The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-07-27

Mr. EDITOR Many people in tn
|. >, especially in tine South am
West, are at this time on the tente
hooks of despair for fear that con
gress at its extraordinary session
may demOnetIze silver. the ineyita
ble result of which will be to doubI
the indebtedness of the people in TIL
hands of the creditor class. Tha
such action on the part of congres
Is devoutly prayed for by the sal,
class. There is very little doubt bu
just how they congress- are to effec
their purpose WITHOUT the consent o
3-4 of the States composing thi
Union, / confess my inability t
see. Article first, Section ten Of tn,
Constitution of these L. S. reads
"No State shall coin money
emit bills of credit, make any thing
but gold and silver coin a tender IL
payment of debts"
Here the people of the States ar,
plainly told by the organic law 0,
the land that they must and shall
have both metals as a basis. Their,
is no ifs Or and's about it the law i
mandatory, and there Is no way t.
get around it or out of it, except a
provided by Article 9TH of the Con
stltutlon which reads: "The con
gre8s, whenever 2-3 of both House,
shall deem it necessary. shall prepare
amendments to this Constitution x
which x shall be valid to all in
tents and purposes, = x x wher
ratified by the legislatures of 81 OF
the several States, or by convention
in 81 thereof. In this prescribed
form and manner only can this bul.
wark of our liberties be added to OF
taken from"
| am aware of the facL that there
are many so-called statesmen in the
Democratic and Republican parties
who argue and claim that under the
general welfare clause" Section s.
Article lst, that congress has the
power to demonetize silver, and make
State bank issue a legal tender too,
that 1t was done in part Feb. 18th,
1873. But simply because the great
masses of the people quietly sub
mltted to the fraud perpetrated upon
them by this act is no justification
OF It's legality then or now, for had
the people understood the intention
OF that measure as well then as they
do now, there never would have been
'Sherman act" but the free and
Unlimited coinage of silver at the
ratio of 1G to l, notwithstanding the
orders of British finauciers to the
contrary.
[ admit that congress has the right
under Article l, Section s, to add or
take a certain amount from the
weight of gold and silver coin, but
to do the former (that is add to their
weight) would increase the value of
bonds, notes, mortgages, and all
other evidences Of debt in the hands
of creditors, equal in amount to the
difference between the value of the
silver now in the silver dollar and
what they propose to put in it. To
DO the latter, /, e., take from the
weight would decrease the value of
all Indebtedness held by creditors in
the same proportion, and to put
either of these dollars on the people
would be as great crime us the act
of decentralization.
This congress claims to be Demo
cratic. Every platform since 1881
has contained plank explicitly in
favor Of both metals, and while many
of the present congressman, our own
Ransom among them, may have
changed their views and are follow
ing that 'Ignis Fatus'' of Democra-
cy, the present Executive, whose
two pet schemes of monometalism
and civil service reform will inevita-
bly, create q property absorbing class,
and life tenure Office holding class
with civil rights tendencies, both of
which is repugnant to oLr inotitu-
tlons, and calculated in the end to
disrupt the social system of our
country, yet there will be sufficient
left who are so deeply i'm
bued with the pristine purity of the
principles Of Jefferson, Jackson and
Calhoun to prevent the demolition
of that "Palladium" of our liberties,
the Constitution. Let our people
then, of the South and West, "pos-
Sess their souls in peace" They
need have no fears of absolute ''de-
monetizatiou," for each and every
member Of congress have sworn to
support the Constitution, and if they
deviate in the least they will tell II
story, and Senator Vance said if thev
did that "the devil would get them"
and if he does not an indignant con-
Stltuency will. NJ. l.. WOOD.
Lewiston, N. c., July 18th. '93.