The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-08-17
CLEVELAND'S PROPHECY.
Els LETTER ON SILVER COINAGE
IN 1885.
The Present Condition Of Affairs Then
0utlined-Inspirsd by His Visit to
Samuel ]. Tilden.
Galveston News.

Galveston News.
Before going to Washington to enter
upon the duties of the office of presi.
dent, Mr.. Cleveland had consultations
OF Albany with several prominent
leaders of his party, including Vice
President-elect Hendricks, Speaker
Carlisle, ex-Speaker Randall, and
Senators German of Maryland, Gar
land of Arkansas, and Lamar of Mis-
sissippi. He also visited Mr.. S. j.
Tilden, at Greystone.on-the. Hudson.
In reply to a letter signed by several
members of congress, on the subject of
silver coinage, he sent the following,
which was published on Feb. 81, 1885,
and which is singularly prophetic
considered in connection with the pre-
sent financial situation:
ALBANY, Feb. "a, 1885.
To the Hon. A ]. Warner and Others members
of the Forty-Eighth Congress;
GENTLEMEN-The letter which 1
had the honor to receive from you in
vites, and indeed obliges, me to give
cessities, although in advance of the
moment when they would become the
objects of my official care and partial
responsibility.
Your solicitude that my judgment
shall have been carefully and deliber-
ately formed il entirely just, and 1 &C.
cept the suggestion in the same friend
ly spirit in which it has been made.
1t Is also fully justified by the nature
of the financial crisis which, under
the operation of the act of congress of
Feb. %, 1878, is now close at hand. By
a compliance with the requirements
of that law all the vaults of the federal
treasury have been and are heaped
full of silver coins, which are now
worth less than So per cent on the
gold dollar prescribed as "the unit of
value" in section IA of the act Of Feb.
II, 1878, and which with the silver
certificates representing such
coin, are receivable for all
public dues. Being thus re-
ceivable, while constantly increasing
in quantity at the rate of SOS, 900, 900 a
year, it has followed, of necessity,
that the flow of gold into the treasury
has been constantly diminished. Sill.
yer and silver certificates have dis
placed and are now displacing gold,
and the sum of gold in the federal
treasury now available for the pay
ment of the gold obligations of the
United States, and for the redemption
of the United States notes called
"greenbacks," if not already en-
croached upon is perilously near such
encroachment. These are facts,
which, as hey do not admit of differ
ence of opinion, call for no argument.
They have been toreWarned to us in
the official reports of every secretary
of the treasury from 1878 till now.
They are plainly affirmed in the last
December report of the present. secre-
tary of the treasury to the speaker of
the present house of representatives.
They appear in the official documents
of this congress and in the records of
the New York clearing house, of
which the treasury is member, and
through which the bulk of the re-
ceipts and payments of the federal
government and of the country pass.
These being the facts of our present
condition, our danger ond our duty to
avert tnat danger would seem to be
plain. hope that you concur with
me and with the great majority OF
our fellow citizens in deeming 1T most
desirable at the present juncture to
maintain and continue in use the mass
of our gold coin as we'll as the mass of
silver already coined. This is possible
by a present suspension of the
purchase and coinage OF silver. am
not aware that by any other method
it is possible. IL is If momentous i'm
portance to prevent the two metals
from parting company; to prevent the
increasing displacement of gold by
the increasing coinage of silver; to
prevent the disuse of gold in the GUS
tomhouses of the United States in the
daily business of the people; to pre-.
vent the ultimate expulsion OF gold by
silver.
Such O financial crisis as these
events would certainly precipitate,
were it now to follow upon 80 long
period of commercial depression,
would involve the people Of every city
and of every state i'll the Union in
| prolonged AMI disastrous trouble.
The revival of bushes enterprises and
prosperity so ardently desired and
apparently SO near would be hopeless
ly postponed. Gold would be with
drawn to it's boarding places, and an
unprecedented contraction in the
actual volume of our currency would
speedily take place. Saddest of all,
in every workshop mill, factory, store,
and on every railroad and farm, the
wages of labor, already depressed,
would suffer still further depression
by scaling down of the purchasing
power of every so.called dollar paid
into the hand of toll. From these inn.
pending calamities it is surel y most
patriotic and grateful duty of the rep
resentatives Of the people to deliver
them. am, gentlemen, with sincere
IT spect, your fellow-citizen,
GROVER CLEVELAND.
The Violent Commotion
In the stomach and bowels produced
nv q violent purpative and its conse-