The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-09-14

denly stopped the coinage of the silver
rupee, and announced that the gov
ernment itself would coin limited
quantities, as the public needs might
require. Then the effort to have the
coinage altogether stopped in the
United States began, aided by the in
fiuence of the moneyed power Of all
the world and our own government.
Silver lives now, SO to speak, only
in the United Slates-here among the
people who recognized it as money
when they established their constitu-
tional form of government it makes its
last stand. If its coinage is stopped
now it ceases to live throughout the
commercial nations of the earth, and
drops out of sight. The repeal of the
Sherman law, without any substitute
providing for the continued coinage oi
silver, is the end of silver money for
this generation except as subsidiary
coin, unless, indeed, great revolution
of the people should restore it., as was
done after the fraudulent demenetiza-
tion of 1873.
Then the trouble with the defence
less begins the glory of the capitalists
is exalted the fatness of the usurer
waxeth, and woe be unto him who is
in debt! One half of the money Of
the world being destroyed, the ex-
changes of the worlds productions
among its inhabitants devolves upon
the other half-the price of the re-
naming money, gold, goes up-that
is to say, the price of every product
and every days work goes down. Let
no man doubt that that this movement
is the result of conspiracy, a combi-
nation among the money holders OF
the world. Our own Secretary of the
Treasury has said SO. 1t has been an
nounced again and again in the
British House of Commons and have
nowhere seen it denied.
The intent of this combination is to
increase the value of the gold in the
hands of those who hold it, and to in
crease the values of securities, personal
and governmental, by making them
payable in gold, which are likewise
held by these conspirators. The
method of attack on this last remain
l. ( stronghold of silver was by Gre
ating a panic. The only statutory
enactment which binds US to the use
of silver and makes us a bi-metallic
people is what is known as the Sher-
man law. Under the operation of this
law 100000 ounces of silver per
month was required to be purchased
and coined until the 1st of July, 1891,
after which time only SO much was to
be coined as was necessary to redeem
the notes issued for its purchase.
These were called Treasury notes,
and any technically intelligent man
would naturally suppose that when a
law required the purchase of silver
bullion and the issue of Treasury notes
in payment thereof, and provided for
the coming of that bullion into silver
dollars for the purpose of redeenaing
those notes, payable in either gold OF
silver at the discretion of the Secretary
of the Treasury, it was meant for him
to exercise that discretion in favor Of
silver, when the interest of the public
and the condition of the Treasury re-
quired it. 1t was construed differently
and parties wouldprocure thoseTreasury
notes and present them to the Treas
ury, where they were invariably re-
deemed in gold.
| This gold was shipped abroad, in
many cases, because scramble was
going on in Europe for gold. The
demonetization of silver had already
produced its inevitable effect, and the
gold supply was not sufficient for those
communities; hence much was shipped
from this country-mostly obtained by
the means Of Treasury notes. It is
quite true that it could have been
obtained just as easily by the ;a:esenta.
ton of greenbacks, by the presentation
of gold certificates, by the presentation
of bonds, or the coupons upon SAID
! OouuS, Va Wy CuS pACSOh0oeAoh "
National bank notes. In fact, there
was not an obligation of the govern
ment outstanding but what was re.
ducible to gold.
Yet those men who were desirous O.
creating panic chose to attribute the
departure of gold alone to the Sherman
law, and with loud-mou.hed clamol
they declared there was dalger of the
: Government being reduced to silver
l basis and discharging its obligations ir
silver coin. Some foreigners believed
this, and sent over a few Of our secu
rites and put them upon the marke
for realization. This created sucl
alarm among those who held these
securities a1d feared for their margins
, that the clamor, which began in tals'
pretense, ended in howl of rea
S terror. Their deposits were rapid!
S withdrawn and they justly suffered
; They brought such pressure to bea
: upon the President as induced him t.
call an extra session of Congress il
the dog days for the simple and soil
purpose of repeating this law,
In the midst of this clamor it wa
> ascertained that We had largely over
e traded and the balance was against u
: in Europe, which caused the gold to g