Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1893-08-10

"NTHT/>tz/
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND
| related 10 our natural resources: nor is il
| traceable to any of the Affections which fire.
| uuently check national growth and prosper
| ity With pleuteOus crops, with abundant
| promise of remuuoratiye production and
| manufacture. with unusual invitation to
! safe investment and with satisfactory as
surance to business enterprise, suddenly
| financial distrust and fear have sprung up
| on every side. Numerous moneyed institu-
| tiOns have suspended because abundant assets
were not immediately available to meet tho
/ demands of frightened dcEOStOrs; surviving
| corporations and individuals are too content
| TO keep in hand the money they are usually
| anxious TO loan. and those engaged in leglti.
! mate business are surprised TO find that the
/ securities they offer for loans, though hereto
| fore satisfaC DRY. are no longer accepted.
Values supposed to be fixed are fast becoming
conjectural. and loss and failure have invaded
every branch of business
The Silver Purchase Law.
believe these things are principally charge
| able to Congressional legislation touching the
| purchase and coinage of silver by the general
| government. This legislation is embodied in
statute passed on the 18th day of July. 1850,
! which was the elimination of much agitation
I
| considered truce. after the long struggle.
| between the advocates of free silver coin age
! and those intending to be more conservative.
| Undoubtedly the monthly purchases by
: the Government of 4.5OlNO ounces of stly er,
| forced under that statute. were regarded by
| those interested in silver production as GER
! tain guaranty of its increase in price. The re-
suit, however. has he 4 entirely different, for
! immedia' ely fOllOwN : a spaSmodiC and slight
| rise the price OF silver began to fall after the
passage of the act. and has since reached the
| lowest point ever known. This disappointing
result has led TO rene wed and persistent effort
| In the direction of free coinage
Meanwhile not only are the evil effects OF
! the operation Of the present law constantly
accommodating but the result to which its exc
| CutiOn must inevitably lead Is beComin pal
pablc to all who give the least heed to financial
| subjects This law provides that in payment
| for the 10000 ounces Of silver bullion which
! the Secretary OF the Treasury is commanded
! to purchase monthly there shall be issued
| Treasury notes rrdeemabe on demand in
gold or silver coin, at the discretion OF the
! Secretary Of the Treasury, and that aid notes
uay be rcissued 1t Is, however, deClaccd in
| the act to he tho established policy of tho
| United States to maintain the two metals up
| on a parity with each other upon the present
| lesa' ratio or such ratio as may be provided by
| law" This declaration so controls the action
! of the Secretary of the Treasury to pre-
vent his exercising the discretion noninally
| vested in him. IL by such action the parity be-
[ tween gold and silver may be disturbed Man
| fest refusal by the Secretary to pay these
! Treasury notes in gold II demanded, would
| necessarily result in their discrcdit and de-
! probation as obligations payable only in sill
yer and would destroy the parity between the
two metals by cs abl'>htns discrimination in
favor of gold.
Up to the tn day OF July. 1893. these notes
! had been issued In payment OF silver bullion,
! purchased to thC amount o. more than Sl47.-
"A IN ia Ia Ill Il -
! Of this bullion Temains unc0iEed and
without usefulness in the Treasury, many
have be been paid in gold This is illustrated by
| the statement that between the first day OF
Nav IS9, and he hftecnth day Of July 1873
the notes Of this kind issued in payment FOR
fifty-fOur millions OF dollars, and that during
the same period about fOrty-nme millions OF
dollars were paid by the Treasury IN gold for
the redemption of such notes.
Drain Upon the Gold Reserve.
The policy necessarily adopted Of paying
these notes in gold has not spared the gold re-
serve Of $lwNm,UD long ago set aside by the
Government for he redemption of other not es
for this fund ha' already been subjected tc
the payment OF new obligations amounting tC
about $3.50 HnD on az count OF silver pur
Chascs. aud has. A. q consequence. for the
first time since it's creation. been cncroachec
upon.
We have thus made the depletion Of our gold
easy, and have tempted other and more ap
preciatiye nations to add il to their stock
That the opportunity VIC nave offered ha- not
been neglected is shown by the large amount!
of gold which have been recently drawr
from oar Treasury and exported to in
crease the financial strength OF for
eign nations. The excess of exports OF GolC
over its imports for the year ending June 30
| lSg3 amounted to more than cighty-seyen alG
! a half millions Of dollars. RetW cen the frs
day o. July lSI' and the fifteenth day of July
! 1873 the cold coin and bullion in our TreasgI
decreaseu more, Than Oae hundred and thirty
two miE:nns ~ dollars wnuc uuun.
The. sane per'"9- the liver coin ant
bullion in the Treasury increased mo-t
han one hundred AMI torty-seyen mill
ions of dollars Unless Government bonds ar,
to be constantly issued and sold to ,eplcnisi
our exhausted gold. only to be again exhaust
ed, it is apparent that the operation OF th'
Silver Purchase law, now IN force, leads in thu
direction of the entire substitution of silye
for the gold in the government Treasury ans
that this must De followed by the payment o
alt Government Obligations in deprecated
silver.
At this stage gold and silver must par,
company and the Government must fail L
its established policy to maintain the tw,
metals on parity with each other Giyei
over to the exclusive use Of cur
rency greatly deprecated according
to the standard Of the commercial
world. we could no longer claim place anon
the nations Of the INST class, mon could on
Government claim performance Of its obliea
ttons, so far as such an obligation has beef
imposed upon II, 10 provide for the use eff tn
people the best aud safest money. IT, a
| many OF its friends claim silver Ough
to occupy lar. or place in our CT Trency an
the currency o. the world through general in
| teTnational co opcTat or and agreement, IL /
| obvious that the Tn ted States will not be Il
position to gam hearing in favor of such a.
! arrangement so long as we ire willing 10 con
tlnue our attempt to accomplish the result
! single-handed.
Resulted in Lack Of Confidence.
The knowledge IN business circles anon
our own y ople that our Government ca
not make its nat equivalent TO intrinsic yalu,
Lor keep inferior mOnUy on q parity wit
superior money by its own ind,
pendent efforts has csultcd in such
| lack o. confidence at Lone in III
stability of currency yalu' that capital II
fuses its aid to CIV enterprises while million
| are actually withdrawn from the channels {
. trade and commerce to b come id and uuprt
investors equally alert. not only decline to pul
chase American Scout les, Uut make hast
to sacrifice those which they already hav,
IL does not meet th' ituation TO say tina
apprehension in recCrl TO The future OF on
finances Il groundess, aud that there IL n
| reason for lack Of confidence in the purpose
or power OF he Government In III
premises. The very ex stencc % thi
apprehension and lack of confidence howevt
caused Is q menace which ought net for me
| ment TO lie disTe .arded. Possibly Il the unde
| taking we have in hand " re the mairt snanc
OF specific known quantity OF silver at par
~ with go d, orr ability 10 do so might be est
mated and geuged, and perhaps, in view OF OF
! unparalleled growth and rts'u css, miRf
he tavorably passed upan lut when OF
| avoNed enieaNUr ~ 10 maintain such parity
| regard 10 an amount OF silver increasing at til
rate Of fifty millions of dollars yearly, with n