The Forrest City times., 1893-08-11

CT the entire SUt tSt1tut1On or SllVer TOT tue kou
 in inc government treasury and that this must
 te followed by the payment of all government; i obligations in appreciated silver
 l THE GOVERNMENTS DILEMMA. Al this stage gold and silver must part com | pany and the government must establish policy to maintain the two metals on parity | with each other Given over to the exclusive
 use of currency greatly depreeiated accord | ing 10 the standard of the commercial worlC
 we could no longer claim place among na- l tions of the first class. nor could our govern
 ment claim performance of it's obligations, so | far as such an obligation has been imposed l upon it. to provide for the use of the people the 1 best and safest money.
 l CAN NOT WORK sINGLE-HANDED. If, many of it's friends claim, silver ought | to occupy larger place in our currency and
 the currency of the world through general in | ternational cooperation and agreement, it is | obvious that the United States will not be in | position to gain hearing in favor of such an | arrangement so long as we are willing to con | tinue our attempt to accomplish the result sin gle-handed.
 THE EFFECT IN BUSINESS CIRCLES. | The knowledge in business circles among our l own people that our government can not make
 its fiat equivalent to intrinsic value. nor keep
 inferior money on parity with superior money | hy its own independent efforts. has resulted in l such a lack of confidence at home in the sta | bility of curreucy values that capital refuses | it's aid to new enterprises, while millions are | actually withdrawn from the channels of trade
 and commerce to become idle and unproduc- | tive in the hands of timid owners. Foreign in-
 vestors equally alert, not only decline 10 pur- 1 chase American securities. but make haste to l sacrifice those which they already have, | MENACE NOT TO BE DIsREGARDED. I It does not meet the situation to say that ap- | prehension in regard to the future of our | finances is groundless, and that there is no reason for lack of confidence in the purposes of power of the government in the premises. The | very existence of this apprehension and lack | of confidence, however caused, is | menace which ought not for moment | to be disregarded Possibly if the under l taking we have in hand were the maintenance l of specific known quantity of silver at | parity with gold, our ability to do so might be estimated and gauged, and perhaps, in view of | our unparalleled growth and resources might | be fdvorably passed upon. But when our l avowed endeavors to maintain such parity in l regard to amount of silver increasing at the rate of $50 00o 600 yearly, with fixed termina tion to such increase, it hardly be said that | problem is presented whose solution is free | from doubt.
 | ENTITLED TO SOUND AND STABLE CURRENCY. The people of the United States are entitled | to a sound and stable currency. and to money recognized as such on every exchange and in | every market of the world Their government | has no right to injure them by financial expert ments opposed to the policy and practice of
 other civilized states nor, is it justified in per | mitting an exaggerated and unreasonable re- lance in our national strength and ability to l jeopardize the soundness of the peoples money.
 ABOVE THE PLANE OF PARTY POLITICS. | This matter rises above the plane of party | politics. 1t vitally concerns every business | and calling, and enters every household in the | land. There is important aspect of the | subject which especially should never be over | looked. At times like the present, when the | evils of unsound finance threaten us. the speculator may anticipate q harvest gath cred from the misfortune of others, | the capitalist may protect himself by hoarding l or may even find profit in the fuctuation of values; but the wage-earner-the first to be in- | jured by depreciated currency and the last to receive the benefit of it's correction-is practi- | cally defenseless. He relies for work upon the 1 ventures of confident and contented capital. This failing him, his condition is without al- | deviation, for he can neither prey on the mis- 1 fortunes of others nor hoard his labor. PERTINENT WORDS.
 One of the greatest statesmen our country l has known, speaking more than fifty years ] ago when Arrangement of the currency had | caused commercial distress said The very 1 man of all others who has the deepest interest l in a sound currency, and who suffers most by | mischievous legislation in money matters is | the man who earns his daily bread by | his daily tol" These words pertinent 1 now as on the day they were utter | ed. and ought to impressively remind US that a
 failure in the discharge of our duty at this time | must especially injure those of our countrymen 1 who labor, and who because of their number | and condition, are entitled to the most watch I ful care of their government
 THE DUTY OF CONGRESS. l II is of the utmost importance that such re- lief as congress can afford in the existing situ. l Gtion be afforded at once The maxim: He 1 gives twice who gives quickly" is directly ap- l plicahle. IL may be true that the embarrass- | ments from whi th the business of the country l is suffering arose as much from evils | appTehended from those actually existing. | We may hope, too, that calm counsels will pre- l vail, and that neither the capitalists nor the 1 wage-earners will give way to unreasoning | panic. and sacrifice their property or their in
 terests under the influence of exaggerated l fears.
 DELAY ENHANCES THE DANGER l Nevertheless every day s delay in removing l one of the plain md principal causes Of the l present state Of things enlarces the mischief | already done and increases the responsibility 1 Of the government for its existence. What
 ever else the people have right 10 expect
 from congress. they may certainly de
 | man6 that legislation condemned by
 the ordeal of three years disastrous
 | experience shall be removed from the statute
 | books as as their representatives can | legitimately deal with them.
 TARIFF REFORM TEMPORARILY sIDETRAcKED
 II was my purpose to summon congress in
 special session early in the coming Sep
 | tember that might enter prompt
 l ly upon the work of tarn reform
 which the true interests of the country
 l clearly demand, which large a majority of
 l the people shown by their suffraGcs desire