People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-12-27

York World reporters, guessed strange
guesses about the size of $50. 900. 900
period is unknown, Every dollar Dor
rowed adds to the fixed demands upon
the government and the people. Every
dollar of new money, whether issued
by the banks or the government. which
is liable to be redeemed in gold. adds
to the burdens of the government and
increases the necessity of borrowing
more money.
But 1t is suggested-the London pa
pers have advocated it for more than
a year-that the greenbacks and treas
ury notes amounting to about $780,
1000 must be retired to relieve the
government of theneceSsity of redeem
ing them in gold. This would pro-
duce violent contraction, great reduc
ton in prices, and collapse of bust
ness. But the greenbacks and treasury
notes now may be held asreserves in the
banks in lieu of gold. If they were
retired the banks would be compelled
to hold their reserves in gold. and
their notes would have to be redeemed
IN the first instance in gold. There
would then be nothing with which to
redeem bank notes but gold. Interest
on foreign obligations would continue
to absorb the gold. The banks would be
compelled to reduce their circulation
or become bankrupt, and leave the
government to borrow money to re-
deem their outstanding notes.
We have already learned by expert
ence that the government can not per-
manently replenish its reserves by
issuing bonds so long as there is any
outstanding paper which can be pre-
sented to the treasury for payment in
gold. We are debtor nation, and so
long as we pay nothing but gold our
treasury must be empty. A thousand
millions of bonds issued in the next
five years would not maintain in the
treasury 500, 900, 600 of gold as a per-
manent reserve. The policy may be
pursued until the nation is bankrupt.
but the gold will flow out as fast as it
is taken in.
England Is differently situated. The
world outside Of the United Kingdom,
according to Mr.. Gladstone, owes the
United Kingdom ten thousand millions
which, at ) per cent, produces an an
nual income of SjOO,OOO,O01 Fully
one half of this vast sum mest be paid
by the government and Ire people of
the United States. The folly OF sup
posing that we can get England's gold
while we owe her all the gold we have
and all that we can 'borrowis too plain
for comment.
Every attempt to increase our circu-
lating medium on the gold basis must
result in disaster. The people can
have no confidence in the ability of
the government to obtain gold for any
considerable time BY borrowing gold
to pay interest on gold obligations
There must be more money with which
to redeem By money | mean real
money, not substitute for money, to
be redeemed in some other kind of
money, or there must be less credit
money to be redeemed. The former
would restore confidence and pros
perity, the latter contraction, falling
prices and ruin. The government
must either coin and use both gold
and silver without discrimination or
suffer inevitable disaster. Patch works
and make shifts are no longer possible.
J 1t is suggested in an evening paper
that the President is contemplating a
recommendation that percentage of
taxes be made payable in gold This
will only make the matter worse It
would be discrimination against the
money of the government, and would
certainly send gold to premium as
did the dishonoring of the greenbacks
in 1859 by refusing to receive them for
customs due That wicked act sent
gold to a premium and created the
gold board in New York which was a
more formidable foe in the rear than
the enemy in the field. The fathers of
the republic made no discrimination
between gold and silver. Both were
used as money on equal terms previous
to the mint act of 1871. That un-
fortunate legislation destroyed one
half of the metallic money of the
world, and the hard times which now
affiict the country attest the folly of
that crime.
W. NJ STEWART.