The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-10-26

Gods saxe ia do something. Let un-
conditional repeal pass in order that
this crisis may be put off, and times
get little better. Fellow citizens, if
l were to do so, even at the entreaty
of every man in North Carolina, I
would be traitor to the men l serve,
so deep is my conviction that it is
better to endure these ills, which are
for moment, for the sake of the far
reaching remedy. Double standard of
money is. think, the remedy, and I
feel that 1 must stand by it. 1t can
not be for long.
Now, as for this panic. When it
comes down to the ultimate analysis,
what produced it: At first everything
was attributed to the Sherman law. They
say the Sherman law takes the gold out
Of the country, while in short time
the gold commences coming back.
Then was the Sherman law responsible
for its going out and its coming back
both? Was it trap like the old
negro's trap for varmints that ''kotch
'em going and kotch 'em coming?'
Why, when we come to inquire into
that thing, we find that the gold that
went out, Mr.. President, went out
neither according to the law of supply
and demand, nor according to the Sher-
man law. It was sent out purely on
speculation by bankers in New York.
and in many cases that gold was
shipped abroad, my countrymen, at a
loss, because it is known to all those
who know anything about exchange
that there is no money to be made
shipping gold across the ocean when
the exchange is $4.874 and upwards,
and a vast quantity of this money that
left this country within the past twelve
months, the leaving of which was at
tributed TO the Sherman law, was alb
solutely sent over to London at loss
to the men who shipped it. The Sher-
man law was in the way of the specu-
lators, and they wanted to attribute
the leaving of that gold to the opertions
Of the Sherman law, and every ship
load that left the port of New York
disturbed stocks and lowered them,
and these spectators bought in all the
stocks at low price, and shipped the
gold right straight back from Liver
pool, a great quantity Of it coming
back in unbroken packages in which it
was shipped.
The Sherman law purchased 4,5OO,-
900 onuces of silver monthly, and it was
paid for in treasury notes, which were
put in circulation at the rate of $48,-
100000 to $50,O0O,OOO every year;
and then they complained that the
scarcity of money was the cause Of
hard times. They then attributed it, on
the other hand, to the law which in-
creases the currency $48,OOO,OOO a
year. Still, that would not do. Then
what? Then they said it all came
from the want of confidence. Well,
how is it with the New York bankers !?
What is the want of confidence Well,
they said, we are afraid gold will go
out of the country by the operation Of
the Sherman law, and gradually the
government of the United States will
return to silver basis and all the OBJ
legations that are now out shall be
paid in silver. Well, who says that :?
Do you say so, Mr.. New York banker?
Well, when he was pressed, he would
say no. Well, then, who has want of
confidence? Well, they said the bank
ers in London and the French and the
German bankers have not any conf
dence. What the devil-excuse my
French, if you please-what has the
want of confidence of the English and
the German bankers to do with this
country? Well, the truth is, we borrow
money, say the New York brokers,
from the English bankers, and we have
to give security; and unless the Sher-
man law is repealed and we return to
a gold standard right at once, we can
not borrow any more money from
them. Now, that is the situation.
A delegation that was in New York
from Baltimore the other day called
upon me and talked about this want
of confidence. And when he came
down to the last resort he said he had
confidence, the gentleman who was
talking to me, that all Americans had
confidence, but the European bankers
had not. I said, so you have come
here to ask me, an American Senator
and the representative of sovereign
State, to legislate at the dictation of a
foreign banker because he has not con-
fdence. He is liar when he says it.
He knows we can buy his little island
out whenever we feel like it,
Now that is positively the situation.
We are called upon to legislate in the
interests of, and at the dictation of,
foreign bankers and capitalists, and
the penalty we are to suffer is they
will not send us any more money un-
less we discard silver and come to an
absolute gold standard. They have no
confidence. have confidence in the
American people. l have confidence
in the fact that every dollar owing by
the American people will be paid not
only in such money as is promised, but
in better money. For there is no out
standing obligation Of the United
States now payable in gold; not one,
and there is not an obligation outstand
ing Of the United States of any kind
that has not been redeemed in gold
whenever asked for. Even the silver
certificates issued-if any Of you happen
to have one in your pocket, l have not,
l am sorry to say-you will find that
one silver dollar, or ten silver dollars,
as the case may be, has been deposited
in the treasury payable on demand.
Now every lawyer on the earth will
tell you that is redeemable in silver,
and every one Of these certificates
when presented has been paid not only
in the money that we promise, but
better money than we promised-in
gold. And yet these fellows say that
they have not confidence, and we are
to destroy the constitutional money of
our fathers, and lower the price Of
every pound Of cotton and OF every
bushel of wheat, until it comes down
to the starvation and the ruin that has
marked the characterization Of silver
in order to give confidence to those
fellows over there. If do it have
quit swearing and am trying to be a
better MAXWELL, I will just say SIM
ply 7 will pot do il ct that he sniff