10 purchase each month
- tho lowest price Of which he can get
oeors 400 900 ounces Of silver bullion
II this were coined into the stahoaFu
silver dollars. it would make ABOUT
$4,000 Of them. But when the law was
roesed in July. 1890. the Government had
coined about siOO0OO,OOO Of silver, all OF
which silver dollars were stacked up In
the Treasury, except about S5tVo5V"'
In other words. though the Government
had been coming silver with all us
might. ever since 1878, 1t had been unable
TO get the people TO take more than
So 900 900. It was obviously unnecessary
TO keep on coming silver into dollars, II
the country would not take the dollars
so the Sherman act left it discretionary
with the Secretary TO coin the bullion pur-
chased under It or not, as he should think
the public interests required. The Sec
retary has seen no reason for coming
any OF il. and It has all been stacked up
in the Treasury as Dig silver,
The act further provided that when the
purchases OF silver were made the Coy
ernment's notes should be issued in pay
ment for it. These were TO be payable
on demand in either silver or gold CON-
but the Secretary Of the Treasury was
TO have a discretion to say In which
they should be paid. But the act eX-
nresslv declared that it was the policy
Of the United States Government to
keen its silver dollars and its gold dollars
at a par with each other.
Now. as fast as these notes have been
ISSUED I'm payment Of the silver bullion
purchased, those to whom they were
issued have Immediately requested the
Government 10 pay them in gold dol
lars. The Government had the right to
pay them in silver dollars, but it was
also commanded TO keep the silver dollar
at a parity with the gold dollar. 1t
knew perfectly well that If il refused TO
pay the notes in gold coin, that would be
a discrimination against the silver dol
lars, and that act Of the Government
would at once put gold at a premium.
Quartermaster General" Field may not
know that this would have been the
effect of such an act, but everybody
else in the world knows that it would.
Therefore. Mr.. Cleveland, following the
course which his predecessors admins
tration had already most properly adopt
ed. considered il his duty 10 pay these
notes with gold coin, and II he had not
done SO, gold would have gone TO a pre-
MUM, every person owing money would
have been called on to pay it, the prop
erty of all such would be offered for sale
when there were no purchasers. and all
the ruin of a financial panic would
have been brought on the country Per-
haps Quartermaster General" Field
would have liked 10 see ahis result
brought on.