The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-23

OOuAIA e-S AuOHcy
A country Republican paper, in very
clumsy attempt to incense the people
against CLEVELAND and the Democratic
party, informs them that s.The SHERMAN
law coins 4, 800, 900 ounces of silver per
month, - and that because the President
earnestly recommends the 'tprompt re-
peal of the provisions requiring the pur-
chase OF silver bullion, - he is therefore
'ssilver's greatest enemy, - and the party
is denounced equally with him.
The SHERMAN law does not coin this
bullion purchased every month 1t pro-
vided for the monthly coinage of 2, OOO, 600
ounces up to July 1, 1891, and after that
so much as might be necessary to provide
for the redemption of treasury notes paid
out for silver bullion; but as these are
uniformly redeemed in gold coin, on the
policy of the Republican administration
OF treasury affairs, the SHERMAN law does
not provide much for silver coinage.
The official report of Secretary CARLISLE
shows that under the SHERMAN act 161,-
52l 1000 ounces of silver had been pur-
chased up to August Is, 1898, and of this
only Sc, 0S7, 185 standard dollars had been
coined. This leaves 125, 433, S15 ounces of
bullion piled up in the vaults uncoined.
But if there is a provision for the coin
age of silver dollars in the SHERMAN law,
the President does not recommend its re-
peal. The paper that makes SO big a
blunder about the SHERMAN law also
oL.its some important words of the Presi-
DENTS advice about its amendment. He
does not call for the repeal of anything
but the provisions authorizing the pur-
chase of silver bullion. Let this be un-
derstood and much of the invective of our
Republican contemporaries will be recog-
nized as waste matter.
1t is one thing to be opposed to silver
and desire its decentralization, and
another thing to be opposed to the govern
IN ent's acting as a silver huckster, by
way of protection to the silver industry
which it does not protect. There are as
ardent bimstallists in favor OF repeating
Internationally the SHERMAN law pro-
vision, as there are among the free coin
age men who merely hold on to it as
hostage.
Their position is that free and unlimi-
ted coinage would crowd gold out of its
place in the financial world, and either
force our system to single silver stand
ard or destroy that parity between the
two metals which it is the declared policy
of the government to maintain We do
not care here 80 repeat their arguments
We do not share in their opinions. We
gelieve that both metals should be coined
at proper ratio and on an equality OF
rights IN mintage. But we desire to
make plain the fact that there are vast
numbers of rational people who sin
cerely think that free coinage would be
an injury, but who at the same time de-
sire that silver should be used as money
as we'll as gold, but not coined in such
quantities as the western silver men de-
sire.
CLEVELAND, CARLISLE and others who
are being greatly misrepresented on this
question, are not calling for the demone-
tization of silver, nor are they monomet-
allists or ''goldbugs." They wish to
maintain the parity of the two metals
and this would be impossible with silver
demonetized. Read the Presidents mes
sage carefully, and not sentence about
demonstration can be discovered, nor a
breath about making gold the only money
of the country. On this question we
quote here paragraph from the New
York HerdId's Washington correspon-
dence:
If there is any Senator or Representa-
tive who believes that the administration
is in favor of demonetizing silver let him
call at once on Secretary CARLISLE, who
has authority to speak for the President,
and he will be undeceiyed. The whole
spirit and purpose OF the administration
has been nisrepresented. Both Mr..
CLEVELAND and Mr.. Carlisle believe
now, the United States will be able to Sc
cure an international bimetallic agree
ment at ratio that viii rescue silver
from its present discredited status.
In this opinion they take the same
ground as that occupied by many
thoughtful persons who cannot be con-
verted from their views by -calumny, nor
are their arguments rendered any less
worthy of attention because they are
berated as gold-bugs. The Denver Pest,
which is a straight silver paper, thus
touches on this question:
President CLEVELAND believes in the
repeal of the Silver Purchase law for the
same reason that Professor ANDREWS, the
able president of Brown University, fav-
/ ors it. That is, ne is convinced that such
course will promote an international
agreement on bi-metallism and bring
about silver coinage on substantial and
enduring basis.
We do not agree with the President in
| this idea, but believe in his honesty in
| the matter. Moreover, we are convinced
( that he will sign any bill which Congress
may pass on the subject of silver coinage,
AND the signs ell point to the enactment
of law which will be satisfactory to the
people of Colorado.
Between the extreme positions of the
believers in the single gold standard and
the free and unlimited coinage men at
the old ratio, there is middle ground
occupied by ardent Democrats and stall
wart Republicans who are bimetallists
and who are as firm in their opinions as
are those who differ from them. They
consider they are as true to the platforms
of their parties as any men can be, and
while many may think them in error,
we have no right to question their mo-
tives or cast any obloquy upon them be-
cause we believe they are in the wrong.
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NO GROUND FOR 1T.