The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-08-20


east, man came to me and said that he
had plan for getting the silver IN circu-
lation. His proposition was GO
issue currency III no sum Tess
than $40. / told him that
there was no difficulty about making sill
yer circulate. With the possible excep-
tiou of three or four millions that might
be on hand in the treasury as a working
balance, all OF the silver or its representa-
tlves, the silver certificates, were IN CIR
culation. He was surprised. He sale
that he had the idea that the people we're
refusing to take silver and that the gov
eminent was unable to- put the silver GER
tificates in circulation. And that man
was a judge on the circuit bench. lie
had got his ideas from the statements
that silver will not circulate. 1t is true
that coin will not circulate in large guam
titles and when the men who talk about
silver not circulating are cornered, they
say that that is whaJ they mean-tSat the
coin will not circulate. The impression
that they give, however, is that silver CIR
tificates will not circulate.
81 am not an extremist, - said the
senator, l do not believe in trying to
make the silver coin go largely into gem
eral circulation. A great many silver
men are crying for that. Well, per-
haps they have not learned as
much about the matter as / have.
There are men who would quarrei
with the treasury department for paying
out gold for the treasury certificates to be
sent abroad. / have no fault to find with
that. If the exporters of gold had not got
it from the treasury, they would have got
it from the banks of New York. They
could have done so by paying a premium
for it, and if GOLD is wanted for export
they will get 1T somehow. Ii the treasury
would not give gold for treasury notes,
the exporters would refuse to take treas
ury certificates. They would demand
green backs. There are more than $500,
GOO, GOO OF them in circulation. They
would present them at the treasury and
get the gold for them.
1.-The whole of this financial panic is
the work Of the banks,'' said the sena-
tor. ssThey have created it for the pur-
pose OF forcing the government to issue
bonds. The Sherman law is not what
has made all of this trouble.
tThe Sherman law was not passed
as Mr.. Sherman has said, be-
cause there was danger of free coinage.
There was not the slightest danger OF
free coinage in 1890. President Harrison
had said to a great many people that he
would veto free coinage bill. He said
50 to me in the presence of Senator Frye.
Senator Sherman knew it. The truth OF
passed because the Republican party did
not want to be put in a hole by forcing
President Harrison TO veto free coinage
measure. We accepted it because we
thought that it would give temporary re-
lief and because it was the best that we
could get.''
I asked Mr.. Teller what the prospects OF
the different parties were in the west.
''Both of the old parties are losing
n Io
the same time there are a great many
people who are not willing to accept the
theories of the Populists. No one can
tell what will be developed by this dis
cussion of the currency question. 1t Is to
be the great question before the country
for the next five years. The interest in
the tariff is growing less all the time.
The spirit which is developing in the
west is liberal spirit Whether it will
result in the formation of new parties no
one can tell. The country is great deal
better off with two great parties, L think
than with three or four.''
GEORGE GRANTHAM Balm.